The current state ofCall of Duty: Warzoneis a bit messy to say the least, as the community is completely divided between those that enjoy Caldera and those that miss Verdansk. With how different Caldera is from its predecessor, these debates are unlikely to die down anytime soon. As such, it is not too surprising thatCall of Duty: Warzonefanshave tried to find a potential solution that keeps Caldera and Verdansk fans satisfied.
Recently, gamers landed on the topic of map rotation, hoping thatCall of Duty: Warzonewould adopt theApex Legendsfeature. While it remains to be seen if this will ever happen, as there are concerns that the game’s file size could get even more out of hand, it is hard not to see the upside of such an addition. In fact, as time goes on and more maps are added, a map rotation will make even more sense.
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Providing An Alternate To Caldera
Theremoval of Verdansk was always riskyon the part of Raven Software, and thus far it seems like this risk did not pay off. Many streamers and content creators have moved away from the battle royale game due to their dislike for Caldera, with the slow-paced gameplay style being a far cry from Verdansk. Not only do players have more foliage to hide themselves in, but the new map’s layout has come under fire for a few reasons.
One of the majorissues with Calderais the amount of open space in the center of the map, and this highlights the other flaw with the map: a lack of named locations to land at. Caldera has seven less points of interest than Verdansk, and the interesting landing spots it does have are nearly all on the edges of the map. This makes the center of Caldera feel empty, which is different from Verdansk since the old map had several points of interest to go to no matter where players landed. With the volcano at the center of Caldera limiting its points of interest, it will be intriguing to see how Raven addresses this issue.
Aside from Caldera having a different playstyle that not all players will enjoy, it also introducedCall of Duty: Warzone’s planes- one of the most divisive additions to the games thus far. While some players enjoy dogfighting in the skies above the Pacific Island, others have used the planes to terrorize players down below, killing them before they even have a chance to react. If a map rotation was added to the game, players who prefer a fast-paced style or dislike the game’s planes would get a few months away from Caldera.
Potential Downsides To A Call of Duty: Warzone Map Rotation
While the upsides to a potential map rotation are clear, there are some potential downsides to keep in mind as well. As mentioned earlier,Call of Duty: Warzone’s file sizehas already been criticized for being too large, and having several full-sized maps in the game at once could make it even better. For those that want to have multiple games downloaded and have not purchased some external storage, this could immediately turn them away from the idea of a map rotation.
Another big issue is that map rotations will see maps players enjoy being taken away, only with the promise that they will eventually return. While it is true that the community that is currently mourning the removal of Verdansk would be happy to see it return, those that enjoyCalderacould be just as devastated to see it go. Though map rotations do keep all players on one map, ensuring that the community is not split up, they also have the downside of a single map being active.
Perhaps the biggest problem with a map rotation being added to the game is the current lack of variety inCall of Duty: Warzone’s maps. The main reason thatApex Legends’ map rotationworks so well is that all the game’s maps are significantly different, but that is not the case withCall of Duty: Warzone. Two of the three battle royale maps are variants of Verdansk, with Verdansk 84 being extremely similar to the original map. There is also only one small map, with the only possible switch to make for the Resurgence playlist being Rebirth Island’s night and day variants. While a map rotation may be viable in the future when more maps are added, it makes little sense currently.
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Keeping Old Maps Relevant When New Maps Arrive
Fortunately, new maps are supposedly coming toCall of Duty: Warzonesoon, meaning that a map rotation would be a good thing for the game to adopt in the near future. Leaks have suggested that a full-sized battle royale map will debut at the end of the year to celebrate the arrival ofCall of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It will supposedly be comprised of iconiclocations from the originalMW2, meaning that it could be a hit with nostalgic fans. Still, even a map that plays on fans’ fond memories of their younger years could get old with time, so a rotation that occasionally brings back Verdansk and Caldera would help.
TheMW2-inspiredCall of Duty: Warzonemap is not the only new location to have been leaked, however. Apparently,Rebirth Island will soon be replacedby a new, small-scale Resurgence map. This 40-player location will have big shoes to fill, as many have enjoyed playing on the reskinned version of Alcatraz. If the new map proves as divisive as Caldera, fans could be even more outraged, as two fan favorite maps would be gone in favor of some lackluster follow-ups. Once again, a map rotation would help here, as players could swap between Rebirth Island and the new map every few Seasons.
With theproperCall of Duty: Warzonesequelnot dropping until 2023, fans will still be spending a fair bit of time with the original game. As such, it is important for Raven Software to make sure that the game always feels fresh for players, something that Respawn has perfected withApex Legends. Pulling from that game’s success to introduce a map rotation feature would not be a bad idea, as while it may not be necessary right now, it will become hugely beneficial once the next twoWarzonemaps are released.
Call of Duty: Warzoneis available now on PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
