The most recent weekend event in CoD has attracted gamers to do a lot of serious grinding together, but the community’s reaction is something like…let’s say it was not exactly what the developers expected. The official Twitter account of Call of Duty posted what they thought to be a hype message – “This is your sign to lock-in this weekend 🏆” – but rather than happiness, the replies section became a huge place for talking about the issues with the game such as bugs that crash the game, problems with servers, and poor design decisions.
Gaming community seemed to be already raising objections the moment the event got underway, pointing to the fact that the zombies mode did not register the camouflage to the players correctly. Different comments are saying that camouflage challenges are not correctly recording players’ progress. One player outrightly stated, “Camos aren’t being tracked for any weapon in zombies at all. On double exp. What a joke.” And he is definitely not alone – a large number of players have voiced their issues with the same problem. Why bother with a double XP event if the system that tracks your progress towards the new cosmetic unlocks is not efficient?
Especially for the gold camo, players who are reporting have claimed that it is fully disabled. The first comment from one player was “Gold camo is bugged cannot be earned please fix,” followed by another who said that bloodstone melee challenges have now become so difficult that completing them is an impossibility. What’s even stranger is the fact that even though the progress bars are not visible, some players are saying that they just have to continue grinding and “pray to get the cammo” like one of them expressed it. That really does sound like some serious next-level faith-based gaming.
Players mentioned the server problems are constantly at the top of the issue list. An infuriated user said he lost 20% of his packets and had a latency that was over 400 ms. A different player explained how he was always placed in a match that had already started and that his team was getting decimated. What do you think would happen when he tries to leave? Yes, the matchmaking system puts him right back in the same losing game. That is literally adding insult to injury.
Another topic that generates a lot of criticism in the comments is the shadow ban system, which has become a hot issue. One player contended he was shadow-banned “just for being a good player” and he demanded the total revamp of the system. Others, meanwhile, are saying that the cheats are not getting caught while the honest ones are being punished. The whole mess is really messy in my opinion.
This event is particularly challenging for players on Xbox. Many players are saying that Xbox consoles have a gaming issue that the multiplayer doesn’t work. One player expressed it succinctly with the statement, “The game doesn’t work on Xbox… can’t play multiplayer… wow fun event,” which nearly conveys the frustration. When you are given no access at all to the main gameplay during a special event weekend, that is a very serious problem.
A similar situation occurred with the SBMM argument that never seems to disappear. Players have criticized the skill-based matchmaking system, one even claiming they deleted the game completely after a YouTuber highlighted the flaws in the way it operates. Another gamer turned to the creators and said: “How about fixing your SBMM and going back to what it was in the beta. I’ll lock in if you do.” In effect, the matchmaking system needs to be improved and only then will people actually want to be part of your events.
In addition, players have started complaining about weapon balance with shotguns being mentioned as “killing the game.” The melee weapon challenges are said to be “absurd,” and the entire progression system is thought to prod more gamers into an annoyed rather than satisfied state.
Oh! what had I been saying? Yes! The CoD community is obviously not pleased with the current situation. The weekend event that was expected to create excitement among the players has in fact pointed out all the issues that need to be solved, between the malfunctioning progression systems, unstable servers, issues with certain platforms, and controversial matchmaking.
However, there were a few players that pointed out the positives – one comment appreciated the developers for an upgrade and said it was “much better all around” while another expressed happiness about the matter of unlocking bloodstone on their LMGs. But, these positive remarks were undoubtedly a small fraction when compared to the overwhelming complaints.
Eventually, the players of Call of Duty just want a fair and smooth experience that they can claim their time and effort rewarded. When the basic systems of camo tracking and matchmaking get messed up during special events, it is not surprising that the community reaction is so negative. The developers have a tough road ahead if they want players to actually “lock in” for future events instead of just locking up their consoles and playing something else.
