Warzone: Iron Wolf III Multiplayer Preview

Welcome to the official Warzone: Iron Wolf III Multiplayer Preview presented by DECA The Hague. In this exclusive preview, we will dive deeper into the new features and other details of Iron Wolf III's reimagined multiplayer, called Arena.
Weapons
The backbone of any good shooter is how the weapons feel. With Iron Wolf III, we continued with what we started in Iron Wolf II. Forgery will return and will be very familiar for people who have had their hands on it in IW2. However, we have added a few new features in the form of Weapon Variants and Skins. 
Weapon Variants are new to Warzone, however, we tried to implement in a way that it doesn't restrict players from not accessing power and losing freedom of customization. Instead, Weapon Variants are alternative forms of base weapons, that have an unique skin and model, accomedated by integrated forges. Unlocking a Weapon Variant also unlocks the same forges for that weapon.
An example of a weapon variant is the AR-K Wyvern, a variant of the AR-K7 Assault Rifle. The Wyvern variant fires unique airburst projectiles, called the Airburst mod, and thus has aesthetically redesigned into a more crude weapon. Another variant is the RIP3R Thunderlord, which you saw in the trailer, which has the Maelstrom forge that interacts uniquely with the RIP3R's family integrated forge Decree. 
A Forge we are really excited about and sheds more light on our intentions are the Forever and Together forges, which are available on seperate weapons. However, when the forges are on the same squad, both benefit from buffs to Rate of Fire, Stability and Range when they are close to each other. We hope players put more thought into their team composition through this way. 
Exoskeletons
A new feature we're introducing is the Exoskeletons. Faintly reminiscent of classes, Exoskeletons are the frameworks that supply the player with a familiar feature, the Tacticals. Introduced in IW2, the Tacticals are strong, time-windowed abilities that can turn engagements upside down. IN IW3, we took them a step further with Exoskeletons. By choosing a tactical, you choose the Exoskeleton, which has different innate abilities that aid in the designed playstyle for that specific exoskeleton. 
An example of this would be the Nightstalker Exoskeleton (Disclaimer: name Work-in-Progress), which has the Phase Dive ability, which allows players to turn invisible and invincible. The core of this Exoskeleton is thus stealth, and therefore it also possesses the Shadestep Utility, which allows him to turn invisible for a brief moment. There are also Utility modifiers, for example Shadestep activating during Combat Roll or when remaining stationary.
An Exoskeleton that operates in an entirely different way is the Clockwork Exoskeleton. The Clockwork Exoskeleton is designed around heavy teamfighting strenghts. Its tactical is the Shockwave ability, which readies a Gravitational pull at a target location, pulling in enemies towards the center and heavily damaging them. It's class utility is the Trophy Shield, which gives the player a shield, blocking incoming enemy projectiles, allowing him to frontline and block for his teammates.
Each Exoskeleton gets its own Lethal, perks and Elite Weapon, while Weapons aren't tied to an Exoskeleton. Exoskeletons can be swapped during a match. However, each exoskeleton has its own seperate level that is levelled in-game, thus each one starts at level 1. There are a total of 10 levels, which each level unlocking an upgrade of the Exoskeleton. Upgrades include extra perks, Tactical ability upgrades, extra scorestreak slot, Elite Weapon upgrades and other bonuses. Some levels have multiple upgrades, forcing the player to choose between upgrades. There is a perk to help level up the Exoskeleton, creating some space for flexibility in trade of straight power.
Perks
While on the subject of Perks, they will return and will be very similar to what you are used to. With the exception of it being tied to the Exoskeletons, there are no budget, combination or any other limitations. We have a selection of Perks we would like to show you and hear your feedback on:
*Bandit - Elite Weapon ammo and lethal charge can be scavenged from enemy corpses.
*Dead Silence - Silent Footsteps and muted boost.
*Dexterity - Swap Weapons faster, use Equipment faster, reload weapons faster.
*Drifter – Enhanced sliding capability that increases speed, distance, and allows you to ADS while sliding.
*Gambit - Increased speed during key moments (spawn, captures, bomb planted).
*Infusion – Regenerates health faster.
*Juggler - Skillshots have a larger impact area.
*Overclock - More air jump vertical booster power.
*Overcharge - Recharge energy faster and killing enemies will drop packs for teammates to recharge energy.
*Ping - Kills and assists activate sonar ping at the enemy’s death location, revealing nearby hostiles to teammates. Enemies killed by teammates after being pinged will give you bonus scores.
*Propulsion - Press a button to quickly dash in any horizontal direction. Has a cooldown.
*Reaper - Retractable blade that makes melee attacks lethal. 
*Relay - Killed enemy corpses will alert the player when enemy targets are nearby the corpse.
*Surge - After each kill, gain a brief boost to movement speed.
We aim to have a total of 30 perks in the game, offering enough diversity to have payers experiment with different sets to accomodate every type of playstyle.
