Call of Duty Modern Warfare's Warzone Season 4 is upon us. Almost a week since its release and by now even those with the slowest internet speeds should have completed its hefty download (more on that later). Season 4 brings about some exciting changes and events to their photorealistic battle-royale clash as well as a brand new 52 vs 52 team-death match – Rumble.
Before we get onto the new mode, let’s take a look at some of the updates to the primary MOBA game-mode. Once again, the Activision team has made some considerable changes along with the launch of their new season.
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In-game EventsWarzone season 4 sees the introduction of exciting new in-game events, currently capped at one-per-match. These include:
Fire Sales
We have all been there, you’re running along the Verdansk Dam, helicopters circling over head and the gas closing in.
“Ah if only I had the money for an Armor Pack!”
“Why, oh why, did my team-mates have to step onto that ridge? I told them not to go!”
“Maybe if I search just one or two more boxes, I’ll find enough cash to buy someone back.”
“What’s this? *Fire Sale Alert*”
Warzone’s latest update provides a saving grace for even the most impoverished of player. The flash sales offer huge discounts allowing you to stock up on all the equipment you need. They even offer free items including buybacks of your fallen teammates.
While the sales are significant, they don’t last for long so you will need to hurry. But be warned, you will not be the only players looking for a quick bargain so approach the buy-station with caution. What is more, they provide the perfect opportunity for hawkish players to take advantage of your desperation and snap you up while you’re making your purchase.
The fire sales bring about added drama, opportunities for team-redemption, and a source of hope even if your most despairing round of Warzone.
Our verdict: A valuable adrenaline-filled lifeline that may be just what you’re after in your time of need.
Jailbreaks
Flash sales are not the only way for dime-less players to have their teams resurrected. When a jailbreak occurs, every player in the Gulag, as well as players who have already failed in their Gulag opportunity and are now spectating, re-join the game en masse.
“Well that sounds great!” We hear you say. Be warned, alongside your fallen team-mates you need to prepare for a 100 fallen foes dropping from the sky. Players in the game will have a minute to prepare before the reinforcements arrive, so it may be a wise idea to scoop up some extra equipment, dig in, and look to the skies.
The jailbreak not only gives another opportunity for redemption, but an additional incentive not to leave the game once you’re seemingly out for the count.
Our verdict: A terrifying, exciting, and excellent injection of mayhem that keeps the battle royale genre fresh.
Supply Chopper
You hear the sound of helicopter blades rotating and look up to see if its an enemy team to be wary of. In reality, it’s quite the opposite. A bunch of armoured choppers packed with munitions and unique weaponry flying low over the map that can be shot down to provide a hefty equipment boost - almost as packed as a bunker.
The choppers are hardier than your standard CoD helicopter so make sure you’re packing some firepower if you want the goodies inside.
Our verdict: A fun addition that adds a new dynamic to Warzone’s gameplay.
Updated Weapon SetsEvents are not the only changes to Warzone’s main mode. Activision have once again updated the weaponry found in loot boxes around the map. The updated weapon sets bring some welcome amendments (the scope of the Karn98k will be a great addition for all you WW2 aficionados) as well as some changes that may catch-out players accustomed to previous gameplay (the common and uncommon versions of the M4A1 for example, are no longer fully automatic).
The equipment provided in the Gulag has also been mixed up. The most useful of which is the snapshot grenade. Whereas tactical equipment is largely defunct in the Gulag, revealing enemy positioning with the snapshot is extremely useful in the close-quarters one-on-one firefight.
Our verdict: Nothing to write home about, but a decent switch-up nonetheless.
The Warm-Up LobbyIn the only change that we believe is truly negative, players are now unkillable in the warm-up lobby. Now, as in Fortnite, players are no longer able to damage each other in the lobby making it a much more boring place to wait for your game to start. Despite the familiar ‘time to warm-up’ guidance over the radio, there is little to do but fly around and wait for the game to start.
Now players pass the time by freefalling or emptying their cartridges into the air Point-Break style. Although we must admit that tagging an invincible player with thermite and watching them bob around like a human firework does help the time pass a little quicker.
Activision did not reveal this change in their Season 4 patch notes, probably because they knew it would not be popular. Indeed on their website they still describe the in-game lobby as somewhere where you can gain experience which gives us hope that they will revert back to the previous format. Whether this change is permanent or just as a temporary measure to ease pressures on the servers is currently unclear, but we hope they will change it back soon.
