GamingCall of Duty

Warzone Season 5 update: patch notes, new perks, weapons, POIs, Rush Gulag, more

Theo Salaun
Warzone Season 5 artworkActivision

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 5 is now upon us, as Activision have revealed patch notes for the highly anticipated launch. From two new Perks and four new weapons to new map changes and a Rush-inspired Gulag, here are the update details you need to know.

While the Warzone meta continues to shift around in Season 4, players now have even more changes to sift through in Season 5. According to the new update’s patch notes, the game has received two exclusive new perks and four new weapons. Those may all have an impact on the meta, while other changes should impact gameplay as well.

Fans worried about staleness should be happy to hear that the Gulag has changed to one based on Black Ops 2’s Rush map, while the map gets some new dynamic POIs and changes to the Red Doors. On top of it all, there’s also a revamped Clash mode in Verdansk and more Operators. Read on for the full intel.

Warzone Season 5 update sizes

With the full Season 5 update now available, here are the exact patch sizes across every platform:

  • PlayStation 5: 13.7 GB
  • PlayStation 4: 13.7GB
  • Xbox Series X / Xbox Series S: 13.6 GB
  • Xbox One: 13.6 GB
  • PC: 19.3 GB () / 20.8 GB ()

Warzone Season 5 new perks: Tempered & Combat Scout

Two new perks made their debut in Season 5 and, for the first time ever, they’re Warzone-exclusive. Each brings a different level of diversity to the game and should intrigue players. (No word on the teased High Alert changes just yet.)

New Tempered Perk

warzone season 5 tempered perkActivision
The new Tempered perk makes armoring up easier than ever.

The Tempered Perk takes up the coveted second slot, which is normally used for either Overkill or Ghost. But Tempered is no slouch either, as it essentially allows players to use just two Armor Plates instead of one.

Using Tempered, players gain extra resistance per Armor Plate, so they can only use two plates — but those two armor them fully. Considering how much more time that saves, this Perk could gain a lot of fans quickly.

New Combat Scout Perk

Combat Scout, on the other hand, is exclusively a reconnaissance Perk. When someone is using Combat Scout, any damage they do to an enemy (whether through penetrable cover or in the open) immediately highlights that player (like a Snapshot Grenade) and live pings them for teammates to see.

Warzone Season 5 new guns: EM2, TEC-9, Marshal, Cane

Season 5 AR: EM2 (Launch)

The EM2 is simply described as a balanced, fully automatic assault rifle that has strong accuracy and range, but a lower rate of fire. It’s unclear exactly how this gun will perform in the current meta, but its versatility is certainly intriguing — especially now that the Krig 6 has been nerfed.

Season 5 SMG: TEC-9 (Launch)

warzone tec 9Activision
Season 5’s TEC-9 SMG has some deadly potential.

A gun that people may have noticed during the Season 5 trailer, the TEC-9 is somewhere between an SMG and a Pistol, but has unique qualities. Small and likely easy to handle, the gun is a semi-auto SMG with an emphasis on decent range to balance out a slower firing rate.

Season 5 Pistol-Shotgun: Marshal (In-Season)

It’s been a while since Warzone has had a Shotgun or Pistol meta, but that may change in Season 5. The Marshal is part Pistol, part Shotgun, all capable of high damage and, apparently, one-shot kill potential. It already seems to be one of the most unique guns to grace Verdansk.

Season 5 Melee weapon: Cane (Launch)

For those who want to be as sophisticated as they are stealthy, the Cane is a new Melee weapon capable of punishing bad guys while looking like a gentleman.

Warzone Season 5 map changes: Rush Gulag, POIs, Red Doors

warzone season 5 rush gulagActivision
Another BO2 map comes to the Warzone Gulag and this time it’s Rush.

Season 5 Gulag: Rush

The pattern of Black Ops 2 maps making a return in Cold War then the Gulag continues, as the classic Rush map is now Season 5’s Gulag. Interestingly, this should allow for a faster pace of play as it uses the map’s paintball area.

