Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 has been released into the wild and players are beginning to rack up the wins on Al Mazrah. The launch of such a massive and anticipated free to play title is not going to be without its issues, however, even when there are more than a dozen support studios putting all hands-on deck. Infinity Ward and Raven Software, the lead studios on Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0’s development and maintenance, have been fairly snappy with updates and hotfixes but there’s still plenty of issues cropping up. Here’s the list of known bugs and issues currently hexing Warzone 2.0 players, as well as any workarounds we can find.
List of known bugs in Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0
Dev error 356
The Dev Error 356 issue began cropping up with the release of Season 1 content for Modern Warfare 2 (2022) and the launch of Warzone 2.0. This bug causes a dialog box to pop up and prevent players from getting past either game’s initial loading screen.
The workaround: There’s no permanent fix for this particular issue from the development team, yet, though some PC players have had luck with repairing or verifying game files through their respective launchers. Similarly, enabling the Shader Cache Optimization through the game’s settings menu has also helped curb this particular bug.
To restart shaders optimization:
- Open the Call of Duty HQ hub settings menu
- Select the Graphics tab
- Select the Display tab
- Click Restart Shaders Optimization
Social kicking back to menu
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is a social experience meant to be played with a squad of up to four people working together to eliminate enemy squads. For many playing on Xbox and PC, however, the social tab of the game was horribly broken on launch. Any effort to interact with the game’s interior social tabs would kick the player back to the main menu. This affected joining parties, sending invites, adding friends, and sending whispers.
The fix: This was patched as part of a hotfix on Nov. 17.
The workaround: While this has been fixed for now, issues like these have a way of rearing their ugly heads once again later down the road. Should you find yourself unable to access the game’s social tabs once again, we found a bit of a convoluted workaround.
To work around the social tab:
- Open the party menu by selecting the headphone icon
- Find the box for your party and right click to open a menu
- Select Invite to Party from the menu
- Select the players you want to invite from the available list, then click Invite to Party once more. Your friend(s) can then accept the invite to join up.
Skipping Downed Phase bug
In Warzone being bested by another player is not an automatic out, and instead players are downed or “knocked” to an incapacitated state on the ground. Should the rest of your squad be able to take out the enemies you can be revived by them, or you can use a self-revive if there is one in your stash. Warzone 2.0 even added a revive pistol as a field upgrade that can be used on teammates and oneself. None of these revive methods matter, however, if you are automatically eliminated and skip the downed phase.
The fix: Raven Software reports via Trello that this bug was patched on Nov. 23.
Inconsistent After Action Report bug
If you’ve had a successful match in Warzone 2.0 and managed to avoid all other issues you may want to check out your After Action Report. Surprise, there’s a bug here, too. After Action Reports are at risk of being inconsistent on Xbox and PC. There is not yet a fix for this, but Raven Software is investigating the issue according to the Trello board for Warzone 2.0. Despite the inconsistent AAR, players can rest assured they are receiving accurate XP payouts.
Disappearing backpacks in DMZ
Players on Xbox and PC may eliminate a player and then go looking for their dropped backpack for that sweet, sweet loot only to find it has evaporated into thin air. A bug is causing player backpacks to disappear if the scorned combatant disconnects from Warzone 2.0 after being eliminated. This prevents the victorious team from scavenging any loot.
The fix: Raven Software reports via Trello and in game patch notes that this was rectified with the Nov. 23 patch.
Purchase Modern Warfare 2 for Access error
Some players are reporting that they receive an error message while playing Warzone 2.0 instructing them to purchase Modern Warfare 2 in order to ‘Access Everything”, even if they already own Modern Warfare 2. There’s currently no acknowledgement of this bug from Raven Software.
The workaround: Restarting your Call of Duty HQ client seems to resolve the issue for most players. In worst case scenarios, you may need to reboot your console or verify for your game files on PC.
Operator Executions issue
Players on all platforms have stated that they are having issues equipping default executions when customizing their playable Operators. Raven Software initially acknowledged this as a game-wide issue on the Warzone 2.0 Trello board, and that they were investigating. It has, however, been removed from Trello with no mention of a patch or fix at this time.
Play Again disabled
If you’ve had a successful match in Warzone 2.0 and want to play again with your squad, you may find that there is no option to do so at this time. Due to other issues with the Play Again button, the option has been completely disabled while Raven Software investigates.
