The upcoming Call of Duty Season 4 Reloaded update is highlighted by its flashy Operator skins, including a collaboration with the hit Amazon Prime show The Boys. While these character skins are certainly visually appealing and have generated a lot of buzz, they seem to be covering up some of the season’s major problems, such as the implementation of another pay-to-win Operator, a new automatic shotgun, and multiple baffling gameplay mechanics. Season 4 Reloaded still shows lots of promise, but it may be overshadowed by the myriad of issues revealed as part of the roadmap.
Season 4 Reloaded, which launches on July 12, will include the Homelander, Starlight, and Black Noir Operator skins from The Boys.
As with past licensed character skins featured in Call of Duty, these look great and will likely be popular items within the in-game store. Despite this, it seems like Activision is using the upcoming Operator bundles as a distraction from some of the season’s less appealing features, such as the return of the Occupation Scan in-match event in Warzone.
Once the Occupation Scan commences, players have a short amount of time to go prone, or else they’re revealed on the mini-map for all their opponents to see. This was featured on Rebirth Island in the original Warzone and was easily one of the worst parts of any given match. This is because it interrupts the flow, forcing everyone to stop moving temporarily. Countless gunfights were ruined due to this pointless mechanic, so we’re not looking forward to its return during Season 4 Reloaded.
Another odd addition is the Portable Redeploy Drone, which allows players to launch themselves into the air to reposition. While this is seemingly a welcome new feature, the Portable Redeploy Drone is a one-time-use item and is only usable by a single player. In the past, Portable Redeploy Drones allowed for multiple uses, and it’s unclear why Activision is changing how the device works in the upcoming season. They won’t be anywhere near as useful this time around.
Season 4 Reloaded will also include the new MX Guardian fully-auto shotgun. Throughout all of Warzone’s lifecycle, Activision has tried and failed to implement balanced shotguns — but they’re always either too strong, or useless. Typically, new weapons are overpowered at first to encourage players to buy the in-game bundles, before Activision nerfs them. The same will likely happen with the MX Guardian, which will probably dominate the meta for the first week or so.
Most egregiously, Season 4 Reloaded’s The Boys Black Noire Operator appears to be the next iteration of Roze, which was previously a pay-to-win skin. Players wearing the all-black Roze skin were near-impossible to see in dimly lit areas, giving them an unfair advantage. The new Black Noire skin looks identical to Roze and we anticipate players will flock to the bundle before it gets nerfed (just like the MX Guardian shotgun). It’s unfathomable that — even after numerous complaints — all-black Operator skins continue to be featured.
Once Activision nerfs and/or fixes many of these issues, it can portray itself as a company that “listens” to its community — but the reality is that these issues shouldn’t have been in the game, to begin with. Activision is trying to have its cake and eat it, too, juicing the monetization of its various bundles, before receiving praise for fixing the countless issues plaguing its games.
Hopefully, it doesn’t take too long for these issues to be addressed, but as history has shown, Activision is often slow to react, even after immense outcry from the community.
