Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 Update Patch Notes: Strike Returns, New Game Modes

Season 5 of Modern Warfare 2 adds two new core and gunfight maps, three new game types, and a few additional surprises. Everything you need to know about the forthcoming seasonal update is right here.

After previewing Gunfight prior to the release of Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward finally included the long-awaited game option in Season 3. Some players claimed that “horrible” layouts and lasers ruined their enjoyment.

In Season 4, the developers responded by removing lasers from weapons and adding two new maps. Call of Duty YouTuber Jackfrags even called Gunfight the “best thing to come from MW 2019 and MW2,” but the fun was cut short when Infinity Ward inexplicably withdrew the game option during Season 4 Reloaded.

Community members were understandably frustrated by its mysterious withdrawal, but the game mode returns in Season 5. Let’s go straight into what the latest season of multiplayer has in store for fans.

Strike Finally Returns in Modern Warfare 2

The Strike is a popular multiplayer map that debuted in COD 4. Modern Warfare 2 (2009) and Modern Warfare Remastered both featured a big urban desert town. Infinity Ward offers the famous landscape a complete makeover for MW2, with some minor tweaks to accommodate new advances.

As much as MW2 fans enjoy a nostalgic trip down memory lane, community members have pleaded with the developers to produce new original maps. Punta Mar is a completely new map set in a recently evacuated tourist area on Las Almas’ hills.

Gunfight enthusiasts will have something to look forward to in Season 5, as the game mode returns with two new maps. Finally, Havoc is a new multiplayer mode based on classic arena shooters. The mode includes wacky modifiers that emphasize fast-paced gaming. Big Capture the Flag is a 20v20 reimagining of the classic game format.

Modern Warfare 2 Season 5 New Maps

Punta Mar (6v6 map)

Prepare to infiltrate a brand-new Infinity Ward map. Punta Mar is a recently evacuated tourist attraction in Las Almas, which was previously a busy village perched on a hill overlooking a stunning South American beach.

Prepare to fight your way up and down that hill, through shops, across rooftops, and through abandoned houses, in order to seize control of a region centred on a cobblestone street.

There isn’t much time between engagements. In this compact map tailored toward various playstyles, keep an eye out for enemy Operators and take advantage of the side streets and alleys.

Strike (6v6)

Time travel 15 years to one of Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare’s major maps. Strike, like its sibling Shipment and Showdown, will be returned to its full splendour in Season 05, due to the most recent Infinity Ward engine and technology.

This version of Strike is likely how veterans remember it, albeit with some minor changes to fit into Modern Warfare II. Is that the back entrance at one of the spawn points and the B Bomb Site in Search & Destroy? You’ll find out when Season 05 premieres!

Lounge (Gunfight)

There’s no time to rest in this tight map for Gunfight and other small-squad modes: it’s set in a high-scale, high-octane bar. Take the stairs or climb to a balcony for a panoramic view of the main chamber, and when the centre gets too hot, try your luck in the game room or beneath the stage spotlights behind the grand piano. On this little map, danger lurks around every corner, so be alert, take cover, and prepare to put on a show.

Canal (Gunfight)

This new Gunfight map, located near Vondel, takes place in and around a brewery and a canal route. The canal contains cellars beneath the cobblestone streets above, with the action taking place between the canal bridges, where the water or a moored boat might help you plan your strategy.

Prepare for close-quarters fighting as you make your way through the brewery and restaurant. Canal is a fast-paced map with a little more room to roam than other Gunfight maps, so think tactically and keep the fight going.

• When will Season 3 of Modern Warfare 2 begin? Gunfight, New Weapons, and More
• CoD: Warzone 2 And Modern Warfare 2 May Be Delayed
• Call Of Duty Season 2 Patch Notes

Modern Warfare Season 5 New Game Modes

Havoc

One thing is clear in Season 05: it’s time to inflict havoc. Havoc is a brand-new Core Multiplayer mode that was inspired by classic arena-shooter gameplay before being augmented with a random selection of frenzy-inducing modifications.

Infinity Ward expressly developed this as a “rogue-like” mode, in which you get upgrade modifiers that change the gameplay in unique and exciting (not to mention chaotic) ways with each game. Don’t expect two Havoc games to be identical. Expect a lot of fast-paced combat with a focus on entertaining takedowns.

The match begins similarly to a Team Deathmatch. Perk Packages, Killstreaks, and Field Upgrades, on the other hand, do not exist in Havoc. Prepare to accept the game-changing variables!

At the start of a match, each player has one modifier. Once a squad is the first to attain a multiple of 12 kills – 12, 24, 36, 48, and 60 – the game introduces a new modifier to the competition for both teams, chosen from a pool of 14 potential modifiers. Here are five specific examples:

Ammo Feeder: Auto reloads a weapon (from stock ammo) upon elimination.

Boots Off the Ground: Moon gravity. Affects only player jump heights, not thrown equipment or ballistics.

Flameshot: Flame-tipped Crossbows and Molotovs only. All Loadouts change immediately to this upon modifier activation.

Hero Landing: Landing from a big drop causes a frag-grenade-like explosion around you.

Perspective Shift: Everyone swaps to a third-person camera view.
Once one team hits 60 kills, the modifiers stack, so at the end of a round, you may have, for example, a third-person, lunar gravity, hero-landing-enabled, auto-reloading flame-tipped Crossbow and Molotovs-only Deathmatch. Bring the gang to Havoc and get ready for some fast-paced fun.

Big Capture the Flag

Do you want to go bigger? The Battle Maps will then be ready for some classic Capture the Flag battles in Season 05. Big Capture the Flag on a 20v20 scale is a formula for epic matches, whether it’s on the streets of Guijarro or in the soggy Mawizeh Marshlands.

Will a lone hero venture behind enemy lines, defying the odds for hundreds of meters in order to accomplish a decisive capture? Or will numerous teams armed with tanks, helicopters, and launchers fight in the open to secure or reset a dropped flag?

That all depends on how you and your squad approach this new mode, which will be available during the launch time. When the entire Season 5 patch notes are released on August 2, we will offer an update.

Gunfight Variants

Step into the 2v2 Gunfight arena, which has three different varieties during Season 05. Keep an eye out for the following:

Gunfight Custom (Launch): Featuring standard Gunfight rules, but the weaponry you bring is taken from your favourite Loadouts.

Gunfight Snipers (In-Season): Tool up with your favourite sniper or marksman rifle, and leave the Secondary, tactical, and Lethals at home.

Armoured Gunfight (In-Season): Need more protection during your 2v2 skirmishes? Then welcome to Armored Gunfight, a variation on the fan-favourite mode, featuring standard Gunfight rules with one distinct difference; armour is enabled! Each squadmate comes to the fight with 150 HP of Armor, 100 Health, and no replacement plates or health regeneration. All other Gunfight rules apply (win conditions, overtime, capturing the overtime flag), but your takedown tactics should be adjusted accordingly.