Modern Warfare and Warzone Season 5 Roadmap

Activision and Infinity Ward have released the official trailer and roadmap for Season 5 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Warzone.

Season 5 officially begins in-game on Wednesday, August 5 on PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC with the latest patch update.

Season 5 Roadmap

Here’s what you need to know about Season 5 in Modern Warfare and Warzone.

• The Stadium Gets Cracked: As you might have gathered by now, the Acropolis National Arena (AKA Verdansk Stadium) is receiving a multitude of new visitors now that the Shadow Company announced their presence in an explosive, roof-based insertion. Time to retool your strategy and rethink your drop plans around this massive super-structure, complete with a pitch surrounded by rows of seating, an additional underground parking structure, a concession stand lobby as well as other multiple interior concourses and field access you can secure and compete to control.

• The Train Station is Lit Up: The Stadium isn’t the only large-scale location getting interior access; the ornate and imposing Verdansk Train Station is also open for Operators. The station buildings feature a number of inside locations to explore; all linked to the main ticket hall and platforms. This significantly changes the overall look, feel, and tactical outlook in and around this area of the Warzone map. 

• Freight Train: On Track for Epic Confrontations: A hulking freight train is on a path of destruction, and it’s up to you and your fellow Operators to use this locomotive behemoth to your tactical advantage! The train rolls through one of the main arterial railroad tracks that circumnavigates the southwestern part of Verdansk in a large loop. It can be a source of protection, an epicenter of firefights, and even offers some exceptional takedown potential if your team claims the train for themselves, and guards it with additional vehicles and heavy weaponry. 

• Going Up in the World: Exterior Ascension: Need to take down a troublesome sniper? During past navigations through multi-floored building interiors (usually located in downtown Tavorsk District), you may have clamped onto a vertical zip line inside an elevator shaft to gain quicker access to the top of the structure. Now you can expect additional and strategically positioned Exterior Ascenders dotted throughout Verdansk. These will primarily be attached to the exterior of taller buildings, enabling you to gain a tactical and height advantage from a different angle, and with more haste than ever before.

Modes, Weapon Changes, and More Updates to Warzone 

• Mini Royale: This condenses the craziest parts of the main Battle Royale mode into faster-paced chunks of chaotic and almost constant combat. Mini Royale lowers the number of Operators sent into Verdansk but quickens the BR experience: Only the first and last five minutes of a normal BR game exist meaning rapid deployment, constant movement, and high-kill strategies are set to yield victories that are both short and sweet.

• Weapon Rotation: The weaponry you discover lying on the ground or in Supply Crates has been meticulously updated to potentially provide new pre-Loadout Drop weapon tactics for your squad. Expect eight Common, 13 Uncommon, 15 Rare, 19 Epic, and 25 Legendary variants to find throughout Verdansk.

Wartracks: Jam out to some sweet MW tunes while your cruising through Verdansk with Wartracks, available in the Battle Pass. Get three unique songs including the pulse pounding “Sepulchre” to amp up your Warzone experience. Equip one track to a specific vehicle in the Vehicle Customization menu (like Battle Horns), then as soon you hop in, the music gets turned up. Your entire squad can listen to the beat while you drive, and let the song guide you to your primary objective – survival.  All three tracks are instantly unlocked when you purchase the Battle Pass. 

Four Free Multiplayer Maps in New Environments

If you own the full version of Modern Warfare, we’ve upped the map content accordingly; expect to play four new maps in Season Five. These are all set to deliver brand new destinations and test your skills in all major modes from Gunfight to Ground War:

Livestock – Gunfight (Available at Season Launch)

Don’t let this bucolic pastoral farm environment fool you: This is the setting for some of the fastest and deliriously frenetic Gunfight battles yet seen in Modern Warfare! 

A rural compound set around a central barn structure, Operators can use hay bales and agricultural equipment scattered around the map as cover. A deceptively simple layout, you’ll discover a honeycomb of flank routes that take you in and around the barn, designed primarily for quick close-quarter combat. 

