Loadout Drops and Buy Stations in Warzone 2 are changing amid community backlash following the Season 1 Reloaded update.
We know what you're thinking – there was already a big Call of Duty: Warzone 2 update earlier this week with the launch of Season 1 Reloaded, and now there's another one? Confused? You're not alone.
The patch notes for Wednesday's update contained a lot of changes, but it didn't once mention any decrease in the number of Buy Stations across Al Mazrah. Even so, the eagle-eyed Call of Duty community quickly noticed that there were fewer Buy Stations than usual after installing the update.
Although we'll probably never know for sure, it seems that this change was an unintended one, because Call of Duty devs have now confirmed that a second update has gone live which doubles the average number of Buy Stations per match.
One more for the pile
Raven Software confirmed that the Season 1 Reloaded update did in fact reduce the number of Buy Stations, but stopped short of confirming if this original change was intentional, so we'll give it the benefit of the doubt and assume something went wrong somewhere. With all the bugs and issues Warzone 2 has suffered since launch, what's one more to add to the pile, ay?
This update also includes significant changes to the Loadout Drop public event. This now happens during the second circle, which is one circle earlier than before. These events drop a specific number of loadouts in random locations across Al Mazrah, but unlike in the original Warzone, these are available for any player to use, rather than being targeted. So, expect to have company.
Added to the fact that the Season 1 Reloaded update upped the number of Strongholds from three to five, these changes will give Warzone 2 players a much-increased chance of grabbing their custom loadout, compared to just a few days ago. On that note, if you're not running with the best RPK loadout as your primary weapon right now, you really should be.
This is yet another flip-flop decision from Activision, and it isn't even the first of this week. The publisher confirmed on Wednesday, prior to the big update, that it would not be introducing Combat Records for Season 1 Reloaded, despite promising that it would be.
This means that Warzone 2 players still don't have any way of checking simple stats related to their multiplayer performance, including kills and battle royale wins. This feature has been a basic staple of the series, and shooters in general for years, so it's absence is a big deal, especially for competitive players who want to monitor their progress. But it's just another problem in a long line of missteps from Activision, and given that Warzone 2 has only been out for one month, it doesn't fill me with confidence for the future of the game.