The workaround: If you’re currently playing in a party the good news is that the party leader can back out and choose Leave Game With Party to pull the team with them following the end of a match. Returning to the menu lets you search for a new match so you can drop in again with your squad.
Stalled in a pre-game lobby
Before each match of Warzone, players are placed in a pre-game lobby where they can adjust their loadouts and duke it out against other players. During this time, the lobby is supposed to fill any missing spots and then a countdown timer will appear to indicate how long until the match officially begins. Players are experiencing limbo lobbies where the countdown timer never kicks into action. In other instances, the timer doesn’t begin until the player count is below a certain threshold (less than 50% of an available lobby, even). There is no acknowledgement of this issue on the Trello board.
The workaround: Unfortunately, there is not much players can do about this issue besides simply backing out of the existing pre-game lobby and trying to search for a new match. If the issue is persistent, promoting another member of your squad as the party leader can help as can restarting the Call of Duty HQ client.
Bomb drones
An unexplained glitch involving bomb drones has resulted in them being removed from Warzone 2.0 on Nov. 29. They remain available to purchase and use in DMZ but do cause a glitch when dropped or used that results in the drone icon remaining visible in the player's backpack and inventory. However, nothing happens if the player attempts to reuse the drone. This is currently being investigated.
Disabled equipment XP
Players remain able to use equipment in battle royale modes, however doing so will does not currently award XP as Raven Software has disabled it for the time being while a glitch is investigated. This includes the flash grenade, stun grenade, stim, shock stick, smoke grenade, and suppression mine.
Stuck nuke
On November 30, Raven Software reported that they were investigating an issue that causes players to get 'stuck' when attempting to activate the nuke in Battle Royale playlists. This issue affects all platforms and is currently being investigated.
Disappearing HUD after using Airstrikes
Raven Software has acknowledged via Trello that there is an issue where attempting to use the Precision Airstrike killstreak just as the player reloads their weapon can result in the player's HUD disappearing. This bug is currently under investigation, and at this time there is no fix for it.
Gulag respawning squads on opposite sides of the map
If you and your squadmates are lucky enough to survive the Gulag and return to the battlefield you just may find that you've been placed on opposite sides of Al Mazrah. Given the sheer size of the map, this can result in players being thousands of meters away from their teammates. A fix for this issue is currently being investigated but until then players will just need to navigate meeting in the middle on their own.
Most Wanted contracts disabled
Most Wanted contracts are optional objectives that allow players to take on the title of Most Wanted and alert all other players on the map as to their locations and movements. Players who survive the given time during a Most Wanted contract are rewarded with cash while any eliminated squad mates return to the battlefield for free. It's a high risk, high reward move that has caused some issues for the battle royale playlist and has been disabled for the time being while those issues are investigated.
Inability to interact after using radiation blocker
Players on all platforms have reported issues when using radiation blocker and replacing armor plates in their vest at the same time causing them to lose the ability to interact with items for the remainder of their DMZ matches. The issue was added to Raven Software's Trello board on Nov. 30 and they are currently investigating.
Helicopter missions not tracking in DMZ
Warzone 2.0's built in DMZ mode comes with a slew of challenges for players to complete in order to unlock Operator skins along with additional weapons and other customization options. However, some of the missions that require players to eliminate Reinforcement Helicopters have not been properly tracking progress. This issue was first added to the Warzone 2.0 Trello board on Nov. 18 and Raven Software continue to investigate a fix.
Dead silence and Battle rage field upgrades removed
In an unsurprising twist, two more field upgrades had to be removed across all modes of Warzone 2.0 due to unexpected errors. Raven Software shared in a tweet that both the dead silence and battle rage field upgrades were causing issues and have been disabled while the errors are investigated.
Growing pains
Call of Duty: Warzone 2.0 is a huge step toward the future of the franchise and is intended to be a permanent foundation for which all future Call of Duty titles are developed. It’s inevitable that there will be growing pains during this time. Thankfully, even if Warzone 2.0 is giving you troubles you can still get your Call of Duty fix by jumping into Modern Warfare 2 (2022) multiplayer as many of the maps are small slices of Al Mazrah. Before jumping into multiplayer, however, you may want to check our list of known issues for Modern Warfare 2, as well. If you’re completely new to Call of Duty, consider checking out our beginner’s guide to Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer or guide on the best beginner weapon loadouts. If you haven't even picked up Modern Warfare 2 yet our buyer's guide can help you decide which edition to pick up.
