After leaks recently laid out some of the new features that might be coming to Call of Duty Warzone in Season 2, Activision has officially announced everything players can look forward to when the next season arrives on February 14 via a blog post – and there are some surprising additions seemingly inspired by another popular battle royale series.
One of these additions is what is being called the Redeploy Balloon. The balloons will be available across Caldera, represented by balloon icons on the Tac Map, and will provide players with another way to get airborne again after dropping into the map at the start of the game.
The balloon is tethered to the ground by a zipline that players can use to hurtle their way skywards. Upon reaching the top of the balloon, you’ll be spat out and be able to deploy your parachute or freefall across the terrain as you see fit. Balloons can also be destroyed by weapons and vehicles, but they can be reinflated for use if you have a spare few hundred dollars saved up.
The other notable feature the Season 2 update brings is the Portable Decontamination Station. Added as a new piece of Field Equipment, the PDS will offer anyone inside its sphere of influence temporary protection from the encroaching circle or new Nebula V munitions. The catch is that they will appear on all operator’s Tac Maps, allowing the whole server to see where and when one is activated, and they can be destroyed by other teams too.
If the new Redeploy Balloon and Portable Decontamination Station features sound familiar, it’s because they are both concepts available in Call of Duty Warzone’s competitor, Apex Legends. The Heat Shield in Apex Legends certainly shares some clear similarities to the PDS, allowing players reprieve from nasty circle damage.
The Redeploy Balloon also seems to have been influenced by Apex Legends’ Jump Towers, which function in the same manner – big ol’ balloons that allow players to relocate elsewhere.
While it might be tempting to see the adoption of such features as some kind of admission that Warzone is lagging behind Apex, especially seeing as Call of Duty engagement is down, it must be remembered that all games influence and innovate on each other. Nevertheless, it’s still interesting to see two mechanics that are prominent in Apex Legends making their way into Warzone in the current climate.
These new Warzone additions sound a little familiar from somewhere from apexlegends
If you’re prepping your kit for Call of Duty Warzone Season 2, have a look through some of our nifty guides to find out what the best Call of Duty Warzone guns are and get yourself squared away before the new update.