‘Extended multiplayer deathmatch’: Warzone players fed up with slew of respawn mechanics in battle royale

Playing your life is not as important anymore, some say.

Warzone deploying
Image via Activision

If you’re one of the gamers who feels like battle royale games don’t have such high stakes anymore thanks to a variety of respawn methods, you’re not alone.

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Call of Duty: Warzone first introduced the Gulag as a way for players who were defeated to drop back into the action instead of being forced to watch their friends play out a game, but several other respawn methods have been introduced in the four years since.

Call of Duty soldier in gold-trim armor carries a shotgun
They’ll be back. Image via Activision

A March 19 Reddit thread was the destination for CoD players to voice their frustrations about the BR mode, and none were more annoyed by these mechanics than the original poster, as you might imagine.

“Oh no, I died,” they said. “Well, at least I have a self revive. Oh no, they finished me off. Well, at least I have a redeploy. Oh no, I died again. Well, at least I have gulag. Oh no, I died in gulag. Well, at least I got a bonus round. Oh no, I lost the second round too. Well, at least my friend has a flare.”

It continued with further examples being a Gulag Re-entry Kit, buybacks, and a Jailbreak, but you get the picture. There’s no shortage of ways for players to get back into the action on Urzikstan.

“I really do enjoy the high stakes and intensity of this ‘battle royale game,'” they said sarcastically. “Trying to stay alive is so important.”

The Gulag was an intuitive way to get players back into the game by making them win a one-vs-one to earn their redeploy. Now, though, there are quite a few ways to do it, and players think it takes away from the idea of “playing your life” and playing cautiously when there are so many ways to come back from the dead.

One player said Warzone is not a BR anymore, “it’s some kind of extended multiplayer deathmatch,” which is fine for modes like Resurgence. Another said the amount of ways to respawn is “just stupid, it makes gunfights long and drawn out, and any advantage you create with gun skill or good play is meaningless.”

Warzone extract
See you soon, pal. Image via Activision

Everyone’s experience in BR games differs, and what gamers like differs from player to player. But the amount of ways to get back into the action in Warzone is rather high. For some, though, that may be their preferred kind of BR style, so it may depend on which side of the debate you fall on.

Author
Image of Scott Duwe
Scott Duwe
Staff Writer (Call of Duty lead)
Senior Staff Writer & Call of Duty lead. Professional writer for over 10 years. Lover of all things Marvel, Destiny 2, Metal Gear, Final Fantasy, Resident Evil, and more. Previous bylines include PC Gamer, Red Bull Esports, Fanbyte, and Esports Nation. DogDad to corgis Yogi and Mickey, sports fan (NY Yankees, NY Jets, NY Rangers, NY Knicks), Paramore fanatic, cardio enthusiast.