Warzone Season 4 update patch notes

Warzone Season 4 is the next major update coming to the CoD battle royale, bringing with it new guns and modes to enjoy. 

Even by Call of Duty‘s standards, Season 3 has been absolutely huge. Not only did it bring back the original Warzone map, Verdansk, but the mid-season update marked the return of Ranked Play and the Ladra SMG, which is a remade version of BO1’s Spectre.

Raven are looking to keep up the momentum with Season 4, so here are the full patch notes of everything in the update, including when it starts and the new weapons.

Warzone Season 4 start date

Warzone Season 4 arrives Thursday, May 29, 2025, at 9 AM PT / 12 PM ET / 5 PM BST. As always, it will last around eight weeks with a Reloaded update halfway through, giving players plenty of time to see and do everything before Season 5.

New weapons

If you’re itching to freshen up your arsenal, Season 4 is bringing new firepower across all modes.

LC10 – SMG

Activision

Where to get it: Battle Pass (Page 3 unlock, Page 14 Blueprint)

The LC10 is back from Cold War, and it’s still an all-around monster. Great accuracy, solid range, and a decent mag size (34 rounds) make it a killer pick for mid-range fights. It’s got slower handling than most SMGs, but it more than makes up for it with control and consistency.

FFAR 1 Assault Rifle

Activision

Where to get it: Battle Pass (Page 6 unlock, Page 11 HVT Tier Blueprint)

The FFAR 1 is a bullet hose with the recoil to match, perfect for aggressive players who want to get in close and melt enemies. It plays like an SMG with assault rifle damage, and supports underbarrel launchers for added chaos.

New POI

Verdansk’s newest hotspot is The Overlook.

Activision

This towering skyscraper has replaced old landmarks like Burger Town and the SKN Comm Tower, completely changing the Downtown skyline. It’s now the tallest building in Verdansk.

At ground level, you’ll find construction zones full of barriers and cover, a relocated Burger Town, and a small sushi bar. Two massive cranes sit on the north and south ends of the site, each with platforms and ascenders that get you high up in seconds. You can even move cargo using crane controls.

Zip-lines now connect rooftops around Downtown to the tower’s Skydeck, a wide open mid-level area with sniper views and helicopter fly-throughs. Inside, you’ll navigate a multi-floor atrium, elevator shafts, stairwells, and locked-down lobbies with hidden entry points.

Push even higher and you’ll reach unfinished penthouse floors and a rooftop that’s full of risks and rewards. There’s plenty of loot, cover, and open space, but also missing windows and exposed edges, so be ready to parachute or fall.

Warzone Season 4 patch notes

Here are the full patch notes for Warzone Season 4:

New

» Verdansk «

• The Overlook
  • Dominate foes with a gigantic new skyscraper point of interest, available to Operators within the vicinity of Downtown! The old tenement blocks, Burger Town, and SKN Comm tower have been demolished, and construction crews are finalizing a sprawling skyscraper that dominates the landscape! Look for a full recon tour below.

• Interactable Cranes
  • Two massive cranes on the north and south sides of the monolith offer vertical access to The Overlook via built-in Vertical Ascenders and multiple landing platforms. After a short ascent, players can reach a platform just below the jib for a jump to The Overlook roof. Both cranes are also functional – if nearby controls are activated, their cargo hooks can be used to transport players or items to key positions around the tower and Downtown.

• Horizontal Ziplines
  • Horizontal ziplines are found throughout the POI and provide a diagonal route to and from the surrounding Downtown building rooftops.
  • Only 4 of these horizontal ziplines are connected to The Overlook.

Adjustments

» Verdansk «

• High Value Loot Zones 
  • The three HVLZ locations have been updated to the following:
    • Superstore
    • Quarry
    • The Overlook

MODES

New

• Clash Limited-Time Mode
  • Clash Mode returns to Call of Duty: Warzone, bringing back the chaotic 52 vs 52 Team Deathmatch experience first introduced in 2021. Set around a specific POI in Verdansk, two teams compete to reach 500 points within 15 minutes. 
  • With no Circle Collapse and instant access to loadouts, players earn points by eliminating enemies, completing contracts, and capturing Domination Points or special crates – some actions boosted by exclusive power-ups unique to this mode.
  • Clash also includes an option to toggle Mixed View, allowing players to switch between 1st and 3rd person view.
  • Last Stand and Self-Revives are disabled in this mode.

