Warzone Pacific Loadout Item and Field Upgrade Changes Announced

In addition to a completely new map, new seasonal content, the Ricochet Anti-Cheat PC driver rollout and more, it appears there are plenty of Loadout Item and Field Upgrade updates for Warzone players to look forward to as well.

Goodbye, Dead Silence and Stopping Power Rounds. Hello, Loadout Drop delays. Here's a breakdown of the Loadout Item and Field Upgrade changes set to debut in Season One of Call of Duty: Warzone Pacific next week.

First and foremost, Activision, Raven Software and co. announced in their dev blog post that two of Warzone's longtime hotly debated Field Upgrades would be taking major hits come next week. While Dead Silence is said to be in the process of being nerfed, Stopping Power Rounds are being removed altogether.

Both of these moves certainly make plenty of sense as those powerful pick-ups were often the reason why Warzone players could get sent back to the lobby regardless of what decisions they made in-game.

The next biggest change coming with the launch of Warzone Pacific Season One is that Loadout Drop Markers will only be available for purchase from Buy Stations after the Loadout Drop event occurs in a match.

This is sure to mix up the longtime routine where players land at a POI, clear out the area/gather up cash, and get their loadout for the rest of the game.

According to Raven, this move was made in order to effectively shift the usefulness of Loadout Drops from an "immediate power spike" to a more "tactical choice" in the mid to end game.

Another main adjustment is in regards to the balancing of Lethal and Tactical Equipment.

In particular, Stun Grenades and Heartbeat Sensors are said to be getting a nerf, while most Lethal Equipment will deal more damage, the Snapshot Grenade will see its effective radius increase, the Stim will apply a slight movement boost, and the Decoy Grenade will pack rubber bullets that deal just enough damage to pester enemies.

Lastly, the devs also hinted a bit towards the meta shifting away from close-range fights, mentioning that dual-wielded melee weapons (e.g. the Kali Stick and Sai) will also be adjusted to be "less potent," and that "gun-butting" will no longer be the primary method of attack on the Caldera.