Season 5 map & Red Door changes

As part of the game’s ongoing story, there are some Mobile Broadcast Station POIs scattered through Verdansk in Season 5 — as well as some weirdly censored POIs that we’ll have to wait and find out about. The Broadcast Stations have an added tweak too: they’ll spawn in different places each game, offering some versatility.

As for the Red Doors, they’re apparently more hectic and unpredictable than ever, likely tying into a mid-season event.

Warzone Season 5 mode: Clash & Red Doors

Both coming mid-season, there will be a Clash mode and some sort of in-season event related to the Red Doors and Perseus. While the latter is entirely redacted (aside from some mention of the Mobile Broadcast Stations), there is some news about Clash.

season 5 red doors eventActivision
A mid-season event is set to feature Mobile Broadcast Stations and other mysterious action.

Described as an evolution of Warzone Rumble, Clash is essentially a large-scale death match on Verdansk that lets players pick their loadouts and fight it out while finishing up contracts and random mid-game events. It’s basically Rumble, but better.

Warzone Season 5 new Operators: Kitsune, Stryker, Hudson

It wouldn’t be Warzone without new Operators. So, fear not, there are three new characters to choose from in Season 5.

Kitsune is the already-controversial hacker who works for the Warsaw Pact, Stryker is a stealthy, robo-cop-esque NATO operative, and Hudson is another NATO member and well-known friend to Adler.

Warzone Season 5 update: full patch notes

warzone season 5 art

Playlists

Adding

  • Rebirth Island -Mini Royale – Trios

Removing

  • Verdansk – LTM – Payload

Keeping

  • Rebirth Island – Resurgence – Quads
  • Verdansk – Blood Money – Quads

Maps

New Points of Interest

  • Mobile Broadcast Stations: These POIs can be found in a variety of locations in Verdansk, differing from match-to-match to keep one area from being signal boosted by the rewards they offer. See what they’re all about by going closer to them, but be sure to keep your head and tune ouf of the broadcast.
  • [REDACTED] has gone off the grid and reports suggest [REDACTED] in Verdansk – what, we do not know. This is an unauthorized [REDACTED] that could jeopardize our [REDACTED] in discovering and stopping Stich.
  • New Gulag: Rush – Based on the classic Black Ops II map, this layout is comprised of the main speedball arena.
  • Red Doors: Beware of these doors sending you to unexpected locations other than the main room. This may have something to do with those Mobile Broadcast Stations seen around Verdansk.

General

  • [Console Only] High-resolution textures are now delivered through On-Demand Texture Streaming. To enjoy a similar visual quality, enable this feature in the Options menu.
  • [PC Only] The Windows 7 operating system will stop being supported by Call of Duty®: Modern Warfare® and Call of Duty®: Warzone™ on September 8th, 2021.

Gameplay

  • Loot that spawns across Verdansk has been adjusted as follows…
    • New Gulag and in-game lobby loadouts
    • The Sentry Gun Killstreak can now be found in Supply Boxes
    • The TEC-9 (BOCW) and EM2 (BOCW) have been added to the loot pool
  • Players may now detach from an ascender before reaching their destination.

  • Added:
    • Combat Scout – Slot 3 (Yellow)
      • Damaging an enemy briefly highlights and automatically pings them.
    • Tempered – Slot 2 (Red)
      • Armor Plates are reinforced and now absorb 75 damage instead of 50. Only two Armor Plates are needed for an Operator to be considered “fully armored.”
  • Adjusted:
    • Cold-Blooded – Slot 1 (Blue)
      • Undetectable by AI targeting systems and thermal optics. Does not trigger High Alert warning and negates Combat Scout.