Returning

• World Series of WZ Limited-Time Mode
  • For a 3 week period, players will be able to queue for a mode with the World Series of Warzone ruleset to mirror the experience that the top echelon of our playerbase seeks out – and, for the especially competitive bunch, to practice for the upcoming in-game open that starts on June 20th. Best of luck!
  • For more information about the Call of Duty World Series of Warzone, check out https://worldseriesofwarzone.com/.

PLAYLIST

Since launching Battle Royale Casual – a blend of players and clearly identifiable bots – we’ve seen it become a considerably popular option with positive reception overall. Given its popularity, combined with our ongoing effort to keep playlist options focused and manageable, we’re going to experimentally replace core Battle Royale Solos with Battle Royale Casual Solos. While we understand the impact this will have for players who prefer core Battle Royale Solos, it is a compromise we’re comfortable with given the larger engagement with other playlist options.

We’ll be closely monitoring player feedback and daily active user performance over the coming weeks to help guide next steps.

For information about upcoming Playlists, please check out the dedicated Warzone Trello Board.

RANKED PLAY

Season 04 kicks off a brand-new season of Ranked Play, featuring fresh rewards, new weapons, updated restrictions, and more. Players can dive into Ranked Play: Battle Royale right away, with the exciting addition of Ranked Play: Resurgence arriving later this season. Once live, both Ranked modes will coexist, providing players even more competitive ways to play and progress.

Restrictions

Weapon Restrictions

Launchers

• All

Perks

• Tracker

Other

• Body Shield
• Lootable Event Items

Part of maintaining balance and player interest in Ranked Play involves periodically rotating potentially controversial or previously restricted elements. This helps us better understand shifts in the meta-game, especially following recent changes, and provides valuable data on whether future adjustments to these restrictions are needed.

Over the course of Season 03 Reloaded, we closely monitored feedback regarding Launchers as well as the Tracker perk in Ranked Play – which we openly acknowledge was negative. As such, we’ve decided to reapply restrictions in Season 04 to Launchers, which have made breaching excessively easy. Although they theoretically offer diverse gameplay options, even minimally coordinated teams using multiple launchers can achieve full squad wipes with limited counter-play options.

Additionally, Body Shield is returning to the restricted list – not due to a significant competitive advantage – but because of specific edge cases. While these aren’t typically problematic in unranked modes, they can create severely uncompetitive scenarios in Ranked Play when exploited, despite technically being within the game’s intended rules.

Rewards

Career Rewards

Top Placements

Rewards

5

• Knock Out Player Emblem

10

• WZ Ranked Competitor Operator Skin

20

• Checkmate Loading Screen

50

• Alphaomega Spray

100

• Infinitatus Rex – Weapon Charm

150

• Mastermind Spray

250

• Dominion Weapon Camo

300

• Whisper Knife Melee Blueprint
• Skullbuckle Large Decal

Rank Operator Skins

Rank Milestones

Rewards

Conditions

Gold

WZ Gold Competitor

Awarded immediately upon reaching Gold for the first time.

Platinum

WZ Platinum Competitor

Awarded immediately upon reaching Platinum for the first time.

Diamond

WZ Diamond Competitor

Awarded immediately upon reaching Diamond for the first time.

Crimson

WZ Crimson Competitor

Awarded immediately upon reaching Crimson for the first time.

Iridescent

WZ Iridescent Competitor

Awarded immediately upon reaching Iridescent for the first time.

Season Rewards

Requirements

Rewards

1 Win

Elimination Charm

25 Eliminations

• Crownbreaker – Weapon Sticker

100 Eliminations

• Ranked Renegade – Weapon Camo

250 Eliminations

• Exile’s Resolve – AK74 Weapon Blueprint 

Reach Silver

• Platatag – Player Emblem

Reach Gold

• Arumural – Player Emblem
• Golden Cup – Player Spray
• Gold Competitor – Operator Skin

Reach Platinum

• Platinumpasting – Player Emblem
• Platinum Belt – Player Spray
• Platinum Competitor – Operator Skin

Reach Diamond

• Azureice – Player Emblem
• Diamond Crown – Player Spray
• Diamond Competitor – Operator Skin

Reach Crimson

• Crimsonpiece – Player Emblem
• Crimson Banner – Player Spray
• Crimson Competitor – Operator Skin

Reach Iridescent

• Iridosketch – Player Emblem
• Iridescent Wreath – Player Spray
• Iridescent Competitor – Operator Skin

Finish in Top 250

• WZ Top 250 Competitor – Operator Skin
• Factum Heroes – Player Emblem
• Unstoppable 250 – Player Spray

Finish #1 in Top 250

• WZ Top 250 Champion – Operator Skin
• Semideistyle – Player Emblem

GENERAL

Moving forward, we’ve made the decision to test new gameplay features in limited-time modes before bringing them into our core Battle Royale experience. This approach will allow us to continue exploring fresh ideas and mechanics in a controlled environment – giving players a taste of what’s possible – while ensuring that we preserve the core identity that we believe defines our Battle Royale. It’s all about finding the right balance between innovation and staying true to what makes the mode special.

