You know what they say: In Call Of Duty, nobody’s ever dead forever. It’s just that usually they stay dead a little bit longer than John “Soap” MacTavish, who was only mostly dead. That’s a bit like when Alex “died” in 2019’s game, coming back later with a new leg. The only difference? We saw Soap die, shot in the head by Makarov (another character who returned from the dead himself!)
Soap leads the Season 4 Battle Pass along with two other new Operators, Hammer and Void, and a bunch of new weapons, skins, blueprints and more. Gundam is getting a crossover with new Operator skins and an event. And players will get free Pride skins to celebrate Pride Month. Beyond that, lots of new maps, modes, guns and more arrive at launch and mid-season in Season 4.
Here’s the Season 4 trailer:
And here’s the Season 4 Content Roadmap:
Okay, let’s break down the new stuff. As with every seasonal update during Modern Warfare III’s life as the “active” Call of Duty, Sledgehammer has put together a ton of great content. I have truly never seen such a momentous release schedule from any CoD developer in the past.
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New Maps
Three new maps are releasing this season. The first two—Tokyo and Paris—are already live. I’ve played both at this point and they’re medium to medium/large in scale, and very urban. Lots of high buildings and narrow lanes. The third, Incline, releases at the mid-season update. I really wish they’d give us some new Gunfight maps or port over MW2019 and MWII Gunfight maps, but still no love for that mode. They haven’t even given us a Blueprint Variance mode or updated the really lousy loadouts yet, either.
Paris
As you can see, this map has two outside lanes and then one center lane chopped up by interior rooms. It’s pretty straightforward.
Tokyo
This is a smaller, two-lane map set at night, though thankfully it’s still very well-lit. If anything, it isn’t the darkness that makes visibility a challenge on this map, it’s just all the busy colors and decor. I still like it, though.
Incline
This final map of the season won’t launch for a few weeks but it looks cool. Set in a research outpost in the mountains of Urzikstan, this one is also medium-sized. At first glance, it reminds me of Sledgehammer’s Gondola map from Vanguard.
Das Gross
Not a new map, but a newly overhauled map, Das Gross just gives Das Haus the creepy Vortex look. It actually looks like something taken from DOOM. This one will also release midseason.
New Modes
Several new modes are going live this season. The first two, Demolition and Hyper-Cranked are already in playlists. Demolition is a respawn mode where one team tries to blow up two bomb sites while the other team defends. Hyper-Cranked is just like Cranked, with a countdown timer that resets when you get a kill and explodes you if it runs out, only the timer starts when you spawn now. It actually makes more sense than regular Cranked.
Havoc also returns later in the season. We got this toward the end of MWII. It basically has random gameplay elements added throughout a match, like low-gravity or Cranked or third-person mode. This happens to everyone at the same time and makes for some wacky matches. Headshots Only is also releasing later this season.
Finally, there will be various playlist updates throughout the season that add modifiers to existing modes, such as Looping Killstreaks, Killstreak Caches and so forth.
Ranked Multiplayer has some new rewards but apparently no changes, meaning we’re still stuck with just one Assault Rifle and I have no interest in playing.
New Perks, Equipment and Killstreaks
Several new weapons, a couple pieces of new gear and a handful of new Killstreaks all make for some fun additions to Season 4. Some of these are unlocked via challenges, others in the Battle Pass as free unlocks.
New Vest: Mission Control Vest
This gives you a Tactical, Lethal, Field Upgrade, Gloves, and 2 Gear Slots. Killstreaks are reduced in cost by 1 kill or 125 points and gives you 1 kill or 125 points for every 2 Kill Assists or Cross Fire Assists. Pretty cool!
New Perk [Gear]: Compression Plate
“Immediately regenerate health after a Primary, Secondary, or Throwing Knife/ Throwing Star kill. Objective captures also trigger health regeneration. An icon appears on your HUD when this Perk is active.”
New KillstreaK: Intelligent Munitions Systems (I.M.S.)
Kills: 8 / Score: 1,000
“The Intelligent Munitions System is loaded with smart explosives that eliminate enemy personnel and vehicles within range. When triggered, it will eject an explosive upwards, which then locks onto its target and propels towards them.”
New Killstreak: Missile Drone
Kills 11 / Score, 1,375
“A small, piloted drone controlled by the player that fires guided missiles.”
New KillstreaK DNA Bomb
They don’t list the kills or score for this one. It’s basically a nuke that kills every player in the match. Unlike the nuke, it doesn’t end the match, however.
New Weapons and Aftermarket Parts
Kar98k (Marksman Rifle)
This fan-favorite bolt-action sniper returns as a Marksman Rifle with one-shot kill potential and a slow rate of fire. It has 16 levels and unlocks on Sector 15 of the Battle Pass.
