Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 & Warzone Season 3 impressions — Bringing out the .50 cal

Let’s not belabor the obvious. Since Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has launched, alongside the updates to Warzone, the game has been in a rut. Season 1 and 2 weren’t the overhauls or content machines we expected, and while good additions came in, it felt like the team was still fighting their way into the new unified engine. After two troubled cycles, the team took an extra few weeks to make sure Season 3 hit, and I can confirm it does, just like a player unable to run away from a Warzone Humvee.

Speaking of Warzone, let’s start there. Although left off last season's impressions due to almost no content, the Verdansk battle royale map headlines a loaded drop for the mode. Considering how Warzone has struggled immensely due to the lack of a new big map, this had to work out. Sure, nostalgia is a powerful weapon, but doing more than just re-inserting Verdansk into Warzone would be necessary in order to bring players back long-term.

What the teams at Raven Software, Beenox, and High Moon Studios have pulled off should be met with thunderous applause. I'm not the best person to consult on the state of the original map, given my time with the Verdansk was minimal. As a more recent Warzone enjoyer, however, I don't know that I've ever had the amount of fun I’ve had playing than right now.

There’s something about this map that plays to every style, whether you like to snipe, get in close for a flank, or something else. Simplicity is the game, getting rid of numerous additions to get back to how things began. Gone are things like ascension cables (beyond a few elevator shafts), lootable perks, redeploy balloons; heck, even the ground loot has been nerfed. Warzone feels like a battle royale again instead of a glorified multiplayer match.

Balancing that out is the faster time-to-kill. The TTK has largely been fine in my opinion in recent iterations, but the quicker version employed in Season 3 is in the sweet spot. This is again lending itself closer to Warzone’s original levels, and it works out beautifully in feeling fair. Even though snipers have gotten the best of it (we’ll talk about the HDR soon enough), becoming one-shot power houses, I’ve still felt like I can find a way to fight back even with an SMG or AR if I know how to make my moves in a calculated manner.

While some may bemoan the speed of the game, I haven’t felt hampered by the movement changes. Omnimovement was the big innovation coming through in Black Ops 6, and it has been nerfed a bit on Verdansk. In my first match or two, I felt a bit sluggish. After that initial period, however, everything settled in and it felt natural. Bringing back a more deliberate pace rather than watching players do backflips in your scope continues this theme of molding Warzone back into a battle royale. This also extends to getting around the map, as the lack of redeploy balloons on a big map forces you to use vehicles. I’ve been more than happy using these now because the map size generally allows for you to drive or fly around without being third-partied. A week into moving around on Verdansk, I’m confident this was the right call.

Another good call: the casual mode. There will be many modes coming into Warzone as the devs experiment, and right off the bat we’ve seen the return of classic royale, plunder, and more. A new injection to the formula has been casual mode; 28 players dropping in with 122 bots. As someone who needed time to adjust before fighting other players, being able to learn Verdansk this way has been a joy. Not only that, it’s a great way to warm up or grind for camos. I’ve done better in the regular battle royale mode because of it – please Raven, this needs to be a permanent fixture of Warzone.

I mentioned ground loot earlier, and while the returns can be slim, the reincarnation of Warzone as a battle royale makes it not only make sense, but forces players to learn the systems. Sure, I hate finding the lowest level PP-919 on the floor and that being my only weapon, but that encourages me to land in more populated areas and POIs to find better loot. Even if I don’t find them, doing multiple contracts rewards you incrementally with the cash to quickly buy a loadout, as well as side benefits like the recon contracts revealing new circle locations on your map. Speaking of buying things, buy stations have been nerfed in the best possible way, leaving the bare essentials available to purchase. All of these design choices are going to be initially shocking, but are so much better for the game than what has been there previously.

