The Dropshot

We start with a short follow-up on the Fragmentary Order gameplay reveal. We think it ends up taking the whole extraction shooter genre from Escape from Tarkov, and the $45 Prime Batch looks like a good deal next to Tarkov's $150 editions. Then Warzone moves to Modern Warfare 4 with the new Hajin map. The early reviews are better than we expected: the movement is better and the map is fine, but the audio and performance are rough, and it's solos and quads only. Raz thinks DMZ is now officially dead, and that the real problem with Warzone is that nothing is new. Every year they get a few things right that they already got right before, so why isn't there just one Warzone that builds on the last? We also go over the MW4 launch numbers, which came in under Black Ops 7, and why Call of Duty keeps losing people. Then World of Warcraft Forever. Raz has been playing an undead warlock and explains what's different from WoW Classic, why it's the biggest WoW launch ever, and what bugs him: the long runs, the paid Skyborn race and region locking. Jake still can't tell it apart from Path of Exile. We finish on why players keep paying for old versions of games like Old School RuneScape and WoW Classic, and which Call of Duty we'd freeze forever. The two-hour Fragmentary Order reveal breakdown is on Patreon: patreon.com/thedropshot 0:00 - Intro 2:37 - Today's lineup 3:06 - New Patreon bonus on Fragmentary Order 4:57 - Fragmentary Order: Tarkov in space 7:09 - Tarkov is ugly and clunky. This isn't 10:35 - Jake: the stuff outside the raid 12:18 - Playable as soon as December? 13:29 - War Dogs at 60%, Fragmentary Order at 95% 15:44 - Why stop-start betas suck 17:41 - Does GTA 6 hurt Fragmentary Order? 18:46 - Will the NDA let us talk? 19:17 - The $45 Prime Batch vs Tarkov's $150 editions 21:16 - One extraction shooter takes the whole genre 22:24 - Warzone moves to MW4 23:25 - DMZ is officially dead 24:55 - What Warzone on Hajin got right 25:42 - Audio and performance are rough 26:24 - Aim assist is too strong again 26:55 - Grabber drone and movable cover 28:51 - Mixed reviews, leaning positive 29:33 - Day one hype always fades 30:26 - Why can't we just have one Warzone? 33:50 - Battle royales are played out 35:16 - Jake: nothing gets me back on it 36:33 - Solos and quads only 37:38 - Not enough players to split the playlists 38:32 - The XDefiant problem 39:39 - MW4 launch numbers came in under Black Ops 7 44:41 - Is Call of Duty finally slipping? 46:27 - From the classics to Vanguard 49:11 - What can Call of Duty even do now? 50:18 - A data-driven dopamine machine 51:16 - Peaks and valleys 52:54 - We've seen this before: MW3 to BO6 53:36 - World of Warcraft Forever 54:21 - Raz the MMO guy 56:09 - What WoW Forever actually is 58:10 - Reviews: slow, old school, long runs 59:27 - You're not 14 anymore 1:00:08 - Raz's WoW history 1:00:44 - The plan: ranked Battlegrounds 1:02:15 - Biggest WoW launch ever 1:03:00 - Jake: it looks like 2004 1:04:05 - Don't call your game retail 1:05:10 - Where Forever goes next decides everything 1:06:32 - Who's streaming it 1:07:26 - WoW vs Path of Exile, explained 1:10:23 - Leveling vs endgame: where MMOs fail 1:15:05 - Open world PvP 1:16:55 - Auction house and the PoE economy 1:17:42 - Blue fireball this time 1:18:10 - Ugly, boring and region locked 1:21:19 - Smoothest launch in WoW history 1:22:13 - Skyborn, the paid race 1:23:01 - Included in the normal sub. Right call? 1:24:05 - Why players keep buying the old version 1:27:33 - Which CoD would you freeze forever? 1:29:50 - Why not Aion 2? Pay-to-win whales 1:33:21 - Playing it for the pod 1:34:00 - Wrap up and next Saturday _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Infinity Ward changed DMZ matchmaking in Modern Warfare 4 and didn't put it in the patch notes. Charlie Intel reported that the update increased PvP matchmaking for everyone, and that replaying a story mission you've already finished now puts you in a regular lobby. Raz and Jake go through what changed, why players noticed before anyone said anything, and why leaving it out of the October 28 patch notes is the bigger problem. We also talk about reports that MW4 is selling worse than Black Ops 7, even though BO7 was on Game Pass, and why Warzone season 1 might be the game's last chance. We go through a few theories for why Infinity Ward made the