As a part of Activision’s apparent mission to turn Warzone 2 back into Warzone 1, today’s season 2 update brings back a fan-favorite mode, Resurgence, on a brand new Japan-themed small map: Ashika Island. There are also a few new weapons in the mix, simplified loot, and new points of interest in Al Mazrah.
The patch is around a 30GB download on all platforms, leaving Warzone 2’s current digital footprint at about 60GB (or up to 100GB if you have the rest of Modern Warfare 2 installed as well).
The extra space is worth it: players have been asking for an alternative to Warzone 2’s gigantic 150-player Al Mazrah map since its launch in November. In the days of Warzone 1, the experimental Rebirth Island map and Resurgence mode proved so popular that developer Raven Software kept it on as a semi-permanent mode, a rarity for Warzone as modes typically cycle in and out weekly. The language around today’s Season 2 update suggests Ashika Island isn’t a time-limited event, so small map enjoyers should now have a permanent home.
Ashika Island is also a boon for DMZ, Warzone 2’s surprisingly good extraction-lite sandbox mode. The new map is playable in DMZ and heralds the arrival of a new NPC boss: the Bombmaker, who protects a new weapon case presumably containing an unlockable blueprint. There’s also the Rusher, a new NPC grunt type infiltrating all maps and modes. The Rusher is a close-range enemy packing a pistol and shortsword who moves quickly, uses “mini smoke bombs” to reposition, and has a small health pool.
There is, of course, a new battle pass to tear through as well. That’s currently the only path to unlocking the new Hemlock assault rifle and KV Broadside shotgun. On the Modern Warfare 2 side of things, Activision has carved out a few more pieces of Al Mazrah into standalone maps and added the 6v6 Valderas Museum that hasn’t been seen since the beta last year.
There’s still some unrest among subsets of CoD players, some of whom think regular Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer is being underserved, others who remain put off by Warzone 2.0. In response, Infinity Ward announced that another new 6v6 map will release in the Season 2 midseason update.
