Warzone Season 2 patch notes: Reactive Armor Perk, Reload Speed changes, Quality of Life updates, and more

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 2 patch notes have officially arrived. While Call of Duty has introduced a lot of new content in Black Ops 6, Warzone sees more quality of life updates as promised. From several bug fixes to changes in weapon reload speed, there is a lot to explore. Furthermore, the Ranked Play in the battle royale has also received some significant changes.

If you want to learn about the entire Warzone Season 2 patch notes, read below.

Warzone Season 2 patch notes

Here are all the changes done to Warzone with the Season 2 update:

MAPS

Urzikstan

Buy Stations
Buy station locations have been updated across Urzikstan.
Gulag
Gulag loadouts have been refreshed with new weapons and equipment.
Train
The automatic brake release timer has increased to 240 seconds, up from 60.

The train was a bit too eager in getting back into motion, disallowing some interesting plays with both hijacking the train, or intentionally parking it in a power position.

Area 99

Buy Stations
Two additional Buy Stations have been added to Area 99.

Also read, Black Ops 6 and Warzone Season 2 release countdown: Start time for all regions

RANKED PLAY

For the second season of Warzone Ranked Play, we’re deploying adjustments to restrictions, SR gains, and deployment fees. Notably, the Tracker perk, which now outlines enemies in line-of-sight without live pings, has been removed from the list of restrictions. New SR adjustments aim to streamline progression, helping players quickly align with skill-appropriate divisions while addressing barriers when bridging the gap between key ranks. Placement and elimination rewards have been fine-tuned to encourage competition and skill diversity in higher ranks, while also ensuring players in top tiers like Crimson and Iridescent face greater challenges to maintain their status. In addition, deployment fees have been rebalanced to ease progression in lower ranks and increase the prestige of reaching top tiers. See the full details below:

Cross-Play

The following changes are being implemented at the launch of Season 02 to provide players on console with the option to select the platform pool(s) they wish to matchmake with:

» PlayStation – In-Game Options «

On: Enables matchmaking with all gaming platforms when playing in Ranked playlists.
On (Consoles Only): Enables matchmaking only with other consoles when playing in Ranked playlists.
May negatively impact matchmaking queue times.
Off: Restricts Ranked matchmaking to your current gaming platform only.
Will negatively impact matchmaking queue times

» Xbox – In-Game Options «

On: Enables matchmaking with all gaming platforms when playing in Ranked playlists.
On (Consoles Only): Enables matchmaking only with other consoles when playing in Ranked playlists.
May negatively impact matchmaking queue times.
Off: Restricts Ranked matchmaking to your current gaming platform only.
Will negatively impact matchmaking queue times.

Restrictions

Tracker perk has been removed from the restricted items list in WZ Ranked Play.

The Tracker perk no longer live pings players and instead applies an outline to enemy players that is not visible through walls. In addition, fixes to Cold Blooded now allow the footsteps to be appropriately countered.

Skill Rating

Elimination Rank Delta
Rank Delta:
-3
-2
-1
0
1
2
3
Elimination SR:
3
4
6
8
9
10
12

Placement SR Gains

Placement:
Top 40: 0
Top 30: 10
Top 20: 20
Top 15: 30
Top 10: 50
Top 5: 60
1st: 100

Bonus SR Per Elim

Deployment Fees

Deployment Fee By Rank

Bronze I: No deployment fee
Silver I: 5 SR
Silver II: 10 SR
Silver III: 15 SR
Gold I: 25 SR
Gold II: 30 SR
Gold III: 35 SR
Platinum I: 45 SR
Platinum II: 50 SR
Platinum III: 55 SR
Diamond I: 65 SR
Diamond II: 70 SR
Diamond III: 75 SR
Crimson I: 85 SR
Crimson II: 90 SR
Crimson III: 95 SR
Iridescent & Top 250:
100 SR + 10 SR for every 500 SR above 10,000
Maximum deployment fee: 200 SR

Rewards

Compete in a second season of Battle Royale Ranked Play, earning the following seasonal rewards as you progress:

