New Call of Duty WWII Multiplayer Details: Classes, Headquarters, Prestige, and More

War Mode

Everything We Learned About Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer at E3 2017

During our time with Call of Duty: WWII at E3 2017, the multiplayer War mode well and truly blew us away. This is a new, narrative-based multiplayer mode that has one side completing progressive objectives as they make their way across a large scale map. We played Operation Breakout, which started with us capturing a European house from the Axis forces. Upon completing this objective, we pushed further through the town, repairing a bridge, planting explosives to destroy an Axis ammunition depot, and then finally escorting a tank towards anti-aircraft guns that were shooting down Allied aircraft.

This was far more than just Domination-style capture points, though. Repairing the bridge really required some teamwork, as I ran out into the open in front of two flanking buildings filled with enemy forces, it was necessary for my teammates to pick them off so I could finish the job. Of course, while you’re trying to complete each of these objectives, you’ve got the enemy forces constantly trying to push you back, and a timer counting down your impending failure.

Playing this game mode will certainly remind you of playing the likes of the Battlefield series’ Conquest mode or escorting the payload in Overwatch. While the success of the game mode will ultimately depend on how many other solid scenarios Sledgehammer can come up with, from what we played in Operation Breakout, War mode has the chance of completely redefining Call of Duty’s multiplayer going forward.

Headquarters

Everything We Learned About Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer at E3 2017

One other feature that was briefly teased back at the game’s initial reveal in April was Headquarters. Little was actually revealed about how Headquarters would work, but after some hands-on time with the game and speaking to members of Call of Duty: WWII’s development team, we got a slightly clearer picture.

For those unaware, Headquarters is going to work in a similar way to Destiny’s Tower. It’s a social hub for players to jump into, hang out with other players, try out different weapons, and complete challenges. If you want to engage in 1v1 battles with other players, you can do so in the Pit. If you want to simply improve your accuracy with an unfamiliar weapon, you can do that at the shooting range. Daily challenges will also allow you to earn rewards, but, unfortunately, specifics weren’t shared at this time.

With up to 48 players supported in a Headquarters, these social spaces have the opportunity to redefine the way that players spend the intermissions between matches. You’ll be able to quickly jump in, show off your new gear or mad aiming skills, and then jump back into the action. It’ll also have a cool new way of making Prestiging in Call of Duty: WWII a much bigger deal than in previous titles, but more on that later.

Character Customization

Everything We Learned About Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer at E3 2017

In tandem with the Headquarters hub, Sledgehammer Games is also pressing forward  the ability to make this a social and customizable experience with character customization. Players will be able to create their own character so they can represent themselves out on the battlefield however they see fit.

While this isn’t a big deal to yourself (with it being in first-person view and all), meeting up with other players in Headquarters will certainly feel less terrifying thanks to this. After all, nobody wants to enter a social space with 47 other generic-looking characters.

Reworked Classes & Perks System

Everything We Learned About Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer at E3 2017

Call of Duty: WWII does away with the class and perks system that fans have come to know and love from the series. Replacing Classes are Divisions, more general loadouts dependent on your playstyle. These each then had their own training and skills which directly benefit the playstyle that Division was aimed at.

While we couldn’t customize these Divisions during the multiplayer hands-on time with Call of Duty: WWII, it’s likely that this will be something available to players when the game releases in November.

Prestige Overhaul

Everything We Learned About Call of Duty: WWII’s Multiplayer at E3 2017

With Call of Duty: WWII, Sledgehammer Games are reworking the Prestige system in the game. Gone are the days that you simply press a button in a menu, watch your rank reset to 1, and get some fairly neat stuff in the progress. Sledgehammer Games wants to make this a bigger deal, allowing you to brag and celebrate with other players as you hit these monumental moments.

This is done through a system called Prestige Overwatch. Players will scale a mountain that overlooks the Headquarters social space and celebrate in front of all the other players in the area. Unfortunately, Sledgehammer didn’t really say how players will celebrate atop said mountain, or how else the system has been refined, if at all.