Ditching the linear level progression still used by most games, Call of Duty’s new battle pass will adopt a system reminiscent of that seen in Fortnite, where players have more freedom in which battle pass items they can unlock and when. Activision’s battle pass overhaul presents itself as a multi-sector map, with players able to unlock five items in each of its 20 sectors using earned Battle Token Tier skips. These tokens can either unlock more items within an already available sector or unlock adjacent sectors. Season 1 will see two new weapons - the Victus XMR Sniper Rifle and BAS-P SMG - added to the battle pass, with two more (the Chimera Assault Rifle and M13B Assault Rifle) available either through mid-season store bundles or Weapon Unlock Challenges. It also brings six new Operators: Zeus, Klaus, and Gaz, plus the three previously teased footballer cameos from Neymar Jr., Paul Pogba, and Leo Messi. And if that isn’t enough to be getting on with, Activision has also detailed a new Prestige Rank, which is earned after levelling past Rank 55 and will persist across all seasons. Prestige Rank 1 unlocks at Rank 56, with other levels unlocking at Rank 100, 150, 200, and 250 - each granting a new set of challenges and rewards. As for Warzone 2.0, Activision has plenty to say on that front too, including a few early details on the game’s new DMZ mode - an “open-world, narrative-focused extraction mode” where players can complete faction-based missions and side objectives as they battle enemy Operators and AI combatants on their way to exfiltration. Season 1 will also see changes to custom Loadouts, with players able to purchase primary weapons from shops during play, while Loadouts must be earned by clearing out AI-controlled Strongholds and Black Sites, or by capturing Loadout Drops. There’s a load more to be found in Activision’s exhaustive blog post, including word on the new vehicles, fuel mechanics, and aquatic combat coming to Warzone 2.0, as well as details on its overhauled 2v2 Gulag. Essentially, while players can still get back to Al Mazrah by defeating human opponents in the Gulag, all occupants can now earn a return ticket by teaming up and defeating a powerful AI-controlled Jailer, which will appear after a time. All this (and a load more) arrives next Wednesday, 16th November, as part of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0’s Season 1.
