ShooterofIO: Wargrounds

***ShooterofIO: Wargrounds*** is a free-to-play *ShooterofIO* game developed by SOI Studios for PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and Microsoft Windows. *Wargrounds* will a component of *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops*. It will feature two main modes Battle Royale and Mini Royale.

Announced on September 10th, 2023 at ShooterofIO NEXT, *ShooterofIO: Wargrounds* was released on December 6th, 2023, alongside Season One of *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops*.

## 0verview

### Health

Players start with 150 health and 2 Armor Plates equipped. Each plate adds 50 extra health. If a player equips another Armor Plate, up to a total of 3 plates, their health raises to its maximum, 300. Armor Plates can be purchased at Buy Stations, as well as an Armor Box which when placed can instantly fill the player's Armor Plate reserves.

### Weapons

The weapons available in *Wargrounds* include nearly all multiplayer weapons available in *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops*.

### Weapon Tiers

When Season One for *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops* releases, Weapons in *Wargrounds* will be sorted by Weapon Tiers. Weapons of varying tiers can be found by looting and completing Contracts.

* Custom Weapon (Default weapons and/or obtained via Loadout Drops)
* Common (No attachment included)
* Uncommon (1 attachment)
* Rare (3 attachments)
* Epic (4 attachments)
* Legendary (5 attachments)

### Contracts

Contracts are optional objectives that teams can complete to earn XP and Weapon XP as well as rare loot or Cash, which can be spent at Buy Stations.

* A **Bounty** contract tasks the team with killing a specific player, who is marked by a green circle revealing their approximate position on the map. When a player is marked as a bounty target, they and their team can see a bar on their heads-up display that measures the proximity of their hunters to the target.
* A **Most Wanted** contract marks its user for all enemies to see, offering a reward to any player who can eliminate them in a limited time. Letting the time run out completes the contract, rewarding the player and their team with Cash as well as redeploying any eliminated teammates.
* A **Upload Intel** contract tasks pick up an intel and take it to a data station marked on the map.
* A **Safecracker** contract will mark 3 vaults located near the player's location, and task the team destroy each in a limited time.
* A **Scavenger** contract will mark 3 Supply Boxes located near the player's location, one at a time, and task the team with looting each in a limited time. Available only in Urkinstan.
* A **Search & Seizure** contract tasks recover a stolen vehicle protected by local mercenaries and transport it to a safe location for extraction. Available only in Urkinstan.
* A **Signal Intelligence** contract will mark 3 contract phones for hacking in a limited time.
* A **Big Game Bounty** contract will mark the player with the most eliminations on the Tac Map. If the team can kill the Big Game Bounty, they will be rewarded an Advanced UAV.

### Buy Station

*Main article: Buy Station*
Buy Stations are boxes that can be found throughout a map where players can purchase equipment, killstreaks using Cash earned during the game. Squadmates can also be redeployed from the Buy Stations for $3,000.

* Primary Loadout Weapons: $2,500
* Perk Packs: $3,500

**The Essentials**

* Armor Plate: $500
* Gas Mask: $2,000
* Armor Box: $2,000
* Munitions Box: $2,000
* UAV: $6,000
* Mortar Strike: $4,000
* Precision Airstrike: $6,000
* Loadout Drop Marker: $8,000 (Solos), $12,000 (Duos), $16,000 (Trios), $20,000 (Quads)

**Limited Stock**

* Counter-UAV: $3,000
* Cluster Mine: $4,000
* Reinforcement Flare: $5,000
* Portable Redeploy Drone: $2,000
* Self Revive: $4,000
* Durable Gas Mask: $3,500

### Strongholds and Black Sites

At the beginning of the match in Battle Royale matches, five Strongholds for Urkinstan and three Strongholds for Vondel are activated around the map and do not require a key for access. At the beginning of a DMZ match, several Strongholds will become accessible by finding a key somewhere around the map. In both modes, they are marked with large white castle icons. In DMZ, the Strongholds contain AI combatants.