First Season Win: Elimination Charm
Get 25 Eliminations: Elimination Sticker
Get 100 Eliminations: Elimination Weapon Camo
Get 250 Eliminations: Elimination Weapon Blueprint
Silver: “Ranked Season 02 – “Silver” Emblem
Gold: “Ranked Season 02 – “Gold” Calling Card, Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Platinum: “Ranked Season 02 – Platinum” Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Diamond: “Ranked Season 02 – Diamond” Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Crimson: “Ranked Season 02 – Crimson” Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Iridescent: “Ranked Season 02 – Iridescent” Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Top 250: “Ranked Season 02 – Top 250” Calling Card Emblem, and Weapon Camo
Buy Stations
All Buy Stations, including deployable and standard ones, now close at the beginning of the "Final Circle" announcement.

GENERAL

Deployable Boxes
Utility boxes, such as munition boxes, armor boxes, and others, can no longer be placed in the gas.

We’ve noticed an increase in buy backs during the final circle, sometimes even after the gas has completely consumed the map. While we appreciate resourceful plays, the tactic of a team camping a Buy Station to secure a win doesn’t align with our vision for “last team standing wins”. To address this, we’re making changes to encourage more meaningful and intense engagements in the final moments – the way we believe most matches are meant to end.

We remain committed to identifying and addressing other “cheese” strategies in the game. Regardless of how long a mechanic has been around, we’re dedicated to refining systems to enhance the game’s competitive integrity.

Score Events
Added a new "Splat" score event in Battle Royale, which triggers when a player is eliminated while parachuting or skydiving.
Experience Balance
Battle Royale
Player XP increased by +7%.
Weapon XP increased by +10%.
Resurgence
Player XP decreased by -8%.
Weapon XP increased by +10%.
Plunder
Player XP increased by +22%.
Weapon XP decreased by -13%.

Player and Weapon XP rates have been adjusted in Warzone to bring each mode closer in line with one another.

Quality of Life Highlights

Advanced UAV
Advanced UAVs now display elevation arrows to indicate player altitude.
Warzone Barracks
The button layout in the Warzone Barracks has been reorganized to match the structure used in Multiplayer and Zombies.
Ammo Caches
Ammo Cache Depots now function like Munition Boxes, dropping additional ammo and equipment on the ground.
Pinging Buyback Flares
Players can now ping the flares from buybacks to better alert their teammates.
Match Stat Tracker
The font used in the match stat tracker has been adjusted for improved readability, especially at lower resolutions.
Detailed Weapon Stats
New stats have been added, and the layout has been redesigned to prioritize data clarity and accessibility.

Some stats adjusted by the attachments were not represented. The new stats better reflect reality.

Fade Distance
The fade distance for loadout and cash drop crates while parachuting has been reduced to 300 meters for improved visibility.

COMBAT

Body Shield

Victims are no longer automatically released mid-air.
The outline of the victim, previously visible through walls, has been disabled.
Players can no longer release a victim without executing them first.

The body shield was incorrectly releasing your victim when attempting to take someone with you to a plummeting death, resulting in your own death but not your victim's.

Additionally, we are removing the griefing mechanic of repeatedly releasing, downing, and releasing the same target. Going forward, if you choose to body shield a player, it must now culminate in an execution.

MOVEMENT

Jumping

Increased both jump speed and successive jump height with one unmodified successive jump.

We’re reverting some jump penalties to the values used last year. This marks the first step in our jump evaluation, and we’ll revisit this topic again in the future.

Parachute

Increased the speed of the parachute cut animation, making cutting a parachute and readying your weapon significantly faster.
Increased player velocity when landing from a cut parachute land, for smoother transition into full sprint.

The recovery time after landing from a parachute has often felt overly punishing, both for players trying to evade and those looking to engage. This adjustment aims to make the action more fluid and balanced, preventing it from feeling overly restrictive.

PERKS

Reactive Armor Perk Slot 2

Your armor will regenerate up to 50% if you have not taken damage in the last 5 seconds.
Available via Event Reward

Adjustments

Tracker
Pings have been replaced with an outline that is not visible through walls but will still appear on targets through smoke.
Tracker can now mark up to five targets simultaneously. Engaging a sixth target will remove the outline from the first target.

