Call of Duty: Warzone has evolved considerably over the past two years, but the start of Call of Duty: Vanguard's first season may bring the biggest changes seen yet. Besides a brand new map, Call of Duty: Warzone's Pacific season switches up how the Gulag works in an exciting way.
Anyone who has played Warzone will have likely experienced the Gulag, the iconic place where players who die on the main map, get a chance at redemption and a second life. Two players are dropped into the Gulag with random weapons and fight, the winner being sent back to the main game, and the loser being officially terminated. Winning in the Gulag doesn't get the player too far though, as they go back in with nothing but a pistol and must scavenge again for loot, which as the match progresses, becomes a much tougher task. Like Warzone itself, the Gulag has seen many changes itself, with the most recent being the return of the original Gulag map but with slight modifications.
With the start of Call of Duty: Warzone's Pacific season, a limited-time Gulag mechanic is making a return. Instead of starting from scratch after winning in the Gulag, players will return to the main map with the weapons used during their 1v1 fight. Call of Duty's James Mattone writes in an official blog post, "The Gulag now gives you more than a second chance at victory. When Warzone Pacific drops, any player who wins a Gulag will drop back in with the weapon – or weapons – and lethal equipment given to them during that deadly duel." Introduced in Warzone's Iron Trials 84', Call of Duty goes on to remind players that ammunition is also brought over after winning the Gulag, so players should try being as efficient as possible.
The Iron Trials 84' was a limited time mode in Warzone that ran earlier this year. Beyond just the Gulag change, almost every aspect of the Warzone experience was modified one way or another, from damage modifiers, to loot distribution, and the offerings of the Buy Stations. Fans enjoyed this game mode so much that there was a petition made to Raven Software for it become a permanent offering. It unfortunately was not kept in the main list of modes, but Raven Software did bring the Iron Trials 84' to custom games, the game mode living on in another form.
It will be interesting to see where fans fall on the Gulag change when it lands in Warzone. Despite being a fairly well-liked mechanic from the Iron Trials 84' mode, it being integrated into the primary Warzone game mode may not sit well with some players. Considering how poorly some of the Gulag's other past changes went over, like the complicated map of Season 3, perhaps this change will make players happy. If anything, it doesn't change how the moment-to-moment Gulag action works, only the weapons the winner has when they are sent back to the main game.
Call of Duty: Warzone's Pacific season begins December 8 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Call of Duty