COD MW2 Season 2 To Bring Back 1v1 Gulag, Include DMZ Updates

COD MW2 Season 2 will ship a host of updates to DMZ, Multiplayer Mode and Battle Royale while bringing back 1v1 Gulag and Hardcore Mode.

After releasing a bug-fix-focused patch to improve overall game stability, Infinity Ward starts off the new year by incorporating several UI and UX changes. Season 2 ships a variety of updates to CoD’s own Escape from Tarkov-esque game mode called DMZ, including a faction progress wipe and new exclusion points. With a focus on new content along with crash fixes, the upcoming update intends to be a massive Call of Duty event for fans across all platforms. “We remain dedicated to improving the overall stability and performance of our games, including reduced crashes across all platforms and titles.” revealed the dev blog. However, for a detailed breakdown, players should wait until the dev team releases the full patch notes in the coming weeks. The full list of improvements are listed below:

• Improved navigation and organization of Camo menu
• More polished Social tab, including improved channel swapping and player muting
• New “My Bundles” screen
• Quick equip items from Battlepass, My Bundles, and Store
• Reticle previews in Store and Gunsmith
• Improved clarity of attachment blocking logic in Gunsmith
• And many more bug fixes

Experience

• Improved After Action Report with audio
• Play Again feature in Battle Royale
• Bug fixes for inconsistencies between:
  • Challengers
  • Battle Pass
  • Weapon progression

Infinity Ward has also revealed several Audio fixes and overhauls after a detailed investigation in view of player complaints regarding in-game audio. “Investigation into player reports regarding audio led us to identifying a previously unknown issue impacting occlusion across the game. Audio occlusion is a filter that is applied based on the type of material that an object or structure is composed of, primarily based on its thickness and how it blocks the full frequency of the sound.” stated Infinity Ward.

“Only large structural objects should apply the filter, but we found some small items like a stapler or a pile of rags on the ground that were causing the filter to turn on when it shouldn't have.” For example, a wastebasket that was tagged with the incorrect material may have occluded the sound like it was behind a wall making the sound more difficult for a player to hear.” detailed the dev blog.

COD MW2 Season 2 – Warzone 2.0 Updates

The Gulag

Alongside reintroducing Gulag into the fray, the upcoming Warzone 2.0 update will allow players to start with 3 plate vests in Battle Royale. “Varying sizes of Vests will no longer exist in Battle Royale loot. This standardization will bring a more reliable feel to each engagement from the get-go.” reveals the blog post.

Players will also see the return of the original Warzone overtime mechanic – the Domination-style flag control point – in place of the Jailer. In order to bring this change online sooner – the dev team have edited the existing Season 01 Gulag for better 1v1 combat.

Players should also expect another new 1v1 map in the near future as Infinity Ward’s dev team is “actively working” on a dedicated 1v1 map. “We’ve also made some logistical changes to the Gulag experience. Ground loot has been revisited as well as the Loadouts that Players will spawn in with. We’ve updated the pool to include Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, and Light Machine Guns as Primary Weapons as the Circles progress.” Shotguns have been removed from the rotation, while Handguns will remain available as Secondary Weapons.

The Gulag will now grant a larger Cash reward to players who emerge victorious. This change to cash will allow redeploying players to get back on their feet “a bit faster.” Alongside increased victory Cash rewards, the Gulag will now also spawn Cash as ground loot. In addition to this, Cash can be acquired via ground loot, containers, and white Stronghold Supply Boxes throughout Al Mazrah, but can no longer be found in basic and legendary Supply Boxes.

Loot & Inventory

Loot Windows are now replaced with floating loot that will now drop out of all containers in the world, similar to loot from Supply Boxes.

This change is intended to improve the pace of gameplay by minimizing time spent navigating the UI and getting Players back in action faster.

We were excited to see the new Backpack system give Players the agency to customize their inventory for a desired playstyle or role within a Squad. In our continued effort to balance engagements, Medium/Large Backpacks will no longer be available and eliminated Players will drop loot onto the ground rather than loot-filled Backpacks. Every Player will have the same Backpack throughout the entire game, which will subsequently reduce the impact of stacking medical supplies, Equipment, and Killstreaks.

The second season also focuses on improving player movement during matches. Players will be able to bust through doors while plating the way they would if they were sprinting. This change includes a slight increase to movement speed while plating to enable Players to jump to cover faster when required.

COD MW2 Season 2 – DMZ Changes

The new Season also means a complete missions and weapons reset. Players will have to start afresh with new contraband weapon, and keys. The entirety of Factions mission progress will be reset too. Exactly like Escape from Tarkov, the DMZ game mode will now have regular progress resets to keep the game fresh. However, this also means the entire Season 1 progress made so far will be gone.

The upcoming update also includes changes to AI spawn points,  making them more easier for players to take out – unlike the current AI opponents. AI combatants should now have decreased accuracy and will pose as less challenging.“All of this should provide a challenging but manageable play-space that still requires player respect of enemy combatants in the DMZ.” revealed the blog.

Season 2’s update will also include several changes that fine-tune mission difficulty, making the missions at higher tiers (tier 3) more easier. “We have adjusted the overall scaling of difficulty in Missions as the Tiers progress. Later Tier Missions will still be quite challenging even for the experienced Operator, but we believe more straightforward access to an additional Insured Slot will provide a better path forward for all Players.” revealed the dev blog.

With a new Exclusion Zone coming to Season 02, players will have a third option to choose from when deploying in DMZ. The Faction Mission refresh will provide new missions that send you across these destinations, including Building 21. Players should also expect more stability improvements and lesser crashes as the Season 2 update rolls out.

COD MW2 Season 2 – Multiplayer Updates

As noted in previous updates, one type of our audio occlusion system remained off in Multiplayer periodically after launch. Occlusion still existed in Multiplayer at this time but was not the newer and more advanced system. We have spent this time testing and re-implementing that occlusion system and are happy to report that it will be back online with the launch of Season 02.

Bonus and Ultimate perks will now be earned at a different rates. The cost of the bonus perk has been cut down by 50%, while the ultimate perks receive a 25% reduction in cost. This adjustment intends to allow Players to get Ghost earlier in matches, which in turn will better support Players looking to engage more aggressively. The blog also confirmed the arrival of five new weapons along with multiple weapon balance updates,

However, Infinity Ward hasn’t revealed much about the new additions and the rest of the bells and whistles coming to the community favorite mode, except that it’ll replace Tier 1 mode. The update is slated to release on February 15, just a day after Valentine’s is celebrated on February 14. Players should expect more details to be released soon regarding the multiplayer modes.

When Does COD MW2 And Warzone 2.0 Season 2 Release?

COD MW2 Season 2 update is scheduled to hit servers on February 15. Players can expect the full season 2 announcement blog to drop on February 8 – a week before the patch release. We also expect more information regarding the new map called Resurgence, along with details regarding the massive update to be released soon.

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