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Season 2 is here, and it's the biggest update to the battle royale game in a long time.

By Eddie Makuch on February 14, 2022 at 1:34PM PST

It's a big day for Call of Duty: Warzone, as Season 2 is out today, February 14, with a whole bunch of changes via the patch notes and lots of new content that should convince at least a few people to jump back in. The game's patch notes have been released in full for this major update--you can skip to the bottom of the page to see them. The file size has also been revealed, and it's about 14 GB (except on PC--read on to find out more). Even if you can't play until late, you may want to start the download now so it's ready to go later.

Season 2 adds new content like Nebula V Ammo and bombs, a new Bomber plane, and additional locations to explore across the Caldera map, including the Chemical Factory and Chemical Weapon Research Labs. New modes are coming to Warzone as well, include Caldera Clash today and Rebirth Reinforced later on. And in terms of quality-of-life updates, players can look forward to a variety of weapon balance changes and bug fixes, the full list of which can be seen below.

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Now Playing: Call of Duty: Vanguard & Warzone - Season Two Cinematic Trailer

Activision also published a rundown of the playlists coming to Warzone during Season 2, running from launch through March 17. Check out the image below to get all the information.

A new battle pass is also now available in Warzone with Season 2. Like previous versions, it has 100 tiers to work your way through to unlock more cosmetic content. Everyone who buys the battle pass outright can instantly unlock the new operator, Anna Drake, along with a special White Mirage skin.

A new event is coming to Warzone as well in Season 2. This is called Search and Deploy, and it will be split into phases throughout the duration of the season. In phase one, players will get the Caldera Clash mode and the previously mentioned new locations. Players will also face off against AI enemies who are protecting the new locations. More content and narrative threads will unfold in the coming phases.

As for some of the wider changes to Warzone, Activision says it is "stripping battle royale down and moving back to basics for Season 2." Here's what that looks like in action:

For Vanguard Royale, Activision is making changes as well, including expedited loadout drops, the reduction of fire sale timing, and certain loot drops being added or removed from the mode. Here is the full rundown of what's changing for Vanguard Royale:

And finally, the lengthy patch notes cover all the major changes coming, including gameplay adjustments, weapon balance tweaks, and bug fixes, of which there are many. You can see the full notes below, as shared by Activision in a blog post. The post is stuffed with many more details about Season 2, so it might be worth reading to get into the granular specifics of what's changing and why.

In terms of file size, Activision says those running the free-to-play console version of Warzone who are up-to-date on updates will need about 14 GB of free space. PC players, meanwhile, will need a further 23 GB of free space "for the patch copying process," but this is only a temporary measure that will drop back down when the patch is fully installed.

In other Call of Duty news, Activision has confirmed it's making Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and a new Warzone game, both of which are expected to launch in 2022.

New Unlock Challenge Missions (VG):

A tip for parsing the following changes: An attribute can increase and be detrimental, or decrease and be beneficial. While considering the below changes, it is recommended to focus on the “down from” or “up from” language.

“Down from” will always indicate a negative effect, while “up from” will always be positive.

All Vanguard Weapons have had their Ballistics behavior adjusted to more closely match MW and BOCW Weapons.

There are two parts which comprise the Stats of the Kar98k (VG): the Weapon and the Base Optic. In the case of the Kar98k (VG), much of its ADS Speed stats were coming from its Optics. We have decided to take that ADS Speed and spread it out more evenly amongst its Attachments. The end result is a more consistent range of ADS Speeds that will not vary as wildly depending on the Optic alone. When considering the changes made to Optics and other Attachments, this results in a net increase to the Kar98k’s (VG) ADS Speeds. See the Optics section for additional details.

Trading damage now for damage later will have many Players still equipped with Incendiary wondering why they lost an even, or slightly advantaged fight. For now, Incendiary will provide a niche use on specific Weapons where shots are intermittently hit, or fire is unreturned. Players with above average aim will want to find a new type of Ammunition to lock and load.

As a result of Lengthened’s monopoly over Bullet Velocity on Vanguard (VG) Attachments, build diversity and Weapon viability has taken a hit. By shifting this Bullet Velocity into a wider variety of Attachments, we are aiming to provide more viable builds and meaningful choice within this category.

Lengthened aside, we have further changes coming to increase diversity in the Ammunition category. These changes will ensure the category fulfills more of a playstyle supplemental role for builds rather than a necessary enabler.

As a whole, Vanguard Weapons have been lacking in Bullet Velocity when compared to the competition. We felt it was necessary to provide more Bullet Velocity to VG Weapons so they could compete more consistently in long-range engagements. To remedy this, we have added Bullet Velocity to most VG Barrels.

The following Vanguard Optics have had adjustments to their appearance and/or behavior. This potentially includes changes to ADS Speed, ADS Position (closeness to Optic), and Magnification Level.

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