Our verdict: Poor choice Activision, poor choice.
Contracts and Other Changes 
Image Credit: Activision
Alongside new weaponry, new blueprints, and bug fixes, there are also new lucrative contract types:
1) ‘Contraband’ - players must deliver a package to a drop point resulting in permanent blueprint unlocks. The contraband suitcase appears after the completion of another contract and must be completed by the player who carries it. So, keep your eyes peeled and make sure that your team-mates are watching your back.
2) ‘Most Wanted’ - a heart-thumping high-risk high-reward mission that highlights your location to all around but grants you generous financial rewards and another priceless opportunity to revive your team.
Our verdict: All in all, Warzone’s battle-royale updates offer some welcome changes. Yes, the download size is huge, but Activision have stated that they are working to reduce this and compress the game as much as possible post-download. For those unlucky Xbox players that may still be waiting for their download to finish…we say persevere! Warzone Season 4’s main-game updates are worth the wait.
And that’s before we even get onto Rumble.
Let’s get ready to RumbleThe most exciting feature of the season is undoubtedly the new game mode, Rumble. It sees teams of 52 vs 52 face off in a gigantic team deathmatch. Whereas the battle royale mode was a matter of careful survival and stealth, Rumble is addictive fast-paced chaos.
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If you’re looking to upgrade your loadouts and you don’t have the paid Call of Duty game, Rumble is the place to do it. You can expect to receive more weapon level-ups in one evening of Rumble than the rest of your Warzone experience combined. The developers may well soon decide to cap the experience that players receive in the new mode to balance things out, so if you’re after that new pink dragon paint job, now is the time to play.
Tips for Warzone Rumble:
With dozens of sniper scopes glimmering from the treelines like the eyes of hungry wolves, the Cold Blooded perk is especially useful if you don’t want to be picked up by ai targeting systems and thermal optics.
If you prefer to be a sniper than being sniped, then make sure you equip yourself with some flash-guards so no renegades in a jeep squash you in your hiding hole.
Update your loadouts; heartbeat sensors and Ghost are considerably less useful than they are in battle royale.
We are less than a week into the game and players are already locking down into their favourite camping positions. Gaining ground is far more difficult than it was in its first few days. Your greatest ally? The smoke grenade.
While running out of ammunition is rarely a problem in Warzone’s Battle Royale mode, it will become problematic for any long-term run in Warzone. The “Fully Loaded” weaponry perk is now essential.
If you value your life, for the love of everything that’s holy, don’t run in straight lines. Zig-zag!
How Rumble Could be Improved
So far, we love Rumble. It’s undeniably fun sneaking behind enemy lines or facing off with a great coalition of forces behind you. Still, we can’t help but wish that Activision took a few different choices that could make the mode even better. Every new season of a free-to-play game has its growing pains, and we hope that Warzone will make further changes to perfect their new exciting mode. We know we have some suggestions.
For starters, we are not huge fans of their map choices. The Rumble maps are rectangular sections of the main Warzone map. And some of them are a little underwhelming. It should not be difficult for Activision to change up which sections of the map are used. Of the sections they have chosen, some work better than others. Karst Bridge and Storage Town are excellent but the forested mountainous maps just don’t encourage dynamic gameplay. We want to see more and can’t help but suspect that Verdansk Prison would be perfect for this mode! Hopefully, Activision will offer us new locations soon.
Where are those tanks at? Warzone’s MOBA clashes give us a variety of vehicles but they are yet to provide any with firepower. Why not include some armoured vehicles with weaponry? It would bring an exciting new dynamic to the battlefield.
We’d also love to see some team-spawning solutions. For many gamers, the fun of Warzone was the ability to play with friends. But amidst the mayhem of Rumble, it is difficult to even find them, let alone to cooperate with them. The result is that playing Rumble with friends does not feel much different to playing it solo. Some sort of team-spawning solution could easily fix this.
Camping is going to be a big problem. To deal with the oversaturation of snipers, killstreak bonuses such as cluster strikes and precision airstrikes would be a welcome addition.
Finally, instead of a traditional Team Deathmatch, why not turn Rumble into a last-man standing mode on slightly larger maps that slowly decrease in size. It would encourage more careful gameplay, a diversification of tactics, and it would likely result in exciting situations wherein small, resilient crack-teams can pull of miraculous Alamo-style defences against huge forces.
What's more, there are more exciting updates to come. We hope you enjoyed our guide and review. Is there anything else you’d like to add? Let us know in the comments.
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