Here's how to add enemy players to your squad in Warzone 2 assimilation modes

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Warzone 2 squads now let you recruit your rivals, here's how to add them to your group in the middle of the action.

Call of Duty: Warzone 2 - How assimilation works
(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

There are several big changes in the new Call of Duty: Warzone 2, not least of which is assimilation. No longer are you stuck with the squad you dropped with. Several of Warzone 2's BR playlists actually let you recruit enemy players to your own squad in the middle of a match. You may be able to make good use of proximity chat to negotiate a stalemate long enough to add promising recruits to your fireteam.

What is assimilation in Warzone 2?

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Each mode's "assimilation" settings determine how you're allowed to add new members to your squad during the match. "Off" means that you're stuck with the squad you drop with, regardless of who dies. "Refill" means you're allowed to add players in the match to your squad up to the original capacity of the group (three in trios, for instance). The unhinged BRs mode has "assimilation: expanded" which means you can invite more players to your squad than what you started with. In the current unhinged BR trios playlist, that's up to a total of six.

What you don't want to do, I can tell you from painful experience, is drop into a match and stand around trying to figure out how to send invites until someone knifes you in the back. So let's make sure you know what you're about before you drop.

How to add an enemy player to your squad in Warzone 2

(Image credit: Activision Blizzard)

To add a player to your squad in a match that allows assimilation: 

  • Open your ping menu, bound to Mouse 3 (clicking your scroll wheel) on PC. 
  • Select "Invite nearby players to join your squad" to send an invitee.
  • If you want to receive an invite, select "Request to join nearby enemy squad".
  • View your sent or received invites in the Notifications tab of your Esc menu.

Make sure you know which squad mode you're playing. As mentioned above, there are two different types of assimilation allowed in Warzone right now. In regular BR modes with assimilation set to "refill" you can only add players up to the number meant to be in the squad. In the unhinged BR mode, you can double your original squad count. 

In an unhinged mode BR, it's possible to merge squads together to for a six-person super unit right off the jump if you want whereas in "refill" assimilation you'll only be allowed to replace your dearly departed teammates after they ignore your callouts and get picked off by another squad, and leave the server before you can buy them back. 

Lauren Morton
Lauren Morton
Associate Editor

Lauren has been writing for PC Gamer since she went hunting for the cryptid Dark Souls fashion police in 2017. She accepted her role as Associate Editor in 2021, now serving as self-appointed chief cozy games and farmlife sim enjoyer. Her career originally began in game development and she remains fascinated by how games tick in the modding and speedrunning scenes. She likes long fantasy books, longer RPGs, can't stop playing co-op survival crafting games, and has spent a number of hours she refuses to count building houses in The Sims games for over 20 years.