Back to the map itself, revisiting these iconic sites has been truly amazing. Whether roaming through Superstore, staring up at the humongous Stadium, or sprinting through Quarry, there’s something about the original design philosophy of this map that just works. Even in the open areas, I don’t feel like I’m constantly being watched by a sniper scope. That’s pretty impressive considering the player counts were bumped back up to 150 (another good decision). Yes, it comes into play eventually, but for the most part it seems like this map wasn’t created in a way that encourages griefing from long range. I’m reminded of how Rebirth fits in as a Resurgence map, where you can tell it’s built to the mechanics of the gameplay rather than the gameplay needing to be retrofitted for it. Maybe this is simply a product of being the perfect Warzone map, but it truly is.

That brings us to the in-between of Warzone and multiplayer: the new weapons. There is a smattering of steel to add to your armory, with four brand new boomsticks. Three of these are actual weapons, with the HDR sniper rifle, Kilo 141 assault rifle, and the CR-56 Amax assault rifle entering loadouts. A conversion kit brings in the fourth, with the Swat 5.56 converting into the Grau. All these will be familiar to you if you were into Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2019, because this season is clearly inspired by that game and bringing back the feel of when Warzone launched.

Starting with the Kilo, this gun is so easy to use. The iron sights on it remind me of the Taq-56 from Modern Warfare II, which allows you to possibly choose an extra attachment instead of an optic if you were comfortable with that one. Beside an initial burst of vertical recoil, the Kilo 141 shoots extremely straight, and with a few attachment choices, you can have it barely moving. The damage profile still sits around 4-5 bullets, and with how it fires I’d still say the AMES 85 or CR-56 Amax is the better choice, but it’s a great option at the top of the meta in both Warzone and multiplayer.

The CR-56 Amax follows that up, being a strong contender for the best assault rifle in the overall game and definitely the meta for Warzone. Just listening to the roar of gunfire from it communicates the ferocity this weapon has inside. It’s another easy to shoot gun, and with the right attachments becomes a pain to fight against. I think it’s still in the top tier of assault rifles in multiplayer without being the best, but it’s so fun to use in Warzone. There’s a stickiness it has when firing at your targets I haven’t found with many other weapons in-game, so it’s worth keeping on hand no matter what area of Verdansk you’re on.

With one-shot sniping returning, it seemed obvious that the HDR would be great. I just didn’t realize the magnitude of how impressive it would be. This sniper is extremely accurate, with few detractors to it in recoil or handling. My only qualms are the rechambering speed, as it takes a moment to get your second shot off, and the stock scope which encompasses your entire view. Alas, there are more important attachments for this gun that supersede changing either of those. Still, the pros outweigh the cons here; the HDR hits like a truck and is a necessary part of Warzone as it stands now and is in the upper echelon of multiplayer snipers.

Although some may be disappointed in the Grau returning as a conversion kit rather than a full weapon, this gun is outstanding. Beyond its steady fire and great choice of iron sights (while it doesn’t follow the phenomenal originals, they’re still good), the Grau packs a wallop with a quick rate of fire and good damage range. There’s a bit of bounce to the recoil, but it’s not enough to hurt your aim if you know what you’re doing. I don’t know yet if I’d put it at the top of the meta, but it’s a more than solid option in the well-balanced arsenal Treyarch and Raven have crafted.

Moving into multiplayer, the weapons may be the star of the show, but three new maps and two new modes add flavor to the experience. Each map is a very different experience, with one a medium-sized 6v6, another a smaller 2v2, and a remastered 6v6 map that is somewhere in between. The remaster is Firing Range, and it’s just how you remember it. Personally, this is a choice I like due to the nostalgia, but as soon as I boot into the map, I’m not fond of it. This is because most matches devolve into wallbang shots from the thin-walled, newly constructed nature of the map, and also the propensity of players to sit in power positions or on a heady where you can barely see them. With so many great lanes to take on this map, most of it comes up futile when you run into an area and get teamshot by multiple players sitting on the second floors of opposing buildings.

Thankfully, these annoyances don’t continue to Barrage or Nomad. Barrage is the 6v6 map, and this might be the closest to a new competitive map as we’ve seen in the Black Ops 6 era. It is a bit small, but the lanes make sense, as do the Hardpoint locations. There is more of a flow to Barrage than I’ve seen previously, which makes it simpler to get set up and move around the map with whatever weaponry you’d like to work with. There aren’t many loadout combinations that won’t work on Barrage, which makes this an A+ addition. It’s being tested in the Ranked Play mode, and after my initial impressions, I hope it makes it in permanently, at least in Hardpoint.