change, from slowing down progression to holding onto PvP players until Warzone launches. Then EA shut down BioWare, and early work on the next Mass Effect is ending. We talk about Dragon Age: The Veilguard, Mass Effect 3, Larian as the new BioWare, and which games we'd want turned into TV shows, from Tarkov and Gears of War to Knights of the Old Republic. Also: Al Mazrah coming back to Warzone in season 4, and GTA 6 reportedly being around 210 GB. Support the show: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 0:00 - Intro 4:52 - Patreon shoutouts 6:52 - DMZ matchmaking drama 11:16 - Charlie Intel: more PvP in DMZ 13:02 - Nothing in the patch notes 15:04 - Last "Live from the Ward" of the year 15:56 - MW4 sales vs Black Ops 7 and Game Pass 21:13 - Infinity Ward's yearly pattern 23:56 - Warzone is MW4's last chance 27:15 - Just write accurate patch notes 28:33 - A game for everybody is a game for nobody 33:32 - Call of Duty is mall pizza 37:04 - Charlie Intel confirms it 40:38 - Built for the next earnings call 43:12 - Why would they make this change? 50:41 - Holding PvP players until Warzone 55:01 - How the patch notes should have read 57:27 - The tiger did tiger stuff 59:17 - What do IW devs do all day? 1:01:35 - Is Call of Duty dying? 1:06:20 - The DMZ trailer and why CoD still feels good 1:08:47 - CoD is lucky most players don't look around 1:16:12 - "Beckoning of Responsibility" 1:19:00 - Is the matchmaking change a test? 1:20:53 - Al Mazrah returns to Warzone 1:25:43 - GTA 6 at 210 GB 1:27:56 - Is a DMZ PvE mode coming? 1:30:04 - Warzone season 1 date 1:32:43 - EA shuts down BioWare 1:37:21 - Veilguard sealed it 1:39:47 - Next Mass Effect is over 1:41:38 - Larian is the new BioWare 1:43:30 - Video games as TV shows 1:44:16 - Drew Karpyshyn 1:45:56 - Tarkov, Dead Space, Gears of War shows 1:50:18 - Star Wars is oversaturated 1:55:54 - #SaveMassEffect and EA's RPG studios 1:59:17 - Outro _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv 🔹Jakedown: 🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_ 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown #TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #CallOfDuty #MW4 #DMZ #Warzone #InfinityWard #BioWare #MassEffect #DragonAge #Larian #GTA6 #SaveMassEffect #CODNews #GamingNews #Podcast #VideoGames Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Modern Warfare 4 is fully out, and we're surprised by most of it. Multiplayer is getting hammered: the maps are bad, spawns are broken, SBMM is cranked up, and the movement got slowed down. Raz goes through each complaint, defends Call of Duty on a couple of them, and makes the case that arcade shooters are dying and we're aging out of them anyway. DMZ is the surprise. We said it would be dead by the time multiplayer came out, and people are still streaming it. We get into why: multiplayer is rough, the XP is good for camo grinding, and a lot of these players have never played an extraction shooter before. We still think DMZ runs out of content fast and won't last a month for most people. Then the big one: should MW4 DMZ get a PvE-only mode? Infinity Ward says no and that it believes in PvPvE. We agree, and we explain why a PvE DMZ would be finished in a week, why losing 100K when you die is the whole point, and why "just get better" is real advice. We also cover Tarkov PvE, Arc Raiders, extract camping, and what CoD does next year. 0:00 - Intro: audiobooks and The Terminal List 2:18 - We're live: Episode 610 4:01 - Patreon shoutouts and trivia night 6:55 - Modern Warfare 4 has launched 7:34 - Infinity Ward unlocks it early 8:30 - Multiplayer: worst CoD ever? 10:28 - We were wrong: everyone's streaming DMZ 11:46 - The complaints: maps 13:52 - Spawns are broken every year 15:26 - SBMM cranked to the max? 19:12 - Movement nerf and losing wall jumping 21:42 - People are finally over arcade shooters 24:09 - We're aging out of arcade shooters 28:56 - "Worst CoD ever" after 30 minutes 29:54 - What the critics are saying 30:54 - Are game critics a fake job? 32:55 - What changed: maps, hipfire, Kill Block 34:37 - Jake on spawns (and why learning them is cringe) 40:17 - DMZ is still doing well 42:38 - XP and camo grinding in DMZ 44:12 - The map's already charted 45:52 - Do you still play after Season 2? 