Warzone’s new Tactical Pets are a pay-to-win way to find campers

Warzone season five introduced Tactical Pets to the popular battle royale, giving you a canine friend to roam around Al Mazrah with you. Unfortunately, it seems these lovable pups are actually affecting strategies, giving players who pay to unlock them an edge over their enemies who didn’t.

It’s no surprise that Tactical Pets have been a popular addition to Warzone season five, with Activision adding them so they can provide “the unparalleled benefit of companionship” while you hunt down your opponents in the hunt for victory. They can even help you in your quest, with special finishing moves that will eliminate enemies.

Unfortunately, it seems these dogs are providing more than friendship right now, with players accusing them of being “pay-to-win.” This is because our faithful hounds are revealing enemy locations, giving those who purchased the Blackcell season five battle pass a distinct advantage.

In a Reddit thread posted by YouTuber jamcowl, the dog’s ability is plain to see. Jamcowl is sitting in a dark corner when an enemy player runs past him. Initially, there’s nothing strange about this, until the opponent runs back past him again. And again. And again.

While confusing at first, it soon becomes clear what’s going on. While we can’t see the enemy’s dog, we can hear it growling every time they run past our camping player, alerting their owner to the fact that someone is hiding nearby.

Eventually, jamcow’s location is discovered, prompting him to sprint out of the room to escape. “[The dog] was barking at him when he ran past me,” the stunned player explained. “He was the dog to find me!”

Fans of the game weren’t best pleased either, comparing them to DMZ’s Comms Vest which alerts you to enemy operators in your area. “This game just keeps getting dumber,” wrote one bemused player.

It’s no surprise that the YouTuber called the Tactical Pet pay-to-win. These pooches are only available as part of the season five Blackcell battle pass, which means if you don’t spend the $29.99 to unlock the premium version of the system, you can’t get your hands on it, putting you at a clear disadvantage. It does only work if you have High Alert equipped as a Perk though, so there is a chance that operators with a dog won’t spot your hiding place immediately.

For now, this appears to be a design decision by the Warzone devs, so don’t expect a bug fix to address this any time soon. Still, if enough players complain about it, they may have no choice but to remove it in a future patch.