Superi 46 (SMG)
The Superi 46 is a pistol-caliber SMG chambered in 4.6x300mm that hits hard and is highly mobile. It’s highly adaptable, but hits hardest up close, though it’s still very accurate at range. This unlocks on Sector 20 of the Battle Pass and has 21 levels.
Reclaimer 18 (Shotgun)
This mid-season shotgun has 6 levels and will likely be unlocked via special Battle Pass challenges. The hard-hitting 12-guage was last seen in Black Ops: Cold War.
Sledgehammer (Melee)
At last, Sledgehammer Games is adding an actual Sledgehammer! Now they need to add back 3v3 Knife Fight! This hard-hitting, slow-moving weapon has a couple different moves: The quick, less powerful pole butt that knocks back enemies, or the slow-but-deadly swing. Also releasing mid-season.
JAK Aftermarket Parts
There are 8 new Aftermarket Parts coming to the game this season, unlocked by completing weekly challenges or spending Arsenal Points in Warzone Mobile.
In my experience (having unlocked all the past Aftermarket Parts, but none of these new ones yet) sometimes they’re absolutely fantastic and other times they’re just goofy. Many of Season 4’s are for older, MWII guns, which is cool. Recently they had an Aftermarket Part that turned the M16 into a fully-automatic gun, now we’re getting parts for the Lachmann Shroud, the Kastov 762 and more.
JAK Harbinger Kit — Compatibility: M4 Assault Rifle (MWII)
- This .50 Cal conversion kit for the M4 is an extremely deadly, quick-kill weapon. The slow fire rate, drop in bullet velocity, and a significant increase in recoil will require a careful hand.
JAK Gunslinger — Compatibility: Basilisk Handgun (MWII)
- A frame and cylinder conversion that allows the revolver to hold eight rounds of .357 ammunition with an exceptional increase to rate of fire and a near instantaneous trigger action.
JAK Volkh — Compatibility: KV Inhibitor Sniper Rifle (MWIII)
- A meticulously crafted stock and receiver modification that updates the weapon to fire a two-round burst at minimal MOA dispersion, making every trigger pull count.
JAK Scimitar Kit — Compatibility: FJX Horus Submachine Gun (MWIII)
- Improved range and recoil are standard with this aftermarket kit which also unlocks the use of a high-capacity drum mag for the FJX Horus.
JAK Thumper-656 — Compatibility: RGL-80 Launcher (MWIII)
- An improved long barrel for an infantry-carried grenade launcher. Fires projectiles at higher velocities and distances. Compatible with a wider variety of launcher projectiles.
JAK Requiem — Compatibility: Kastov 762 Assault Rifle (MWII)
- A counter-balanced rifle system designed to completely eliminate vertical recoil.
JAK Decimator — Compatibility: Lachmann Shroud Submachine Gun (MWII)
- This modification allows the Lachmann Shroud to fire in full auto.
JAK Intimidator — Compatibility: Renetti Handgun (MWIII)
- Slow down your fire rate and take more deliberate shots with this modification that changes the Renetti to a single-shot weapon.
Battle Pass
The headline for this season’s Battle Pass—other than Soap and the new weapons, obviously—is the BlackCell-only Operators, Dupe and Copy. They have a special finishing move called “Identity Theft” that only they can equip. When you assassinate an enemy using this move, you immediately copy and equip your opponent’s skin. This effect lasts until you die.
The Battle Pass has 110 pieces of unlockable content including Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, COD Points and more. It can be used across MWIII, Warzone and Warzone Mobile and only has to be purchased once.
Warzone Updates
There are not any really big, significant updates for Warzone this season. Small stuff like the Specialist Perk coming to Urzikstan and new Tactical Sprint boots you can find in bunkers are the main things. Several Gulag variants are being added, but they’re mostly just different layouts for the same Gulag.
The biggest news is that Ashika has been taken out of the map rotation for Resurgence basically forever. I wish they’d take it back to the shop and give it a major overhaul. It ought to be much more colorful and they need to fix up some problems with gameplay flow. But I enjoyed it.
Buy Back Royale Solos returns. In this mode, if you have enough cash on you when you die you’ll immediately buy yourself back, which is nice.
The new Polaris RZR vehicle has also been added to Urzikstan. There will also be Loot Hot Zones where better gear is marked. These should be a good place to drop in for a sweaty opening engagement.
Other than that, not much new here beyond some weapon balancing. Ranked remains on Rebirth Island. It doesn’t look like any major changes have taken place on any of the maps. I suspect we’ll get a lot more in Season 5. It’s unclear if that will be the final season before Black Ops 6 or if we’ll get a Season 6 as well. We shall see.
Stay frosty.
