Season 2 is here for Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. And with it comes a long list of updates, changes, additions, and more. Below you’ll find everything you need to know including the Battle Pass details, new Warzone 2.0 map, DMZ changes, and more!
Battle Pass
First up is the new Battle Pass. It includes 3 new weapons and many rewards as you would expect.
- New operator “Ronin”
- New weapons
- KV Broadside Shotgun (Kastov Platform)
- ISO Hemlock Assault Rifl (ISO Platform)
- Dual Kodachis Melee weapon
- New skins
- COD points
You can find the full breakdown on the season two battle pass via the Call of Duty blog here.
Events
“The Path of the Ronin” will kick off the season two festivities with several weeks of events based upon the Seven Virtues of Bushido:
- Integrity
- Respect
- Courage
- Honor
- Compassion
- Sincerity
- Loyalty
The Prestige rank cap is also being increased through level 10 with each new level being 50 ranks. The cap is level 450.
Multiplayer
New modes, maps, and updates have been made to the multiplayer suite. Ranked play is also now available. Here are the full details courtesy of the Modern Warfare 2 blog.
Modes
- Infected
- Operators must avoid the chosen infected player at all costs. Every survivor eliminated joins the Infected team until none remain or until the five-minute time period elapses.
- Gun Game
- Every ranged elimination awards a different weapon, while melee eliminations put your opponent one weapon back on the 18-weapon rotation. Finish the job with a Throwing Knife to win.
- Grind
- Kill Confirmed with an added twist: Enemy dog tags are stackable and must be banked at one of two fixed locations.
- Hardcore
- The initial Hardcore playlist will feature a mix of traditional modes with the classic ruleset veterans of the franchise are familiar with, including decreased health that cannot be replenished outside of Stim shots, as well as a limited HUD.
Maps
- Dome (6v6)
- This small to medium-sized map is built for fast-paced combat with three main buildings surrounding a central street area. One of these is the iconic domed structure, which has a small catwalk that provides incredible views over most of the map’s outdoor spaces.
- Valderas Museum (6v6)
- The other Core map launching at the start of Season 02 is Valderas Museum, returning since first appearing in the Modern Warfare II Beta.
- Zaya Observatory (Battle Map)
- Zaya Observatory will be available in Ground War and Invasion modes, where the combat area will be expanded to fit all of Al Mazrah’s tallest natural point of interest.
- Al Malik International (Battle Map)
- Located at the southern tip of Al Mazrah, this modern airport mixes traditional and modern architecture to host both business and leisure activities, and will be available in Ground War and Invasion Modes.
General
- Audio
- Enhanced occlusion in all Core 6v6 Multiplayer maps
- Improved Dog Tag pickup effect to be more discernible among other game sounds in Kill Confirmed and Grind
- Perks
- Ghost: Reduced bonus perk cost by 50% and ultimate perk by 25%
Ranked Play
Ranked Play is now live and available to all players who have reached Level 16.
Competitive Game Modes, Maps, and Settings
- Play competitive, 4v4 matches using the same maps, modes, and settings used in the Call of Duty League 2023 ruleset.
- Select Weapons, Attachments, Equipment, Perks, Field Upgrades, and Streaks are restricted based on official CDL Competitive rules.
- Game Modes and Maps:
- CDL Search and Destroy
- Al Bagra Fortress
- Breenburgh Hotel
- El Asilo
- Embassy
- Mercado Las Almas
- CDL Hardpoint
- Al Bagra Fortress
- Breenburgh Hotel
- Embassy
- Mercado Las Almas
- Zarqwa Hydroelectric
- CDL Control
- Al Bagra Fortress
- Breenburgh Hotel
- El Asilo
- CDL Search and Destroy
SR (Skill Rating) & Divisions
Test yourself against your peers and track that progress with a visible SR (Skill Rating) that determines your place across 8 Skill Divisions.
- All players begin our first Competitive Season in Bronze I with 0 SR.
- Players increase their SR by winning matches and lose SR whenever they lose matches.
- Both individual and team performance will impact how much SR you gain or lose per match. In higher Skill Divisions, team performance has a bigger impact on SR gained or lost so that all winning playstyles are more consistently rewarded.
