Call of Duty Warzone devs say what we're all thinking and call campers cowards

The spookiest time of the year for Call of Duty Warzone is also the shadiest, as its developers have come right out and called in-game camping an act of cowardice.

The heavy judgment was issued in the rundown for the Warzone Haunting event's new-and-improved Ghosts of Verdansk limited-time mode. It changes up last year's spooky battle royale mode by turning fallen players into ghosts, rather than zombies, and it also introduces an all-new fear meter for Call of Duty Warzone operators to manage.

The Fear meter rises on its own over time - it's scary out there, folks - and it will also get a bump from being shot at, seeing dead bodies or ghosts, having your squadmates be downed or eliminated, and "camping (AKA cowardice)". Not to be confused with heading out into the wilderness with a tent and a backpack full of trail mix, this refers to the age-old online shooter practice of holing up in a comfy spot for a long stretch of time and using your superior position to mow down hapless passers by.

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It's been a controversial approach to competition since the days of Quake LAN parties, and now the developers of Warzone have officially deemed it an act of cowardice - at least when it comes to generating fear, which can lead to in-game hallucinations and further fiendish trials.

Still, camping isn't a death sentence by itself in Ghosts of Verdansk; keep racking up those eliminations and your fear will keep dropping, and you can also steel your nerves by reviving squadmates, completing contracts, and staying within sacred ground (before the ghosts tear it down and come shrieking after you once more).