We are going to examine the changes in the Meta over the course of the Call of Duty WW2 season. We’re going to look at the different phases that the meta has undergone this year.

CWL Dallas: FG Dominance

CWL New Orleans: FG Nerf and Triple ARs

GPL Stage One Weeks 1–4: FG Party

CWL Atlanta+GPL Stage One Weeks 5–8+CWL Bham+Stage One Playoffs: STG-44 and PPSH all day

CWL Seattle Friday/Saturday: The BAR crawls out from its grave

CWL Seattle Sunday: Everybody loves the BAR

For the purposes of this article we’re only going to examine the last four. The first half of Stage One saw an overpowered FG that the pros agreed to remove with a Gentleman’s Agreement. The rest of Stage One can be considered the golden era by pro players, with a stable balance between STG and PPSH. At the recent CWL Seattle event, the drastic meta changes made the BAR a significantly more viable weapon and created a new meta that certain pros have already been vocal in opposition of. We’re going to refer to these “meta phases” as Phase One/Two/Three/Four. Join me as we look at the meta on a map by map basis

Ardennes Forest Hardpoint

From Phase One to Phase Four this map has been 2AR and 2SUB.

Ardennes Forest Capture The Flag

From Phase One to Phase Four it has been 2AR and 2SUB, with only 5% BAR usage in Phase Four.

London Docks Hardpoint

From Phase One to Phase Three it was 1AR and 3SUBs. In Phase Four over the course of CWL Seattle from Sat to Sun we saw everyone drop the STG and pick up a BAR. The meta remains 1AR and 3SUBs but the BAR is the weapon of choice. Some teams played 1STG, 1BAR, and 2PPSHs.

London Docks Capture The Flag

In Phase One and Phase Two, it was 1AR and 3SUBs. In Phase Three and Four it was still 1AR and 3SUBs but the AR players were split 50/50 between STG and BAR.

Gibraltar Hardpoint

From Phase One to Phase Four the meta has remained 2AR and 2SUB. The BAR has seen no usage.

Sainte Marie Du Mont Hardpoint

In Phase One and Phase Two it was 1AR and 3SUBs. In Phase Three it was still 1AR and 3SUBs but the AR players were split 50/50 between STG and BAR. In Phase Four the community swayed towards the BAR, experimenting with 1STG,1BAR,2PPSH or 2BAR, 2PPSH but mostly became 1BAR 3PPSH.

Valkyrie Hardpoint

This map was introduced in Phase Two and flirted with being a 4Sub Map. When it wasnt 4PPSHs, the lone AR was often a BAR and sometimes a STG. In Phase 3 it also went back and forth between 4PPSHs or 1BAR and 3PPSHs. The STG was still used as the AR occasionally. Phase Four the Meta firmly shifted to 1BAR and 3PPSHs.

Flak Tower Capture The Flag

During all four phases this map was often 4 PPSHs. During all these phases, a lone AR was run sparingly, which shifted from FG to STG to BAR. Throughout all the phases, the Main AR was likely shifting between AR and PPSH situationally.

Ardennes Forest S&D

In Phase 1 the Kar98K was used situationally and teams used 2ARs. In Phase 2 the M19 sniper was used less, and teams used 3STGs and 1PPSH. In Phase 3 and Phase 4 the sniper was lightly used but not prominent, the meta was 2STGs and 2PPSHs with rare usage of 3ARs.

London Docks S&D

In Phase 1 this map was split 50/50 between 3ARs and 2ARs. The Kar98 was used lightly. In Phase 2 the meta was practically the same, with the new M19 sniper being used less. In Phase 3 the meta was 2STGs, with 1 or 2 PPSHs being mixed alongside light BAR usage and M19. In Phase 4 the meta was 1STG,1BAR,2PPSH.

Sainte Marie Du Mont S&D

In Phase 1 and Phase 2, the meta 2–3ARs and 1–2SUBs. In Phase 3 and 4 the meta was mostly 2STGs and 2PPSHs, with a 3–1 split being used every now and then. Snipers are barely used on this map.

USS Texas S&D

This is the most common sniper map, with most teams running a dedicated sniper and flirting with two snipers. In Phase 1 there was a 50/50 split between FG and PPSH. In Phase 2 and Phase 3 there continued to be a blend of 40% STG, 40% PPSH and 20% M19. In Phase 4 there was 1AR, with 75% of those being STGs and 25% playing the emerging BAR, 1 Sniper, and 2PPSHs.

Valkyrie S&D

In Phase 2, there was a clear 2STG,2PPSH split. Sniper usage was minimal. In Phase 3 there was 2STGs, 1PPSH, and 1 role that was mixed between PPSH and BAR. In Phase 4 the meta shifted to 2 PPSHs, 1BAR, and 1 role swapped between STG and BAR.

WEAPON K/Ds OVER TIME

In Phase One the FG was at 1.08, the STG was 1.03, and the BAR was 0.86.

In Phase Two the BAR was 1.10, the STG was 1.07.

AT CWL Seattle the BAR was 1.18, the STG was 1.05.

In all four phases the PPSH K/D has remained between 0.96/0.97

In Phase One, the Kar98 was 1.06. In Phase Two the M19 was 1.28. In CWL Seattle the M19 was 1.11.

CONCLUSIONS

Expect BAR usage to increase in Stage Two. Most players in the CoD community enjoyed the STG/PPSH meta but also welcomed the addition of the BAR as an intermediate weapon. Scump and Slacked have been vocal about how the BAR is a nightmare for Sub players and the next nightmare that needs to be “fixed.” Not only does the BAR remain situational, but PPSH players have remained at the same K/Ds all season long. The ITRA Burst is likely to be removed from CWL play or nerfed into oblivion but it has the potential to stir the meta once again. A beautiful symbiotic 3 weapon meta would be welcomed for the rest of the year, but the increased usage of the BAR will either devastate the PPSH players or push the STG out of the spotlight and shift the meta once again. Expect an impending crisis about the dominance of the BAR and what we should do about it, but every map has its own story.