Warzone 2.0, much like other Battle Royale games, starts with players jumping out of a plane onto the map and looting designated Points of Interest (POIs). This gives players a lot of freedom on where they wish to start each match and the loot they may get. With a total of 18 named POIs to choose from, it can be slightly overwhelming for those who may not be familiar with the map or the locations. If players are familiar with some of the maps on Modern Warfare 2, players may find some comfort in knowing that these locations are based on maps from that game.
This list will give players a good idea of where they may want to drop, the risk level, and the pros/cons of starting their Warzone journey at each location. Although each place may not necessarily be "better" than others. It will benefit players to know which locations are most popular and why.
7 Rohan Oil
Rohan oil can be found in the NW corner of Al Mazrah with lots of buildings mixed with the open area players will have a blast running through here eliminating their enemies. Once players find themselves in a comfortable position with their loadout they may want to post up on one of the oil drums giving them a height advantage over other players.
In the southern portion of this location, players will find a range of small buildings littered with vehicles giving them lots of access to the rest of the map. From here players can travel to Quarry or Al Mazrah City to take on a new group of enemies or travel north to Taraq Village where they may find fewer enemies but more locations to loot.
Although this isn't one of the more popular areas on the map, players will find it easy to loot and take on a few enemies without being overwhelmed. This can be a great place for newer players to begin experiencing Warzone without diving into the deep end. However, if players wish for a slightly more passive experience journey slightly West to find a small village with enough buildings to loot in a solo match
6 Airport
If players are familiar with the original iteration of the Warzone Airport, they may feel right at home here. At a first glance, it seems oddly identical to the airport players may be familiar with, but there are some drastic changes that changed the way players may engage in combat here. The open area on the runway will see much less utilization, as there is less reason to cross due to the Southside facing the water, an area of the map that will not be used during main gameplay.
The large building is full of tight corridors mixed with open areas giving players a varied engagement experience when first dropping into the match. Once players are comfortable with the loot they have gained it's recommended they travel to the rooftop where they can look through the skylight windows to take out enemies still looting at the start of the match.
As this is an Airport, players can expect enough transport to reach the middle of the map or journey out to the Fortress where players may find some straggling enemies looking for a fight. From here players can also travel to Akhdar village or the Observatory to prepare for the next circle shrinkage.
5 Ahkdar Village
Ahkdar Village is the first location on this list that is situated towards the center of the Al Mazrah map. With buildings packed close together and lots of levels/floors, it can be hard for new players to not feel overwhelmed here, however, if the player is an experienced Battle Royale veteran they may want to take on the challenge and benefit from the awesome amount of loot they can find.
At the center, players will find a square building with a courtyard in the middle that houses the buy station which can be easily defended in a firefight by using the surrounding architecture. It's very likely players will find enough money in this area to buy one of the weapons from the buy station. This can help players to gain a more versatile set of weapons to take on enemies at multiple engagement ranges.
4 Al Barga Fortress
Al Barga Fortress is situated at the very South of the map. As its own island, players will find this has somewhat of an arena feel as players here are detached from the rest of the conflict.
If players are looking for an early gunfight and some quick loot, Fortress can be a great place to start, however, there can be limited vehicles that spawned here making it hard to travel to the center of the map when the circle shrinks. For experienced players, this may not be a problem but for new players jumping into Warzone for the first time, this may not be a POI they feel ready to tackle.
3 Al Sharim Pass
Al Sharim Pass is definitely one of the more underwhelming locations found in Al Mazrah, but it can be a safe bet if players are going for the win. There are only a few buildings here but if players are competing in the solo or duo category they may find enough loot here to suffice in the early stages of the game
This location can be found extremely close to a few others such as Observatory, Ahkdar Village, and Marshlands making it a good spot to infiltrate other teams who may have dominated their POI.
2 Al Mazrah City
AL Mazrah City is effectively the "Tilted Towers" of the Warzone 2.0 map. This location features a lot of high-rise buildings full of loot and money for players to get their specified weapons and utility from buy stations. The City can be a great spot for players to pick up some early kills and get the weapons needed to dominate in multiple engagements, however, as this location is rich with weapons and utility players will find a storm of enemies in their wake.
For seasoned players of the FPS genre, this can be a good location to test the player's mettle and get an early advantage over the rest of the players in the lobby
1 Observatory
Last but not least, Observatory. This location can be found right in the center of the Al Mazrah map on top of the highest hill. Not only does this help to separate players from the other locations on the map it also gives them a high point to parachute and quickly flee from any unwanted engagements.
This location features diverse buildings with large domes to give players lots of height advantage when needed. It will take some time to get used to this location as the terrain does vary a lot throughout, but once players have mastered this spot they will easily have one of the best starts possible in a Warzone 2.0 match.
As the game changes and developers make updates to the map we may see some other POIs become more popular than others mentioned on this list. We will have to wait and see what the future holds with the release of Season 2.
Warzone 2.0 is currently available on Xbox, PlayStation, and PC through Steam and Battle.net.