Call of Duty: Warzone fans that have been waiting for significant improvements and changes will not have to hold out much longer. While some limited time modes and events like Operation: Flashback and Last Hours of Verdansk should hold them over next month, the truly exciting content will be dropping in early December. Season 1 kicks off on December 2, and with it comes the most significant additions made to the battle royale game thus far.

Call of Duty: Warzone fans will soon be experiencing a brand-new map, fresh playlists, and a long requested anti-cheat system that should make for a much more enjoyable experience. Call of Duty: Vanguard’s arsenal of weaponry will be added as well as some fresh vehicles, ensuring that every aspect of the game feels fresh. With the new Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific branding also being used for the game, it seems like everything is going to feel different on December 2.

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Call of Duty: Warzone’s New Caldera Map

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Call of Duty: Warzone’s gorgeous Pacific map is finally going to be playable come Season 1, and it is unlikely to disappoint. The new location has been in development for two years according to Activision, with community feedback about Verdansk used to ensure that the new map plays well and feels fresh on every visit. Built using the same engine from Call of Duty: Vanguard, it should feel like a natural transition when players switch between the two games, with the games featuring similar movement mechanics and the same visual style.

Caldera will feature bodies of water, caves, mountain ranges, and villages, ensuring a variety of areas to fight in. Call of Duty: Warzone players will need to develop new strategies because of this fresh terrain, with entirely new plays able to be made due to the design of the map. With the skyscrapers, cul-de-sacs, and stadium from Verdansk being left behind in favor of this new style, it will be very interesting to see how fans feel about this new Call of Duty: Warzone map once they have had the chance to try it themselves.

For those that cannot wait to play Caldera, they can get early access to the map by pre-ordering Call of Duty: Vanguard. While they will only get to hop into the map 24 hours earlier than those who do not purchase Vanguard, this is still a good incentive for those that were planning to pre-order the new game. The early access period can give players a chance to learn the ins and outs of Caldera before it becomes available for everyone on December 2. With Verdansk set to be removed permanently once Caldera is added, fans of the old map should spend as much time with it as they can over the next few weeks.

Call of Duty: Warzone’s Ricochet Anti-Cheat System

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It is no secret that Call of Duty: Warzone’s cheating problem has gotten worse in recent months. Content creators and regular players alike have stopped playing due to the massive number of cheaters and the severity of their hacking, as it has gotten far worse than simple wallhacks and aim bots. Hacks like silent aim allow cheaters to kill their opponents from across the map without even aiming their weapon, simply firing their gun and picking up cheap kills on people they cannot even see. With these players being virtually unstoppable, the game has become more toxic than fun as of late.

With cheaters able to make fresh accounts after every Call of Duty: Warzone ban wave, punishments have been ineffective and the breaks from cheating were brief. Fortunately, the Ricochet anti-cheat system is aiming to change that. This complex anti-cheat technology will be going live in Call of Duty: Warzone the same day as Caldera, ensuring that the launch of the new map goes smoothly. The kernel-level driver will be added to Call of Duty: Vanguard at a later date, though it has not yet been confirmed when exactly it will be coming.

While it remains to be seen how effective the new system will be, the fact that one is coming at all is reassuring. Hopefully, gamers will not have to worry about flying Call of Duty: Warzone motorcycles come Season 1. If Ricochet works as intended, then Call of Duty: Warzone has the potential to keep growing and reach a whole new audience of gamers. Those that quit due to the hacking problem could be motivated to return, too, making for a much healthier community.

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Call of Duty: Warzone’s Other Season 1 Changes

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There are several other things worth discussing about Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1. As mentioned earlier, the game’s title will be changed to incorporate the word “Pacific,” showing just how serious the update is being taken. The Seasonal Prestige system will return, as will the option to level up inside any of the active Call of Duty games. Operators and Calling Cards from the older titles will carry over to Warzone Pacific as well. The fan favorite Plunder mode is also confirmed to be returning.

The long-rumored addition of planes to Call of Duty: Warzone has been officially confirmed, as dogfighting will be a feature inside Caldera. Aerial combat will be a major change from what has been seen in Call of Duty: Warzone thus far, though if the controls are tight, it could be a major attraction for those that love piloting vehicles in games like Battlefield. An AA truck will also be added, letting players shoot down any pesky pilots.

Perhaps the most important addition is the Vanguard Royale playlist. This allows players to ignore Call of Duty: Warzone’s larger meta and the many guns from Modern Warfare and Black Ops Cold War. In this playlist, which will be added alongside Caldera in Season 1, players will only be able to find Vanguard weapons around the map and use Vanguard weapon in their loadouts. This should make balancing easier for Raven Software while also giving players a chance to focus on exploring Caldera. With smart steps being taken, the integration process should go a lot smoother this time around.

Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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