Petrov Oil Rig – Multiplayer (Available at Season Launch)

Prepare for large 6v6 gun battles aboard a sprawling, operational oilrig in the frigid waters of a classified ocean location well away from the usual Modern Warfare locales. Recently abandoned due to ongoing hostilities between Coalition and Allegiance forces, the rig is surrounded by deep murky water, cargo ships, a docked submarine, other oil rigs, and distant glaciers.

This new map is divided into five distinct sections, with players starting on opposite ends of the rig; either at a lifeboat muster station or a helicopter landing pad. Other areas to explore include a central bridge, an interior cafeteria, oil storage, and the massive rig drill itself. 

Expect to engage in close to mid-range combat, with a few longer sightlines that give marksman or sniper rifles potential counter-play opportunities against their CQB and mid-distance counterparts.

Suldal Harbor – Multiplayer (Available at Season Launch)

Long-time veterans or map fanatics will recognize this map from the franchise’s first ever Multiplayer experiences, while others will be introduced to this classic map for the first time here in Season Five. Set in a Middle Eastern harbor, this medium-sized 6v6 Multiplayer map has Operators weaving through a variety of dockside structures and scenery, including shipping areas, fish markets, and weather-beaten administrative buildings. This harbor is located within a large port city that boasts a medieval castle perched on a distant bluff, but there’s little time for sightseeing.

Enter the building interiors within the harbor if you’re attempting to flank or defend an objective, but don’t be caught off guard by ignoring your corners. The main flow of the map is dictated by the violence erupting at the choke points between the shipping areas and fish market locations.

This means those Operators bringing shotguns, SMGs, or assault rifles to the Harbor are likely to have an easier time outflanking their opponents, with longer ranged weaponry being more advantageous in a few key areas around the map. Need to hold one of those tight choke points and stop a foe from reaching their objective? You might want to pack a long-range rifle – assault, sniper, or marksman – with optional extended mags or an LMG.

Verdansk International Airport – Ground War (Available at Season Launch)

For those favoring large-scale combat, prepare to see Verdansk International Airport in a whole new light. Previously only accepting arrivals in Warzone, this Ground War map takes place in and around the airport. The zone encompasses the airport interior, parking garage, adjacent apartment complex and subway entrance, as well as the hangars along the eastern edge of the map.

No matter your style of play, there’s a place to gain the tactical advantage: If you favor running and gunning or close quarters combat, explore and battle across the airport itself, from the multi-floor mezzanine to the maintenance corridors and baggage claim carousel. Or head into the parking lot garage and take up a raised or hidden position within the burned-out vehicle wreckage. Consider taking up refuge inside one of the main building interiors and go to work. 

Favor more long-range sniping? Then stay on the rooftops, particularly on the apartment complex tenement buildings. Also expect emergent squad and gunplay moments to be created throughout the many exterior spaces and between capture points; amplified once you or your team utilizes the tanks and APCs on offer here.

Season Five is also set to deliver new game modes, as well as playlists, mosh pits, and other additional updates during the Season. Expected content includes:

• Bare Bones: Ready to focus on pure, unadulterated combat? Then try out Bare Bones; a rotation of TDM, Domination, HQ, Hardpoint, and Kill Confirmed with the same rulesets as before, albeit with one important distinction: There are no Killstreaks, no Field Upgrades, and no perks.
• Search and Destroy Double Down: This variant game mode features elements from the classic Search and Destroy; where one team must plant a demolition charge on an enemy weapons cache. Except this time the stakes are higher as the scale is bigger; this is a 12v12, not the usual 6v6. Expect tactics and chaos!
• Season Five Missions and Challenges: Whether you’re playing Multiplayer or Warzone, the Challenges tab allows you to easily tailor your progression through the Season’s Ranks whether you’re focusing on Daily, Weekly, or Mission Challenges. Crave an even bigger Challenge for massive rewards? Over a dozen Mastery Challenges have been added across Warzone and Multiplayer for only the most elite players. In addition, don’t forget to visit the Barracks and check on your new Rank Progression section to see all Season Five’s ribbons and Officer Challenges. Focus on maxing out your Officer Ranks to earn a unique weapon blueprint.

The trailer for Modern Warfare & Warzone Season 5 was released earlier this week, which can be viewed here.

SOURCE: Activision