Tracker, Spy Camera, and Proxy Alarm have been adjusted to balance their usage. These changes address the over-reliance on intel systems that provide vision through walls. By scaling this back, we aim to align these mechanics with systems like UAVs while offering additional visual feedback. Our goal is to make highlight interactions more consistent, grounded, and balanced across engagements.

Dexterity
The weapon handling component of Dexterity has been enhanced and is now a default perk for all Warzone players.

This will result in smoother weapon handling for jumping, sliding and diving as a default change to all players.

Mountaineer
This perk returns in Slot 1, replacing Dexterity. Fall damage reduction has been significantly improved compared to the current version with Dexterity, though it’s not as powerful as its iteration in Modern Warfare III.
Veteran
Now provides significant damage reduction against the effects of Gas

EQUIPMENT

Munitions Satchel
Now only provides 1 additional item, down from 2, to address overstocking and spamming equipment.
Tacticals & Lethals
Maximum deployed tacticals and lethals reduced to 2 each, down from 3, to make more purposeful trap plays.
Impact Grenade
Default stack size increased from 2 to 3.
When equipped with a Munitions Satchel, the max stack size increases to 4.

Impact Grenades occupy a unique niche between Semtex and Frag grenades. A direct hit significantly boosts its damage while also bypassing some of the mitigation provided by Bomb Squad, making it a more skill-based option. We’ve made the choice to retain its max stack size at 4, due to it underperforming quite significantly in metrics previously. Perhaps this makes it more IMPACTFUL.

Thermobaric
Inner radius increased from 25 to 50.
Inner damage increased from 190 to 220.
Outer damage increased from 48 to 55.

The Thermobaric grenade has been adjusted to improve its usability by increasing the inner radius, making it easier to deal higher damage. The slight damage boost complements this change.

Frag Grenade
Inner damage decreased from 250 to 240.
Middle damage decreased from 170 to 120.
Outer damage increased from 48 to 55.

Frag grenades are a staple in combat, known for their reliability. Following adjustments in Black Ops 6, they’ve become easier to use. These changes aim to align their damage output with their ease of use, and we will continue to monitor their effectiveness.

Experimental Gas Grenade
Slightly increased the trigger height of the gas effects to better match visuals.
Movement reduction from gas decreased:
Without resistance: from 60% to 50%.
With resistance: from 60% to 25%.
Gas damage against resistant targets reduced from 8 to 5.

Gas grenade usage has increased, and these changes ensure proper counters are in place. The Veteran perk remains the best option to counter negative equipment effects. These adjustments aim to balance the grenade’s effectiveness while keeping counters viable.

Stim Shot
Strafe slide velocity with stim slightly reduced.

The combination of stim and omni-directional slides exceeded normal velocity thresholds. This adjustment brings it back in line with regular gameplay metrics.

Spy Camera
Updated the outline visual to no longer display through walls.
Effect duration increased from 7 seconds to 10 seconds.
Proxy Alarm
Updated the outline visual for better clarity.

KILLSTREAKS

Advanced UAV
Advanced UAVs now display elevation arrows to indicate player altitude.
Bunker Buster
Gas damage against targets with gas resistance has been reduced from 8 to 5.

FIELD UPGRADES

Loadout Drop Marker
The bounce factor for Loadout Drop Markers has been reduced by 50%.

It’s not uncommon to see Loadout Markers bouncing far from their intended drop location. By halving the bounce factor - which was previously comparable to that of a smoke grenade - we aim to maintain the grenade-like behavior while minimizing the frustrating, unintended movement. We’ll continue to monitor player feedback on this adjustment.

Portable Decontamination Station
The ability to re-enable closed Buy Stations during the final circle by placing a Decontamination Station nearby has been removed.

