On November 5, 2026, Raven Software published on the official site the patch notes for Warzone Season 1, the season that brings Modern Warfare 4 into the battle royale. It is a huge text covering maps, modes, perks, equipment, weapons and interface. This article, written by the SequeLariCOD team in our own words, picks out what changes the most for players and leaves out the finer details. The numbers below are the ones in the official notes; when the source gives no number, neither do we. To start from scratch, also see our Season 1 guide.
Where you can play now
The first change is about platforms. According to the notes, Warzone arrives on Nintendo Switch 2 and is no longer supported on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. Players on older consoles keep what they earned: progress carries over by signing in with the same Activision account on another platform. Items from earlier games, such as weapons and Operators, also return, but older (Legacy) weapons come with preset builds and cannot be changed in the Gunsmith. There is also an option to show only Modern Warfare 4 Operator skins during a match.
Hajin: weather rolled every match
Hajin is the season's large map, with 13 points of interest and two sides, North Korea and South Korea. The headline feature is the weather: at the start of each match the game picks one of six scenarios, and the notes give the chance of each one. There is also a new Gulag with two versions, where the weather has an effect, and night vision can be toggled with a key.
- Clear: 30% of matches.
- Wind: 20%.
- Heavy wind: 15%.
- Sun showers (three rains, in circles 1, 2 and 4): 15%.
- Passing rain (between circles 3 and 4): 10%.
- Growing storm (gets worse until the final circles): 10%.
In practice, the same route can be good or bad depending on the roll. Watch the sky as you drop and think about whether rain will block your view right when your squad needs to move.
Zodiac and the Drop Kits
Zodiac is the Resurgence map, with 10 points of interest inside a drone factory in South Korea. After the Beta, the team improved visibility and footstep audio and cut train frequency by about 25%, since trains were bringing too much rare loot. Each train can carry 0 to 5 Legendary boxes and 4 to 12 basic boxes. Resurgence also gets Drop Kits, consumables that only affect whoever equips them and are spent on redeploy; you can carry only one at a time:
- Insured: faster redeploy, keeping all your Cash.
- Armored: redeploy with full armor, extra plates and a Self-Revive Kit.
- Loadout: redeploy with your loadout.
- Radar: redeploy with radar, UAV and Supply Sweep active.
Rally Point, the new mode
Rally Point is a 20-player mode on Zodiac with no gas, unlimited redeploys and the freedom to join and leave whenever you like. Players complete contracts, fight computer-controlled soldiers and take part in events such as helicopters and vehicle deliveries. Neutral zones with no combat have stations to change loadouts, redeploy and collect rewards, and let you form a squad of up to four. The notes list an exclusive weapon blueprint and two camos as rewards.
Faster circles and shorter matches
Circle timings changed in battle royale and Resurgence. In battle royale, the first circle waits 2 minutes 25 seconds before closing and takes 2 minutes 50 seconds to close; the last ones wait only 10 seconds. According to Raven, these changes together make matches nearly 5.5 minutes shorter than in the previous Chapter. If you like to play slowly, rotate earlier.
Movement: Tactical Sprint is back
Unlike MW4 multiplayer, where Tactical Sprint became a perk, in Warzone it is standard again. The notes say it gives about 0.5 m/s of extra speed, depending on the weapon, and lasts up to four seconds at full stamina. Sliding is looser too: cooldown 400 milliseconds shorter, slide-to-jump delay 200 milliseconds shorter and the slide-to-sprint delay removed. Parachutes lose less momentum on landing.
Perks, equipment and tools
There are four new base perks: Incognito, which shortens how long enemy radar shows you; Stocked, which gives one extra lethal and one extra tactical; Deft Hands, which speeds up plating; and Wingman, which makes teammate redeploys cheaper. A fourth slot for an Elite Perk also appears (Athleticism, Fieldcraft and Phantom, rotating through the season). New equipment includes the Tripwire Mine and the Screamer Mine, and each player can have at most two placed items of each type. Among Field Upgrades, the Zipline Launcher sets lines of up to about 100 meters with two charges, and the Grabber Drone picks up objects from a distance.
Loot, contracts and Ground Ops
In battle royale, High Value Loot Zones went from three to one per match and are now randomized every game instead of changing each season. The Contract Cash Multiplier was removed. The Supply Run contract now upgrades the Buy Station so it sells extra items, and you must interact with the station to finish it. The new Ground Ops system also debuts, with map activities such as taking down drones, using a surveillance tower or cracking safes, each with a guaranteed reward.
New weapons and Augments
Two new weapons come through the Battle Pass: the Cronen Osprey and the CSG-35 SMG. Weapon Augments also arrive, one per weapon: Breacher for close range, Sharpshooter for long range and Gunslinger for overall performance. The notes also mention general tweaks to recoil, weapon swap and aiming, plus Gunny, the in-Gunsmith guide that helps build loadouts.
Challenges and what comes later
Grinding for Royalty brings personal challenges for kills, damage, contracts and placement: each is worth 1,000 XP, 10 challenges unlock the first exclusive camo and 25 unlock the second. Some things were left for Season 2: Private Match is disabled for all of Season 1, and Combat Record and leaderboards are tracked from now on but only appear next season.
Play fair and stay safe
The notes warn that the RICOCHET anti-cheat now blocks a paid third-party program that tried to pick lobbies, with the risk of account suspension. Our advice is simple: don't install programs that promise an advantage, don't buy accounts and be wary of anyone offering free items in exchange for your password. When in doubt, talk to an adult and see our Play safe page.