Innates and Keyframes
An entirely new feature that we are really excited about are Innates and Keyframes. Initially part of the Exoskeleton, Innates were moved out of the system and into an entirely new system to not have Exoskeletons feel like classes. Innates are starter abilities that decide what kind of soldier the player is: Aggressive, calculated, teamplayer, tactical, whatever kind of player the player wants to be. And to accomplish this, we created a power distribution system in Innates and Keyframes. Keep in mind, the names and effects are still in early development and are subject to change, but are a represention of the final system.
Players can choose 2 paths out of 5 possible paths: Domination, Security, Precision, Resolve and Inspiration. These paths will try to cater to specific players; Domination will be best-suited for Aggressive Frontliners and Rushers, Security will be for players who want to increase their combat Longevity and protective abilities and Precision will be for players who want to get Behind the Lines, get a pick and escape again. This way, players can combine 2 playstyles into their own unique flavour, but it's also to choose 1 path twice. Each path has it's own Keyframes and Innates for selection.
The first path is the Primary path. From the Primary path, the player can choose the Keyframe, an Exotic Innate and 2 Basic Innates. From the second path, the players can select an Exotic Innate and 2 Basic Innates. However, on top of that, a combination of 2 (or 1) paths also grant a combination specific perk. An example would be that having Domination and Precision grants faster momentum gain, which suits both playstyles. For the other innates, Keyframes are role-defining passive abilities, with Fervor of Battle from the Domination path as an example. Fervor of Battle increases damage overtime while remaining in combat, while losing all of it exiting it. Keyframes carry a lot of power, but are gated by the need to special role requirements for it to be effective.
Exotic Innates are also powerful, but more general. From the Domination Path, you have Unyielding, which decreases Flinch upon being hit, while from the Inspiration Path, you have Kingpin, which grants 25 Scorestreak points every 15 seconds. Basic Innates include Armor reseting faster while in combat, faster momentum gain, assassinations are executed faster and capturing an objective refreshing health. With Innates, we hope players find unique ways to play the game, like assassination-centric builds or Scorestreak-gathering builds. 
Scorestreaks
And on the subject of Scorestreaks, they will return in IW3. Similar to Innates, most of them are still in placeholder territory, but we can be clear about the direction we're heading with them. We want Scorestreaks to provide a lot more pressure on the map, but not through getting tons of kills. Instead, we try to create different archetypes of Scorestreaks, like Intelligence based scorestreaks (more on this at Warding), player assistance and area denial. We want streaks to provide either player momentum or team utility and not just have them be free kills. Players need to be smart about their usage OR they have to be smart about profiting of them. 
With changes to vision and the minimap, we expect the SatLink to be more valuable, and therefore we are buffing it when you manage to get more. Not only that, we are also planning on creating variants of the SatLink through a system similar to forges, allowing the player to add more utility to their streaks, all within their preference. We aren't sure how to balance this, as we do not want to have a cost increase of the specific streak, but rather want the system being similar to Forgery where you have to make critical decisions within a small budget.
Warding
Now, this one will be the most radical (upsetting perhaps) change to the game. In an effort to create a more in-depth metagame, we have removed the minimap from functionality from the game. The minimap will still be present, but enemy positions will not be pinpointed by gunfire. Instead, NSWE arrows will indicate the general direction of the gunfire. The exception will be: When a SatLink is active, around controlled/captured objectives and when the enemy is in sight of a Ward.
What the Dave is a Ward? Every player will start the game out with a Tactical Insertion in their inventory. These insertions can be placed at any time, in any place, putting the area around it on the map. Enemy gunfire will be pinpointed when in range of a Ward. However, there are different variants of Wards, each one having additional effects. The player can select a type of Ward  at any point in the match, respawning with that type of Ward or having to restock at the Base. Examples including Tripwire, which reveal the first enemy that crosses it, Oracle, which highlights revealed enemies in the HUD, and Blackout, which deactivates vision for enemies in the same area of the Ward. Wards deactivate and regenerate after a specific amount of time.
Maps and Bases
Bases are safe spaces for players. Each map has a base for each team. Inside bases, players cannot be killed, can restock on Ammo and Wards and can change their loadouts without having to respawn. We don't have much else to say about them. However, Bases aren't the only new feature in Maps. The other being the internally called Dragons, which are similar to Shade's uplinks. 
During a match, random events can occur and players can fight over these objectives to obtain a Reward. Objectives can include a miniboss, capture an objective, timed challenge between the teams or even steps in the form of an easter-egg. Rewards are very valuable, in that they always provide benefits to the team who secured it. Some rewards include buffs, for example where one team can distort the map and thus traverse the map easier, while the enemies cannot do that. Another example is where a VTOL squadron will level the map, changing the layout, but grant the team with the Reward all objectives under their control.
As you might notice by now, Dragons are gamemode-bound. Some gamemodes do have Dragons active, while others do not. Some Dragons are deactivated during Competitive rulesets, while others are not. This all depends on the complexity, impact and value of the Dragon and the Reward. 
Closing Thoughts
We hope you enjoyed this preview of what's-to-come in IW3 multiplayer. We also hope you can provide some constructive criticism, possible ideas or critical thoughts on what we have presented, in order for us to improve the game and smoothen the introduction of new features like Keyframes and Warding.