Call of Duty: New Map and Specialist Changes in CWL Ruleset

It’s only been a few days since the Call of Duty World League competitive ruleset came out and Treyarch has already started making changes. The map Hacienda has been added to the Hardpoint map rotation and the Torque Specialist was removed in Search and Destroy.

Hacienda is the newest map to be added to the CWL ruleset. Photo via @Treyarch.

Hacienda

Hacienda is the newest addition to the CWL Hardpoint map rotation, the eighth on the list. The new map is closely related to the Call of Duty 4 map Showdown for its square map structure. Joining Hacienda will be the maps Arsenal, Contraband, Frequency, Gridlock, Seaside, Slums, and Summit. Many pro players, including Patrick “Aches” Price, were unhappy about Hacienda’s initial exclusion from the map list.

Aches has also been very skeptical about how 5v5 works for Hardpoint Slums in Black Ops 4. He claims that 5v5 allows teams to hold the hardpoints easier with the limited amount of map lanes on Slums. Treyarch has stated that they are planning on adding and dropping items from the ruleset throughout the year.

Torque

One of the most controversial Specialists in the CWL ruleset was the Torque Specialist. Torque’s abilities are the barbed wire equipment and barricade with microwave shield. Not long after the first version of the ruleset, a video went viral of a player using Torque in Search and Destroy. After planting the bomb in Search and Destroy, the player used his barbed wire on the bomb site and set up his barricade pointed at the bomb.

This combination makes it impossible for the enemy player to defuse the bomb. Both abilities take multiple gun clips to destroy, which takes too long in a Search and Destroy game. Currently, Torque is banned in Search and Destroy but is still activated in Hardpoint and Control. This is a big change because Treyarch buffed the Specialist in the most recent update.

Ajax and Firebreak

Other Specialists that have been brought up in the ruleset debate are Ajax and Firebreak. Ajax uses a nine-bang flash grenade and a riot shield. The nine-bang flash grenade lasts a long time and doesn’t allow players to aim down sights or go prone while flashed. Firebreak has a Reactor Core that emits radiation, damaging players and not allowing them to heal themselves, and the Purifier flamethrower. Despite some players’ hopes, Treyarch has not banned or changed either Specialist.

Expect to see more changes to the CWL ruleset in the coming weeks, especially with the release of League Play coming to Black Ops 4 in early December.

Featured image courtesy of @Treyarch

You can like The Game Haus on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for more sports and esports articles from other TGH writers along with Bryan. 

You can also follow Bryan @B_Ross2boss