Warzone Pacific: Caldera Early Access, Update Release Date, & Patch Notes

It's time to jump into Caldera - if you're eligible for Early Access, The Warzone Pacific update is out right now and that means Vanguard Season One has started and Vanguard's content has been integrated into Warzone! Here's the latest...

CALDERA IS HERE - Where should you drop first?

If you're eager to jump into Vanguard Royale and check out Caldera first, there are a few things you should know about first. Here's a list of all the important facts to check over while you're loading into your first game:

• All the new weapons in Warzone following the Pacific update
  • Over 40 weapons from Vanguard are coming;
• The best places to drop in Caldera
  • Call of Duty's top picks will be joined by ours soon;
• The low-down on Caldera's Gulag
  • There are some changes to how it works, but you still need to survive;
• Ricochet Anti-Cheat Progress Report
  • When does this system get implemented globally?
• Vanguard Royale introduces Fighter Planes
  • Get to grips with the new vehicle coming to Warzone;

SERVER DOWNTIME - When does it start?

The "Last Hours of Verdansk" playlist is expected to go live later today and be available for around 35 hours before it's over - then, Warzone's servers are going to be down for around 12 hours while we make the transition from the Warzone experience we know to the new Warzone experience coming with the Warzone Pacific update.

Here's the timeline of events and when the server downtime is expected to start...

"Last Hours of Verdansk" playlist - Start

• 10:00 PST - December 6th
• 13:00 EST - December 6th
• 18:00 GMT - December 6th

"Last Hours of Verdansk" playlist - End / Server Downtime - Start

• 21:00 PST - December 7th
• 00:00 EST - December 8th
• 05:00 GMT - December 8th

Server Downtime - End / Warzone Pacific Update - Start

• 09:00 PST - December 8th
• 12:00 EST - December 8th
• 17:00 GMT - December 8th

We don't know what to expect in this final playlist, but Call of Duty should reveal all when it starts later today.

NEW TEASERS - Season One Battle Pass content

Caldera is on the way and Call of Duty has been busy on social media drumming up interest in Warzone's next update and the change of scenery that's coming next week. However, it looks like some content from the Vanguard Season One Battle Pass has been teased too!

As you can see below, it looks like two Weapon Blueprints for Vanguard weapons are being teased alongside a new Operator Skin for an unreleased Operator.

There's also an image of a man running, which could be hinting at a new Perk coming to Warzone in the Pacific Update or something to signify the changes being made to Dead Silence. Only time will tell...

NEW FEATURES - More contracts and mechanics

Caldera is a huge part of the Warzone Pacific update, but there are more changes in the new title update than you might realise. Call of Duty has shared a lot of information in the last couple of days and here are some of the highlights...

• Gulag Changes
  • You will now drop back into Warzone with the equipment you were using in the Gulag, not as a fresh spawn.
• New Contracts
  • Three new contracts will be available in Warzone following the Pacific update: Supply Drop, Top Secret, and Big Game Bounty.
• Wading in Shallow Water

• You won't be able to swim - however, you can wade in shallow water to reduce the sound of footsteps and crouching will offer you the same effects as Cold Blooded.

• Loot and Loadouts
  • Dead Silence is being nerfed and Stopping Power Rounds are being completely removed from Warzone in the Warzone Pacific update. There's also going to be a limiter that stops you from getting a Loadout Drop before the first Loadout Drop event occurs in-game.

You can check out more details on what Caldera is going to look like in the Tweet below:

NEW MAP LAYOUT - Caldera looks busy!

Call of Duty has just released a new look at Caldera's map with a few POI locations named and it looks... Pretty busy. On the map below, each orange dot is a POI location and they're going to be divided into fifteen areas...

As you can see, they're named as:

• Arsenal
• Docks
• Runway

• Ruins
• Mines
• Peak
• Beachhead
• Village
• Lagoon
• Airfield
• Fields
• Sub Pen
• Power Plant
• Capital
• Resort

NEW TRAILER COMING? - What we know

The Warzone Pacific update is going to be the biggest update in the game's history and mark an important moment in Call of Duty history - so, where's the trailer?

It's a question we all want to know the answer to and thankfully it doesn't seem like we're too far away from figuring things out. One Call of Duty commentator thinks we could see a Warzone Pacific Trailer drop on December 2nd - as you can see below:

We don't have any evidence to support this claim, but there's also nothing to say it won't drop then. We'll keep you updated if anything changes. Call of Duty usually releases trailers on Thursdays, so they might be onto something...

RELEASE DATE - Warzone Pacific Update & Caldera

The next Warzone update is going to be released alongside the Vanguard Season 1 update on December 8th and Caldera is going to be available to all on December 9th.

There is a chance to play Caldera a bit before with Early Access, however, all the weapons and Operators should be available from December 8th. At the moment, we're waiting for an updated Content Roadmap from Sledgehammer Games - but the leaks suggest a few exciting weapons are coming alongside a few new faces.

Rebirth Island isn't going anywhere, but this might be the last time you can play on Verdansk. It seems like it's the end.

