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Everything you need to know about Call of Duty: Black Ops/ Warzone Season 2
It's all change for Black Ops and Warzone once again – here's what's new.
The shores of Verdansk are storm soaked, as a new update has sailed through from Treyarch today. Following the seemingly mixed results of Rebirth Island’s inclusion in Season One, this latest Season update promises to kick off with a bang rather than a whimper. Strap in as we’ve got everything you need to know about this latest Black Ops x Warzone content drop.
Warzone and Double XP Launch
Call of Duty Black Ops Apocalypse
© Activision
The leading victor in the Battle Royale scene is gearing up to shake up Verdansk forever. There might not be a completely new map yet, but Raven have been working hard to ensure that the eventual event of rumoured nuclear blast will have an interesting impact on the game going forward. To ensure players get truly stuck in, Double XP across ranking and weapons will be live in both Black Ops and Warzone until March 1st 10AM PT / 6PM GMT. Before you drop in, you’ll need to make sure you have following space free on your platform of choice:
Xbox Series X|S: 17.9 GB
Xbox One: 17.9 GB
PlayStation 5: 17.0 GB
PlayStation 4: 17.0 GB
PC: 16.9 GB (Warzone Only) / 20.8 GB (Warzone + Modern Warfare)
Players will be keen to explore the new Points Of Interest (P.O.I) scattered around the newly updated battlefield. The Shipwreck P.O.I (emblazoned with The Vodianoy signage) greets players with a scare, as zombies have completely overtaken the mysterious wreck. If you’re willing to sacrifice a limb or two, then your tenacity will be rewarded with vast amounts of loot for your trouble. Amongst all that is a yellow key card that will grant access to crates of fantastic rewards.
Three missile silos have been added into Verdansk too. Supposedly discovered “by operators” in lore, these new P.O.Is are located at the following areas:
Here's where the missile silos are
© Activision
- Jarvdinsk Spomenik on top of the Military Base
- Zoszni Spomenik south east of the Hillside
- Styor Sompenik in the Park area
Again, these locations are full of valuable rewards that may give your squad an edge over the competition. Due to the cavernous nature of these silos, it is advised not to spend too long underground as the gas may lead to an early gulag visit.
Alongside these new additions come some subtractions, as certain areas have been disabled for player access. The fast travel subway line is no longer usable, removing the small enclosures for intense gunfights with them. Players will also notice a number of bunkers, specifically 00, 04, 05, 06, 09, and 11 have been removed too. It is currently unclear whether these will make a return later in the season.
Fans of Rebirth Island will be pleased to know that a new playlist – Rebirth Resurgence Extreme – will be added into rotation (as a Launch week mode) with the latest patch alongside Plunder: Blood Money Trios. This will remove Rebirth Island: Mini Royale Trios + Resurgence Quads and Plunder: Blood Money Quads.
An exciting new mode known as Exfiltration (included in Season) will see squads battling it out in a new twist on the Call of Duty’s well-established survival antics.
Rebirth Resurgence: Up to 99 players will drop onto Rebirth Island for an incredibly frenetic fight for supremacy, as they look to eliminate every last member of enemy squads to prevent them from getting a second, third, or even fourth chance at revenge. Just like Resurgence, squad members can spawn back in if their Rebirth Countdown hits zero and at least one of their allies is still alive, and specific Caches around the map will refresh their items frequently to ensure there is no shortage of firepower around the island.
Exfiltration: In this mode, a portable radio crackles into life, coming online somewhere in Verdansk. The Operator who secures this radio and holds onto it for a sufficient period of time automatically wins the game for their squad. To ensure their exfil isn’t by the book, anyone holding the radio is marked on the Tac Map as if they were under a Most Wanted Contract (High Value Target) with all Operators also receiving intel on how much longer the current radio holder has until they win. Other than this new win condition, the same Battle Royale rules apply. Expect a circle collapse and a winner to be determined by last squad standing, should nobody receive an early exfil with the radio.
As always the battle pass has another hundred tiers to successfully earn, with the new FARA 83 Assault Rifle, LC10 SMG, Machete melee weapon and four new operators to unlock along the way.
Zombies
PSA: letting zombies get this close to you is a bad idea
© Activision
The ongoing war between Omega and Requiem rages on, as a new massive-scale zombies experience has arrived. Outbreak drops players into one of three maps, extracted from the Warzone-style Fireteam mode. Tasked with completing a primary objective, squads will traverse these new maps in vehicles or by foot, whilst being chased by deadly undead foes. Objectives included holding down Dark Aether-affected locations in a classic survival style fashion or extracting test subjects into the Dark Aether itself as hordes of zombies attempt to tear you apart.
With Firebase Z launching only weeks ago, this is a rare treat for Zombies fans to get new content so soon. The trailer itself boasts daunting enemy types, such as the electrifying Tempest or the returning Mangler brutes. New players can dip their toes into this mode too, as free access is being offered from February 25th until March 4th (Onslaught mode will also be available to PlayStation owners during the trial period).
There are no plans currently to activate an Easter Egg-style quest in Season Two, but players shouldn’t fret as Season Three will include this and more. It is said the development is working on new ways to excite players with these quests, but for now, Outbreak can be enjoyed in a more simplistic fashion. The mode however does link into the Dark Aether story, so it is not to be missed whilst it's available.
Black Ops
Black Ops Season 2 unveils some new faces
© Activision
Cold War multiplayer isn’t messing around either when it comes to new supplements. Apocalypse, the first of four new multiplayer maps, is the first to arrive on the scene. A sweaty, gunpowder riddled cartel base deep in Laos jungle offers players fast paced, aggressive opportunities for 6v6 matches across Free For All, Kill Confirmed and the fan favourite Gun Game. If you’re looking to sink all your time into this new environment, an Apocalypse 24/7 playlist is now active for core modes and hardcore.
The new Death Machine scorestreak is available too. For 2,200 points, you’ll be able to wield a Terminator-style mini-gun to wipe out the enemy team. As mentioned, the excellent Gun Game makes a return back to the franchise. With 20 sets of weapons to progress through quickly, this frenzied free-for-all mode is sure to delight once again.
If large team play isn’t your groove and you’d like to test your metal elsewhere, Gunfight Blueprints has been updated to include new classes to assert tactical dominance, whether with friends or strangers alike.
If you’re looking to rank up faster for those Prestige levels, Season Two will also receive 20 new season challenges to be completed. Rewarding players with special calling cards and plentiful XP, these will be unlocked every 10 levels. Completing all the challenges will give you a reward of 10,000XP and an animated calling card for reaching Prestige Master.
Season Two of the Black Ops X Warzone collaboration is live now across all platforms.