- Players can progress through eight Skill Divisions by reaching SR milestones:
- Bronze – Starting Division
- Silver – 900 SR
- Gold – 2,100 SR
- Platinum – 3,600 SR
- Diamond – 5,400 SR
- Crimson – 7,500 SR
- Iridescent – 10,000 SR
- Top 250 – 10,000+ SR
- Division Tiers: All Divisions except for Iridescent have 3 Tiers – Tier I, Tier II & Tier III. Climb into higher Tiers as you advance your way through each Division.
- Show Off Your Skill: It’s easy to see which Division someone is in in MWII Ranked Play. Your entire Rank Icon will change color and material depending on your current Skill Division. Your current Tier is also prominently shown in the center of your Rank icon.
- End of Season Skill Setback: At the end of each Season, your ending Skill Division will determine where you start the following season:
- Bronze through Crimson players will start one Skill Division below where they finish, starting in Tier I of that new Division.
- For example, a player who finishes the Season in Platinum II will be dropped back to Gold I at the start of the next Season.
- Players who end the current season in Bronze will start at Bronze I in the next Season.
- The highest starting position each Season is Diamond I.
- Bronze through Crimson players will start one Skill Division below where they finish, starting in Tier I of that new Division.
Top 250 Leaderboard & Division
- The Top 250 Division returns in MWII, ranking the top 250 Ranked Play players in the world on an in-game Leaderboard that all players can view from within the Ranked Play lobby.
- New this year, the Top 250 will be active from Day 1 of each Season.
- Players will qualify for the Top 250 and appear on the Leaderboard as they surpass 10,000+ SR. The top 250 players with the highest SR above 10,000 will remain on the board and compete for 1st place over the remainder of the Season. (GLHF!)
- Play like the Pros, against the Pros: New this year, the Top 250 Leaderboard will display CDL Team Affiliations and Profiles for current CDL Professional players and coaches. Keep track of your favorite players and teams and see how they stack up against the Ranked Play competition.
- Ultimate Bragging Rights: In addition to new Rank and Seasonal Rewards in Modern Warfare 2, the #1 Ranked Play player will receive a unique, one-of-a-kind Calling Card and Emblem at the end of each Season.
Ranks & Rewards
- MWII Ranked Play is the most rewarding competitive Call of Duty experience ever, with a variety of valuable rewards available to players at launch and Season after Season.
- Unlocked Rewards can be used in Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0. Unlock what the mode has to offer to show off your Rank and Skill wherever you play.
- Ranks and Rank Rewards
- Separate from the player’s SR and Skill Division is Rank. Rank persists across Seasons to celebrate the player’s lifetime win total across their Ranked Play career.
- All players start at Rank 1 and can progress to Rank 50.
- Players increase their Rank by winning matches to earn Stars. Each win grants one (1) Star. Win enough matches and you’ll earn enough Stars to reach the next Rank.
- Every 5 Ranks players will progress their Rank icon and unlock a set of Rank rewards:
- Rank 5: Ranked Competitor Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions.
- Rank 10: ‘Press F’ Emblem
- Rank 15: Pro Issue X12 Weapon Blueprint
- Rank 20: ‘Ace’ Weapon Charm
- Rank 25: ‘Turn It Up’ Emblem
- Rank 30: ‘Ranked Win Tracker’ Gun Screen that displays the player’s lifetime Ranked Play win total.
- Rank 35: ‘I’m Cracked’ Large Weapon Decal
- Rank 40: Pro Issue Combat Knife Weapon Blueprint
- Rank 45: ‘Sweep’ Weapon Charm
- Rank 50: Ranked Veteran Emblem & Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions.
- Each Rank Milestone also unlocks a Calling Card that represents the player’s achieved Rank.
- Season 2 Rewards
- In addition to Rank Rewards, each Ranked Play Season will give players the opportunity to earn exclusive limited-time rewards.
- Throughout the Season 02, players can earn the following rewards:
- 5 Wins: ‘Season 2 Competitor’ Weapon Sticker
- 10 Wins: Pro Issue Vaznev-9k Weapon Blueprint
- 25 Wins: ‘MVP’ Weapon Charm
- 50 Wins: ‘The Factor’ Large Weapon Decal
- 75 Wins: ‘Ranked Play Season 2’ Loading Screen
- 100 Wins: ‘Season 2 Ranked Veteran’ Weapon Camo
- End of Season Division Rewards
- At the end of each Season, players will be awarded Skill Division rewards that represent their highest attained Division that Season.