SECRETS - Event Challenges & Rewards

Warzone's Secrets of the Pacific event is the perfect introduction to Caldera and should lead directly into the End of Verdansk and the Warzone Pacific update next month. You can get your hands on a new STG 44 Weapon Blueprint - the "Bomber Menace" - if you finish all the Challenges too! Here's what you need to do...

• Jailbreak - At the bottom of the stairs leading into Prison from outside
  • You need to survive one circle or win the game to complete this.
• On The Air - Inside an Electronics Store opposite Train Station
  • You will need to survive three circles or win the game to complete this.
• Fast Food - On a Burger Stand counter inside the Airport
  • You will need to survive three circles or win the game to complete this.
• On Your Feet - Inside a Surgery Room in Verdansk General Hospital
  • You will need to survive four circles or win the game to complete this.
• Abandoned - Inside a Mine Shaft's cave area near Airport
  • You will need to survive two circles or win the game to complete this.
• Secrets - Head to one of the WW2-era Bunkers for this Intel
  • One is near Boneyard, one is near Airport, and one is south of Salt Mine.

Unfortunately, they're as vague as they sound. We can help you with finding the intel, though, with this Special Intel Locations guide - however, surviving is on you. Good luck, Operator!

SECRETS OF THE PACIFIC - What do we know

At the moment, Call of Duty hasn't really shared a lot of information about the Secrets of the Pacific event.

Much like Operation Flashback, there hasn't been any leading up to the event from Call of Duty on social media. It isn't surprising, but it's unusual given the fact that the Warzone Pacific update is so close. That being said... We know the following - which was mentioned during the Vanguard Season One announcement:

" This limited-time event developed by Beenox will grant you vital information on Caldera and its various points of interest prior to its launch in December, but only if you complete challenges across Vanguard and Warzone. Each game will have its own set of tasks and rewards for completing them, such as acquiring and protecting Pacific artifacts while fighting to survive in Verdansk."

It doesn't sound like the Secrets of the Pacific event is going to be a fully-fledged Warzone event - however, there are leaks that would suggest we're getting a few more Calling Cards for our troubles.

We should learn more about the Secrets of the Pacific event from Call of Duty on social media throughout the afternoon ahead of the event itself starting on November 24th.

OPERATION FLASHBACK - One last hurrah

It sounds like Verdansk is going for good and Warzone is giving this location one last hurrah through the "Operation Flashback" event next week.

It's due to start on November 18th and at the moment, all we know is that it's going to bring "classic moments" back from Verdansk's history in a limited-time mode.

This could mean map changes, but we're expecting it to be a mash-up of all the previous LTM modes we've seen before. We might even the fabled "Minigun Chopper" make an appearance, again. We should learn more about this event next week...

First look at Caldera's map layout

Following the Vanguard Launch Event in LA last night, Call of Duty has shared a little bit more information about the new Warzone experience that's coming next month - and the new Pacific map.

You can check out a look at the layout below:

The following POI locations are labelled on the map:

• Naval Shipyard
• Ancient Structures
• Volcano
• Fishing Village
• Phosphor Mines

• Air Port
• Taro Farms
• Beach Defenses
• Submarine Base
• City Capital

"Chapter 3" leaks suggest a later release date

There's a lot of confusion around the release date of the new Pacific Theatre Warzone map and Vanguard integration - data miners have been bust looking into the latest additions to Warzone's files for clues.

ZestyCODLeaks revealed that "Chapter 3" - which is expected to be the title of Vanguard's integration with Warzone - is coming on December 7th. This is a lot later than expected.

It might not even be the case, though. CODTracker is suggesting that this is something else - which would mean Vanguard integration and the Pacific map are still due out in November.

At the moment, it's hard to say and Call of Duty is keeping tight-lipped about it all. Expect more information soon, though. Vanguard releases on November 5th.

RELEASE DATE - When is it coming out?

At the moment, Sledgehammer Games hasn't confirmed when Vanguard Season 1 is going to start and this is when we're expecting the new Pacific map to be added to Warzone.

All we know so far is that it's expected to start around three weeks after Vanguard comes out - and it should start when Season 6 is over, of course. This has led us to believe that the new Warzone map could be released as early as November 25th.

Vanguard is due to release on November 5th and the 25th lines up with both the end of Season 6 and three weeks after Vanguard's release. We should get confirmation of this in the next couple of weeks - around the time of the Season 6 Reloaded update, probably.

FIRST LOOK - It's more than just the beach!

Warzone's new Pacific Theatre map is going to be like nothing we've ever experienced before - judging by the early footage. As you can see below, there's going to be dense foliage and domineering intricate structures to clash with Verdansk '84's sometimes-open layout.

You still can't tell a whole lot about the new Warzone map, though, but it's going to be interesting to see how this will work on PC in particular. Foliage is often something you can alter the density of on PC platforms - due to the wider range of capabilities of people's equipment - and we can't imagine hiding in the bushes is going to work quite as well as it could do on Warzone's new Pacific Theatre map if it isn't made more permanent.

The permanence of the foliage, though, would then put more of a demand on machines in general and could result in increased file size for Warzone going forwards - or crushing performance issues.