47:06 - Why DMZ works when multiplayer doesn't 48:40 - DMZ is another campaign with PvP 51:49 - Can Warzone carry the year? Hajin vs. Avalon 54:41 - The viral DMZ PvE post 56:19 - Arc Raiders "Care Bears" 57:59 - Just get better at the game 1:01:22 - Arc Raiders PvE and Tarkov PvE 1:08:17 - Infinity Ward: no PvE-only DMZ 1:09:43 - Remember AI in Warzone 2? 1:10:57 - Paying 100K every time you die 1:14:12 - Is there SBMM in DMZ? 1:14:55 - The case for a PvE mode 1:17:27 - PvE would split the player base 1:18:00 - The middle ground options 1:20:12 - Extract camping 1:21:56 - Verdict: surprised, but it won't last 1:24:26 - What does CoD do next year? 1:25:15 - Bread Man's DMZ collection room 1:27:58 - Silver lining: new extraction shooter fans 1:29:50 - Outro _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv 🔹Jakedown: 🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_ 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown #TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #GamingTalk #MW4 #ModernWarfare4 #CallOfDuty #DMZ #Warzone #ExtractionShooter #EscapeFromTarkov #ArcRaiders #InfinityWard #MW4DMZ #DMZPvE #WorstCODEver #GamingNews #HotTake #GamingDebate Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

WARDOGS Season 2 came out on October 15, and two days later Bulkhead said its faster progression was the wrong call. Players had Tier 4 armor and main battle tanks within days, so the wipe never really felt like a fresh start. Bulkhead isn't doing another reset. They're bringing Season 3 forward instead. We go through the Season 2 patch notes first: the TCX SPR, PP-19 Bizon, M14 and new LMG, Molotovs, the level 4 helmet nerf, the rain weather preset, squad intent, the Wager vendor, and the new anti-air vehicle. Then the drama. The Lone Star cash and XP bonus worked so well it got pulled after a day, players who used the driver exploit to get tanks early got 24-hour bans and lost their progress, and Joe Brammer is in the replies. Raz thinks bringing Season 3 forward is the right move. Jake thinks Bulkhead should have seen this coming and is worried they're already trying to please everyone. We also talk about a time-gating idea for gear and the 209K players still on Steam. Then the Modern Warfare 4 campaign. It's getting called the best since MW2019, and Raz still doesn't care, because nobody plays Call of Duty for the campaign. Plus DMZ, and why Call of Duty should split Warzone and DMZ into their own games. 0:00 - Intro 1:39 - What's on today 2:20 - Patreon trivia night + upcoming games episode 4:40 - WARDOGS Season 2 is here 5:41 - Big Bear and Mount Ski Bump 6:49 - GTA 6 final trailer 8:01 - Season 2 patch notes: four new guns 10:19 - Words we learned from video games 12:10 - Molotovs and rangefinder batteries 14:31 - Defibrillator PSA 15:03 - Level 4 helmet nerf and suppression 17:12 - New vehicles and anti-air 19:22 - New buildables and rain 21:01 - Gold bars and the Wager vendor 23:25 - Squad intent, loadouts, pre-match football 26:31 - The Lone Star faction experiment 31:58 - T-shaped vs Y-shaped spawns 35:01 - Compound bow, controller fixes, faster leveling 37:10 - Blue bonus pulled: "We f***ed up" 42:03 - Driver exploit bans 46:52 - Limited mode servers 48:53 - Is Bulkhead's honesty refreshing? 52:25 - The X post: Season 3 is moving up 54:35 - You can't please everyone 58:23 - "Nobody is enjoying the climb" 1:01:35 - Fix idea: time-gating gear 1:06:21 - Joe's replies and the Twitter crybabies 1:13:17 - Tarkov and how long seasons should be 1:17:19 - 209K players: does the drama matter? 1:22:57 - MW4 campaign early access and the staggered launch 1:26:00 - Best CoD campaign ever? 1:28:12 - Two campaigns: Korea and Price 1:30:00 - Movable optics 1:31:06 - Best since MW2019 (and BO7's floating head) 1:32:05 - The JoeWo face and DMZ dread 1:33:39 - Split Call of Duty up 1:38:04 - The campaign's one silver lining 1:39:07 - Wrap: gloating next week _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv 🔹Jakedown: 🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_ 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown #TheDropshot #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #GamingTalk #WARDOGS #Bulkhead #ExtractionShooter #MW4 #ModernWarfare4 #CallOfDuty #DMZ #Warzone #EscapeFromTarkov #ArcRaiders #WARDOGSSeason2 #MW4Campaign #GTA6 #GamingNews #HotTake Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

