Infinity Ward has provided some details on new changes coming to Modern Warfare 2 as part of its season two update next month, and it includes some exciting revelations for multiplayer fans.
The developers revealed that some investigations into player complaints about audio in the game led them to find that there was a previously unknown issue impacting “audio occlusion,” which is a filter that is applied to a material in the world that decides “full frequency of the sound.”
“Only large structural objects should apply the filter, but we found some small items like a stapler or a pile of rags on the ground that were causing the filter to turn on when it shouldn’t have,” Infinity Ward said. “For example, a wastebasket that was tagged with the incorrect material may have occluded the sound like it was behind a wall making the sound more difficult for a player to hear. This issue will be addressed in the Season 02 update and we continue to work on fixes and new audio features to better our players’ experience.”
Sound is not the only thing getting a pretty big overhaul for the new season. The game’s UI, one of the main pain points for players since MW2 launched in October, is getting some much-needed tweaks.
Improvements to the UI “to improve overall flow of in-game menus” include improved navigation of the camo menus, a more polished social tab, a new “My Bundles” screen, the ability to quickly equip items from the battle pass, reticle previews in the store and the Gunsmith, and more.
The next-biggest thing on the docket for the update is changes and balancing to perks, specifically Ghost and other Ultimate perks.
“For Season 02 we’ve updated the rate at which the bonus and the ultimate perks are earned (reduces bonus perk cost by 50% and ultimate by 25%),” Infinity Ward said. “This adjustment will allow players to get Ghost earlier in matches, which will better support players looking to engage more aggressively.”
On top of Hardcore modes and Ranked Play also coming, which the company previously teased on social media, the update will also include a Valentine’s Day playlist and new multiplayer modes coming in the next few weeks.
As expected, there will also be a slew of weapon balancing in the new season, but further details on that will be coming later in a new post on Feb. 8, a week before the season two update hits on Feb. 15.
