Warzone Guide: Learn Your Basics

With four seasons officially under our belts, Warzone has made one thing clear:

It’s really f***king hard to win. 

Even professional players don’t boast the same win rate they’d typically see in other battle royales like Fortnite or Apex Legends. Part of it does fall on luck, but that can’t and isn’t the only reason. A big part of Warzone, and why so many people love it, is the combat. Because of different playstyles, location drops, and personal tendencies (I’m an “active” sniper), there’s a variety of ways for people to start and win fights. No one method or situation is the same, and that’s what makes Warzone so fun (and hard).

But despite these factors, there are basic things that everyone does when engaging in a fight, regardless of your playstyle. We won’t guarantee they’ll boost your win rate, but we will guarantee that you’ll be winning a lot more fights. Here’s what you need to be doing:

Listen

One of the best (or worst, pending perspective) things about Warzone is its audio. Whether you’re opening a chest, shooting a silenced AR, or simply walking around, there’s a good chance someone will hear you (unless you have Dead Silence!).

Although this presents a problem for you, it also provides a massive advantage in that you’ll be able to hear nearby enemies. The listening range is pretty wide too, and you’ll be able to hear a chest open, door bashed through, and window shatters from a few blocks away. If/when you do hear something, make sure you’re redirecting your attention to the direction of the sound. If you hear multiple sounds, Warzone does a solid job of distinguishing what’s closer. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve won a fight or even a match just because I listened. 

But to fully maximize this utility, we recommend a good headset. Although you technically can use the audio from your TV (slight plus if you have a soundbar), you won’t be able to pick things up as quickly. You can pick whatever headset you like, but we ask that you avoid using the plug-in iPhone headphones as they produce an incessant beeping sound every time you speak. 

Action Item: Get a good headset. The SteelSeries Arctis 7 is great if you’re trying to spend big for quality, personalization, and cross-platform usability. And if you’re “balling on a budget?” We recommend the HyperX Cloud Stinger, which provides you with quality sound for only $50.

 

Loadouts and Ghost

If you haven’t figured it out by now, let me be the first to tell you: loadouts are important. 

Here’s why:

1. Access to fully customized guns that you created
2. You can use the tactical and support accessories you want
3. Utilize perks that aren’t available on the map

Your chances of winning are already low when starting Warzone, but getting a loadout helps improve your chances by a decent margin. 

For smart players, there’s one perk that’s a near necessity when playing Warzone, and that’s the Ghost perk, as it allows you to be hidden from any UAVs or heartbeat sensors (we’ll get to those soon). Nothing is worse, especially in Warzone, than having your exact location given away to the enemy. It can quickly get you killed by aggressive players and expose you to teams that you’re trying to surprise. Make this perk a priority when getting your loadout, you’ll be surprised by how many people don’t. 

Action Item: Set up a loadout with your favorite guns and perks, and make sure one of your loadouts have Ghost! A common strategy my squad likes to use is:

1. Gather enough money for a loadout early 
2. Get a loadout with the “Overkill” perk
3. Head over to the loadouts that periodically drop on the map and get the “Ghost” perk. 

Boom. Now you have all the guns you want and you have “Ghost.” 

 

UAVs and Heartbeats

 

Wanna know why having a “Ghost” loadout is important? Because of these two items. 

With a map as big as Verdansk, it’s important that you’re always getting information on other teams. One of the best ways to do that is by sticking a Heartbeat Sensor (HBS) on one (or all) of your classes and investing in UAVs early and often. These two items, especially early game, can be a lifesaver and the reason why you’re surprising other teams instead of being surprised. If you use three UAVs at the same time, you’ll even unlock an Advanced UAV, which allows you to see players (even those with Ghost!) on your mini-map in real-time. 

With that said, don’t try to be the “heartbeat hero” and keep your HBS out ALL THE TIME. Not only is playing with these players insufferable, but it’ll also leave you anxious about where an enemy will come from next. Instead, use it once and “sweep” the area you’re in. If nothing pops up, go about your usual strategy. Most (good) teams will have their Ghost loadouts set up by mid and late game, so make sure you’re not using the HBS as much. You can even replace it with a different support accessory if you’d like (*coughs* flashbangs *coughs*).

Action Item: Stick an HBS on at least one of your loadouts and prioritize UAVs once you’ve got your guns. Three UAVs will run you $12,000 (unless there’s a Fire Sale), and once the Advanced UAV is up, you can keep it going by continuing to use UAVs.

 

Basic Human Responses

This is definitely not a basic level concept, but the sooner you think about this, the better. Let’s frame the situation:

You just got shot in the back, your armor breaks, and you quickly scurry away into cover. You put your shields back on, and what do you do next? 

Check the direction from where you’ve been shot. 

Meanwhile, your shooter has just repositioned, and by the time you think the coast is clear, the shooter is either shooting you again or pulling off an execution (if this sounds specific, it’s because this exact scenario happened to me).

You see where the opportunity is? If you’re the shooter, you have a prime opportunity to push, but where players go wrong is pushing in the same direction from where they just shot their target. For a lot of players, their basic response is to investigate where the shots came from and, naturally, they’re going to look in the direction from where they believed it originated. If they see you taking that same path…well…

GG.

Instead, head left, right, up, or down of where you originally shot. Even if you don’t push, changing spots is a great way to get a better angle, especially if they’re more stagnant. And if you do decide to push? Well, then you may just catch them by surprise.

Note: there’s a lot more that goes into this strategy than just taking a different direction. Although we’ll discuss this more in-depth in a future article, don’t be afraid to experiment in games.

Action Item:  Just do it! If you aren’t comfortable doing it in Warzone, try a low stakes situation like multiplayer (I personally love using the “Shoot the Ship” mode for practicing this). Yeah, you’ll probably die a decent amount of times starting out, but eventually, you’ll get the “feel” of it, and you’ll be getting the drop on teams in no time.

Is there anything we missed? What are the basics you adhere to? Leave a comment below, we’d love to hear from you.