Call Of Duty: WWII is getting a brand new multiplayer class system for 2017’, and a recent post on the PlayStation Blog offers a tease of what it entails. With E3 on the horizon, Sledgehammer Games co-founder Michael Condrey spoke briefly about the concept of Divisions.
When asked what changes would be coming to Call Of Duty’s staple create-a-class system, Condrey provided an interesting answer. “We’re particularly looking forward to revealing more on Divisions,” he said. “Divisions fundamentally redefines how players invest in their multiplayer soldier career. Replacing the create-a-class system, players choose from five iconic World War II divisions each with specific basic combat training, division training and weapon skills.” It’s something that he feels will greatly intrigue veterans of the series.
Activision revealed the Division names in a blog post. They are as follows:
- Airborne: First to the fight, where you move fast and stay quiet
- Mountain: Focusing on precise and deadly sharpshooting
- Infantry: Be the tip of the spear
- Armored: Bringing the heaviest firepower
- Expeditionary Force: Packing heat with incendiary shells
While we’re only dealing in vagaries with these short descriptions, it would appear that Sledgehammer is moving away from the freeform loadout style of its predecessors in favor of something more rigid. In no uncertain terms, it seems like Call Of Duty might borrow from the more static class systems of its popular contemporaries like Battlefield 1, Rainbow Six Siege and Overwatch.
The create-a-class system first debuted in Call Of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and it offered players the chance to fill designated slots for primary weapons, pistols, grenades and three unique perks. In 2016’s Infinite Warfare, the so-called “Pick 10” system allowed multiplayer combatants to fill 10 weapon, attachment, equipment and perk slots as they see fit. The idea has remained mostly the same but has expanded to support the arrival of new features.
Taking Condrey’s wording at face value, what we’re getting in 2017 sounds fairly different. In Call Of Duty: WWII, division training requirements mean certain classes might only be able to handle certain weapons or perks. It’s a more restrictive format that’s been welcomed by eSports communities, and seems a bit easier to balance. It’s also more realistic to the game’s grounded World War II setting. Certain soldiers were trained with certain assets, so they weren’t given access to the complete arsenal we see in futuristic games.
Beyond that short tease, what's left of the blog post is mostly recycled rhetoric from April’s reveal presentation. We know the game’s campaign will focus on the story of Private “Red” Daniels in the span of a few years throughout the conflict’s European theater. Something that might be new in that explanation, however, is features like shared health packs and ammo toss are apparently exclusive to offline play. That may quell some rising concerns that multiplayer won’t support mainstay features like health regeneration.
With regard to online, the developers took the chance to plug WWII’s new multiplayer mode called War. It’s described as a narrative-based PvP mode where Axis and Allies clash to attack or defend strategic objectives. In short, it sounds comparable to Objectives mode in Battlefield 1.
Call Of Duty: WWII comes to PS4, Xbox One and PC Nov. 3.
What do you think of Call Of Duty: WWII’s new Divisions multiplayer class system? Will it make the game better or worse? Tell us in the comments section!
- Action-packed campaign
- Traditional multiplayer at its best
- A more welcoming Zombies mode
- Predictable story
- Small multiplayer maps
- Post-launch server issues