- Division Skins:
- Earn a Skill Division Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions to represent your highest Skill Division. Once the Skins from one Skill Division have been unlocked they can be permanently used in following Seasons and anywhere you play:
- Top 250: Unlock the ‘Top 250 Competitor’ Skin by finishing a Season in the Top 250 Skill Division. Players must be in the Division at the end of the Season to qualify for this reward.
- Gold – Iridescent: Earn the applicable ‘Gold Competitor’, ‘Platinum Competitor’, ‘Diamond Competitor’, ‘Crimson Competitor’, or ‘Iridescent Competitor’ Skin based on your highest Skill Division reached over the course of the Season.
- Earn a Skill Division Skin for use with both CDL Male & Female Operators on both Factions to represent your highest Skill Division. Once the Skins from one Skill Division have been unlocked they can be permanently used in following Seasons and anywhere you play:
- Seasonal Division Rewards
- Each Ranked Play Season will have a unique set of Division Rewards awarded at the end of the Season to celebrate the player’s highest Skill Division reached that Season.
- The Season 2 rewards are as follows:
- Top 250: ‘Season 2 Top 250’ Weapon Charm, Emblem, and Calling Card
- Iridescent: ‘Season 2 Iridescent’ Weapon Charm, Emblem, and Calling Card
- Crimson: ‘Season 2 Crimson’ Weapon Charm and Emblem
- Diamond: ‘Season 2 Diamond’ Weapon Charm and Emblem
- Platinum: ‘Season 2 Platinum’ Weapon Charm and Emblem
- Gold: ‘Season 2 Gold’ Weapon Charm and Emblem
- Silver: Emblem
- Bronze: Emblem
- Ranked Play First Place: The player who finishes Season 2 in the #1 position on the Top 250 Leaderboard will receive a unique, one-of-a-kind Calling Card and Emblem for the ultimate bragging rights.
- Division Skins:
- At the end of each Season, players will be awarded Skill Division rewards that represent their highest attained Division that Season.
Competitive Integrity Features
- From Start to Finish: Players who disconnect or quit matches will receive SR penalties as well as temporary suspensions, with escalating penalties for repeat offenders.
- SR Forgiveness: If a player disconnects or quits in the middle of the match, all team members outside of that player’s party will not lose ANY SR.
- It is still possible to earn SR if players can overcome their disadvantage, but a loss at a numerical disadvantage will not yield SR loss for players outside of the leaving player’s party.
- Fair Fights, Even Teams: If a player quits or disconnects before the start of a match, the match will be canceled and will not count. The remaining players will be returned to the main menu.
- Professional Conduct Only: Friendly Fire is enabled in Ranked Play per CDL rules. Repeated Friendly Fire will result in players being kicked from games and receiving penalties and suspensions.
- Demotion Protection: After advancing to a higher Skill Division, players will be granted temporary Demotion Protection and will not lose any SR within the first three games in the new Division. Following that initial protection, if players were to lose enough SR to be demoted, they will first be dropped to the minimum threshold of their current Skill Division instead of being demoted. Losing their next match will result in a demotion.
- Demotion Protection is also applied for the player’s first 3 games of each Ranked Play Season.
- Party SR Restrictions: To ensure competitive fairness and balance of matches in higher Skill Divisions, players in certain Divisions can only party up with players around their current SR. The player with the highest Skill Division in the party determines which Party SR Restrictions are used:
- Iridescent (Including Top 250) & Crimson: Can party with players within 1 Skill Division
- Diamond: Can party within 2 Skill Divisions
- Bronze – Platinum: Can party up without any restrictions
Additional Social Features
- Hot Streaks, Literally: Win 3 Ranked Play games in a row over a short period of time to earn Victory Streak Flames that appear behind your Rank Icon in the lobby and in-game. Extend your win streak to progress the flames. Victory Streak Flames expire when you lose or after 72 hours without playing a Ranked Play match. Go on a roll and the competition will know the heat is coming. (Stay Spicy!)
- Social Profile: Rank Play icons will be added to your Social profile to identify your Ranked Play Skill Division and Rank anywhere your profile is viewed across Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ 2.0.
