Call Of Duty: Warzone has been out for a few seasons, and while it has some great ideas, there's still plenty of room for improvement. Season 5 launches this week, but before you sink your teeth into that, we've detailed 11 things that the game needs to change to make it a better experience. Some of these changes include a better drop system, expanded communication ping wheel, improved armor mechanics, better climbing system, balancing, and major map changes and events. Whether or not we end up seeing these adjustments made with Season 5 could only be a matter of time. Regardless, we'll be sure to update this feature accordingly with our latest ideas to improve the game.
We've written what we think can improve below, but you're welcome to watch the video version of this feature above. Regardless, what are your ideas on balance and how to improve Warzone? What just sticks in your craw when you play? Let us know in the comments below, if your ideas are great we might make another feature and video.
Make Team Drop More Like Apex
In Warzone, it's a frequent bother for squad leaders picking a drop point to have their teammates bail out separately from them and scatter to the wind. This isn't an issue in Apex Legends, which has the ideal system that allows the team leader to drop the squad all at once, so at least everyone ends up on the same part of the map, and then anyone who wants to can peel off. We're hoping Warzone can implement the same in its team drop mechanics in a future update.
Expand The Ping System
There are times in a match when you need your team to watch a specific area, or not do something, or split cash to buy back someone from death, or do any other number of important, time-sensitive things you can't communicate off-mic. Communication is everything in a battle royale, so something like a robust ping and response system would help those who want to talk to their teammates without hopping on mic. Again, Apex Legends does this really well, and Warzone should learn from it. It feels dreadful not to be able to say things like thank you to fellow players.
Aggressive Ban Hammer
We need a better ping system in part because many players have good reasons to be off-mic. Games like Rainbow Six Siege have mastered the art of the ban for toxic behavior, racist names, and anything else that makes their game a less welcoming place. One Call Of Duty studio, Infinity Ward, recently tweeted that they will crackdown and hand out permanent bans for repeat offenders, which is excellent; this has been a problem for many, many years. We're going to keep this one in subsequent improvement lists until we see it implemented because if you want to play Warzone, you should always feel welcomed by the community.
That Main Menu
Confusing UI aside, a few of us in the office have had the experience on PS4 where the main menu spins up our console's fans to an alarming hovercraft speed. Some of us have even had our console shut down from overheating because of the main menu. At this point, many of us would prefer a simple text-based menu that doesn't make our PS4s scream in agony. Thank you.
Run Faster With Your Fists Out
We've had it good with movement in Apex Legends for too long to go back. When that gas cloud is closing in, and all you picked up was an LMG and a Rocket that reduce your run speed to John Woo levels of slow-motion, you really need to put all the guns away and run faster--like significantly faster. There are indeed ways to build this with double time and a knife, but we want it all the time. Let us run faster when we've only got our fists out.
Interesting World-Changing Events
It may not have happened yet, but we're hoping a future season will have character drama and substantial map changes, such as nukes going off in challenges. So far, we've just made it into a few bunkers, been stuck on a frozen winter map through the summer, and sold winter- or cold- themed items in the store.
We say this because Fortnite has been doing fantastic map-altering events and "you had to be there" moments for years now. It's also hard to get excited about characters we know nothing about. Please give us the animated shorts and stories outside the game. There have been leaks that Season 5 might finally deliver on some of this, and we're ready.
Change the Armor System
Several folks in the GameSpot office would like to see the game's armor system change. The current armor system causes players to waste plates because it's limited to filling or topping off one of three armor bars. Instead, plates should give you a fixed number of armor points, the full 50 points per plate, and potentially spill over from one armor bar into the next. We could also use a bit more variety in terms of armor rarity.
Teachable Challenges
One of the best games of all time, Titanfall 2 (fight us), had a system of challenges that forced you to get good with each weapon. Those challenges were based on showing the player what a gun was made to do. Far too many challenges in Warzone are simply chores or have nothing to do with the weapon blueprint they unlock. We're talking even simple stuff like teaching players to make sniper kills from the edge of the gas or use RPGs to destroy vehicles.
Currently, there are even broken challenges that don't count, which can be frustrating to experience after spending hours trying to complete them. Overall, the end rewards for Warzone Challenges aren't very good, and that needs to change.
Improved Climbing System
Far too many times, you'll be on the run from the gas and get hung up on cliffsides or unclimbable rocks. When it comes to terrain, there isn't a reliable way to tell what is and isn't climbable, and there's nothing worse than getting got because your ankle snagged. It'd be nice if players could reliably understand what can and can't be scaled in the heat of battle.
Better Gas Masks
Equipping the gas mask should be a one-time thing. The automatic and unskippable animation when removing the mask near the edge of the gas messes with gunplay and gets players killed. It's incredibly frustrating to be caught in this during a key moment in a gunfight.
Balance
Okay, this is tricky to request. To give credit where it is due, developer Infinity Ward has implemented plenty of balance changes like nerfing the Grau and making loadout drops more expensive. It's just that there isn't much room for creativity with perks in the final circles. If you don’t have Cold-Blooded to stay off thermal sniper scopes, or EOD so you don’t get vaporized by C4 and RPGs, you're at a considerable disadvantage. We'd like to see more risk/reward with loadout creativity than dominant tactics. But seriously, keep up the good work, Infinity Ward!
