After months of leaks and teasers, Call of Duty: Warzone players have finally received a new map. A result of the long-awaited nuke event, Verdansk 84 gives the Russian country a brand-new visual style. More colorful and vibrant, this less industrialized version of the map gives off the vibe that the country is in its prime. Alongside some brighter lighting and visual redesigns for every area in the play space, players were quick to realize that a fair bit about Verdansk has changed.
The new Call of Duty: Warzone map features several new points of interest, some of which have replaced iconic parts of the original Verdansk. While many areas remain the same, a majority have different layouts, essentially making them feel like brand-new locations. Finally, a new Gulag rounds out the list of changes, giving Call of Duty: Warzone fans an additional 1v1 arena to brawl inside. While it may not be the completely fresh map some fans were hoping for it, it is clearly less of a reskin and more of a reimagining.
New Areas
When Call of Duty: Warzone fans load into a match, there will be a few things that they notice after the new intro cutscene. First, the Quarry location has been entirely removed, replaced instead with the Salt Flats. While the area serves the same purpose, the rubble is replaced with bright white salt and all the buildings have been reworked. Some of the terrain has also been altered, with the building at the back of the mine no longer surrounded by a death pit. This means that players trying to take out those in the building will have a slightly better chance, as some of the high ground advantage has been taken away.
The iconic Verdansk dam is no longer a part of the map, as it had not been built back in the 1980s. In its place sits a massive bridge, and on the left of its bridge is a reimagining of the Summit location from Call of Duty: Black Ops. Players can ride lifts between buildings, adding a new level of strategy to fighting through the area. The verticality of the Summit location is plenty of fun, and players can expect to have some more interesting gunfights in the area than they did at the Dam. The area has proven to be a hot landing spot as well, so players can head to Summit if they want to see some action.
Two new locations exist in Array and Factory, though neither removes an area from the map. Instead, they fill in spots that were originally empty and filled with forests or open plains. Factory is seen right below Superstore, and it sees plane parts scattered throughout. Offering multiple floors and some decent loot, the area is proving popular due to its placement in the center of the map. As for Array, the location is a massive satellite like the one seen in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Duga. Players can zipline to the top of the structure, and it should prove to be one the best vantage points for those that like to snipe. Finally, the unmarked Old Mine location sits in between the Airport and Summit. Currently, only one building exists, with the mine shafts blocked off by rubble. However, players can expect the shafts to open up at some point in a future Season.
Noteworthy Redesigns
One of the more noticeable redesigns of an established location is seen with the airport. No longer featuring a bombed out exterior, the second floor of the airport’s interior is fully usable. Proper gunfights can be had here, loot can be found, and the airport in general feels like a less negative place to be. While the area is unfortunately being plagued by a game-breaking bug, the rework should be a lot of fun to explore. The same could be said for the Superstore, which gets an entirely new interior. In perfect condition, the location is packed with fresh cover spots and a unique layout, essentially making it feel nothing like the original.
Verdansk’s popular Stadium location feels better than ever to fight through, as the area is still under construction. As a result, players will see that there are no walls around the building, leaving them with little cover from those in the city. Instead, players need to use the bleachers for cover, with the fun setup making Stadium more dynamic. The central field area is more open as well, giving players in the bleachers the advantage. This “under construction” theme continues throughout the Downtown area as well, with a fancy new park also included near the Promenade area.
Not only is the tallest building in Verdansk still under construction, as a large crane can be seen atop its roof, but several buildings in the vicinity find themselves being built up as well. This sees many of the roofs in Promenade being unfinished, allowing for some unseen gun battles to take place on top of the buildings. This also removes several power positions, changing up the overall flow of the Downtown and Promenade areas. Finally, Farmland has been altered. Aside from some more 80s-themed buildings like those seen in the city of Verdansk, the classic Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 map Standoff has been made part of the farm’s layout. While the buildings look entirely different, the layout is the same. Intriguingly, this is not the only tribute to Standoff in Verdansk 84, either.
A New Gulag
Call of Duty: Warzone’s new Gulag is a smaller version of Standoff. Seeing both players spawn around a corner, there is no unfair side advantage, as both combatants will need to make a move so that they can face each other. The same buildings are seen, with players able to enter the top floor of Standoff’s middle building as well. In the central street, the same cover setups can be seen, including the iconic tank on the left side. A strong Gulag setup, gamers seem to be responding better to this Gulag than they did to other new additions.
Fortunately, players that were content with the older Gulags still have a chance to see them appear in the rotation. The iconic showers and the Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Gulags both still exist, allowing fans of the Nuketown Gulag to remain content. Inside these Gulags, players will find themselves using Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War loadouts. This carries over to the gameplay on Verdansk 84, as ground drops are now comprised exclusively of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War weaponry. If players want to use a gun from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, they need to equip it in their loadouts.
While many are understandably let down that the heavily anticipated Ural Mountains map will never come to the game, Verdansk 84 is a bit more unique than some give it credit for. While it does re-use many old locations, some feel entirely fresh to fight through due to their new layouts. Likewise, additions like Summit that expand the map boundaries are great to see, and fresh Gulags are always welcome if they are well-designed. While it seems like players will be fighting on Verdansk for a long time to come, the 1980s version of the map certainly has its strengths.
Call of Duty: Warzone is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.