Verdansk's comeback won’t matter if Warzone ignores these problems ⇒ CODIntel

Verdansk is set to return in Call Of Duty: Warzone Season 3, reigniting hype across the community. But while the nostalgic map might bring players back, it won’t be enough to keep them if Warzone’s core problems—like server lag, cheaters, and broken weapon balancing—aren’t fixed. Without serious updates behind the scenes, Verdansk’s comeback could feel more like a missed opportunity than a major revival.

Why Call of Duty can’t rely on nostalgia alone

Verdansk is making a highly-anticipated return in Call of Duty: Warzone Season 3, scheduled for April 2025. For many players, this brings back the golden days of the original Warzone, filled with iconic locations, intense gunfights, and endless squad memories. The nostalgia is real—but that alone won’t be enough to keep players invested long-term.

For Verdansk to truly make an impact, Call of Duty has to address several ongoing issues that continue to plague Warzone today. Server performance, cheating problems, weapon balancing, and the controversial shadow ban system must all be improved—otherwise, the game risks falling into the same cycle of short-term hype and long-term disappointment.

This article breaks down the key issues Warzone must fix to make Verdansk’s comeback meaningful.

Poor servers will ruin Verdansk before it even launches

From Day 1, Warzone players have dealt with frustrating server issues: packet burst icons mid-fight, delayed hit registration, unpredictable ping spikes, and unplayable lag. These problems have been around since the Cold War integration and only got worse with the Warzone 2.0 engine.

What’s more frustrating is that Call of Duty, a franchise owned by Microsoft and published by Activision, brings in billions every year. The community constantly asks the same question: why can’t one of the biggest franchises in gaming provide stable servers?

If Verdansk returns and still has the same connectivity issues, the entire update will be dead on arrival for many players. It won’t matter how good Superstore feels or how many nostalgic clips hit social media—bad servers will kill the experience before it has a chance to breathe.

Anti-cheat still isn’t doing its job, even in 2025

Call of Duty’s Ricochet Anti-Cheat system sounded promising when it first launched, but years later, the same complaints remain. Cheaters are still rampant in public lobbies, tournaments are still being disrupted, and players often report suspicious deaths in Ranked and Resurgence.

The real problem? Ricochet remains a reactionary system. Hackers are often only caught after ruining multiple games, not before they load into a lobby. Unlike Riot’s Vanguard system for VALORANT, Ricochet doesn’t run at a kernel level and has far less aggressive detection.

While Activision has promised Ricochet updates for Season 3—including a new authentication system for “legit” players—these improvements need to actually work this time. Previous updates, such as the anti-cheat overhaul in Season 2, delivered only minimal results after a few days.

As pointed out in this detailed video breakdown, if you drop into Verdansk and immediately run into wallhackers and aimbots, the entire experience gets soured. Players don’t return to Call of Duty to be cheated out of their wins.

Learn more about Verdansk’s Comeback from WhosImmortal on YouTube.

Shadow ban system punishes good players, not cheaters

One of the most controversial systems in Warzone is the shadow ban feature. While its original purpose was to isolate suspected cheaters, the reality is that legit players often get caught in the crossfire.

Too many skilled players report being wrongly shadow banned after a string of good games or being mass-reported. Once shadow banned, you’re placed into suspicious lobbies with either real cheaters or other falsely flagged users. The result? Weeks of being locked out of normal matchmaking—and no real support from Activision to fix it.

There’s no visible appeals process, no player trust system, and no acknowledgment from the developers that the system is deeply flawed. If Verdansk returns with the same broken enforcement systems, returning players—especially streamers and competitive players—could be discouraged from sticking around.

Gunplay and weapons don’t feel like classic Verdansk

The magic of Verdansk wasn’t just the map—it was how gunfights felt. Whether you were lasering someone across TV Station with the Kilo or hitting a clutch snipe with the AX-50 near Dam, combat had a satisfying rhythm. Today’s Warzone doesn’t deliver the same feeling.

Most of the current meta is dominated by Black Ops 6 weapons, which are statistically better than nearly everything from Modern Warfare 2 and Modern warfare 3. Classic weapons like the M4 or MP5 (now Lockman Sub) feel underpowered in today’s loadout system. That ruins the chance to recreate OG loadouts and classic engagements.

Add to that the sluggish sniper mechanics, lower bullet velocity, and high bullet drop, and long-range fights now feel clunky and inconsistent. Verdansk’s open rooftop battles and sightlines need precision and speed—but today’s guns simply don’t deliver that experience.

Warzone needs to rebalance older weapons and give players the ability to build loadouts that match the vibe of Warzone 1. Without that, the combat on Verdansk will feel like a cheap imitation, not a return to form.

Verdansk needs more than nostalgia to succeed

The return of Verdansk is a massive opportunity for Call of Duty to win back its audience. But it can’t just be a copy-paste job. Activision needs to invest in the experience, not just the content.

This means:

Upgrading servers to eliminate lag and packet burst

Overhauling Ricochet anti-cheat to catch cheaters before they ruin matches

Fixing the shadow ban system to avoid punishing innocent players

Rebalancing weapons so older MW2 and MW3 guns are actually viable

Improving sniper mechanics to bring back meaningful long-range fights

If Activision ignores these things, Verdansk’s return will be a short-term spike followed by the same drop-off Warzone has suffered for the past two years.

Verdansk doesn’t just need to look the same—it needs to feel the same. If Call of Duty gets that right, this could be Warzone’s most important update yet.

For ongoing updates and Season 3 announcements, check out our blog at CODIntel.