Call of Duty Warzone Season Two Patch Notes March 2 & 3: Rebirth Iron Trials

Call of Duty Warzone has received an update today to the March 2 patch which adds Rebirth iron Trials.

This patch also reintroduces the UAVs at a discounted cost. As noted below, in the March 2^nd update UAVs were priced at $9,000. However, in the March 3^rd update, this decision was reversed and the cost was reduced back to $6,000. Expect to see some more adjustments in this area from Raven Software as they gather more data from players.

Here are the full patch notes for both March 3^rd and March 2^nd from Raven Software:

UPDATE: MARCH 3

Vanguard Royale

The adjustments detailed in the March 2nd patch notes will be going live today with the Playlist update at Noon PST.

That said, we’ve made one final change:

• UAV’s are now available in Buy Stations for $6,000

Upon further discussion, our team has decided to reintroduce UAVs at the lower price point of $6,000 to monitor match pacing closer to the original design. Once we’ve gathered enough data, we’ll make the subsequent decision as to whether or not we follow through with the proposed increase to $9,000.

Providing Players with a fun and consistent long-term experience can sometimes take a little bit of short-term experimentation!

Rebirth Iron Trials

The Iron Trials make a glorious return today as part of the March 3rd Playlist update – this time to Rebirth Island!

At its core, Rebirth Iron Trials is a Battle Royale game mode — the last team standing wins, the Circle Collapse shrinks the playable area to promote engagements, and those who die earlier in the game have a chance to respawn if they win a duel in the Rebirth Island Gulag.

However, Iron Trials brings numerous fundamental changes to this traditional Battle Royale formula. All of them are meant to give players the chance to prove themselves as truly elite Operators — here’s what they are specifically: 

General

• Match Duration & Circle Collapse
  • Round Timers have been adjusted to reflect the scale of the Rebirth Island map and increased for the pacing of the game.
     
• Loadouts
  • No free Loadout Drops — those who want to use their custom-built weaponry and gain access to Perks will need to purchase one at a premium.
  • Vehicles
    • Only ATVs are available.
  • Buy Stations
    • Elite Operators are known to be high rollers. The Buy Station increased their prices accordingly:
  • Armor Bundle
    • $1,500 to $2,000
  • Gas Mask
    • $3,000 to $4,000
  • Cluster Strike
    • $3,000 to $4,000
  • Precision Strike
    • $3,500 to $4,500
  • Self Revive
    • $4,000 to $5,000
  • UAV
    • $4,000 to $6,000
  • Loadout Drop Marker
    • $7,500 to $10,000 in Rebirth Island
  • Specialist Token
    • $30,000
       
• Cash
  • The amount of Cash retained on death has been increased from 20% to 30%. Players will keep more of their hard-earned Cash.
• Melee
  • Melee Finisher Damage has been removed. Settle the score with lead.

Operator

• Base Health
  • Compared to a normal match, all players’ base health is increased from 100 to 250.
• Health Regeneration
  • The regen delay timer has been increased from 5 to 7 seconds and regen per second has been decreased from 120 per second to 40. It may be wise for players to reconsider preferred Perks and Equipment.
• Starting Equipment
  • Players drop in with a Top Break (VG) & Sawtooth (VG).

Loot

• Overall
  • The item pool for Supply Boxes and items found on the ground have been significantly altered from that seen in standard play.
• Basic Attachments
  • Common Weapons will start with an Attachment – mostly to provide their max magazine size.
• Rarity Spawn Rates
  • Epic and Legendary weapons are now harder to find. Players will have to open a few more boxes than usual to find what they’re looking for.
• Killstreaks
  • Drop rates have been reduced. Time to stop spamming UAVs and to start putting those senses to the test.
• Cash Spawns
  • Larger piles of cash are rarer. Players will have to stay on top of scavenging for cash if they plan to afford a Loadout.
• Field Upgrades
  • No Dead Silence. No Stopping Power Rounds. Period.

Equipment

• Sniper Rifles
  • A single headshot from a Sniper Rifle will only down an enemy if they are within 30 meters. This gives time for those on the receiving end of a longshot to react – the most elite snipers will be able to adjust their strategies accordingly and still dish out lethal damage at long range with precise follow-up shots.
     
• Stun Grenades
  • Stun effect duration decreased by 50%.
     
• Medical Syringes
  • Health regeneration rate decreased by 50%. Upon taking non-Incendiary, direct damage from another Player (Tactical Equipment splash damage does not count), the Medical Syringe’s increased health regeneration effects will be canceled and standard health regeneration will begin–which can be interrupted by any source of damage. Additionally, the movement speed bonus gained when using a Medical Syringe has been decreased from 8% to 3%.

