Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 — New Gear, Elite Perks and Modes Explained

Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 goes live at midnight ET on November 6 (9 PM PT on November 5), and it's far more than a new battle pass. According to Activision's official November 2 breakdown, Season 1 fully integrates Warzone with Modern Warfare 4, resetting Player Level across Multiplayer, DMZ and Warzone and unlocking all 33 Modern Warfare 4 launch weapons. For the new Hajin and Zodiac maps and the returning Verdansk and Rebirth Island, see our full breakdown of the Season 1 maps and launch weapons. This guide focuses on what's actually changing in how you play: the new gear, the overhauled Perk system, and three brand-new limited-time modes.

1. The Zipline Launcher: A New Way to Move

The Zipline Launcher is a new Field Upgrade that lets Operators fire an anchor to create a zipline between two points, opening up vertical routes across rooftops and terrain that were previously only reachable by foot or vehicle. Once deployed, it stays active on the map until it's retrieved or destroyed, and it isn't exclusive to the squad that placed it — enemy Operators can use it too, so a zipline is as much a liability as an asset. Activision specifically notes that players can still fire their Pistol while traversing a zipline, so don't assume you're safe mid-transit.

2. The Grabber Drone and New Interactive Objects

The second new Field Upgrade is the Grabber Drone, a remotely piloted drone fitted with a claw that can pick up loot, environmental objects, downed teammates, and even Buy Station purchases from a distance. Battery life is limited, so Activision frames it as a tool for decisive moments — pulling a revive out of the open, retrieving a weapon stuck on a ledge, or hauling Buy Station loot back to your squad without walking into the open.

Season 1 also adds new interactive objects that the Grabber Drone can manipulate directly, including movable Fuel Barrels that detonate when shot, plus pushable Dumpsters, Concrete Cylinders and ramps that can be repositioned for cover, roadblocks or improvised traversal. Most of these new props are concentrated on Hajin, Zodiac and Verdansk.

3. Weapon Augments and Ground Ops

Season 1 introduces Weapon Augments, temporary weapon upgrades found at portable "Fly Buy" Buy Stations that are dropped by drones flying across the map. Augments are available in limited quantities and last for the match. Activision has confirmed three at launch:

• CQC Augment: faster ADS speed and sprint-to-fire speed, reduced hipfire recoil, faster ADS movement speed.
• Marksman Augment: improved bullet velocity and damage range, reduced horizontal recoil, reduced aiming idle sway.
• Handling Augment: faster reload and rechamber speed, faster slide-to-fire speed, reduced first-shot recoil, reduced weapon bob and flinch.

Alongside Augments, Ground Ops return as discoverable points of interest scattered across the map — drillable safes, surveillance towers that reveal enemy positions and legendary loot, drones that drop cargo when shot down, and radioactive barrels locatable with a Geiger counter. A new progression system called Grind for Royalty also tracks personal performance stats each season and rewards new personal bests with two exclusive Weapon Camos; Season 1's rewards are the "Gold Excellence" and "Gold Mosaic" camos.

4. The Perk System Gets a Fourth Slot: Elite Perks

Warzone's Perk system is getting its biggest shake-up in years. There are 18 total Perks at launch, 15 of which are selectable in your Loadout before a match, split evenly across three categories (Field Medic, Hunter, Stocked, Incognito and Surveyor in Category 1; Mountaineer, Adaptive, Scavenger, Drill Instructor and Deft Hands in Category 2; Berserker, Quick Fix, Survivor, Tempered and Wingman in Category 3).

The remaining three are brand-new Elite Perks, which add a fourth Perk slot that you can't fill from the Loadout menu. Instead, Elite Perks are found exclusively in-match at Buy Stations or earned by completing Supply Run Contracts, and only one can be equipped at a time:

• Athleticism: more agile strafing, crouching and ADS movement, with reduced penalties for jumping and sliding.
• Phantom: undetectable from enemy recon Killstreaks, equipment and Perks.
• Fieldcraft: rapidly regenerates armor and equipment for sustained fights.

Tactical Sprint is also changing: it will be available to every Operator by default without needing a Perk slot, though Activision notes its duration is slightly shortened as a trade-off. Reviving allies has changed too — you can now drag teammates to safety while reviving them, pulling them out of the line of fire.

5. Three New Limited-Time Modes at Launch

Battle Royale and Resurgence remain the core modes, but Season 1 adds three LTMs, with two more (Rockets and Snipers, Extreme Resurgence) promised for the Mid-Season update.