With that said, we have a handful of new features that will deploy at Season 04’s launch and later into the season that we hope players enjoy. We’ll be keeping a close eye on feedback as we go to determine which will make the cut to be added as part of our core Battle Royale offering.

GAMEPLAY

• Gulag
  • Players will now start with a single Armor Plate equipped in the Gulag.

This change seeks to help players in scenarios where no armor would result in certain weapons killing faster than intended – faster even than in Multiplayer – due to Warzone’s higher damage-per-shot values. This change is intended to reduce extreme time-to-kill cases without overcorrecting.

LOOT & ECONOMY

Adjustments

» Verdansk «

• Updated Ground Loot Weapons
  • Reduced the drop rate of LMGs in Battle Royale ground loot.
  • Slightly increased the drop rate of SMGs in Battle Royale ground loot.
  • Updated underbarrel and stock attachments on legendary Assault Rifles to better match their intended playstyle.
  • Adjusted the possible optics available on Assault Rifles found in ground loot.

» Resurgence, Plunder «

• Lootable Perks
  • The lootable perks available in Resurgence and Plunder have been updated as follows:
    • Irradiated
    • Shrouded
    • Low Profile
    • Reactive Armor
    • Loot Master
    • Ghost

We’ve updated ground loot to better support close-quarters combat, providing players with more effective options in confined spaces. These adjustments align with this season’s broader weapon-balancing theme, which emphasizes close-range viability and loadout diversity. Additionally, we’ve improved ground loot weapon builds, particularly enhancing optics and legendary sniper-support weapons for increased usability and reliability.

BUY STATIONS

Adjustments

» Battle Royale «

• Buy Stations on Verdansk
  • Buy Station locations have been shuffled to inspire fresh combat encounters and new rotation strategies. 
  • The total count has been increased to 49, up from 47.

CONTRACTS

New

» Clash «

• Search & Destroy
  • A new contract where a squad is tasked with planting a bomb at an enemy-side Buy Station:
    • Upon pickup, a 3-minute timer begins and a Buy Station is marked on the opposing side of the map.
    • Any squad member can plant the bomb by interacting at the marked location.
    • Once planted, the bomb site is revealed and nearby enemy players are alerted.
    • The bomb explodes after 30 seconds, dealing area damage and disabling the Buy Station for 1 minute.
    • Enemies can prevent detonation by defusing the bomb with a 4-second interaction.
    • Rewards are based on successful detonation or defusal.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

Adjustments

» Battle Royale «

• Supply Run
  • Adjusted the Fire Sale reward from the Supply Run contract so it is only consumed during a Fire Sale Public Event if a free item is purchased.

EQUIPMENT

Adjustments

• Flash Grenade
  • Flash Angles increased by 20% – meaning that you need to turn further away from the device to mitigate its effects. 
• Concussion Grenade
  • Stun maximum duration increased from 1.61 seconds to 2.3 seconds.
  • Stun minimum duration decreased from 1.47 seconds to 1.15 seconds.

Flash and Concussion Grenade are seeing some moderate improvement in their base effectiveness. At the same time we’re enabling a harder counter to them in the form of the Veteran Perk.

FIELD UPGRADES

New

» Clash «

• Door Barricade
  • Allows players to secure single or double doors with a visible lock, preventing enemy access.
  • Can only be removed by the squad who placed it or destroyed using explosives, gunfire, or melee equipment.
  • Ideal for delaying enemy pushes and controlling entry points during close-quarters combat.
  • Individual players can only deploy 1 barricade at a time.
  • It will automatically self-destruct after 150 seconds.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

KILLSTREAKS

New

» Clash «

• Hand Cannon
  • This high-powered pistol Killstreak, originally available in Multiplayer during Season 01, provides limited, but devastating potential.
  • Only available in the new Clash Limited-Time Mode.

PERKS

Adjustments

• Veteran
  • Significantly increased resistance to flash and stun. 

We’re making Veteran a hard counter to the recently buffed Flash and Stun grenades. The effects are diminished enough to “shrug” them off almost immediately.

