Making progress in Modern Warfare involves leveling up to unlock weapons then leveling each weapon to unlock attachments. Getting cosmetics for each weapon is even more complicated, requiring players to complete challenges by getting kills under various sets of conditions. Usually, the best way to complete these requirements is to load up a playlist of small maps and run around focusing on each given challenge. Unfortunately for many loyal Modern Warfare fans, the best way to make rapid progress was just removed.
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Shipment is the smallest map in Modern Warfare, and was added to improve the balance of large maps to small ones. It is a tiny square arena that exists in both Gunfight and normal playlists. Since it is so small, the action is non-stop mayhem from start to finish.
Shipment is often disparaged for this chaos, since terrible spawns mean that entire teams can be wiped out instantly upon entering the map. While it is not ideal for many players, this hectic mess of a map is perfect for one thing: stringing together astronomical numbers of kills in a very short time.
Players who seek to grind for gold, platinum, and damascus skins laud Shipment for this very reason. There is also something to be said for the fun that comes from such ridiculously fast-paced gameplay. The best way to grind for kills and cosmetics used to be the Shoot the Ship playlist, which consisted of Shoot House, another relatively small map, and Shipment.
However, in the most recent update, the available playlists were changed. In lieu of Shoot the Ship, 24/7 Shoot House was added back into the game. To many, this isn’t much of a change, but for those who were aiming to gain damascus skins for their guns, this was a huge blow.
Getting damascus means unlocking the gold skin for every gun in the game. This requires getting hundreds, even thousands, of challenge kills for each weapon in the game. While kills may come fast and easy in Shoot House, it is nothing compared to Shipment. Players have been able to get truly astronomical numbers of kills on that map.
Players can still play Shipment, but they must wait for it to come up randomly in one of the other playlists. Many players have been very vocal about the removal of Shoot the Ship, so it is likely that something will be done about it. Modern Warfare has been extremely responsive to fan criticism, often making changes due to player demand.
What can be Done About It?
It is almost certain that a playlist with shipment as a prominent feature will come back around in short order. How long will it be, though, before that playlist is removed to another round of backlash? There are only so many playlists available in the game, and they will continue to be rotated in and out over time, especially as even more maps are added.
For almost every map (except Hackney Yard), there are certainly some players who think of it as their favorite and would be sad to see it less often. The long-term solution is to give players more control. The developers are already considering adding the ability to create more custom loadouts, and more playlists would also be a welcome change. That being said, if players could make their own custom playlists or filter for maps that they like, the developers would never hear this kind of complaint again. Players can already filter by game mode, so adding a map filter would not be a big stretch.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
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