Call of Duty: Warzone has recently experienced frustration among its player base, primarily surrounding double XP events and rampant cheating. This latest uproar began on December 25, when developers implemented another round of double XP, but many players quickly expressed disappointment when they discovered the XP gains were not as expected.
Many players anticipated enjoying improved perks during the event, especially as the integration of Black Ops 6 had introduced numerous guns to level up efficiently. With the max level for most weapons reaching the mid-forties, players were hoping to expedite their progress during this promotional period. Yet, players reported discrepancies during double XP weekends.
One Warzone player took to Reddit on December 26, stating they “dread Double XP” events because they feel “basically broken in Warzone” and deliver less XP than standard XP tokens would yield. They cited their experience with the game’s Plunder mode, where they completed numerous contracts and killed multiple enemies, only to earn significantly less experience during the weekend’s double XP event compared to their usual gaming sessions. “Around 20k in XP” was the sum they received for comparable gameplay, doubling frustration because players can't activate XP tokens during these promotional weekends.
This alarming trend isn’t isolated; previous discussions concerning similar issues cropped up during another double XP weekend on December 13 and were even highlighted by Call of Duty YouTuber XclusiveAce on December 2. XclusiveAce demonstrated through gameplay footage how progress and XP gains didn’t correlate, reporting, “Not every piece of XP you earn is doubled,” indicating the problem might extend beyond simple user error to fundamental game mechanics.
On the other hand, the cheating plague continues to erode player enjoyment and confidence within Warzone. Players have issued many complaints over the years about hackers, such as those using wallhacks to gain unfair advantages. Many believe these cheating tactics play a significant role in the decline of the game’s audience, particularly when examining public player counts available on Steam.
While Activision has implemented measures to combat this overarching problem, players often find themselves frustrated with limited results. A kernel-level anti-cheat system is reportedly planned for future updates, hinting there may be improvements on the horizon but nothing concrete to lean on yet. For the time being, players are left with the old-school solution: reporting the cheaters and finding opportunities to retaliate.
A recent incident exemplified this community spirit of retribution when player ‘Faust’ took revenge on ‘HeavnHost,’ a blatant wallhacker. After initially being eliminated by HeavnHost's unscrupulous tactics, Faust respawned and landed back on the same building where he was killed. When HeavnHost attempted to climb the ladder to pursue him once again, Faust struck back using his pistol, knocking the cheater down. The comical scene escalated as Faust used HeavnHost as a human shield before finishing him off with what can only be described as poetic justice—a baseball bat finishing move.
The spectacle didn’t go unnoticed among the players watching; one expressed disbelief at such poor performance from someone who, instead of relying on skill, resorted to hacking, remarking, “Imagine aimbotting and wall hacking and still getting killed, hilarious to see. WILD...” Despite the humor found within the chaos of these cheating impotences, sentiments across the community indicate waning trust. Many players express concerns, invoking the hope for improved gaming conditions with forthcoming updates from Activision.
While players continue to endure the misfortunes arising from both ineffective XP systems and the prevalence of cheating, they hope for fairer and more enjoyable gameplay experiences and await more substantial action from Activision to address long-standing issues affecting the franchise.
