Call of Duty: Warzone’s latest update is now live on February 3, and while the patch notes are pretty light this week, players will likely be happy with a major change to loadout drops. This weekly update also includes new playlists and some bug fixes.
Warzone’s February 3 update answers the community plea to revert loadout drops to the original ruleset, and allows players to once again purchase a loadout drop as soon as they have enough cash. However, this loadout change only affects the standard battle royale modes. According to Raven Software’s patch notes, Vanguard Royale playlists are excluded from this change, so players will still need to wait until after the free loadout arrives for the whole lobby in those exclusive playlists.
This change comes after fan upset when Call of Duty: Vanguard’s integration last year made a change to the loadout drops. Players lost the ability to purchase a loadout drop right away, and they were forced to wait until after the free drop became available to the entire lobby during the second circle. Players felt this change slowed down the pace of the matches and forced them to rely on ground loot weapons.
Professional Warzone player “FaZe Swagg” even tweeted last month that he’d get a Raven Software tattoo if the loadout change was reversed. With the February 3 update, the official Call of Duty Twitter account has since responded to say, “Your move, Swagg.”
Looking for an amazingly talented tattoo artist, any recommendations? Asking for a friend.
— Call of Duty (@CallofDuty) February 3, 2022
Additionally, the patch notes also include bug fixes. The new update address an issue that caused players to freeze on the tier skip redemption screen, and it fixes collision issues with various elements across Caldera that allowed players to exploit, peek, and shoot through them.
The playlists for the week include standard battle royale for all squad sizes and Vanguard Plunder trios for the Caldera map. Rebirth Island now has Mini Royale duos and Resurgence playlists for trios and quads.
The full patch notes can be found below, as shared by Raven Software.
GAMEPLAY
- Loadout Drops are now available for purchase via Buy Stations at any time during a game.
- This only applies to Battle Royale. Vanguard Royale rulesets differ.
BUG FIXES
- Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
- Fixed an issue causing Players to freeze on the Tier Skip redemption screen.
Activision Blizzard is currently being acquired by Microsoft, pending regulatory approval, but the deal isn’t expected to go through until later this year. It’s uncertain how this change will impact Call of Duty moving forward, but Xbox’s Phil Spencer recently reassured PlayStation users that the plan is still to keep Call of Duty on PlayStation.
Source: Gamespot