When Iron Trials was last with us, Medical Syringes were the go-to Tactical Equipment. We would like to experiment with reducing their effectiveness to see how this impacts gameplay and Equipment viability in the hands of Rebirth Island’s most seasoned veterans. We will be monitoring this change closely to ensure it does not have a net negative impact on the gameplay experience Trials Players have come to expect.

Gulag

• Loadouts
  • No akimbo. No semi-auto or fully auto Shotguns. Limited selection of Tactical Equipment. It’s down to the bare essentials and the will to survive.
• Redeployment
  • If players happen to survive their Gulag match, they’ll redeploy with whatever equipment is leftover from that fight. Be mindful of those resources.

Squad Size

• Duos
  • We want players to really feel the impact of the increased Time-to-Kill. You only get to pick one squadmate… so choose wisely and watch each other’s backs.

Unique Animated Calling Card Reward

For Rebirth Iron Trials victors, there’s an exclusive new Animated Calling Card to flex your prowess in winning the trial.

For tips and tricks on how to improve your chances of winning, check out the official Call of Duty Iron Trials Guide!

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue causing the Unlock Criteria progress bar for some Weapon Attachments and Camos to display placeholder text.
• Fixed an issue preventing the popup icon for certain game settings to not appear in the menu.
  • Affected settings include Brightness, Colorblind Type, Audio Mix, Hit Marker Sound Effects, Button Layout, and Stick Layout Preset
• Fixed an issue causing the total Cash collected on the Player scoreboard to appear misaligned.
• Fixed an issue in private matches preventing the Helicopter on top of Peak from being able to take off properly.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder descriptions to appear on various Calling Cards.
• Fixed the rarity label on various Blueprints and Calling Cards.
• Fixed an issue preventing Field Upgrades from working correctly while holding a Gasoline Can.

UPDATE: MARCH 2

Vanguard Royale Adjustments – MARCH 3RD!

We have been happy with the response to the Vanguard Royale LTM and are releasing further balancing refinements this week based on your feedback on the gameplay experience to date.

When Vanguard Royale re-enters the Playlist rotation for all squad sizes tomorrow, March 3rd, you can expect the following changes:

• Core Player health will be increased to 150, up from 100
  • Including Armor, Players will now have a total health pool of 300, up from 250

We agree with the feedback that the Time-to-Kill (TTK) has crept beyond the sweet spot and hope that this adjustment will improve Player experience and sentiment. This change comes parallel to additional Weapon balancing that remains a key focus for the team.

• UAV’s are now available in Buy Stations for $9,000, up from $6,000

We’ve seen both sides of feedback with the previous change to remove UAV’s wholesale from Buy Stations; some players liking the more traditional battle royale pacing, whilst others missing the ability to more readily push a team in the mid-game. We are excited by this compromise where UAV’s will remain accessible but less inclined to be so readily exploitable.

Our goal with both of these changes is to deliver a more balanced, fair and engaging experience. We will continue to monitor the impact of these changes and make additional updates where required.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed collision issues with various elements across Caldera allowing Players to exploit/peek/shoot through them.
• Fixed an issue causing Players to get stuck while proning underneath certain environmental elements such as stairs.
• Fixed an issue with elements at Chemical Factory to improve system performance and reduce hitching.
• Fixed an issue causing the Wade Bundled Up Operator Skin to appear headless.
• Fixed an issue causing the Submachine Gun Charlie (VG) VDD 189mm Short Barrel to incorrectly affect Locational Multipliers.
• Fixed an issue causing the Light Machine Gun Charlie (VG) Queen’s 705mm Royal Barrel to bypass its intended Damage Falloff.
• Fixed an issue causing optics on the Sniper Rifle Alpha (VG) Baltic Blueprint to appear opaque.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Nebula V Rounds to penetrate Riot Shields.
• Fixed an issue that allowed Nebula V Rounds to be applied to certain Melee Weapons.
• Fixed an issue causing Nebula V Rounds to lack a visual effect when used with various Launchers.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder images and descriptions to appear in various Store Bundles.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder descriptions to appear for the Whitley (VG) Camo Unlock Challenges.
• Fixed an issue causing placeholder text to appear on the Party tab of the Social menu.
• Fixed an issue causing certain restricted Operators to be usable in Vanguard Royale modes.
• Fixed an issue causing the Bomber Plane ADS UI to remain stuck on the Player screen when landing the plane while holding ADS.

WEAPONS

• XM4 (BOCW)
  • Neck Damage Multiplier decreased to 1.33, down from 1.5
     

For additional Weapon & Attachment changes, please refer to the Bug Fixes section above.