After a successful multiplayer beta, MW3 still has a long way to go to right the wrongs of the past year.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 beta has come and gone, leaving the community with a brutal waiting period before the full game launches on Nov. 10. While patience isn’t always easy to practice when a new Call of Duty is on the horizon, this period gives the developers at Sledgehammer Games time to make some much-needed changes that stem from community feedback during the beta.
Although the general consensus around the beta was fairly positive, there are still plenty of issues in MW3 that need to be addressed before launch. You might have some opinions on what needs to change, but today we’ll be throwing our hat into the ring. Below is a list of six different changes that we feel would greatly benefit the multiplayer experience in MW3 at launch compared to the beta.
These changes are not in any particular order, but, naturally, some are more significant than others.
1. The Spawn System
The spawn system was arguably the worst aspect of the beta, with the five multiplayer maps included in the build playing significantly worse than they did in the original MW2. If you played even an hour of the beta, you almost certainly noticed enemies spawning behind you or yourself spawning in the direct direction of enemies, leading to unfair death after unfair death.
According to YouTuber TheXclusiveAce, the developers are using a random spawn system that flips the spawns far too frequently. The spawns also tend to not follow basic spawn logic, placing you near an enemy flag in Domination or right near an enemy-controlled Hardpoint. This leads to inconsistent gameplay on maps that we as a community know should play better if an improved spawn system is in place.
2. Visibility
Image via Activision
Another glaringly poor part of the MW3 beta was the overall visibility when it came to identifying enemies and distinguishing them from teammates.
While the overall concern of visibility was slightly addressed during weekend two of the beta - red nameplates were added over enemies’ heads - the ability to distinguish enemies from teammates was still difficult. This applies to physically seeing teammates and enemies on the map and hearing their footsteps, especially if you were using the Bone Conduction Headset gear. Hopefully, Sledgehammer continues to improve on visibility and makes it easier to distinguish enemies from teammates and just in general.
3. Disbanding Lobbies
One of the core features of the original MW2 was having lobbies stay together after a match had ended. You would stay in the same lobby until you left it or the lobby’s connection to the server was cut.
However, in recent years, lobbies have disbanded after every match, which doesn’t allow players to form any real connections with others in their lobby. With the return of map voting in MW3, the community’s hope is that the ability to stay in the same lobby returns as well. This year’s MW2 has attempted different methods of keeping lobbies together, which will hopefully return and be expanded upon in the full build of MW3.
4. Toned Down Skill-Based Matchmaking
Skill-Based Matchmaking, or SBMM for short, has been a hot topic of debate for nearly a decade in Call of Duty. The idea of matchmaking pairing up players based on skill instead of connection has rustled many feathers, but the belief is that the system leads to higher overall player retention, especially with newer players. This helps bring in more money for Activision, as players who stick around longer are more likely to purchase items from the store, buy the seasonal Battle Passes, and get their friends to join them.
As such, the system is almost assuredly not going anywhere. However, more skilled players would like to see connection play more of a role in matchmaking. The old moniker “ping is king” has been diminished in recent years as a result of stricter SBMM, causing players in higher skill brackets to face harder lobbies with a worse connection.
If connection plays a larger role in matchmaking, players with better overall stats would likely find more balanced lobbies.
5. Nerfs To Sniping
Image via Activision
While this might be a little controversial, the snipers in the MW3 beta were simply a little too strong for a conducive multiplayer experience. The Longbow and the KV Inhibitor were both able to one-shot kill enemies with too much ease and both featured incredible mobility, which is a lethal pairing.
The developers don’t have to completely obliterate the snipers’ prowess, but nerfing their damage range and mobility would make it much easier to counter them. We also don’t know what other sniper rifles will be included in multiplayer at launch, so there could be an unknown powerhouse lurking in the shadows.
6. Changes To The Ghost Perk
For starters, the Ghost perk, or “Gear” as it’s referred to in MW3, is mostly perfect as it stands. Ghost works by keeping you off an enemy’s radar when a UAV is in the air as long as you’re moving.
However, where a change could be beneficial is giving a little more leeway to the amount of time it takes to trigger Ghost when you stop moving. Currently, Ghost stops working the millisecond you stop moving, which makes it extremely difficult to reload or think about your next move and stay off an enemy’s radar. Giving players another second before Ghost triggers could allow for more consistent gameplay when running this particular Gear.
And that does it for our list of the changes we want to see in MW3 at launch. There are certainly some other smaller issues with the game that are hopefully addressed, but making these six changes will lead to an improved experience for a majority of players.