Though divisive, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare had its share of intriguing ideas. While many focused on how it was full of futuristic weaponry and was the first entry in the series to feature advanced movement, it also included mechanics like customizable killstreaks that would be great to see again one day. Further, it featured character customization better than anything else in the franchise.
Recently, Call of Duty has leaned into the games-as-a-service approach with its battle pass and in-game marketplace full of purchasable bundles. All the items within the bundles are purely cosmetic so as not to provide a tactical advantage, and for the most part, Call of Duty has done a fine job of making these packages enticing. However, one way to make the system better would be to let players customize their character as much as they could in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, mixing and matching the pieces they get from each bundle.
How Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare’s Cosmetic Approach Could Be Revived
Modern Call of Duty games have focused on Operators, characters that either stem from the campaign or are crafted exclusively for multiplayer. With the Operator system, players will pick between several characters that have unique voices, finishing moves, and appearances. Though Operators were only given proper depth in Call of Duty: Vanguard, it could be expanded upon once again in future games, and one way to do that would be through individual pieces of clothing.
In Sledgehammer Games’ Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, players were able to choose between a number of clothing pieces to make their character look very different from others in the sci-fi shooter. Players could customize their tops, pants, helmets, glasses, knee pads, and shoes, allowing for some truly diverse character designs. Though most of these items were acquired through the divisive supply drop system, having dozens of gear pieces in each category was terrific.
With Operators, Call of Duty fans simply cannot get that same level of customization. They can choose between the default appearance, or purchase and unlock alternate skins. However, there is no option to equip just a piece of an outfit, as players are stuck wearing the entire skin, whereas in Advanced Warfare pieces from various sets could be mixed and matched. Further, players may dislike an Operator but love one of their skins, or vice versa. This forces them to miss out on playing on a character they love because that Operator does not have access to a desired skin.
Obviously, making every skin compatible with every Operator is not viable, as it would require an absurd amount of work for Call of Duty’s developers. Likewise, Call of Duty’s monetization has been successful for Activision, so any drastic change is unlikely. However, one way to revive the Advanced Warfare concept of customizable soldiers would be through the Mil-Sim characters. These Operators lack specific stories and are just generic soldiers, with players currently able to pick from a handful of realistic outfits for them.
In the next Call of Duty game, a “blank slate” Mil-Sim option could be added. Players could be able to do some basic customization for skin tone and hairstyle, and from there, they could unlock and purchase new gear pieces for their Mil-Sim Operator. Similar to the Modern Warfare 2 Weapon Vaults which apply an appearance to every attachment for every gun, Operator Vaults could let players wear unlocked gear on Mil-Sim characters from either faction. Players could buy individual helmets and tops from the shop, or bundles that collect a few sets. Mil-Sim rewards could also make seasonal challenges more interesting, as they would be exciting to strive for without stopping people from having an interest in purchasing Operator skins. Letting players combine various gear pieces like in Advanced Warfare would be interesting, and through the use of Mil-Sim Operators, it just might be possible.
Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is available now on PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, and Xbox One.
