Call of Duty: Warzone has finally nuked its map
The destruction of Verdansk - part one.
Call of Duty: Warzone has finally nuked its map.
Tonight, Activision ran a limited-time mode called The Destruction of Verdansk Part One, which replaced all other ways to play the battle royale and lasted for just a few hours.
This LTM was blighted by server queues and crashes for a good 40 minutes into the event, with players forced to log out then log back in in an attempt to play. Developer Raven pushed a playlist update that improved matters, but I suffered slight, annoying lag throughout the event.
The quickfire mode saw players drop into Verdansk with the Jak-12 shotgun, a munitions box and a gas mask, with the goal of surviving. Die, and you turned into an endlessly respawning zombie charged with hunting down enemy players. Juggernaut suit drops were frequent, and each game only lasted just over 10 minutes.
The map closed in fast on the Dam, but it appeared it was impossible to successfully exfil as a human player. Once, I managed to survive until the end, and saw the same cutscene that played upon the end of the countdown whether you were a human or a zombie.
That cutscene shows the destruction of Verdansk, as you'd expect. A nuke fires off from a mystery silo and destroys the map. You can watch it in the video below:
The idea here is the containment of the zombie invasion, which has been ongoing in Warzone for some time now, has failed, leading the powers that be with no choice but to nuke the map. At least there was a calling card to be had from the event.
What happens next? We know Activision plans to usher in a 1980s-themed version of Verdansk alongside the launch of season three.
Before then, we have a new playlist called Aftermath: Rebirth Island to get to grips with. This night version of Rebirth is set 15 minutes after the nuke cutscene. "Nuclear fallout engulfs Verdansk," reads the official blurb. "Get a glimpse of what happens next. Drop into Rebirth Island and battle all night in limited-time versions of Resurgence, Mini-Royale, and Kingslayer. Search for clues amid the Aftermath."
According to the Call of Duty Twitter page, part two of the destruction of Verdansk event kicks off tomorrow, 22nd April at 8pm UK time. Before that, at 5am UK time, season three begins.