Bug Fixes

  • Fixed additional collision issues with various elements across Verdansk allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
  • Fixed visual issues with various elements across Verdansk causing them to disappear at certain angles or allowing light to shine through them.
  • Fixed an issue allowing Players to hide inside of cash drops.
  • Fixed an issue related to the in-game lobby causing Players to turn invisible for the duration of the match.
  • Fixed an issue where a Munitions Box could be dropped in the in-game lobby and persist to the live match.
  • Fixed an issue where a Player would lose their Weapons when reviving another player if the downed Player gave up.
  • Fixed an issue where a Player’s head would disappear when a Plunder bag was on their back.
  • Fixed an issue where Dismemberment was not working for the “Solar Flare” Blueprint.
  • Fixed an issue where new Text Chat options did not appear in the Accessibility Menu.
  • Fixed an issue where sniper glint would sometimes not appear.
  • Fixed an issue where the “Solar Flare” Blueprint wasn’t properly applied to the base Weapon.
  • Fixed an issue where the Bumper Ping Button Layout would ping when deploying a Field Upgrade.
  • Fixed an issue with the Steady Aim Laser descriptions for the AK-47 (BOCW) and C58 (BOCW).
  • Fixed an issue where Tracers were not present when using the “Solar Flare” Blueprint.
  • Fixed an issue with Akimbo Pistols would spawn with the left Weapon unloaded.
  • Fixed an issue with the OTs 9 (BOCW) dynamic icons.

UI, UX, & More

  • Added a new Armor Box icon to better differentiate between Ammo Box and Armor Box.

Accessibility

  • Added the option to have Steady Aim Behavior be a toggle instead of a hold for Controller and KBM.
    • This accessibility feature supports motor disability by eliminating the need to hold a button for extended periods of time in order to stabilize scoped Weapons such as snipers.
    • The setting has two options:
      • Hold: Press and hold to steady aim.
      • Toggle: Press to steady aim. Press again to stop.
    • Note: The setting cannot be used if the Change Zoom Shared Input setting is set to Steady Aim (Sprint/Tactical Sprint/Steady Aim Keybind in Warzone).

Weapons

  • EM2: Assault Rifle (Launch)
    • Full-auto assault rifle. Heavy British rifle with considerable kick and a built in low-zoom optic. Slow rate of fire and high damage makes the EM2 a solid choice for skilled marksmen.
    • Obtain the EM2 for free and ready to use in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone at Tier 15 of the Season Five Battle Pass.
  • TEC-9: Submachine Gun (Launch)
    • Semi-auto submachine gun. Improved accuracy from longer ranges with low recoil and a slower fire rate. Good damage output with moderate range.
    • Obtain the TEC-9 for free and ready to use in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone at Tier 31 of the Season Five Battle Pass.

The TEC-9 is a unique weapon, in that it sports two muzzles that alter its fire type. When properly equipped, the TEC-9 is highly effective at enabling aggressive hip fire play.

  • Cane: Melee (In-Season)
    • Lethal walking cane.  Where fashion meets function.  Adorned with a sterling silver lion’s head, this cane is easy to grip and deadly when swung.
    • Obtain via unlock Challenge or via Blueprint in the Store.
  • Marshal: Handgun (In-Season)
    • Break action pistol. Hand loaded double barrel pistol fires 12 gauge shells. Excellent damage at close range.
    • Obtain via unlock Challenge or via Blueprint in the Store.

  • MG 82: Light Machine Gun
    • Using LMGs, kill 3 or more enemies without reloading in 15 different completed matches.
  • C58: Assault Rifle
    • Using Assault Rifles, get a Long Shot kill in 15 different completed matches.

Attachments

  • AMP63 (BOCW)
    • 20 Rnd
      • Ammo Capacity increased from 20 to 25
    • STANAG 25 Rnd
      • Ammo Capacity increased from 25 to 30
    • 20 Rnd Speed Mag
      • Ammo Capacity increased from 20 to 25
    • Salvo 23 Rnd Fast Mag
      • Ammo Capacity increased from 23 to 30
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