Warzone Season 6 – map changes, new bunkers, and a familiar Gulag

(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty Warzone Season 6 has now landed, with things getting off to an explosive start thanks to a series of seismic explosions from bombs planted around Verdansk, and all of these events are leading up to a final showdown between Adler and Stitch to conclude the Black Ops Cold War storyline. The influence of World War 2 is also starting to become more apparent in Warzone Season 6, paving the way to the even bigger changes due to arrive following the launch of Call of Duty Vanguard in November.

Verdansk has seen its landscape reshaped by a series of huge cracks, which is bound to change the meta for how certain locations are approached due to sightlines being cut off in places, and when you get sent to the Gulag you'll now find yourself in a very familiar showdown arena. With new weapons, loadouts, and perks spanning both the Cold War and World War 2, there's plenty of fresh additions to get to grips with, so here's a round up of all the biggest changes for Call of Duty Warzone Season 6.

What map changes are there for Warzone Season 6

Due to the seismic detonations triggered by Adler, Verdansk has been rocked by earthquakes and a number of areas have been torn apart in Warzone Season 6. The worst affected locations are Downtown and Stadium, where whole structures have collapsed and fissures have opened up to allow access to underground areas. Smaller fissures have also formed south of Radar Array and in the Promenade East / Verdansk Hospital area, and all of these cracks in the ground can provide cover from snipers while allowing players to approach locations undetected.

What are the World War 2 bunkers in Warzone Season 6

There are now three World War 2 bunkers that have been discovered around Verdansk in Warzone Season 6, which are located near Radar Array and Bloc 15, north of the Airport Maintenance area's electrical transformers, and north of the Boneyard's Silos. Look out for shipping containers in these areas, as they hide the access holes made by drills to reach these Warzone bunkers, then use your climbing device to descend the cables as you could take significant damage if you jump down. Inside these bunker facilities you find plenty of supplies, and perhaps even an escape route to emerge in another part of Verdansk.

What's happened to the Gulag in Warzone Season 6

The original Gulag should be familiar to most players as it was first sighted during a Modern Warfare 2 mission, then went on to feature as a Gunfight map in Modern Warfare and even appear in Call of Duty: Mobile. As the new setting for Gulag showdowns in Warzone Season 6, caution is advised as there are wide open sightlines down the three main lanes covering the length of the area, so stick to the showers or lockers to limit your exposure.

What weapons have been added in Warzone Season 6

Kicking things off for the weapons added in Warzone Season 6 is the .410 Ironhide shotgun at tier 15, which is the first new shotgun since Season 1, offering high damage for one-shot kills at the expense of slow fire and reload rates. The Grav assault rifle arrives next at tier 31, bringing a solid shooting range along with the fastest bullet velocity of its class and packing a minimum of 35 rounds into each clip. Look out for the in-game challenge or Store bundle to access the Battle Axe two-handed melee weapon, with the LAPA SMG and Hammer & Sickle dual wield melee weapon releasing during the season.

Who are the new Operators in Warzone Season 6

As we've come to expect by now, Warzone Season 6 delivers several new Operators to join the fight. The first of these is the familiar Alex Mason of NATO, who is available at launch, while Fuze of the Warsaw Pact will become available via Store bundles later in the season. Those who buy the Season 6 Battle Pass bundle will also unlock three legendary giant panda-themed Operator Skins – 'Panda Bear,' 'Red Panda,' and 'Pain Panda' – for Bulldozer, and if you digitally pre-order Call of Duty: Vanguard before November 5 then you'll immediately unlock Sgt. Arthur Kingsley as an Operator.

What's in the Warzone Season 6 Battle Pass

The Battle Pass for Warzone Season 6 features a mixture of Cold War and World War 2-themed items to usher in the transition to Call of Duty: Vanguard, so you'll see both through the usual 100-tier content collection that includes new weapons, Operators, cosmetics, and of course, 1,300 COD Points and XP Boosts. Included within this are a whopping twenty new weapon blueprints, with the highlight being the carnival-themed 'Kill Shot' ultra-rarity reactive Shotgun blueprint at tier 95.

What is The Haunting event in Warzone Season 6

The Warzone Haunting Halloween event will be running between October 19 and November 2, and while we only have the date and logo to work with right now, we can expect a similar repeat to last year's event that saw spooky changes to the map, zombies, plus some horror themed challenges and items to unlock.

What anti-cheat improvements are coming during Warzone Season 6

Warzone Season 5 new perks — (Image credit: Activision)

One other big new feature that will be arriving is anti-cheat software for PC, some time in Warzone Season 6 with the launch of Call of Duty: Vanguard and its new Warzone map. Hackers have been a huge issue in Warzone, with current developers Raven Software unleashing ban waves every so often that remove tens of thousands of players for cheating. It's not yet known if Warzone is getting anti-cheat measures from a third-party company, in the same way that Bungie has partnered with BattlEye for Destiny 2, but they are at least expanding beyond the internal security measures they currently have.

In a tweet announcing the new map and anti-cheat system for Warzone and Vanguard's launch, new "gameplay and playlists" will also be coming to the Warzone experience. As a main Call of Duty launch, Vanguard is likely acting as another soft reboot for Warzone in the same way that Black Ops Cold War did. Perhaps the return to the 1940s will bring about some radical gameplay changes in Warzone Season 6 regarding things like killstreaks and armor plating, but this is pure speculation for now so keep an eye out for any new details over the next month leading up to the Call of Duty: Vanguard launch.