Nomad is a map I wish was bigger, if only because it’s arguably the best small map we have. This dusty desert map is littered with hills, alleys, broken brick walls, and a tower towards the middle. The lanes are well defined and this is another map with a surprisingly good flow. While I don't think a sniper works best, the flanking is fantastic, making this a good map to grind your SMGs, secondaries, and more on.

Zombies has been hit or miss for me, but Shattered Veil is a spectacular win. Set at a dilapidated mansion that has a T-Rex skeleton in the foyer and a secret facility in the basement, this is a perfect medium-sized Zombie map, existing somewhere between Liberty Falls and Terminus. It’s not just a great aesthetic, with the design of the map being nearly flawless.There’s a wonderful flow that takes you through every section of the map, with plenty of room in several areas to maneuver around undead hordes. Compared to last season’s claustrophobic The Tomb, this is much more open.

While I haven’t finished it yet, there are a lot of steps to the Easter Egg main quest, making for an intense and meaty experience. It also doesn't seem too tough; while there are some wild fights, there haven't been a lot of moments where you're trapped in a small room hoping to survive. My crew intentionally quit at our longest run of round 22, and I feel like even Liberty Falls was harder.

The other addition to Zombies is the iconic Double Tap perk-a-cola. This soda ups your fire rate, which can be both a blessing and a curse. Depending on what weapon you decide to use in your loadout, you’re either going to be having a great time shredding zombies, or possibly concerned about unloading too many stray bullets. I love it with an LMG, but not so much if I’m running with a pistol with limited ammunition available. It also has some fun augments to play with, but nothing I’d consider a must-have beyond the additional fire rate one.

Two new enemies also make their way onto the map: the returning Elder Disciple boss Zombie and Toxic Zombies. The Disciple will be familiar to vets with its robes and levitating form. It’s best to kill them quickly, as their abilities revolve around empowering the horde. Let one stick around too long and not only will more emerge, but they will also evolve into deadlier foes. This one is definitely not as tough to take down as other bosses, but will still require plenty of bullets. Toxic Zombies are the new “dog round”, shrieking sprinters who explode in a puff of gas you’ll have to avoid. I’d suggest finding an open area when this round begins, because you don’t want to get trapped in a corner with these guys running around.

Rounding out the new additions to Zombies are the Wonder Weapons, with the Ray Gun Mark II and Wunderwaffe DG-2 joining the party. The Ray Gun is the main one you’ll encounter as it pops up in the Main Quest, and its upgrades are super cool. Beginning as more of a standard ray gun, you have the opportunity to turn it into three different forms: an SMG, shotgun, or marksman. The Wunderwaffe is iconic and remains so in its appearance, allowing you to stun and fry zombies with its powerful electrical charges. While it may not be new, it’s certainly still fun.

As silly as this sounds, I feel like the battle pass isn’t nearly as extravagant as it has been in season’s past; same with the bundles we’re finding in the store. I still think there’s a lot of good in them both, and even a few standouts, but there’s not been much that feels special. Maybe this is a good thing – the actual in-game content for the season has been fantastic – but it’s noticeable that the attention hasn’t been on the store in Season 3. Even so, we got Jay and Silent Bob this split, so all is forgiven.

There’s no question about it; Season 3 is a big victory for the developers and the community. Not only have they managed to bring back Verdansk, but it plays incredibly well in this new format of Warzone. The fresh arsenal is both a callback to what was, but usher in a new era in the meta for both multiplayer and battle royale, and the new maps flow better than most. All of this, alongside what I’d deem the best DLC Zombie map so far, and I cannot be more pleased about the content. Sure, there’s work to be done – hackers are still in the game even with Ricochet doing a better job this season – but the initial state of the game at a season's launch is much better than it’s been in past seasons. It’s awesome to see Treyarch, Raven, and company bring out the big guns; the impact will be felt on Black Ops 6 and Warzone for quite some time.