Haunting of Verdansk: Everything we know about Warzone's Halloween event
Prepare for a scare in the Haunting of Verdansk.
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What can we expect from the Warzone Halloween event? The Haunting of Verdansk will run for two weeks, beginning October 20, and is set to make Warzone feel a little spooky. Actually, a lot spooky. Activision is going full-on Halloween by adding special modes and bundles based on the horror films Saw and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. It's a big update, and the COD Blog says "no operator is safe from the terrors of All Hallows' Eve." Well then.
Let's dive in. Here's what's coming in The Haunting of Verdansk.
When does the Warzone Halloween event begin?
The Haunting of Verdansk was unveiled as part of the CoD: Warzone Season 6 roadmap, promising rewards, new limited-time modes, and more. The Warzone Halloween event begins on October 20, and ends on November 3.
Everything coming in The Haunting of Verdansk
Warzone's first big seasonal event is infecting every part of Modern Warfare. In addition to some intriguing new modes in Warzone and Multiplayer, Haunting of Verdansk is dropping a payload of new cosmetics featuring official partnerships with The Texas Chainsaw Massacre and Saw.
Saw and Texas Chainsaw Massacre bundles are here
Haunting of Verdansk's spotlight cosmetics are official bundles for Saw's Billy and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre's Leatherface. Both bundles come with unique weapon blueprints, including Leatherface's Family Heirloom FiNN LMG (outfitted with the XRK ChainSAW stock to look more like his weapon of choice) and a special throwing knife for Billy called The Phlebotomozier, "a special throwing knife will drill into your enemies upon impact." Neat.
The third big bundle isn't another recognizable horror villain. It's all about a character named Dr. Karlov, an "infamous Verdansk urban legend that defines the regional Halloween folklore." We'll probably be learning more about his deal once the event kicks off.
Each of the three bundles cost 2400CP (about $20USD).
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Zombie Royale lets you earn your life back as a zombie
As previously shown in audio leaks on Reddit, the new Zombie Royale mode will have defeated players dropped back into the map as zombies—no Gulag this time around. Zombie players can't use weapons, but they have super speed, strong melee attacks, thermal vision, and enhanced jumps.
Sounds kind of like the more-produced version of the Infected mode from Multiplayer, but now in Warzone. Zombies will be able to earn their lives back by zombifying more players.
Overall, it seems that the real battle is to be the last human team standing so you can board a chopper and extract, but zombies may be able to interrupt the extraction process. At least one of your squadmates has to be in their human form to win, and your team can also use Buy Stations to bring you back from the dead.
Explore Verdansk in the dark
If you're not up for the zombified twist on Battle Royale, you will also be able to drop into a normal match featuring Verdansk at night. We originally got a glimpse of this night mode in the original Warzone Season 6 trailer. As Infinity Ward's blog post makes clear, thermal scopes will definitely be a big help for spotting enemy squads in the dark. Starting tomorrow, you'll probably want to make sure the Cold Blooded perk is equipped on all of your classes, too.
Look out for Trick or Treat supply boxes
On top of the special Haunting of Verdansk modes, battle royale players can also partake in the Trick or Treat scavenger hunt. Across "specific areas" of Verdansk, you'll find specially marked Trick or Treat supply boxes that can either drop powerful blueprint weapons or a "brief scare," so be careful if you're prone to jump scares.
The Trick or Treat boxes feature a number of new blueprints, stickers, sprays, calling cards, charms, and more. Opening all 16 boxes will net you the final prize, the Pumpkin Punisher assault rifle blueprint. It's not yet clear which assault rifle this blueprint depicts, so we'll have to go unlock it ourselves to find out.
Other Haunting of Verdansk shenanigans
There's even more happening during the event on the multiplayer side of things. Expect to see a few Halloween-themed changes across all modes, like scarecrows instead of flags in Domination and skulls instead of tags in Kill Confirmed.
Here are some other highlights:
- Onslaught-er mode: Gain a jack-o-lantern head upon a 3-kill streak
- TDM Snipers only (Week 2)
- Halloween Mosh Pit
- Gunfright mode
As PC Gamer's guides writer, Emma is usually juggling several games at once. She loves competitive first-person shooters like CS:GO and Call of Duty, but she always has time for a few rounds of Hearthstone. She's happiest when she's rescuing pugs in Spelunky 2.