MW3’s unplayable Hardpoint spawns could spell disaster for CDL after Major One

Call of Duty League fans and players don’t need to worry about anything for now, but changing to the new Hardpoint hills and spawns after Major One could be a terrible decision.

Two weeks before the first Major of 2024, Modern Warfare 3 controversially adjusted the Hardpoint spawns and hill locations on Invasion, Karachi, Sub Base, and Terminal. Understandably, the CDL decided to remain on the old patch so pro players didn’t need to re-learn everything in the middle of Online Qualifiers.

But Challengers players weren’t so lucky, as the amateur circuit forced competitors to learn on the fly and use the new hills and spawns in the season’s first Cup. After a full weekend of testing the waters, Challengers players walked away with a sour taste in their mouths and warned CDL players of what’s to come.

Challengers players slam Season One Reloaded Hardpoint update

The two primary maps in question after the most recent update are Sub Base and Terminal. Both maps already had questionable hill locations and spawns before the update, but they unequivocally got even worse. During a Challengers Cup match, FaZe Black’s Asim spawned directly on a Hardpoint after getting killed mid-map.

Sure, his team had control of the point, but a player should never be able to spawn directly on the hill because that would make it impossible for the enemy team to ever pull off a successful break. And the problems extend well beyond that on Sub Base. Players don’t only spawn directly on the hill; there are also periods of the match where you will spawn next to or behind an enemy, making for an easy pick while rotating. As for Terminal, the map is far from the traditional three-lane map we are used to in competitive CoD, and it’s glaringly apparent in Hardpoint. Players spawn in random areas of the map and sometimes need to walk what feels like a mile to get back in the fight.

Challengers players sounded off on the spawns, as matches lacked coherent flow or rhythm.

“I actually cannot believe we are seriously playing one of 2 major events for AMs this year on this game in this state,” GSP Syndicate player Cruzeey said. “I swear this is by far the worst and most random HP has ever been in any COD ever. Feels so hard to be consistently doing the right thing.”

This leads to the question of whether or not the CDL should change over to the new Hardpoint after Major One, or just stay on the old patch for as long as possible.

Why the CDL should stay away from new Hardpoint update

There has been no official announcement, but the CDL will most likely use the new update after Major One.

After playing Ranked Play and watching Challengers matches, I don’t believe using the new Hardpoint locations and hills is a good idea. It’s clear that there are too many inconsistencies at the moment to justify using the latest update in competitive matches.

In saying that, writing off an update that does some good is hard. For example, the palace hill on Invasion is the hardest Hardpoint to break in the current CDL map rotation. The Season One Reloaded update removed the location, making the map a much more balanced experience. Karachi also feels much better, as the hills are more spread out and the action is less congested than before. But those changes aren’t enough to compensate for the unacceptable spawns on Terminal and Sub Base.

Treyarch should act now while they can and make further adjustments before the CDL inevitably uses Hardpoint maps that have no right being on the main stage.