WEAPONS

General

Reload Speeds
Reload speeds have been improved across all weapons, with increases ranging from 5% to 20%, depending on the weapon class.
Modern Warfare 3
Assault Rifles (ARs): 15% faster
Marksman Rifles (MRs): 5% faster
Submachine Guns (SMGs): 10% faster
Sniper Rifles: 12% faster
Handguns: 5% faster
Battle Rifles: 10% faster
Modern Warfare 2
Assault Rifles (ARs): 12% faster
Marksman Rifles (MRs): 10% faster
Light Machine Guns (LMGs): 15% faster
Submachine Guns (SMGs): 22% faster
Sniper Rifles: 15% faster
Handguns: 5% faster
Battle Rifles: 10% faster
Black Ops 6
Assault Rifles (ARs): 5% faster
Marksman Rifles (MRs): 5% faster
Light Machine Guns (LMGs): 10% faster
Submachine Guns (SMGs): 10% faster
Sniper Rifles: 10% faster
Handguns: 5% faster
Reload speeds for Flip and Fast Mag attachments have been increased by an additional 5%.

We have increased reload speeds to help make combat feel more fluid and decrease overall downtime. This should get it closer to previous iterations when using sleight of hand.

Bullet Penetration
Adjusted bullet penetration across most materials resulting in a more consistent experience for thicker walls in particular.
Weapon Swap
Increased swap speed by 10%, effectively replicating the effect of the Quick Grip Gloves Perk from Modern Warfare.
Sprint-to-Fire
Reduced sprint-to-fire penalty when jumping from 35% to 10%.
Aim-Down-Sight
Reduced the aim-down-sight (ADS) jump speed penalty by 25%.

We want to allow different play styles and movement mechanics to feel viable and smooth to perform. We will continue to monitor how these are playing out and adjust accordingly.

LOOT

Lootable Perks
The available perks from ground loot have been updated to include:
Shrouded, Irradiated, Veteran, Reflexes, Sprinter, and Tempered.
Lootable Weapons
All ground loot weapon builds have been refreshed for the new season.
Semi-auto rifles, burst rifles, and common through epic handguns have been removed.
New Season 2 weapons have been added to the ground loot pool.

We've all been there - you pick up a rifle expecting it to be automatic, only to discover it’s semi-auto or burst when you fire. While we work on improving fire mode visibility, we’ve simplified the ground loot weapon pool to create a more predictable and consistent experience for all players.CONTRACTS

Intel
Completing Intel contracts now has a very low chance to reward a Durable Gas Mask.
Signal Intelligence
Cash rewards for Signal Intelligence contracts, which were previously $7,500 per player, have been reduced based on squad size as follows:
Solos: $7,500 per player ($7,500 total).
Duos: $4,500 per player ($9,000 total).
Trios: $3,500 per player ($10,500 total).
Quads: $3,000 per player ($12,000 total).

Signal Intelligence contracts were providing an excessive cash payout, especially for larger squad sizes. These adjustments, while significant, still offer high rewards compared to other contracts.

Scavenger
Distance between scavenger crates has been reduced, requiring less of a marathon between objectives.
The majority of the time, objectives will prioritize remaining within the same point of interest.

PUBLIC EVENTS

Runaway Train
This event now has a 10% chance to occur in the 5th circle of Battle Royale.

CHALLENGES

Warzone Tactician
Bunker Busters and Cluster Strikes no longer count toward progress for this challenge.
Deadeye
The requirement to ping an enemy before eliminating them has been removed for challenge progression.

VEHICLES

Damage Adjustments
C4 and IED damage have been slightly adjusted to ensure greater consistency when destroying vehicles.

UI/UX

Post-Match XP Widget
Updated XP widget to provide more information after a match.

AUDIO

Third Party Reverb
Reducing reverb effects to improve directionality of movement audio produced by other players (footstep, ascenders, parachutes).
Parachute
Adjusted parachute audio being louder than intended at farther distances.
Self-Revive
Players will now hear the enemy self-revive sound.

