Call of Duty Pro Jukeyz on Warzone 2.0 early meta: "Early on, what's good in MW2 will be good in Al Mazrah"

Warzone 2.0 is here, which means we’re finally able to jump in and mess around with all the guns we’ve been levelling up, experience everything new that’s been added, and fight for those day one wins. To achieve all this, you’ll need to know the day one Warzone 2.0 meta, and who better to guide you through it than a Call of Duty Pro?

So, to take us through what’s best on Warzone’s launch, we sat down and chatted to Redbull Jukeyz from the Red Bull Gaming Sphere in London. During our conversation, we discussed what guns they’ll be using, their equipment, and what they think the Al Mazrah meta will look like in the opening weeks.

First off, compared to Caldera and it’s wide open jungles and long-range fights, Al Mazrah is far friendly to those who like to rush in up close and take on high-intensity fights. As such, Jakeyz is in his comfort zone with a mid-range assault rifle and close range SMG loadout. In particular, a mid-range M4 paired with an AK74U. With this, he’ll be rushing up close to take on fights, rather than picking off players from afar.

“The map is so large you wont be able to shoot them with a AR like you could in Caldera.” Jukeyz explains. While before it was usually better to pick people off from longer distance, Al Malzrah really promotes gun-running plays with urban areas and loads of buildings around certain POIs. “This is what I love about it though. When I notice someone, I know it’s my job to just fly at them. If they run into a building, I’ll need to run into that building and get close.”

As for equipment, one surprising addition for some may be the use of frags. It seems as though they’re incredibly powerful right now in Warzone 2.0, much like they were back in Blackout and during certain periods in Warzone 1’s life. As for tactical, Stim is of course king, but Jukeyz noted they had used stun grenades in the past to great effect, so perhaps with the increased number of up-close fights in Warzone 2.0, they’ll get a lot of use.

But while this works for Jukeyz, who is trying to replicate something close to the M4 / MP5 loadout they’ve used in previous games, they’ve not heard word of any golden gun that soars above the rest. Surprisingly enough, it all seems fairly balanced right now: “There’s no super broken loadout that I know of. It’s good, you’d expect those American content creators would be tweeting about ridiculous meta loadouts but they haven't yet”

As such, right now, the guns that are good in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer will probably be good in Warzone 2.0. However there will surely be a shift around what streamers and other influencers identify as the best. Jukeyz believes the shift from the wild west meta at launch to a concrete selection of best loadouts will take around a month, so enjoy it while you can.

But, one thing to be excited for (or to dread) is the return of that glorious early rocket launcher meta. Everyone who played the original Warzone remembers those early weeks where every game had numerous explosive-slinging stoners blowing up vehicles left, right, and centre. And with Al Mazrah stacked with more vehicles than any other, Jukeyz expect this to return in a major way.

“Yeah deffo. We’re gonna experience a kind of overpowered rocket launcher that blows up everything. I remember it in Verdansk, one of my team mates used to run around with an RPG and an MP7, shooting into a window then running in with an SMG. It was like, wow. Everyone was doing it and it made my job really hard.”

So for now, rock what you like! If you want to play fast and loose like Jukeyz does, bring along an M4 and AK74U and rush building to building for those heart racing plays. If you’re more of a long ranged player, then the size of the map means you’re good to. In short, enjoy this wild ride before the unparalleled best are identified.

For more Warzone 2.0 articles, check out our piece on why you console players need to mute your mics going into Warzone 2.0!