• Rally Point (Zodiac, 20 players): a no-circle, infinite-Resurgence, drop-in/drop-out training mode built for new and returning players to experiment with weapons, killstreaks, vehicles and contracts without real stakes. It includes unique events like Hostile Choppers and JLTV Deliveries, plus an exclusive weapon blueprint and two camos to unlock.
• Massive Resurgence (Hajin, 120 players): a large-scale Resurgence variant where squads loot, redeploy allies during a countdown, and try to outlast the field as the gas closes in.
• Loaded Resurgence (Zodiac/Rebirth Island, 44 players): players infil with their chosen Loadout already equipped, keep their weapons after death, and earn Perks through eliminations while working toward a Specialist state.

6. The Full Field Upgrade and Equipment Lineup

Beyond the two headline additions, Season 1 also brings back a wide spread of returning Field Upgrades alongside the new ones, plus a refreshed Tacticals, Lethals and Killstreaks roster. New Field Upgrades joining the Grabber Drone and Zipline Launcher include the Perk Supply Box (drops a random perk for your squad), Razor Wire (a proximity mine that ensnares enemies), the SAM Airburst Turret (intercepts aerial threats), and the Smoke Wall (a hand-held rocket that lays down heavy smoke coverage).

Resurgence matches also get two new systems: the Weapon Trade Station, which lets you exchange your current weapon for a higher-rarity version with extra attachments, and Drop Kits, which boost your next redeploy. There are four Drop Kit types — Insured (redeploy faster with all your cash), Loadout (redeploy with your current Loadout), Armored (redeploy with full armor, bonus Perks and a Self-Revive), and Radar (redeploy with an active Radar Ping and supply sweep).

7. Carry Forward, Legacy Weapons and the Operator Skin Toggle

Activision confirmed that Operators, Operator Skins, Weapon Blueprints, Calling Cards, Emblems, Finishing Moves, Emotes, Sprays, Parachutes and Contrails from Modern Warfare II, Modern Warfare III, Black Ops 6 and Black Ops 7 will all carry forward into Warzone starting in Season 1. If your Loadout is cluttered with skins from older titles, it's worth revisiting our guide to the new Operator Skin Toggle feature, which lets you control which Operator Skins actually appear while you're in Warzone.

Weapons from Modern Warfare 4 get the full feature set — Mastery Camos, Reticle Challenges, Weapon Customization, Cosmetic Gunsmithing and Build Sharing. Everything from Modern Warfare II through Black Ops 7 moves to a Legacy tab instead: those weapons remain usable and come pre-built with a five-attachment loadout (or their existing Blueprint attachments), but they can't be edited in Gunsmith and don't support the newer customization features. Legacy Blueprints start locked and unlock through Player XP earned in the Armory.

One hardware note worth flagging: starting with Season 1, Warzone will no longer be playable on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, as both Warzone and Modern Warfare 4 move on from last-generation consoles. Activision says progression carries over automatically to a supported platform if you're signed into the same linked Activision account. On the flip side, Warzone is launching on Nintendo Switch 2 for the first time at the start of Season 1.

8. Quick Tips Recap

• Season 1 arrives at midnight ET on November 6 (9 PM PT November 5) with full Modern Warfare 4 integration and a full Player Level reset.
• Learn the Zipline Launcher and Grabber Drone early — both are new Field Upgrades built around traversal and utility, not direct damage.
• You now get four Perk slots instead of three. Pick your 15 Loadout Perks as before, then hunt Buy Stations and Supply Run Contracts in-match for one of the three new Elite Perks.
• Tactical Sprint no longer costs a Perk slot for anyone, but its duration is shorter across the board.
• New to Warzone or coming back after a break? Rally Point is a low-stakes, no-circle mode built specifically to let you practice mechanics without losing a real match.
• If you're on PS4 or Xbox One, note that Warzone drops support for those consoles the moment Season 1 goes live.

For the new maps, the full launch weapon list and the Modern Warfare 4 release details, read our companion piece on Warzone's November 6 switch to Modern Warfare 4. Coming off Black Ops 7's Season 6, our recap of Season 6's Haunting event covers what the game looked like right before this transition. For more coverage as Season 1 rolls out, visit our full archive of Call of Duty guides.

Official Resources

• Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 — Everything You Need to Know (Official Blog)
• Call of Duty: Warzone Official Site
• Call of Duty Official Site