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Warzone Season 2 Reloaded is here, and there are some serious changes you should be aware of before you drop back into battle. Not only did the ever-present Rebirth Island get a massive facelift, but there are new modes, a new weapon trade system, and much more. Warzone mid-season updates are usually pretty extensive, but it feels like Season 2 Reloaded is bigger and better than most. Not only can players work as a community to earn new gameplay features, but there's already some baked into the revamped mode.
Plus, Raven Software is working to better integrate Vanguard Royale and the traditional Warzone battle royale, with more updates coming throughout the season. Coming from a lapsed Warzone player, now's the time to jump back in. There's a lot to unpack in Warzone Season 2 Reloaded, but these are the five biggest changes.
1. Rebirth Island's facelift
Dropping into Rebirth Island for the first time may be a bit of a shock. There are several new POIs that have replaced old ones, updated POIS, and a shifted layout. According to the Call of Duty blog post, Security Area was "one of the least popular" POIs in the old Rebirth Island, and the team wanted to "breathe new fresh air into this area to bring players in a more engaging destination." Security Area is now known as Stronghold, and while it's still the lowest-lying area on the map there's more verticality than ever before thanks to several new buildings and a radar station. The Shore has been renamed to Dock, and it's over by the Control Center that debuted in May 2021. Now there's a supply vessel docked with several good fighting areas, and masts that can be used for lookouts. You'll find a similar ship on the other side of the map by the Nova 6 Factory, whose roof is perfectly lined up with the top of that ship's masts. Prison Courtyard is also completely different with more cover to prevent you from getting sniped from the nearby building's roof, and it's confirmed that the island has more spread-out loot to encourage exploration.
2. Rebirth Reinforced event
Rebirth Reinforced is a limited-time event offering the community a chance to earn new gameplay elements together and get XP boosts for your trouble. The limited-time event tasks you with dropping into the revamped Rebirth Island in-game modes like Resurgence Solos, Payload, and Blood Money. Resurgence Solos is a ton of fun, as the countdown to respawn that's usually dependent upon your teammates is a bit different. Players will get a chance to drop back into the map immediately after dying but will have to stay alive for 20 seconds before they're officially active in the match again. It's really easy to get sniped from Nolva 6 while parachuting down, or drop onto one of the new ships and accidentally into an enemy's lap, so there's a ton of fun to be had.
3. Weapon Trade Stations
The community aspect of Rebirth Reinforced means that we won't get the Weapon Trade Station until we earn enough kills on the island. If (and when) we do, anyone who participated in the event will get access to the Weapon Trade Stations that will be littered across Rebirth Island - and they're serious game-changers. The stations will let you trade your current weapon in for a new one that has some added bonuses. It will also show you which weapons you can get in exchange for your current one and will throw in a full clip of ammo (and occasionally a cash bonus and other rewards) to boot. The higher rarity of your gun, the better weapon you'll get from the station: offering up a legendary, ultra, or heroic gun will get you a rare gun, $800 or $100, a killstreak, a field upgrade, and a random lethal or tactical equipment. What a trade.
4. Deployable Buy Stations
This is a cool one: a Deployable Buy Station is now a new field upgrade that can be found as Legendary ground loot. Deploy the marker and a buy station will drop on that location, giving you and your teammates a chance to make the most of a fire sale or buy your loadouts without having to travel to dangerous high traffic areas. The Deployable Buy Station has the same inventory as a regular Buy Station and it will show up on Tac Maps with a unique icon. No word on if enemies can use your deployed stations, but wouldn't that be a ton of fun?
5. The larger battle royale
According to the Season 2 patch notes, Raven Software has spent the last two seasons closely monitoring Vanguard Royale and is ready to start merging it into the traditional Warzone battle royale experience. It's unclear how those merges will play out, but expect the standard battle royale to feel increasingly different as Season 2 Reloaded goes on. The patch notes state: "We have been really happy with the reception to Vanguard Royale, and as we have listened, watched, and enjoyed all the conversations about the two Battle Royale modes, it’s now time to take the best bits from each and create the definitive Battle Royale experience, starting at launch and with further updates happening during the in-season and the seasons ahead." Considering how rough the initial Warzone and Call of Duty: Vanguard integration was, this is a great step for the game and one we'll definitely keep an eye on.
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