Call of Duty Warzone 2: How to Get Loadouts

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Loadouts were a big part of the original Call of Duty: Warzone. Anyone hoping to survive the battle royale’s most chaotic matches typically needed to rely on their optimal, pre-built set of gear and weapons. While loadouts are still a part of Warzone 2 (aka Warzone 2.0), getting them is a little more complicated than it was before.

The original Warzone let you buy your loadout at any Buy Sation, but Warzone 2 makes you work a little harder to acquire your ideal set-up. The jury is still out on whether this system will stay in the game for long, but for the time being, here is how you acquire your loadout in Warzone 2.

Can You Buy Your Loadout From a Buy Station in Warzone 2?

You can no longer buy your full loadout from Buy Stations in Warzone 2. The only loadout pieces you can buy from Buy Stations (now referred to as “Shops”) are primary weapons. It will cost you $5000 (in-game, of course) to buy your primary weapons from a Shop.

That’s a big change from Warzone, which allowed you to buy your full loadout from any Buy Station for $10,000. While being able to purchase your ideal weapons from a Shop is still useful, anyone looking to access their preferred weapons, items, and attachments will need to look elsewhere.

How Do You Find Loadout Drops in Warzone 2?

Loadout Drops are special boxes that contain the full loadouts of any player lucky enough to find them. Though there are few places to acquire a Loadout Drop in Warzone 2, many players may find them as part of a special, mid-match public event.

Officially, those Loadout Drops are…err…dropped in the middle of a Warzone 2 match. Unofficially, it seems like that drop can occur sometime between the closing of the second and sixth circles. Players will be notified when the drop happens, but everyone will be competing for the same drop. That means that the risk of hunting it down can quickly outweigh the rewards. Thankfully, any squad that secures the drop can instantly access it.

Don’t fancy fighting every player on the map for access to a Loadout Drop? I can’t argue with you. Thankfully, there are other options available.

How to Find and Clear a Stronghold in Warzone 2

Strongholds are AI-controlled fortresses on the Warzone 2 map that contain valuable Loadout Drops. In order to secure the Loadout Drop, you have to clear the Stronghold.

Three Strongholds will appear on the Warzone 2 map as soon as the first circle closes. So far as I can tell, there’s no way to access these Strongholds before that time. However, it’s always possible that someone will find a way to get around that particular restriction.

As noted above, those Strongholds are guarded by AI enemies that will try to kill you as soon as you’re spotted. Realistically, though, your biggest competition will be the other squads fighting for the Stronghold rewards. In any case, anyone assaulting a Stronghold is actually looking for a bomb that is usually located somewhere near the center of the structure. Disarm that bomb, and you’ll gain access to your Loadout as well as a key to a Black Site.

Please note that Stronghold Loadout Drops aren’t limited to one squad. If a squad beats you to a Stronghold Loadout Drop, you can still assault that Stronghold, defuse the bomb, and get a Loadout Drop. However, only the first squad that clears a Stronghold will earn the Black Site key.

What are Black Sites? I’m glad you asked.

How Do You Find Black Sites in Warzone 2?

Once you acquire a Black Site key from a Stronghold, be sure to pull up your in-game Warzone 2 map. You should see a “skull” icon somewhere on it. That icon marks the location of the Black Site.

Black Sites are basically more difficult versions of Strongholds. They contain even more AI enemies as well as a “Juggernaut” boss. If you manage to clear one during the course of a match, though, you’ll unlock a permanent Weapon Blueprint as well as an array of temporary Legendary items. You’ll also gain access to a special UAV that will scan the area around the Black Site until the circle the Black Site is in collapses.

While you don’t need to clear a Black Site during the course of a Warzone 2 match (or Strongholds, for that matter), it’s arguably worth it to do so whenever reasonably possible. The rewards are impressive, and Black Sites offer the absolute safest places to make your final stand.