Given the increased scale of Call of Duty: Warzone 2 and how it is predictably aiming to exceed the expectations set by its successful 2020 predecessor Warzone, the changes made offer some comprehensive differences to the franchise’s core gameplay. Ranging from new maps and vehicles to entirely new modes, there are many unique elements offered by Warzone 2 that fans should become familiar with before playing.
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Warzone 2.0’s New Map: Al Mazrah
Like many expected prior to the game’s launch, Warzone 2 features a brand-new map called Al Mazrah, to give the title a unique sense of identity and to better match the tone of the game to the core narrative of Modern Warfare 2’s campaign. Al Mazrah is the capital city of the fictional country of the United Repubic of Adal, and possesses the necessary scale and infrastructure of such a location.
The map is decidedly ambitious, with Al Mazrah being larger than Verdansk, the fan-favorite original map of the first Warzone. Containing points of interest ranging from a sprawling city to a floating island fortress, there are an abundance of locations for fans to explore within Al Mazrah.
Al Mazrah also debuts some brand-new changes to the circle mechanics of Warzone 2. The maps of most battle royales have long been typified by shrinking circular safe zones that players must remain in, forcing opponents into an ever-contracting environment with one another to ensure combat and chaos. This formula is taken even further with Warzone 2, as end-game circles will be able to duplicate and branch off, containing two separate safe zones that fracture the late-game player count into different areas of the map that then re-form at the very end of a match.
Warzone 2.0’s New Mode: DMZ
DMZ is a separate mode to the standard battle royale gameplay of Warzone 2, speaking further to the ambition of the freshly launched title. The DMZ mode of Warzone 2 is greatly inspired by the popular shooter Escape From Tarkov, with the new mode necessitating scavenging, perma-death, and exfiltration as core motifs to its gameplay.
In DMZ, players drop into an Al Mazrah greatly populated by AI enemies as well as other player operators, with AI strongholds also being a factor of standard Warzone 2 gameplay. With the player then having to loot and scavenge for resources, cash, and equipment, the player has the freedom to exfiltrate at any time, keeping what they have gathered for their next mission. Should a player become too greedy and die, they lose all of their gathered loot and progress, fostering an addictive high risk versus high reward environment.
Warzone 2.0’s New Gulag
The Gulag was a defining feature of the original Warzone and the franchise’s identity, greatly setting the title apart from the many other battle royales within the industry. Warzone’s Gulag provides an opportunity for two eliminated players to fight each other to the death in a small map, with the winner then re-deploying back into the lobby.
This successful formula has undergone some changes within Warzone 2, with the standard Gulag now being 2v2 combat as opposed to 1v1. As well as this, a powerful enemy AI known as the Jailer will be deployed into a Gulag fight after a certain amount of time has elapsed, with the players then having to choose between either continuing fighting one another or forming a tentative alliance. Should the players within a Gulag team up against the Jailer and kill him, all surviving players will win re-deployment, regardless of being on different teams.
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Warzone 2.0: New Vehicles and Underwater Combat
Vehicles have always been a core aspect of the Warzone experience, and Warzone 2 introduces some heavy-duty new additions. The Heavy Chopper is a brand-new aerial vehicle introduced in Warzone 2., necessitating resilience over firepower with its heavy armor and flare-releasing capabilities. The Hummer EV has also been introduced, being a form of advertisement for the real-world all-electric vehicle.
Aquatic combat is another new addition with Warzone 2, adding an entirely new element of combat for players to engage in and be weary of. With players able to shoot and dive to the depths of the many bodies of water around Al Mazrah, the range of Warzone 2’s combat opportunities speaks for itself.
Warzone 2.0: Proximity Chat, Buy Stations, and Third-person Playlists
One of the biggest allures of Warzone 2 is the addition of proximity chat to its core gameplay. A staple of some of the original battle royales like H1Z1, Warzone 2 will arguably be the most high-profile battle royale to feature the ability to hear and talk to enemy players at close distances. With things like interrogations also being added to Warzone 2 to find out where enemies are, players are already salivating at the potential interactions that proximity chat could bring.
Buy stations have also undergone changes in Warzone 2, with players no longer being able to purchase their full loadouts (which was the meta of the original Warzone) and only being able to buy individual weapons instead. The final most comprehensive change that has come with Warzone 2 is the existence of third-person playlists, which offer a huge spin to the standard FPS gameplay that Call of Duty is otherwise synonymous with. It is clear that Warzone 2 had to implement changes to compete with the popularity of the original game, and the game has spared no expense in doing so.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is available now on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
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