Warzone 2.0
The first new map for Warzone 2.0 is here with Ashika Island. Here is a note from the development team at High Moon Studios:
Our team is so excited to finally release Ashika Island to the world with the launch of Season 02. With its beautiful Japanese-inspired location, diverse areas to explore, and a host of secrets to uncover, we hope you enjoy playing in this space as much as we have enjoyed the art of crafting it. Ashika also has a lot more to offer than meets the eye, so take time to explore everything.
Building on our learnings from Fortune’s Keep, the team was thrilled to continue implementing interesting traversal options while being mindful not to over complicate our designs. We wanted each area of the map to have an authentic visual theme that paired with the gameplay style of each space. And we wanted to have strong visual landmarks that could be seen from a distance but didn’t tip the balance in favor of adding dominating sniper perches. But at its heart, it is an island with everything from rooftop “run and gun” gameplay, to “cat and mouse” interior brawls, to underground secret passages and waterways that help you traverse the space that much quicker.
We can’t wait for you to drop into Ashika Island and start racking up those wins. Just, please, no running around the pool!
For all of the specific landmarks and details of Ashika Island, be sure to visit the official update on Call of Duty’s main site.
DMZ
General
New Exclusion Zone
- Ashika Island
- New Weapons Case
- New boss: The Bombmaker
- New rewards
- New locked and dangerous spaces
New Faction
- Crown
- New Faction Mission set
- Available to Modern Warfare II Owners only
Season 02 Reset
- Faction Mission progress has been reset for Season 02
- Previously unlocked Insured Weapon slots will remain unlocked
- Contraband weapon inventories have been reverted to starting weapons
- Key stashes have been emptied
Mission Refresh
- New missions sets have arrived with Season 02 for all players. These are comprised of new missions, updated missions, and some returning missions.
- New mission sets will send Players to all 3 Exclusion Zones of DMZ.
- The Key Stash can now hold items for missions so Players can transport them across Exclusion Zones to complete objectives.
GAMEPLAY
- Missions
- Adjusted the overall scaling of difficulty in Missions as the Faction Mission Tiers progress.
- Contracts
- Secure Intel Contract no longer calls reinforcements to the radio tower.
- The Attack Helicopter in Cargo Contracts will now react more quickly to the vehicle’s movement while firing, and the Attack Helicopter’s missiles will more accurately hit the Operator vehicle when moving slowly.
- The HVTs for “Eliminate HVT contracts” will now drop more rare keys and will sometimes drop stronghold keycards.
- Enemy Tuning
- Adjusted lethality of AI across Al Mazrah including number of AI spawning, and the accuracy of AI at range.
- Locations
- Infiltration locations have been updated in Al Mazrah.
- Dead Drop locations have been updated in Al Mazrah.
- Exfiltration locations have been updated in Al Mazrah.
- Boss locations have been updated in Al Mazrah.
Adjustments
- Plating Improvements
- Global plating animation speed increased by approximately 25%
- Movement speed increased while plating
- Players can now sprint while plating
- Players can now bust through doors while plating
- Ping Visibility
- Each squad member will have a unique color highlighting their name and pings.
- Interrogation
- The reveal mechanic has been changed from an orange outline to a red marker to remain consistent with similar mechanics.
For more details on these updates to DMZ, check out our recent blog.
Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue where attempting to pick up an Armor Plate with a full inventory could sometimes cause a crash.
- Fixed an issue where players could duplicate weapons in DMZ
- Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on the infiltration screen.
- Fixed an issue where players couldn’t mute their squadmates
- Fixed an issue where two exfil helicopters could collide
- Reduced instances of Players becoming stuck on a “downloading instance inventory” message.
- Fixed an issue that would cause two items to be removed from a backpack when trying to remove only one in the pre-game loadout screen
- Fixed an issue that allowed Players to duplicate Field Upgrades and Killstreaks
- Fixed some issues that caused obstructed or misaligned loot
Our Take
This is a massive update to Modern Warfare 2 and just goes to show how invested Activision is to Call of Duty as an IP. We’re excited to jump in with some of these changes, particularly with Ashika Island and a more condensed battle royale experience. Stay tuned to Bitcast this week for our discussion on it!
“Enemy Tuning
Adjusted lethality of AI across Al Mazrah including number of AI spawning, and the accuracy of AI at range.”
Great – I now spawn in with a single plate, and die within seconds of the match starting.
AI spawning, accuracy, and range are all way, WAY too high.
Game just became unplayable.