Call of Duty: Warzone is now available – what to expect in this plunderific battle royale

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Call of Duty: Warzone should be loaded onto your Xbox One, Playstation 4 or PC by 4pm EST at the latest today, if you are serious about getting your battle royale on. You’ve taken the day off work (or have self-quarantined yourself) and are ready to stare at the screen while the game downloads. But, what happens once the download completes?

Once that download hits, here’s what you can expect in Call of Duty: Warzone.

For one, you can expect to get merc’d by all the COD players who are better than you. Don’t worry, that’s not me. I’m mid-level at best. And I have no idea what to really expect from a Call of Duty battle royale game. Thankfully, I have a fact sheet that lays it all out for me.

Battle Royale

Call of Duty: Warzone takes place on a massive map called Verdansk and integrates some smaller maps you might be familiar with like Terminal. Like other battle royale games, you drop in, gear up and get ready to start blasting as the gas cloud closes around you. For the time being, you’ll be in teams of three (150 total players per match) and fight to be the last squad standing. I’m sure there will be lots of teamwork. Duos and solo play will be added in a further update.

Players can collect cash in-match to purchase equipment, field upgrades, killstreaks, or revive tokens which players will probably not use on their lame-ass teammates because we’re all lone wolves at heart. These in-game purchases can be used at Buy Stations located throughout the map.

If you do choose to play as a squad instead of leave your team hanging, there are in-game mini-missions called Contracts. These are located throughout the map and payout *ahem* epic rewards upon completion including rare loot (like sprays and emblems probably), in-match cash, XP and weapon XP.

One of the issues with battle royale is when you are out, you are out. Well, not in Warzone. There are three different ways to get back into the game.

You can fight in the Gulag. When you are eliminated from battle royale, you get the chance to re-enter the game by winning a 1v1 gunfight match against another loser.

You can also use your in-game cash to purchase a self-revive kit to heal yourself after being whacked by some rando. You can also be revived by your teammate, who is clear on the other side of the map so don’t count on this one happening.

New game mode: Plunder

Image: Activision

Plunder is battle royale with a greedy little twist. Instead of focusing on eliminating other players (which is still part of it), each team will race to collect as much in-game cash as possible by raiding supply boxes, shooting other players and stealing their cash, completing contracts, and by controlling cash deposit locations throughout the map.

Plunder also includes unlimited respawns and the ability to use your own custom loadouts and killstreaks. This sounds like the mode I’ll be spending the most time in, cause of the respawn thing and using my own loadout. I earned that gold M13 dammit and I’m going to damn well use it.

Call of Duty: Warzone launches today, with early access for current game owners. It should be noted that if you already own the game, Warzone XP progression counts towards your online ranking and overall progression. If you don’t own the game and someday choose to purchase it, whatever you’ve earned in Warzone as it pertains to XP or weapon unlocks will transfer to your overall Call of Duty progression.

I’ll see you in Verdansk and will have first impressions up tomorrow.

What do you think? Are you interested in this new Call of Duty battle royale? Plan on trying out Plunder mode? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

Editors’ Recommendations:

• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is becoming a litmus test for my aging reflexes
• It looks like 4K streaming is now rolling out for Google Stadia
• You can now snag the original Halo: Combat Evolved on Steam
• Hulu with Live TV is now available on the PlayStation 4

Just a heads up, if you buy something through our links, we may get a small share of the sale. Click here for more.

Curtis Silver

A tech writer on the internet for over 15 years for outlets such as Forbes, Wired, TNW, and others, Curtis is exhausted, burnt out and happy to just write buying guides and the occasional review for KnowTechie, the best tech blog your mom never told you about. Ephemeral existence for ephemeral times. Please send pitches and grainy pictures of the inside of your elbow to kevin@knowtechie.com