Call of Duty: Warzoneisn’t the talk of the town like it once was. Even with the new Pacific update,Warzoneis having a hard time pleasing long-time fans of the game. It seems as though every new update intended to fix the game only ends up breaking some other part of it, and fans are starting to get a little tired of the repetitive cycle. WhileWarzoneis still considered by the vast majority to be a good battle royale game, with competition from the likes ofApex LegendsandFortnite, that doesn’t really cut it anymore.
According to some recent rumors and reports,Call of Duty: Warzoneis going to be getting a full-on sequel sometime in the near-future, andwill skip the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 generation consoles. Although this might disappoint some fans still playing on that generation of consoles, the decision seems like a necessary one, and could bring some new and exciting features to the game, perhaps finally puttingWarzoneback on top of the battle royale genre.
RELATED:Call of Duty: Warzone’s Big Loadout Drop Change is a Necessary Improvement
An FOV Slider On Consoles
A gameplay feature that seems like an obvious addition, a Field of View slider forWarzoneon consoles has been requested by fans since before the game even released. While the developers did repeatedly confirm thatan FOV slider would be implementedinto the game at some point post-launch, the feature is still not present.
Although it may not be utilized by all players, those who playWarzonecompetitively or those who strive to be the best they possibly can at the game feel as though they need this feature to compete with PC players. Over the last two years or so, the lack of an FOV slider on consoles has caused a few minor controversies, such as whenplayers could use the Roze skinto blend into the shadowed environments, giving PC players an unfair advantage. Adding an FOV slider to consoles inWarzone 2seems like an absolute necessity.
A Balanced Arsenal
It’s no secret thatCall of Duty: Warzonehas a balancing problem. As more and moreCall of Dutygames are released every year, more and more weapons are added toWarzone. What started out as around 30 primary weapons has nowgrown to an alarming 119. It’s no wonder, then, thatWarzoneis a pretty unbalanced game.
Where competitors likeFortniteandApex Legendshave a set number of weapons for essentially their entire lifespan, with one or two being swapped out and added over time,Warzonehas just continued to add, piling more problems onto the mountain as opposed to fixing the ones that are already there. Every new patch that seeks to fix the game’s balancing oftenresults in another weapon being nerfedbeyond all reason, leading to a constant change in the game’s meta.
IfWarzoneplayers want to stay in the competition, and have any chance of actually winning a game, then they need to pay constant attention tothe game’s latest updatesand meta changes. WithWarzonein its current state, these metas change practically on a weekly basis.
IfWarzone 2does release like the rumors suggest, as a standalone game not tied to a specificCall of Dutyyearly entry, then balancing the game’s weapons should be a much easier task, as the developer can keep the number of weapons limited, and thus can focus on minor tweaks to a weapon’s performance. As it currently stands,Warzone’s balancing issues are detrimental to the game’s current popularity.
RELATED:Call of Duty: Warzone Disables Lunar New Year Bundle Due To Game Crashes
Dedicated Next-Gen Versions
If the rumors are correct, thenCall of Duty: Warzone 2will release exclusively on next-gen consolesand PC. This decision would undoubtedly come with a vast number of upsides, the first of which being the game’s visual and framerate performance.
PlayingWarzoneon PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X right now is pretty disappointing: The draw distance isn’t far, the game stutters regularly, andit certainly doesn’t look like a next-gen titlein terms of graphical fidelity. IfWarzone 2made the jump to next-gen consoles exclusively, then these issues could be easily solved, and the game could finally reach its maximum potential.
Additionally, ifWarzone 2wanted to go above and beyond, then a next-gen release could usethe PlayStation 5’s DualSenseto really elevate the gameplay experience. The DualSense’s adaptive triggers are perfectly suited to first-person shooters, and its haptic feedback goes a long way in making the game’s weapons feel more realistic.
Destructible Environments
Withthe ongoing disappointment ofBattlefield 2042, there’s room in the FPS genre for a new king of destructible environments. While this feature has never really been present in theCall of Dutyfranchise, having destructible environments could help to make aWarzonesequel stand out from the crowd.Call of Duty: Vanguard’s semi-destructible environments could serve as a solid foundation for expansion.
This would also add some more variety to the gameplay, and wouldhelp to stop campers, which is often cited as one of the game’s more annoying aspects. Having the opportunity to blast away a camper’s hiding spot is certainly an interesting idea.
Live Events and An Evolving Map
Aside from the balancing issues and bugs,Call of Duty: Warzone’s weaker aspects is its lack of live events. When compared toFortnite, a game which changes its map comparativley frequently, and evenApex Legends' evolving maps between Season updates,Warzoneis very disappointing.
AlthoughWarzonehas had some live events in the past, and has added new points of interest to the map on a few occasions, it’s nowhere near on the same level as its competition, and does drag the game back from being at the top of the battle royale genre. IfWarzone 2wanted to cement itself as the king, then it would need to introduce more live events to the game that brought its player-base back regularly to participate, possibly incentivizing them with unique cosmetic rewards, likeFortnitedoes.
MORE:What to Expect From Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in 2022