• Mountaineer
  • Fall damage reduction increased to 35% up from 33%.

This minor increase is enough to more consistently allow a safer jump from taller buildings.

WILDCARDS

Adjustments

• Bandolier Removal
  • The Bandolier Wildcard has been removed from all modes.

We’ve disabled and removed the Bandolier Wildcard from all game modes. Originally introduced to ease the transition from a backpack-based system to a streamlined experience, this wildcard unfortunately contributed to a muddied combat experience by encouraging reckless item usage over strategic gameplay.

New Weapons

• LC10Submachine Gun
  • Full-auto submachine gun. Excellent accuracy and range, with a moderate rate of fire. Average mobility and very slow handling for its class.

• FFAR 1 Assault Rifle
  • Full-auto assault rifle. Very high rate of fire and excellent CQB power, but slower handling and mobility.

• Essex Model 07 Marksman Rifle
  • Lever-action marksman rifle. High damage potential. Balanced by slower rate of fire and handling.

New Attachments

• G-Grip Foregrip
  • Vertical foregrip with integrated laser for improved firing stability, horizontal recoil control, and tightened spread when transitioning between hipfire and aiming down sights.

• Stryder .22 3-Round Burst Mod
  • Convert the Stryder .22 into a 3-round burst. Drastically improves fire rate and maintains manageable gun kick but alters the weapon’s damage profile outside of the effective range.

• SVD Full Auto Mod
  • Convert the SVD from semi-auto to full-auto functionality, ramping up the speed of your damage output and drastically improving recoil and handling.

• TR2 CQB Auto Conversion
  • Alter the TR2 Marksman Rifle to fire handgun caliber rounds, resulting in a Marksman Rifle with a compact frame and fully automatic capabilities that rival fire rates of an SMG.

Weapon Adjustments

Our current weapon balance goals are focused on refining each class’s role. Our goal is to rework Light Machine Guns to become a reliable option for long-range engagements, while still being outperformed by Assault Rifles at mid-range. At the same time, we’re giving Submachine Guns improved range to boost their overall viability, and increasing bullet velocity for Assault Rifles to make it easier to land shots at mid to long distances.

UI/UX

Adjustments

• Death Recap WidgetQuality of Life
  • The Death Recap system has been expanded to provide clearer insights into the circumstances surrounding your elimination. New indicators now include:
    • Precision Airstrike Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Precision Airstrike killstreak.
    • Cluster Strike Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Cluster Strike killstreak.
    • Bunker Buster Reveal: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap by using the Bunker Buster killstreak.
    • Coughing: Indicates if your position was revealed on the minimap due to coughing in gas.
    • Tracker ADS Auto-Ping: Indicates if you were pinged by an opponent using the Tracker perk.
    • Alertness Detection: Indicates if your presence was revealed to an opponent using the Alertness perk.

CHALLENGES

Adjustments

• Specialist Perk Tracking
  • Challenges requiring perk activation will now also track progress when players acquire the Specialist perk (which grants all perks).
• UAV Killstreak Challenge
  • The Daily Challenge “Activate 2 UAV Killstreaks” will now also track Advanced UAV activations.
• Camo Challenge Clarification
  • Updated camo challenge description from “Get Kills shortly after sliding” to “Get Kills while sliding” for clarity.
• New Armory Challenge
  • Added an Armory challenge for the JAK Intimidator via the Armory menu.

BUG FIXES

• Fixed an issue where the Most Wanted target displayed in the mission UI could show a previous Bounty target in some scenarios.
• Fixed an issue where the JAK Backsaw Conversion Kit was using the incorrect ammunition type.
• Fixed an issue in Warzone where killstreaks could become unusable for the remainder of the match due to an “Airspace too crowded” error.
• Fixed an issue in Warzone where challenges requiring a kill on a player affected by specific equipment were not tracking correctly.
• Fixed several melee weapon descriptions that incorrectly stated they would “One-Hit kill,” which is only true in Multiplayer.
• Fixed an issue where the AUAV score event was incorrectly labeled as “HARP Assist.”
• Fixed an issue causing the AS VAL CHF barrel to be unrestricted in Warzone Ranked Play.
• Fixed an issue where Warzone Ranked Play restrictions were not applying to default loadouts.
• Fixed an issue causing sprays to be restricted in Warzone Ranked Play.
• Fixed an issue where Default Contrails were missing an icon.
• Fixed an issue where players might see a “your profile was signed out” error message when joining a match.

For more, be sure to check out the best guns in Warzone and how to make footsteps easier to hear with the right audio settings.