Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone have a huge number of game modes between them, from battle royale to fast-paced mayhem in hardcore mode and everything in between. That, combined with an ever-expanding roster of weapons and multiplied by all the attachments and builds that can be created for each one, means that the meta changes rapidly depending not just on patches and balancing changes but also on which specific mode is being played. Some weapons excel in Warzone but fall flat in core playlists, while others are great all-around.
It's now getting to the point that Modern Warfare and Warzone may need to consider balancing weapons differently depending on which mode players are in. The most clear difference between game modes is the dichotomy between long range and close range, which highlights the importance of recoil patterns at far distances and handling characteristics up close. However, between Warzone, core, realism, and hardcore game modes, more subtle features like rate of fire, magazine size, and damage per shot start to make huge differences in the feel of each weapon.
From Warzone to Harcore
Differences in recoil and ranged damage are easily mitigated by changing up attachments between loadouts or simply switching weapons between modes. What deserves the most attention are the more subtle characteristics that matter far more in hardcore than in Warzone or core. The best example is the Fennec, which varies from either being a good choice with some severe drawbacks to one of the most overpowered weapons in Call of Duty depending on the mode it's used in.
In normal game modes or Warzone, the Fennec has a blistering rate of fire and nearly nonexistent recoil, making its accuracy its biggest benefit. However, even with a 40-round drum magazine, the Fennec's fire rate means it runs out of ammo quickly, while its damage dropoff beyond close range means that it suffers greatly anywhere but small maps and close-quarters combat. Meanwhile, in hardcore, where damage is much higher and a single headshot at any range is lethal, the Fennec is extremely deadly. Its accuracy and rate of fire make it capable of taking out enemies from across the map, with no major downsides to speak of.
Other weapons that fall victim to the same imbalance across modes are snipers and DMRs, which have no way to compete in hardcore but are vital in Ground War and Warzone, and shotguns, which offer close-range supremacy in core but are useless in hardcore where any bullet at point blank will do the job. There are many others that suffer in this way, but the issue has only become more apparent as more weapons have been added and balancing changes have slowly but surely changed the meta of both Warzone and Modern Warfare.
Balancing for Warzone
The most recent large-scale balancing change saw nerfs to the GRAU 5.56 and CR-56 AMAX, buffs across the board to sniper rifles, and a great number of other changes as well. What stuck out about this re-balancing update was how clearly it was meant to focus in on Warzone. Warzone is extremely popular due to its free-to-play status and the wide appeal of the battle-royale genre, so it makes sense that the developers would focus a lot of effort on making sure it is balanced well to create the most fun experience for a huge portion of their audience. However, at the same time, it means that changes focused on making Warzone better can trickle down into other modes with unforeseen consequences.
Some balancing changes, like reducing the damage range on the CR-56 AMAX, have little to no effect on the base game, only changing how useful the weapon is in Warzone. However, the lack of a nerf for the Fennec shows clearly that if the weapon is in a good place for Warzone and core playlists, it didn't warrant a change even though it is still exceptionally strong in hardcore. Likewise, the Rytec AMR is practically purpose built for Warzone with very few applications elsewhere. While many players enjoyed using it in other modes to level it up when it first came out, it isn't much more than a novelty item outside of a single mode.
Challenges With Differential Balancing
Clearly, with different balancing between all the various modes that Modern Warfare and Warzone offer, there could be more diversity in gameplay and it would prevent issues with one popular game mode having ill effects for all the others. However, the upsides to keeping all the weapons the same come in the form of consistency, predictability, and ease of development. The biggest question the developers have to ask is if the effort of balancing every mode differently is worth the benefits it would bring. Right now, the balancing is remarkably consistent across all game modes, but there are some clear issues that continue to rear their ugly heads.
The primary faults are that in core playlists and especially in Warzone, there is a lot less variety in viable loadouts than elsewhere. With lots of armor, a relatively slow time to kill, and a focus on range, certain weapons like the M4A1 or old GRAU 5.56 rise to prominence while others inevitably fall to the wayside. In more fast-paced modes, there is a lot more variety because a quicker time to kill evens the playing field between all weapons. However, on the reverse side, one-shot weapons like certain DMRs, snipers, shotguns, the crossbow, and others all become practically useless in an environment where other weapons can do the same thing faster.
At the very least, a little more attention to hardcore and standard playlists would likely be greatly appreciated by long-time Call of Duty fans. Perhaps this latest update represented a bit of house cleaning for Warzone, and more changes down the line will address other areas of the game, but as it stand the balancing efforts have been skewed heavily towards battle royale at the expense of other modes and segments of the playerbase.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Warzone are out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.