MW3 community members have complained about dying immediately after spawning on smaller maps such as Meat, Shipment, and Rust. Hence, the devs responded by removing an animation to help players defend themselves faster.
One of the biggest complaints from the Modern Warfare 3 beta stemmed from inconsistent spawns that negatively impacted the flow and enjoyment of multiplayer matches. Sledgehammer Games heard the complaints and added span anchors in a day-one patch to help control where spawns occur.
However, the update didn’t do enough to resolve the issue entirely, and the devs were forced to temporarily remove maps from Hardpoint on launch day to investigate more spawn problems plaguing the game.
Spawn issues have been particularly noticeable on MW3‘s smaller maps, as you sometimes spawn directly behind or in front of enemies. Spawn conditions on Meat and Rust were improved in the Dec. 7 update, but the devs decided to go one step further in the most recent patch.
Modern Warfare 3 devs indirectly improve spawns on small maps
In a minor update on Jan. 4 that probably flew under the radar for many players, Sledgehammer games announced that “weapon check animations will no longer player upon respawn in small map playlists.”
Previously, players couldn’t fire their weapons in time if an enemy saw them after they spawned because of a weapon inspection animation that automatically happened. The issue made it a nightmare while using larger weapons with slow aim-down-sight speeds, as it was impossible to fight back.
Community members celebrated the decision, and praised the devs for removing an unnecessary animation.
One player responded as such: “I Can’t tell you how many times I have died in shipment due to cocking my gun after spawning in. I wish that could be eliminated on certain maps too.”
Despite the change receiving praise, some players don’t understand why it’s only removed from small maps and not more.
“Why not just turn it off everywhere? It’s one of the most worthless additions to the game in history. It either does nothing, or it gets you killed. Nothing else,” a second user added.
Shipment 24/7 was removed in the most recent playlist update, but players can try out the improved feature on Meat while it’s in rotation.