BUG FIXES

Fixed an issue where the Ghost perk would persist from the pre-match lobby into the match.
Fixed an issue where Cold Blooded did not properly counter Tracker after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where Quick Fix health regeneration did not activate correctly while plating.
Fixed an issue preventing Quick Fix health regeneration from functioning when eliminating an enemy with the Combat Axe or Throwing Knife after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where the Survivor perk prevented players from reviving downed squad members after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where weapons became inaccessible near interactable areas.
Fixed an issue causing weapons to fall through Buy Station models.
Fixed an issue where the Experimental Gas Grenade gameplay effects lingered longer than the visual effects.
Fixed an issue causing weapon tooltips to incorrectly display as "common" when dropped.
Fixed an issue where MWII and MWIII weapons were missing Black Ops 6 weapon stats, including slide-to-fire time.
Fixed visibility issues on Rebirth Island.
Fixed an issue causing parachutes to deploy when jumping off ladders.
Fixed an issue where players were not always able to go prone while reviving a teammate.
Fixed an issue where bounty contracts displayed a delay in showing completion in the UI.
Fixed an issue causing players to spectate an enemy who did not eliminate them.
Fixed an issue where Most Wanted contracts did not override respawn timers as intended.
Fixed issues preventing selected operators from properly applying in the front-end menu.
Fixed an issue where the PRD audio sounded similar to zipline audio.
Fixed an issue causing players to redeploy without weapons and preventing loot interactions.
Fixed an issue preventing auto-pickup functionality when items were on lower shelves.
Fixed an issue where the Scrambler effect persisted on the map throughout the match.
Fixed an issue allowing players to launch themselves off a ladder using a Stim Shot.
Fixed an issue where attempting to pick up one of multiple guns on the ground caused players to juggle them after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed additional cases where UAVs and Advanced UAVs did not trigger as expected.
Fixed an issue where the Precision Airstrike notification failed to appear on the player’s location after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where icons for off-screen enemies were not displaying properly on the mini-map.
Fixed an issue preventing the self-ping icon from appearing.
Fixed an issue where the loadout selection UI displayed placeholder icons and white boxes in the live lobby.
Fixed an issue where the obituary feed overlapped with the active contract widget.
Fixed an issue where users were kicked from the menu when trying to prestige.
Fixed an issue where the Armory FTUE replayed when returning from CoD HQ after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where the enemy voice chat icon displayed as friendly instead of red after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where KBM (keyboard and mouse) buttons for emotes in the Winner’s Circle did not function after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where duplicate armor satchels did not trigger the "inventory full" notification.
Fixed overlap issues with the Prestige Master screen after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where private lobby codes did not always display properly.
Fixed issues with parachutes during the Jailbreak public event after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where players only had one Gulag Rock instead of five in the Gulag.
Fixed an issue causing players to spawn in the Gulag with Gulag Rocks in Warzone Ranked.
Fixed an issue causing players to lose Tac Sprint functionality after using a zipline after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed a camera issue during infil sequences on Rebirth Island after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where crates could spawn out of bounds during the High Stakes public event.
Fixed an issue causing MWII and MWIII loadout weapons to disappear when dropped.
Fixed an issue where grabbing a loadout with a Baseball Bat caused it to appear as a Throwing Knife when equipped after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue causing the Spy Camera to consume multiple charges when activated once after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue allowing players to call in more Care Packages than intended during a match.
Fixed an issue where Squid Games finishing moves did not consistently execute the enemy.
Fixed an issue where the "Zipped Up" score event medal did not trigger in BR when a player killed someone while on a zipline or ascender after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where the "Hot Potato" grenade throwback medal did not trigger if the grenade downed the enemy instead of fully eliminating them.
Fixed an issue preventing the elimination card from appearing when eliminating an enemy in the Gulag after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue causing the primary weapon in a loadout to reset after a match.
Fixed an issue where the player’s HUD disappeared when redeploying.
Fixed an issue where the Recents tab in the Add Friends menu did not function properly.
Fixed an issue causing the Recon Drone to appear invisible while in use.
Fixed an issue where eliminations did not track properly for the player who downed an enemy taken hostage by a teammate after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where team colors in the killfeed were inconsistent with the actual player colors after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue where contact icons occasionally disappeared from the map after Warzone Season 2 update.
Fixed an issue causing the typing sound to persist after using a UAV Tower.
Fixed an issue with the "Bombshell" challenge where kills were not tracked correctly.
Fixed an issue where some Dark Ops challenges did not grant XP properly.
Fixed an issue where wins were calculated incorrectly in the "In Resurgence or BR, finish Top 10" challenge.

That covers eevrything you needed to know about Warzone Season 2 patch notes. Check out our other Call of Duty related news and guides:

Edited by Debabrata Naiya