When Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 released its Beta a few months ago, some fans were quick to point out that the game's User Interface wasn't as optimized as it could be. From clunky weapon customization screens to awkward game mode selection menus to the actual first-person UI itself, Modern Warfare 2's interface needed another pass-over. While some of these issues were fixed with Modern Warfare 2's full release, some have remained. And to make matters worse, Call of Duty: Warzone 2 brings a whole set of new UI issues to the table.
Modeling itself on Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's engine, Warzone 2 shares a lot of the same DNA. From its general gameplay, to its menu screens, Warzone 2 shares Modern Warfare 2's best bits, but also much of its faults. But among a slew of other issues, Warzone 2's User Interface is simply missing some obvious features it absolutely needs.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0's UI Needs Some Work
For the most part, Call of Duty: Warzone 2's User Interface is fine. While Call of Duty: Warzone 2 uses a lot of the same mechanics as its predecessor, it also introduces a few new additions, and some slight tweaks of its own. One of the most noticeable tweaks is how players loot certain containers. When players open up a crate, its contents spill out onto the floor, much like in the previous game. This is pretty intuitive, with players being able to see all the items and equip the ones they desire.
However, things get a little more confusing when players open up a chest that reveals a weapon. In the first Call of Duty: Warzone, each weapon was clearly distinguished by a color that marked its rarity. Much like other battle royales, green meant that the weapon was common, blue was rare, purple was epic, and gold was legendary. Players could tell immediately whether the weapon in front of them was better or worse than the weapon in their hands. In Warzone 2, weapons are no longer distinguished clearly by color. Iinstead the amount of attachments is shown, indicated by tiny golden boxes.
This change seems like a step backward for Warzone, and the issue only gets worse when players loot a backpack. When looting a backpack, the contents of it don't fall on the floor like they would in a crate. Instead, players need to navigate a menu that displays all the items in there. It takes a little while to get used to it, especially if players are still trying to wrap their heads around Warzone 2's new backpack storage system, but it's fairly easy to stow gadgets, armor, ammo, and killstreaks from a bag or backpack.
The real issue is when players try to loot a weapon from a backpack. When looking at the backpack loot menu, only a weapon's icon is shown, along with its name. The weapon's rarity, and any of its attachments, are not shown at all. To find out if the weapon's worth picking up, players will need to take it and equip it from the backpack. If it's not great, they'll then need to find their previous weapon on the ground and manually swap it back. It's not a glaring issue, but this back-and-forth can take quite a while, and for a game like Call of Duty: Warzone 2, where every second counts, this isn't a great piece of game design.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is available now for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.