The recent Call of Duty: Warzone made many changes from its 2020 predecessor. In order to keep things fresh, the title boldly altered the core experience of the battle royale franchise with the likes of introducing AI and strongholds.
The new gameplay formula for Call of Duty: Warzone has been met with a fair amount of criticism, and this is something that Activision has clearly kept in mind with the recent Season 4 for the title. Season 4 of Warzone has made many bold alterations to the game, some of which have been long-demanded among the game's community. With this in mind, it might be a case of too little, too late when it comes to Warzone's new identity.
Call of Duty: Warzone's Season 4 Changes
It is clear to see why Season 4 of Warzone is drawing so much attention. Season 4 is arguably the most expansive update that the new Warzone has received, even introducing a brand-new map called Vondel. As well as including a new battle pass, weapons, and a dynamic weather system, Season 4 has also seen some important blanket changes be made across Warzone.
One of these major changes sees the player's base health increased in Call of Duty: Warzone. Thanks to Season 4, players will now spawn with 150 health as standard, as opposed to the previous health pool of 100. Combined with armor plates, players can now have up to 300 heath at maximum, greatly increasing the time to kill within the title. A fast time to kill has been one of the most vocal complaints regarding Warzone, and it is clear that Activision is attempting to rectify this.
The other important change that came to Warzone with Season 4 sees AI be removed from strongholds. Previously, AI combatants could be found quite regularly across Warzone, being labeled a frustrating and unnecessary distraction by many. Following Season 4, AI will now only be found in blacksites, leaving strongholds completely open to AI-free exploration.
The Timing of Call of Duty: Warzone's Season 4 Changes
While the Season 4 Call of Duty: Warzone changes do well to address some longstanding issues, the timing of the changes is difficult to ignore. Fans already appear quite receptive of these changes, yet these are alterations that players have been calling for since the release of Warzone in 2022.
For example, the player count for Call of Duty:Warzone has dropped significantly in recent months. In this way, the recent changes to the game may only be applying to the remaining player base who did not mind the original feel of Warzone to begin with. It will be difficult to regain this lost audience of Warzone, especially with Season 4's launch being somewhat marred by the high-profile controversy surrounding top CoD streamers such as NICKMERCS and Dr Disrespect.
With these kinds of changes being demanded by fans for four whole seasons, it is clear to see why many are quite indifferent to them finally being implemented. Considering that the new Vondel map will take center stage with these new changes, the entire Al Mazrah era of the new Warzone is now forever associated with a different style of gameplay.
It remains that the new changes with Warzone's Season 4 are positive, and are clearly something that the playerbase strongly believes needed to be implemented. With that being said, the seven-month wait for TTK and AI changes is quite unacceptable, and may have turned many players off to Warzone indefinitely.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
