The Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 update is scheduled for Wednesday, February 15, 2022. These seasonal updates will arrive at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM GMT.
Modern Warfare 2 Ranked Play arriving in Season 2
According to the devs, Modern Warfare 2 Ranked Play is arriving with Season 2. Treyarch also confirmed that Ranked Play will indeed arrive on the February 15 launch day, and not later on in the season as part of the midseason update.
For now, fans of competitive Call of Duty can scratch their itch by playing the CDL Moshpit playlist. While there’s no ladder to climb, you can use our best CDL Moshpit loadout guide to dominate the opposition and practice rotations for Ranked Play.
Ranked Play is finally set to arrive with the Season 2 update.
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 new weapons
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 will bring five new weapons to the game consisting of the ISO Hemlock Assault Rifle, KV Broadside Shotgun, Dual Kodachis, Crossbow, and the Tempus Torrent Marksman Rifle.
The first three weapons listed above will arrive with the Season 2 update on February 15, and you can find them as free rewards in the Battle Pass. While the Tempus Torrent Marksman Rifle will be a mid-season addition.
The Dual Kodachis fit right in with Season 2’s theme.
The Crossbow will require players to complete a set of challenges. The Path of the Ronin event will deliver seven challenges that players will need to complete to unlock the Crossbow.
The Crossbow has appeared in several recent Call of Duty titles and was useable in the campaign, so its arrival is no great surprise.
Most players will be eager to test out the ISO Hemlock Assult Rifle: “A powerful and enhanced rifle from Expedite Firearms is designed to take both 5.56 and subsonic .300 BLK ammunition, providing battlefield-advantage in any situation.”
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 new game modes
Infected, Gun Game, Grind, Drop Zone, All or Nothing, and One in the Chamber will be coming to Modern Warfare 2 in Season 2, alongside the previously announced Hardcore and Ranked Play.
The highly anticipated Gun Game, Infected, and Grind will arrive with the update on day one. Meanwhile, Drop Zone, All or Nothing, and One in Chamber will only make their way to the game with the mid-season update.
Gun Game is the classic Call of Duty party game, putting players in a free-for-all match where players receive a new weapon for each kill. The first player to get a kill with every weapon, usually ending in something unique like a crossbow or ballistic knife, wins.
Season 2 will deliver long-awaited part modes like Infected.
Players can also look forward to the Valentine’s Day playlist returning to the game in Season 2, as well as a new system where Infinity Ward will be putting a poll up on Twitter to let players vote on “one of that week’s playlists from a rotating pool.”
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Hardcore Mode
With players not fully satisfied by the presence of Tier 1 in Modern Warfare 2, a fully-fledged Hardcore Mode is being added in MW2.
Tier 1 felt more like the Realism mode featured in Modern Warfare 2019, whereas Hardcore Mode will retain its original identity from previous CoD titles.
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 new maps
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 will introduce four new maps including Valderas Museum, Zaya Observatory, Alik Malik International, and Dome.
Here’s a breakdown of the Season 2 maps:
- Dome (6v6)
- Valderas Museum (6v6)
- Zaya Observatory (Battle Map)
- Al Malik International (Battle Map)
Al Malik International and Zaya Observatory will provide a refresh to the game’s Battle Maps.
Meanwhile, players will recognize Valderas Museum from the Modern Warfare 2 beta. The map was pulled from the game prior to launch and makes its return in Season 2.
Call of Duty fans will also be familiar with Dome as it “bears a striking resemblance to one of Call of Duty’s classic maps.”
It’s already been confirmed that a remake of the classic Castle map will not be heading to Modern Warfare 2 with the Season 2 update. The leaked images of Castle corresponded to the new Ashika Island Resurgence map for Warzone 2.
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 will deliver the classic Dome map.
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Ronin Operator
A familiar face is returning in Modern Warfare 2 as the Season 2 key art revealed that Ronin will arrive with the Season 2 update.
Call of Duty fans have been vocal about wanting realistic military-based Operators in Modern Warfare 2 and Ronin falls into this category.
Modern Warfare 2 Raid Episode 2
After players got a taste of Modern Warfare 2 Raids with Atomgrad, Season 2 will deliver Episode 2. However, this new Raid Episode will arrive later on in Season 2.
“Price, Farah, and Gaz will be back later in Season 02 with Episode 2 of the Raid, a continuation of the Modern Warfare II Campaign.”
Modern Warfare 2 UI update coming in Season 2
The UI in Modern Warfare 2 has been a massive complaint for players ever since the Beta, but luckily the devs have been listening and are implementing some changes in the Season 2 update.
These changes include the following:
- Improved navigation and organization of Camo menu
- More polished Social tab, including improved channel swapping and player muting
- New “My Bundles” screen
- Quick equip items from Battlepass, My Bundles, and Store
- Reticle previews in Store and Gunsmith
- Improved clarity of attachment blocking logic in Gunsmith
- And many more bug fixes
Modern Warfare 2 Season 2 Perk Balancing
In the Season 2 blog, the devs state that they have been listening to feedback from the community about the “timing of bonus Perks,” more specifically, Ghost.
So, to help this issue, they have decided to reduce the time it takes for players to get both Bonus and Ultimate Perks, meaning that players will get Ghost earlier on in matches, which they feel better supports those looking to play more aggressively.
Modern Warfare 2 audio fixes
The audio in Modern Warfare 2 will be getting some fixes, as the game’s audio occlusion system will get a “newer and more advanced system.” This should make it easier for players to hear enemies and other audio cues through objects like walls.
Warzone
Launch Event: Walk the Path of the Ronin
Launching with Warzone 2 Season 2 is a new event that brings seven challenges for Operators to complete in Warzone 2 or Modern Warfare 2. Completing these challenges will provide players with rewards such as Gun Screens and Weapon Charms.
