Highlights
- MWZ players can make use of schematics to craft stronger gear and progress faster in high-level content.
- However, extra copies of schematics currently have limited use, only providing a small amount of extra XP or serving as a way to help other players.
- Treyarch should consider providing meaningful rewards for extra schematics, such as turning them into a few copies of the item they would normally let players craft. Alternatively, if players get enough duplicate schematics, they could be allowed to trade them in for one they do not have.
As an extraction shooter, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies is all about loot. Players enter into Urzikstan to gather gear that can make themselves stronger on their next deployment, with upgrades ranging from Aether Tools and Pack-a-Punch crystals to Perk cans and Ammo Mods. However, while prepping for the immediate future is important, so too is hunting down schematics in MWZ – though players currently have little to do with these rare items after each has been acquired once.
Upon extracting with a schematic for the first time, MWZ players gain the ability to craft the item in question whenever they want. While there are cooldowns that vary in length depending on the quality of the item that is being crafted – a Ray Gun takes two days to cooldown while a Perk-a-Cola only takes a few hours – schematics can help a lot with gearing up and getting into high-level content faster. However, those who play Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Zombies regularly will get all the schematics very quickly, and the extra copies essentially have no use. Going forward, Treyarch should change that.
Call of Duty Zombies Equipment Tier List
Just like with the numerous Wonder Weapons available in Call of Duty Zombies, the many pieces of equipment within the mode vary in quality.
MWZ’s Schematic Duplicates Only Have One Worthwhile Use
Unless players want a shockingly small amount of extra XP for extracting additional copies of schematics, or are trying to complete a seasonal calling card challenge for extracting with three or more schematics, the only thing to do with additional copies of these blueprints is to share them with players who do not have them. While doing good deeds like this can be rewarding, and is one of the unwritten rules of Modern Warfare 3 Zombies, players will not always be able to find a player who lacks the extra schematic that they are holding. Plus, as time goes on, more and more players will have all the easily accessible schematics. To be clear, schematic sharing is a good thing and should remain in MWZ, as having a way to help other players is really nice. However, it should not be the only use for the extra copies.
MWZ’s Schematics Could Start Providing Meaningful Rewards
Aside from far larger XP payouts for player ranks and the battle pass whenever gamers extract with extra schematics, Treyarch could start to give players a few free copies of whatever the schematic would normally let them craft. For instance, putting in the hard work to complete Tier 3 MWZ contracts only to get an extra Ray Gun blueprint can be frustrating, so transforming that blueprint into a couple of Ray Gun cases after players extract with it would be a nice feature. The same can be said for perk, ammo mod, and Aetherium schematics.
These extra copies of the schematic rewards would ideally go into the stash section, but with only 10 spots available to players until Treyarch adds stash space, the rewards tab would be a better way to distribute extra schematic rewards. Unless the stash is expanded for MWZ, this proposed change could be more annoying than beneficial.
Alternatively, Treyarch could embrace a punch card system of sorts where the game tracks the total number of extra schematics Call of Duty Zombies players have managed to exfil with. Three extra schematics could allow players to choose from any of the Tier 1 schematic that they do not have, five extras could let them pick a Tier 2, and 10 extras could earn them a guaranteed Tier 3. The Dark Aether schematics could even be acquired with a long grind like 15 extra schematics, allowing solo players that can only handle the level 1 and 2 zones to eventually earn powerful gear like the Aether Blade. With players quickly getting most of the basic schematics available in the game, another purpose for all the duplicates would be welcome.
