Call of Duty: Warzone 2 has arrived, reimagining Call of Duty's battle royale for 2022. While Warzone 2 retains many of the classic features of the genre, it also innovates with a few systems of its own.
One of the most interesting features in Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is the Gulag, which gives players a second chance in the match if they're defeated. The Gulag is a 2v2 competition, where four random defeated players are paired into teams to fight for a chance at a second life. The winning team will be dropped back into Al Mazrah, but the Warzone 2 Gulag has some surprises of its own.
How To Survive The Gulag As A Pair
Although it's possible to be paired with a squadmate in the Gulag, especially if both players died at around the same time, it's more likely that players will find themselves paired with a stranger. Regardless, each pair has a short time to defeat the other pair in order to win their redeployment into Warzone 2. Players will start with some basic equipment, with more advanced gear being available for collection at the center of the map. Making full use of the guns, lethal, and tactical grenades scattered around the map can be key to victory in the Gulag.
It's a good idea for players to use Warzone 2's new proximity chat and ping system to coordinate with their partner. Although the enemy team will also be able to hear proximity chat, the advantages of calling out the location of an enemy or pinging their flank attempt can make the difference between victory and defeat.
The Gulag arena is larger in Call of Duty: Warzone 2, so players should save their Lethal and Tactical grenades until they're sure they can make a difference. The larger map also makes it easier to disengage from a bad position or losing battle. Although players only have around 2 minutes to win in the Gulag, there's enough time to back out of a disadvantageous situation and rotate to an unexpected flank. However, once 30 seconds have passed since the start of the match, a fresh addition to the Gulag will change the strategy for all players.
How To Survive The Gulag With Everyone
Unlike Call of Duty: Warzone, there is an alternate way to win the Gulag in Warzone 2. If 30 seconds pass in the Gulag match without a winning pair, an AI-controlled character called the Jailor will spawn near the center of the map. The Jailor is a heavily-armored juggernaut toting a minigun, who will target both teams and attempt to wipe out all players. If the Jailor succeeds, or the overtime timer runs out, all four players will lose and be out of the match for good. However, if the Jailor is killed, then all four players in the Gulag will be victorious and able to return to Al Mazrah.
Although teaming up to defeat the Jailor seems to be the best outcome for all players, it can be very difficult to negotiate the temporary truce necessary to accomplish it through proximity chat. The Jailor can quickly kill players caught out of position, and many pairs will simply take advantage of the distraction he causes to take out the other players and claim the victory for themselves. If the match was in a stalemate situation before the arrival of the Jailor, it's a good idea to hang back after he appears, and wait to see how the other team is going to react. Patience is much more of a weapon in the Gulag of Warzone 2, provided players can keep one eye on the clock to ensure that they don't let the timer run down.
Call of Duty: Warzone 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.