Swagg explains why Warzone 2 is moving “backward”

Prominent CoD content creators criticized the current state of Warzone 2, and Kris “Swagg” Lamberson explained why speaking up is “long overdue” in an exclusive interview with Dexerto.

Modern Warfare 2 shattered records when it launched in October 2022, surpassing $1 billion in sales revenue in only ten days. Activision had the perfect opportunity right in the palm of its hands to achieve similar success with Warzone 2.

According to data shared by Swagg, Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 reached a peak of 488,897 concurrent players. Just over two weeks later, the player count dropped to 217,328, accounting for a 56% decrease.

Swagg explained what’s required to recapture Warzone’s magic.

Season 1 Reloaded makes drastic changes to the game flow of Warzone 2.

Warzone 2 Sniping and movement community ignored

Swagg criticized Warzone 2 for taking away three communities, sniping, movement, and loadout, “in one fail swoop, and they need to bring them back.”

“I don’t know the direction or where they are trying to take it, but I just hope they understand there should be a middle ground,” he told Dexerto. “Snipers can’t one-shot, so the sniping community is gone. Obviously, the movement community is gone and limiting loadouts for those who love guns and camos.”

Removed quality-of-life features from the original battle royale hampered Swagg’s enjoyment of the sequel.

“They built up Warzone 1 and did it so well, and they just took all the small things and the quality of life updates and brought it backward.”

Sniper rifles have failed to find a place in Warzone 2’s meta.

Warzone 2 players complain about the battle royale’s slower-paced gameplay than the original. Warzone 1 featured slide canceling and allowed players to equip armor while running. Both mechanics resulted in fast paced-gameplay and made moving around the map faster.

CharlieINTEL confirmed the developers have no plans of adding plating while sprinting back. Activision’s latest battle royale also introduced split circles, which is a feature that divides the map into multiple smaller circles instead of one big one. The idea was to encourage close-range fights, but in reality, the feature bogs down matches and delays gunfights.

Activision decreased the frequency of smaller circles, but the game’s tactical approach and limited mobility frustrate players.

Swagg criticized the changes to movement made in Warzone 2.

Swagg also mentioned snipers, who some would argue sniper rifles are the backbone of a balanced battle royale weapon pool. Not being able to one-shot kill enemies with snipers forced Players to gravitate towards using LMGs and ARs in long-range engagements instead. According to WZRanked, the top-ranked sniper is only the 12th most used weapon, and Swagg argued that’s an issue.

“I think that sniping being a one-shot, should definitely be a key. When Warzone was at its peak, the three most popular weapons were all snipers. As a casual, I would even talk to some dads, and they loved kicking back and going for a one-shot headshot.”

Is Warzone 2 in trouble?

In relation to players growing frustrated with Warzone 2, CoD content creators fear the worst after a decline in viewership. When asked if the criticism of WZ2 is fair, Swagg responded, “I think it is long overdue. Many of us try to be optimistic, but after some of these updates, it’s almost disrespectful in a sense.”

Jack “CouRage” Dunlop confirmed, “Warzone 2.0 videos are underperforming across all creators I see on YouTube compared to even the later stages of Warzone 1.0.”

TimTheTatman chimed in, “my last couple of WZ2 videos have done worse than caldera content.”

On December 10, Swagg offered a solution for solving WZ2 number problems. “Let us buy loadouts. Makes the game 1000% more fun. In Quads or Trios, you never even get to use your gun because there is not enough money.”

His prayers were answered ten days later, as loadout drops finally returned to buy stations, and he responded with heart eyes, showing his approval.

Raven Software also responded to loadout criticisms by doubling the number of buy stations, moving the Loadout Drop public event up to the second circle from the third, and decreasing the cost of primary weapons at buy stations.

Each change makes it as easy to secure loadout weapons as Warzone 1, and even easier with introducing Strongholds and buying primary weapons.

Warzone 2 players praised the developers for backtracking from their original stance on loadouts, and Swagg praised the developers for restoring one of the three previously mentioned communities.

“I think with Call of Duty, I have seen it when it is really, really bad, so I wouldn’t say I’m scared because they are smart at the end of the day.”

What’s next for Warzone 2?

Activision took the first step in restoring community members’ trust, and Swagg drove home what it will take to keep people interested in the game.

“Open communication is probably the best way to keep the community, not at bay but not absolutely raging on Twitter, so it is more just about communicating and knowing.”

At the end of Warzone’s lifespan, Raven Software delivered lengthy patch notes and explained the reasoning behind certain design choices. The developers didn’t give players as much of an inside track on their thinking at the start of Warzone 2, but recent loadout changes show a shift in mentality.

“They definitely have time. We have had this game for two years, so hopefully, they can take care of it.”