Warzone first saw light in 2020 and since then it has been a fan-favorite mode that brought new and old players alike to its battleground. Sadly, the clash between young and old has come to a head and dads are starting to be annoyed by the increase in sweatier players in every Warzone lobby.
Reddit user wellthatseemslikebs jumped onto the Warzone sub yesterday to pose a question to other players: what happened to Warzone and how do people play it? Elaborating, they say Caldera or Verdansk was never this sweaty and encountering players bouncing off walls every game is exasperating—especially after work.
The response our protagonist received was mixed from plenty of players admitting that this was the status quo. Reddit user Th3MJK summed it up nicely, saying, "The older the game, the better the players become."
A comment that can't be argued against as the level of skill in older Call of Duty games such as World at War is significantly lower than today's standard. As the games we play grow and adapt, so do our skills. As such, it's no wonder Warzone 1 had a more casual player base, while Warzone 2 and 3 have seen a giant surge in the sweatier variety.
When you're an older gamer back home from a busy day of work and responsibilities on your mind, there's nothing more infuriating than getting your ankles snapped by a player bouncing around the environment.
Bigmean3434 entered the conversation stating, "Fellow annoyed dad checking in. Last night was ridiculous. When this game is fun, it is really fun, and when it isn’t it is not. It is 70/30 not fun." The conversation continues as harkus29 joins in, saying, "Another fellow Dad here; I totally agree with you. My buddies and I were having decent games and having fun up until two or three weeks ago." Bigmean3434 returns with a sentence summarizing the entire issue with Warzone: "There are not enough casuals to have casual lobbies."
I've faced this problem myself and I am most certainly not a 50-year-old father; I've tried to queue up some Warzone to chill and shoot some bad guys, but I'm dunked on by skillful players. I even consider myself extremely competitive but I have no desire to always lock in; sometimes I'd like the option to lean back and enjoy the game. This constant battle against sweats causes you to feel like you just want to play a different Call of Duty.
In the end, this underlines a general issue with Warzone: there's no casual environment for players to spend their time in with their brains off. Plunder isn't a viable option since it's not a particularly fun game mode to begin with, nor are Resurgence or Urzikstan any better due to the sweatier players.
Adding new game modes that lean towards a casual audience would be a good start, or even tackling the issue behind skill-based matchmaking to give leniency to players seeking a chill environment. Changes to movement and meta could also help bring old fans back in to the fold. All that's left to do is wait for Treyarch's answer with their upcoming CoD expected to release at the end of the year.
That's all we have on the angry dads wagging their fists. If you're looking for more Call of Duty content, check out DMZ was the best thing Call of Duty did since Warzone and Activision killed it, Top 10 All-time Call of Duty Zombie Maps, and more on Pro Game Guides.