Completing all of these seven challenges grants players with the new Crossbow weapon.
Warzone 2 Ashika Island Resurgence map
Ashika Island is Warzone 2’s brand-new Resurgence map coming in Warzone 2 Season 2, which according to the blog, is located “somewhere in the APAC (Asia Pacific) region.” The map features a variety of POIs that all offer unique layouts for varied fights.
Sticking with the Asian Pacific island theme, the new Resurgence map even features the Castle map from World at War, which will no doubt excite veteran Call of Duty players.
Some of the POIs include Tsuki Castle, Beach Club, and Shipwreck. Ashika Island was developed by High Moon Studios, who are the devs behind Fortune’s Keep back on the original Warzone, so if you like that map, you’re likely going to enjoy this one.
Ashika Island offers players a new Resurgence experience.
On Ashika Island, players will be able to “Restore Honor” through dog tags that are dropped when Operators die on the new map. If they or their teammates collect these tags, they will receive a “small Cash reward, as well as a single UAV ping that marks both enemy threats and nearby Supply Boxes.”
New Warzone 2 Ashika Island Contract: Search & Seizure
The new Warzone 2 map will also have its own contract arriving in-season, Search and Seizure. This contract sees players reclaiming a stolen vehicle from the Shadow Company on the island.
Like other Contracts in Warzone 2, completing the task will grant a healthy Cash reward and other items. Players need to neutralize Shadow Company forces protecting the vehicle, pick up a key dropped by one of the soldiers, and get the vehicle to the drop-off point.
New Public Event: Data Heist
A new Public Event is being introduced in Warzone 2 Season 2.
Warzone 2 Season 2 will also see a new Public Event on Ashika Island in-season. This event will see three uplink stations spawn around the map during the second circle collapse. Players need to download intel from them while fending off the Shadow Company to receive valuable in-match rewards.
If you’re successful, you will be rewarded with “XP, Cash, and a random piece of Tactical Equipment.” If you manage to do two Data Heists in a match, you will be given “increased rewards, such as a random Killstreak or even an Advanced UAV.”
Redeploy Drones
Arriving in-season, players can use these exclusive Resurgence Redeploy Drones on Ashika Island to get around the map nice and fast. Hook up to the cable and ascend, once you reach the top you will fly off in the direction you are facing.
These Redeploy Drones will often relocate to a safe area after time if they are in the zone, but not all of them, as some will go out of commission after several circle collapses.
New AI Combatant: Rusher
Coming in-season and exclusive to Resurgence on Ashika Island, a new AI Combatant known as the Rusher will arrive.
This AI is all about extreme close quarters, with low health and minimal armor, but a lot of agility and a close-range short sword. “Expect them to hit the ground running in Resurgence mode, with AI only appearing under certain conditions such as during a Data Heist.”
Al Mazrah map update
Al Mazrah will also be receiving some updates in Warzone 2 Season 2, as a plane has crashed in the Sattiq Caves Complex POI, and it resembles a familiar wreckage from the original Modern Warfare 2 game known as Afghan.
New Personal Watercraft Vehicle
A new vehicle arrives in Warzone 2 Season 2 for water travel. The PWC (Personal Watercraft Vehicle) is the “ATV of the sea,” a fast vehicle with little to no protection that can seat two players.
Changes to Warzone 2 looting & Gulag
Infinity Ward have confirmed with a blog post that the Warzone 2 Season 2 update will bring 1v1 Gulags back to the battle royale, replacing the 2v2 method introduced for the new Warzone experience. Players have been calling for this change for some time, and it will finally be coming in Season 2.
Looting is also getting some major changes, as the devs have announced that they will be going back to the original system of loot popping out onto the floor after looting containers and eliminating players.
The Medium and Large Backpack items will also no longer be available going forward, in an effort to cut down on players stacking Killstreaks and other equipment. In addition, players will all begin the match with a 3-Plate Vest, so these items will be removed from the loot pool.
They also revealed that cash will be more readily available and further price changes are going to be made to give players more bang for their buck.
Warzone 2 loadout changes confirmed
Another key change coming to Warzone 2 Season 2 is the introduction of customizable Perk Packages, allowing players to further tailor their loadout to suit a specific playstyle. Currently, there are only a handful of premade Perk Packages to choose from, with no option to swap individual options.
The feature “will launch with a slightly reduced pool of available Perks,” but the devs have confined that they may slowly reintroduce more over time. This is an effort to ensure that matches remain balanced, although there is no word just yet on which Perks will be available, to begin with.
Infinity Ward have also revealed they are “happy” with the rollout of Loadout Drop Markers, but will be dropping the prices slightly with the next update. These items will also be lootable around the map for the first time, but the devs warned they will be incredibly rare.
The cost of individual Primary weapons is also being reduced, to give squads of all sizes a better chance of picking up at least one of their own weapons.
Warzone 2 Combat Record goes online in Season 2
After delays, the Combat Record for Warzone 2 will officially go online as part of Season 2’s launch. This allows players to see their stats from the battle royale, allowing them to analyze and see what they need to work on.
New DMZ content
The Warzone 2 devs also released a blog revealing the DMZ content coming in the update, which includes a trip to Ashika Island. Similar to Building 21, players will be heading to Ashika Island for the new Exclusion Zone.
There will also be a new Faction exclusive to MW2 owners called Crown, which adds “additional intrigue alongside a refresh of familiar missions and their rewards, granting Operators new permanent unlocks like Operator Skins and Weapon Blueprints as well as Contraband.”
Explore Ashika Island through DMZ.
Players will face a new boss on Ashika Island, the Bombmaker, who holds a new Weapons Case for Season 2, containing “all-new permanent rewards for Operators.”