Warzone devs tease return of nerfed Specialist Bonus
The Specialist Bonus was Warzone’s most sought-after item during the 80s Action Heroes event, and Warzone devs have teased that it will return soon in Season 4, although less powerful.
The Specialist Bonus was available in Warzone’s bunkers ahead of Season 3 and Verdansk ’84, and while powerful, it was a rare and difficult object to get a hold of. That all changed when Nakatomi Plaza arrived with the 80s Action Heroes event.
By completing a Scavenger contract, players could open the vault and get access to over $100K and the Specialist Token. This gave players every perk in the game, practically turning them into super-soldiers.
The vault closed after the event concluded, and the Specialist Bonus was taken away. However, in the Warzone Season 4 patch notes, Raven Software explained why they want to add it back and how they may balance it in the future.
Alongside buffing Cold War Assault Rifles’ barrels and adding the powerful new MG 82, Raven Software explained their position on the Specialist Bonus in Warzone. While the Specialist Token does appear in Plunder in Season 4, devs appear wary of adding it to regular BR in its current state.
“We want exciting items like the Specialist Token in Warzone,” explained Raven. “However, the ease and consistency of its acquisition was problematic.”
They went on to explain that players’ drop locations should be based on a variety of factors such as “circle location, infil route, and Player preference.” But, when an incredibly powerful item can be found in one specific location, this “warped” and “diminished” the early game strategy.
To improve the experience of finding rare and powerful items, Raven wants to ensure that all areas of the map are exciting and rare items don’t have “targeted methods of acquisition.”
“We may see the Specialist Token again,” Raven Software teased. “Perhaps sooner than you might think.”
They concluded by revealing that the Specialist Bonus “will be rebalanced in such a way that it offers neither Weapon perks nor drops on death.”
So you won’t be able to get Sleight of Hand or FMJ through the bonus. Instead, you’ll need to equip those in your loadout ahead of the round. And, once the Specialist Bonus user has died, the bonus will be gone for the remainder of the game.
While the developers stated we might see this item return to the game, players have been reporting since the start of Season 4 that they have been finding the Specialist Bonus from legendary loot crates.
It remains to be seen if the introduction of the Specialist Bonus in loot crates was the tease Raven Software had provided in the Season 4 patch notes of if the item has been added back to the game earlier than the developers were planning unintentionally.
Image Credit: Activision / Raven Software