We go through Activision's MW4 DMZ Deep Dive Part 2 blog post, the full guide to the Forward Operating Base (FOB), section by section. Part 1 is on the Patreon. Some of it is a real step up from DMZ 1: there's finally a stash, an actual DMZ cash economy, a vendor with rotating stock, weapon manuals you have to find and extract to unlock gunsmith builds, and three operator trait trees (Warfighter, Scout, Survivalist) that play pretty differently from each other. The rest is where it falls apart for us. Minor traits are randomized, and prestige traits are random too, so you can't build the operator you want. Your bank is capped at a maximum amount of saved cash. Loot auto-breaks down into four crafting resources, and mission items get their own slot. The bounty system marks "Wanted" players on the tac map for everyone nearby while assimilated squads stay hidden. And the $100,000 cargo plane infil costs twice as much as the helicopter while doing less. We also get into DMZ orders, survival kits and the Vault Edition, lieutenants and commanders on the Boss Board, the 3D printer, deployment options, and why this is the reason the show isn't a Call of Duty podcast anymore. Early access starts October 20th. We think it won't last past November. 0:00 - Intro 1:50 - DMZ 2 Blog Post Part 2 3:18 - Patron Hangout and D-Rock's Trivia 5:06 - Trunk-or-Treat 6:54 - The Forward Operating Base (FOB) 11:05 - Active Duty Operators 13:18 - Finally, a Stash 14:35 - Survival Kits and Bounty Board 16:58 - Boss Board: Lieutenants and Commanders 19:53 - The Vendor and DMZ Cash 21:41 - Gunsmith and Weapon Manuals 24:23 - Dog Tag Case 25:08 - Operator Station, MIA and Buybacks 31:24 - Warfighter, Scout, Survivalist Trait Trees 39:32 - Minor Traits Are Randomized 54:06 - Warfighter Traits (Quick Fix, Possum) 58:50 - Scout Traits 1:00:17 - Survivalist Traits and Last Stand 1:07:13 - Operator Prestige: Random Traits 1:18:40 - DMZ Orders and the Stash 1:21:50 - Your Bank Is Capped 1:27:37 - Loot Breaks Down Into Four Resources 1:30:50 - Loadouts, Backpacks and Mission Slots 1:34:44 - Survival Kits and the Vault Edition 1:37:24 - Bounties: Killers and Hunters 1:46:56 - Most Wanted Leaderboard and Tac Map Marker 1:51:05 - The 3D Printer 1:53:29 - Boss Board Details 1:54:32 - Vendor and Gunsmith 1:58:16 - Deployment Options: Helicopter vs Cargo Plane 2:01:27 - Why This Isn't a CoD Podcast Anymore 2:05:15 - Could DMZ 3 or 4 Be Good? 2:08:09 - Is This the Last DMZ? 2:09:16 - To the YouTube Commenters 2:15:47 - CoD Needs New Studios 2:17:25 - Wrap-Up and Bets 2:21:49 - Outro _Note: timestamps may be slightly misaligned on podcast apps (but not on YouTube) due to dynamic ads._ The podcast is available wherever you listen to podcasts, and ad-free & early access versions - as well as bonus episodes - are available to all of our Patreon (https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot) supporters. We stream the podcast live on our YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast) every Saturday morning at ~9 o'clock Pacific Time. We typically start the stream 30 minutes early to answer viewer questions, banter, and chat. Links for everything are below. Thanks for checking us out! 🔹Streaming schedule (Pacific time): 🔸Saturday ~9 AM: Gaming news and stories of the week 🔹The Dropshot: 🔸Website: https://www.thedropshot.com 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheDropshotPod 🔸Discord: https://discord.gg/B4Nsarq 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/c/thedropshotpodcast 🔸Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/thedropshot 🔸Donate: https://www.paypal.com/donate?hosted_button_id=YVR98VF4S945G 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thedropshotpodcast/ 🔸TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@thedropshotpodcast 🔹Razinon: 🔸Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/razinon 🔸Twitter: https://twitter.com/razinon 🔸Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/razinonttv 🔹Jakedown: 🔸Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/jakedown_ 🔸YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@jakedown #TheDropshot #DropshotPodcast #GamingPodcast #PodcastClips #DMZ #MW4 #ModernWarfare4 #CallofDuty #ExtractionShooter #Warzone #Tarkov #ArcRaiders #DMZ2 #CODNews #MW4DMZ #DMZEarlyAccess #HotTake #GamingNews #PodcastLife Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices