Turn defeats into last-gasp wins with these Call of Duty: Warzone tips

On the hunt for some Warzone tips and tricks to help you out in Verdansk? Hopping into Infinity Ward's battle royale game feels very different to its competitors. While it has a hefty player count and an encroaching poisonous gas cloud that continues to gobble up its landscape, there are several additions that make it stand out against the rest. 

Mid-game contracts, buy stations, the Gulag, and more—there's a serious learning curve to tackle. I'm here to help you get started by letting you in on a few things I've picked up in the field. Let's convert your crushing defeats into hard-fought wins with my top CoD: Warzone tips.

Call of Duty: Warzone tips and tricks

Destroy enemy armour, and stockpile your own

Armour plates in Warzone are like Fortnite's blue pots. The additional shield on top of your HP is a useful buffer that can make all the difference, especially given the alarmingly short time-to-kill. You can equip three armour plates at a time, so try to hunt them down promptly after landing. They can be found as static loot on the ground, picked from supply boxes, or you can buy five at a buy station for $1500.  

You can hear when an enemy lands a successful shot on you, but a quick glance at your health bar in the bottom-left of the screen also displays when you need to replenish your armour. Once those blue bars are gone, your HP is vulnerable. This works both ways, so watch out for the blue symbol and a cracking sound when you’re firing at an enemy. Use this opportunity to make an aggressive advance on them now they’re vulnerable.

Leave no supply box unopened

Supply boxes are strewn throughout Warzone's map and feature anything from armour plates and cash, to high-tier weapons and self-revive kits. Unopened caches glow a specific colour to reveal the rarity of their contents: 

• Green: Uncommon
• Blue: Rare
• Purple: Epic
• Gold: Legendary

It's worth taking short detours to loot every supply box, but pay particular attention to purple and gold ones. Weapons glow with similar rarity colours so switching out your common M4A1 for a golden gun is a steal.   

Warzone's map has been filled with mysterious bunkers for a while, but now they can be opened, if you can find their keys. Keep your eyes peeled for Red Access Cards when opening supply caches. These cards open every bunker, except 11, which requires you to solve a puzzle by tracking down phones. Check out our Warzone bunkers guide for more on that especially tricky loot spot.

Once you have a keycard, be wary of others hanging around the entrances to bunkers: chances are they're waiting to take that rare loot off your hands. Opening bunkers is a tiring affair, but you'll come out of these firefights with sharp reflexes, and excellent loot, after the challenge.

Ping enemies and loot

You're likely used to pinging enemies and loot if you've spent time in Apex Legends or Fortnite, and it's important to stay in this mindset for Warzone. Marking an enemy squad is more accurate and efficient than calling out their whereabouts, which gives your pals more time to react. Whether you're using voice comms, or solely relying on the ping system, letting your team know where you plan to go next by highlighting the area on the map, or pinging useful nearby gear is a great way to keep everyone in the loop.

Transform your fortunes by calling in custom loadouts

Killstreaks are all well and good, but purchasing loadouts at buy stations is the best use of your money. Loadouts costs $10000, but let you claim the kit you use in multiplayer, instead of scavenging for random gear.

Before jumping into a battle royale match, spend some time tweaking your Warzone loadouts. As you're already familiar with these builds, they're likely to beat anything you find on the floor—the high-level attachments certainly help, too. 

Decide whether you want Semtex or frags, and choose the best perks based on your playstyle. Perks like Ghost and Cold Blooded let you dodge thermal sights and UAVs, which can make all the difference when the circle starts to get tight. Design a few loadouts for different situations, like a sniper pack or a beastly LMG build. Just make sure you get your care package delivered to a safe spot.

Complete contracts

There are three types of contracts in Warzone: Scavenger, Recon, and Bounties are marked on your map as magnifying glass, flag, and target icons, respectively. Bounties encourage you to hunt down another player. Scavenger contracts require you to open three specific supply boxes in return for rare loot. Recon contracts send you to a location, and challenge you to secure it while alerting enemy squads of your whereabouts.

Fulfilling these tasks boosts your contract bonus, which affects the cash and loot you receive from completing more contracts. The more you complete, the more valuable the rewards, so it's a good idea to start working through them as early as possible. Contracts expire so once you accept one, make it a priority to complete it. 

Sharing is caring

Warzone is easier when you work together to amass enough cash to afford extra bonuses. The worst thing you can do is keep it all for yourself. When playing in a squad, pool your money to unlock important upgrades, killstreaks, and items. 

But the benefits of sharing go beyond cash: divide physical items between your teammates, too. Pull up the share menu with TAB and you’ll see a list of your available ammo and shields. While you can only wear three armour plates, you can carry five. Keep up with your team's stocks to find out how you can help if you’ve got spares.

Get back in the game through the Gulag

Arguably Warzone’s most significant departure from the traditional battle royale formula is the chance to redeploy after death. If you die early enough in a match you're sent to the Gulag, a 1v1 fight to the death with another player. If you win, you're back in the game. 

Practice by playing the similar close-quarters mode, Gunfight. Rounds are quick and brutal, so keep your wits about you and try to get used to as many gun types as possible, as the loadout you're given is random. 

Your team can buy you back into the game if you die twice with $4500 at a buy station. If your squad is struggling, that sizable fee may be something you have to swallow; an extra gun in the clinch of battle could make all of the difference. If you’re playing with randoms, try pinging a buy station: they may revive you if they’re feeling generous.

Drop faster by cutting your parachute

Battle royales are all about the opening rush as players bundle in to grab gear; Arriving just a few seconds late can end your journey before it's even started. You can maximise your chances of reaching the good stuff before others by learning how to best use your parachute. 

As you dive towards your destination, experiment with deploying your parachute using Space and cutting it with C. You can do this as many times as you please. When you cut the chute, you fall faster and can even take your pistol out for a few seconds. This makes it possible to get close to the ground before you need to reopen the chute. Beware of reopening it too late though, as you may do yourself some damage. Win the race for the best loot, and secure some early eliminations.

Dropping hot, or not?

Picking where you want to drop isn't always an easy decision, but you shouldn't still be poring over the map as you near its edge in the plane. Verdansk's sprawling landscape has its fair share of hot zones, but building up the confidence to visit them may take some time. Areas like the Airport, Quarry, and Hospital will propel you into the action quickly, whereas landing in smaller clusters of buildings will afford you more time to get your bearings and gear up.

Ensure that you maintain good comms with the rest of your squad when picking a destination on the map, and don't spread yourselves too thin across the large stretches between points of interest. For advice on where to land, consult our detailed Warzone map guide. 

Don't get caught in the gas

This—along with survival—sounds obvious, but there's more to it in Warzone. In other battle royales, players tend to hang back outside the circle while chaining healing items to make it to the late game. While you technically can do this in Warzone, it's a far riskier play as the gas does so much damage. 

Equipping a gas mask grants you some protection, but it's still not the best approach. These can be bought at buy stations for $3000, or found in supply boxes. After exiting the gas, your soldier will automatically remove the mask. This blocks your vision for a few seconds, so plan your exit route carefully.