A Call of Duty update revealed on January 11 that Raven Software, the developers of COD: Warzone, will disable one of the game’s most popular shotguns, the Reclaimer 18, until further notice. The update did not highlight the reasons behind the game developers’ indefinite discontinuation of the weapon.
Gamers have been left wondering about the reasons behind Raven Software’s decision after the recent announcement. Raven Software had nerfed the Reclaimer 18 in an October upgrade for Warzone and Modern Warfare 3. COD gamers still felt that the shotgun did not need nerfing, leading to more frustrations directed toward the game developers. Raven Software did not respond to the complaints, considering the upgrade was the last the games would receive last year.
Call of Duty: Warzone, launched in 2020, has undergone multiple changes through updates, new weapon introductions, and upgrades to existing weapons. In 2020 alone, the game received over 10 updates.
The COD: Warzone Armory is currently among the most impressive in gaming history, with hundreds of weapons for gamers to choose from. The Armory, which is unlocked at Level 24, allows players to access all weapons across Modern Warfare 2 and 3, among other perks.
The game has also seen several weapon discontinuations and map area removals since its launch. Raven Software completely disabled the Riot Shield in November last year to gamers’ frustrations. The game’s developers also discontinued the Verdansk map a few years ago. Unlike the Reclaimer 18 shotgun, which has no return date, Verdansk will reenter Warzone this spring.
Gamers speculate the reasons behind Raven Software’s decision
Several gamers have commented on the Raven Software decision, with some speculating that the decision was a move to disable overpowered weapons from the game. The Warzone updates have introduced some overpowered weapons, which some gamers say are destroying the game’s engagement.
One commenter suggested that Raven Software should have a dual-shot feature in the Lockwood 300 shotgun if the developer’s goal was to eliminate overpowered weapons. Another commenter pointed out the 8 shots in the Devastator Kit per Reclaimer when the allowed shots should have been 4.
Other gamers suggested that the Reclaimer 18 discontinuation was part of Raven Software’s move to deal with glitches experienced in Warzone over the past week. Several gamers insisted that Raven Software should deal with the glitch issue before any other upgrades.
COD: Warzone has experienced glitches over the past 2 weeks, leading gamers on Ranked Play to lose their Skill Rating (SR). A screenshot posted by one gamer revealed that while the developers handled the situation, Activision Blizzard did not have the tools to recover the lost stats.
A COD update revealed that the game’s developers had identified the issue causing the glitch. The update highlighted that the game developer would release an update containing the fix in the coming week.
COD: Warzone gamers express frustrations about cheating
COD: Warzone players have also expressed frustration because of the rampant cheating cases in the game. A recent COD post revealed the game developer’s steps to deal with the increasing cheating cases. Team RICOCHET explained that its tools were banning accounts hourly due to the spike. The anti-cheat team also confirmed that it had banned over 19,000 accounts under Ranked Play as of November 26.
In December, a COD gamer tweeted that hackers were now employing perks that should not be in Warzone during their gameplay. The gamer also highlighted that the illegal perks worked on both console and PC versions of the game. The modified perks revealed included Speed Boost, Hunted, and Specialist, granting cheaters all in-game perks, boosting speed, and highlighting other players up to 125 meters away.
Black Ops has also experienced an influx of cheaters since its launch in October last year. The game, which first received about 148,000 players within the first month, lost most of its players in December due to the cheating accounts.
Gamers pushed Raven Software to handle the cheating cases and account bans, including shadow bans, which sometimes affected honest players. One commenter suggested that the game’s developer should disable the entire game “until cheating gets attention.”
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