During the Call of Duty season, we usually see small patches come through here and there that buff and nerf smaller elements of the game. Very rarely do we get something that could possibly change the overall playability of it. Sledgehammer has recently announced a couple major division changes alongside with its second DLC that has just released. These changes will allow for a greater flexibility to the players in the competitive scene, and we should be seeing a lot of different play-styles as a result.
There are usually only a couple different divisions that make an appearance in competitive Call of Duty. These changes don’t flesh out any of the ones that aren’t used enough to make them viable to for pro play, but for the rest of us, we’re likely to see them a lot more.
Here are the Patch Notes:
Infantry Division
- Additional Primary Attachment
- Second Pistol Attachment & swap weapons faster
- While aiming down sights, have less idle sway
- Move faster while aiming
One of the things that made the infantry division so widely used was its damage tied together with reliable fire rate and distance. Now, we see reduced idle sway and ADS-ing faster. This is a monster improvement. In the competitive scene, being slow was the downfall of the player in the AR Slayer role. They just couldn’t match the speed of the Sub-machine gunners. Now, however, we will probably be seeing a lot more people using assault rifles in pro play. Especially with the speed being increased during ADS. There’s a higher chance for winning a gunfight.
Additional Primary Attachment means more adaptability. The game used to allow for three attachments, while every other class was using two. Players using the Infantry division will now be able to equip four attachments to their primary weapon and a second one to their secondary. Currently, the meta is an STG or BAR with the two grips and a sight attached. We can expect to see some of the competitive players start to experiment with some of the other attachments like Rapid Fire, Extended Mag or even FMJ. The possibility of seeing some changes to weapon attachments, like FMJ, are really exciting and could sway the tide of several fights.
Swapping weapons faster will be a major difference when it comes to winning gunfights. We usually see players battle it out and then die when they run out of ammo and can’t switch to their sidearms fast enough. There are going to be a lot more teeth clenching gunfights as a result of this change.
Airborne Division
- Fire guns while sprinting and diving
- Reload while sprinting
- Climb over obstacles faster
- Sprinting faster over time
This class is one of the most used in all of Call of Duty. It has the most reliable weapons, and the best sprint/stamina combination. You’re fast, and you’re deadly. That’s all that matters in this game. It’s the most used division in competitive play and for good reason. These changes won’t make that any different.
Firing guns while sprinting and diving will make a major difference, especially when it comes to Hardpoint games. We will probably see a lot more aggression when it comes to overtaking a Hardpoint from opposing teams. Diving in and catching an opponent off guard can make all the difference in a gunfight to capture an objective.
Reloading while sprinting will be a players saving grace when they’ve exhausted their magazines reservoir and they need to dash. Too many times in pro play we’ve seen a player try to engage in a gunfight with only a few rounds left in the magazine because they couldn’t escape without getting shot in the back. This change will allow them to dash away and make a reload at the same time, saving a lot of deaths and unnecessary engagements.
Climbing over obstacles faster and sprinting faster over time will be a change that is like the first. It will make respawn games harder to play because there will be a lot more pressure from Airborne players. We will see players in other divisions get run down more often, and there will be a lot of close calls when it comes to flag caps, as the speed increase will make them faster and the obstacle climbing will allow for better escapes.
Armored Division
- Take significantly less explosive & fire damage
- Immune to Shell Shock and Tactical Equipment
- Increased bullet penetration through surfaces
- Greatly reduced flinch when shot
These are huge, necessary changes for this division. Armored never really saw the light of day in Competitive play. It just wasn’t as fast as Airborne, and wasn’t as good at range as Infantry. These changes will allow for greater pressure in respawn games and they’re really good. We will still probably only see this division used in amateur play. It still just doesn’t have the one key ingredient that it needs. Speed.
Apart from that, the changes speak for themselves. If you’re an armored player, get ready to have some fun.
Mountain Division
- Invisible to enemy Recon Aircraft & controlled streaks
- Killed enemy death locations hidden
- No name or reticle change when enemies aim at you
- Silent movement
In the competitive scene, we usually see a lot of the Mountain division in Search & Destroy. These changes will only solidify its use because of the increase in player invisibility. You’re no longer going to be visible in any sense unless they can obviously see your character. Killstreaks wont see you. Players wont know if their reticle is over you, unless it’s plainly obvious. Opponents won’t even know where their own teammates are dying from because the death locations are hidden.
Silent movement will be a huge advantage in competitive play. One of the things that made the Mountain class weak was that players could hear their movement and catch them in a close range gunfight. This change will give pro players an advantage when trying to find out new angles to hold during games. This will force some new gunfights and possibly some new strategies that we haven’t seen before.
Expeditionary Division
- Double Lethal + Tactical & enhanced equipment use
- Munitions replenish from killed enemies & over time
- Improved Tacticals & Easier to destroy War buildables
- Equipment damage paints enemies on mini-map
Expeditionary never really saw play time in Pro Play, like Armored. Its increase in tacticals is going to be a huge improvement for amateur players, but its weapons just don’t live up to the same potential that Infantry and Airborne do.
Painting enemies on the minimap is great, but with a shotgun, there aren’t going to be a lot of situations where you aren’t going to one or two shot someone. And munitions replenishing isn’t a big deal for a lot of people. Unless you’re really, really good at surviving. In this particular division, there’s a lot of close range gunfights, and while you’re equipped to win them, you won’t win them all. It’s a riskier playstyle then the other divisions and replenishing equipment usually won’t make a difference to a lot of players.
Resistance
- Mini-map indicator & scrambler of close hostiles
- Enemy movements are easier to hear
- Kills & assists grant Intel Ping of nearby enemies
- Easier to spot targets & increased mini-map coverage
This is another division that will work great for amateurs, but won’t be something used in pro play. Scrambling the minimap is a dead give away of when you’re nearby. Yes, not having a mini map when someone is near is a pain, but it’s also an indication that there’s someone to fight. Just be careful when you go looking for them, because they are more attuned to your footstep sounds.
Getting an Intel Ping of nearby enemies after a kill is pretty huge. This will allow players to adjust their next action based on what they see on the minimap after getting a kill. Listen for footsteps, get the kill and check your now increased minimap for pings of nearby enemies. You’re good at finding people nearby, so be sure to hang out in voice chat to let players know when you find someone else. Especially in comp games.
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Featured image courtesy of Activision