In Battle Royale, the first team to reach a Stronghold must capture. In DMZ, the objective is to clear a specific amount of enemies; both AI Combatants and rival Operators count.

Once inside, Operators are free to take any items after clearing threats, which can include enemy Operator squads who can enter at any time. Completing a Stronghold in Battle Royale also offers a Loadout Crate and a temporary UAV effect of the surrounding area.

Black Sites, available only in Battle Royale, are a more dangerous form of Strongholds. This requires a key (Black Site Key) to access, which is given to the first Operator or squad that clears a Stronghold.

The Black Site is marked with a skull icon and contains considerably tougher enemies, including a unique Juggernaut boss. If the operators kill the Juggernaut boss, they get tons of Legendary items, as well as a permanent UAV of the area surrounding the Black Site until it is in the circle collapse.

### Interrogation

After successfully downing an enemy player in a squad-based mode, the player can interrogate them.

By interacting with a downed enemy player, you will learn the locations of all their allies, via red dot pings on the minimap, as well as outlines in the environment (like a Snapshot Grenade), for a short period of time. The player will also see the locations of any placed equipment they may have. This effect also dissipates once the interrogate dies or is revived.

The person being interrogated can also call for help, which marks the interrogator on the map.

### Gulag

*Wargrounds* features a respawning system called **Gulag** which allows players who were eliminated for the first time to redeploy in the game after winning a short firefight.

When a player is eliminated for the first time, a cutscene will show them being captured and sent to the Gulag. If others players are already in the Gulag, the player will be put in a queue and will be allow to watch the other fights from a high place as well as throwing rocks at the contestants. Once they enter the fight, the player will have to face another player in a 1v1 fight similar to Gunfight. The winner of the fight will be redeployed into the main game again while the loser may spectate the rest of the match or quit. When playing in solo, the loser of the fight won't be able to redeploy and the game ends for them.

### Events

Events can also randomly happen during a match, usually during the second playzone. In most modes, only one event can occur during a single match.

* The **Jailbreak** event allows every down player in Gulag to be redeployed into the map. Other players are notified 1 minute before the jailbreak happens.
* The **Fire Sale** event reduces the prices of all items in the Buy Stations up to 100% during 1 minute.
* The **Restock** event resupplies every Supply Box which can be opened again.

### Progression and Crossplay

*Wargrounds* supports Crossplay across all platforms.

The release of Season One introduced a new progression system, unified across *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops* and *Wargrounds*. Upon completing all 55 Military ranks, the player will automatically enter Prestige 1. Increasing the Season Rank and reaching multiples of 50 will increase the Prestige level further, the maximum rank being 250 during Season One. At the beginning of each Season, the Season Rank and Prestige and will stay where it was, but 5 new prestiges will be available for claim. *ShooterofIO: Wargrounds* also shares the same Store and Battle Pass system as *Modern Ops*.

## Game Modes

### Battle Royale

*Main article: Battle Royale*
"*Loot and kill. Last Squad standing wins.*"
— Battle Royale Description
In Battle Royale, players must fight against enemy squads to be the last person or team standing. In addition to the loot found on the map and dropped by eliminated players, players can collect Cash to buy equipment or killstreaks from Buy Stations. Squads can also take on Contracts to get loot and Cash.

When a player is eliminated, they are sent to the Gulag where they will have to win the fight for a chance to being brought back into the match. When playing with a squad, the player who died during the fight can be redeployed by their teammates with either a Squad Buyback, which costs $4,000, or by completing a Most Wanted contract. A player who dies again after having won a Gulag fight dies again will need to be redeployed by their teammates. Players can also use a Self-Revive Kit to revive themselves when downed. These are available as loot and at Buy Stations for $4,000.

### Mini Royale

Mini Royale is a game mode featured in *ShooterofIO: Wargrounds*. Released on launch day of *Wargrounds*.

Mini Royale takes place in *Wargrounds* in Urkinstan. A match of Mini Royale starts on a smaller section of the map, already surrounded by gas. The time between each cycle is reduced and the Gulag is closed by the second circle on Verdansk, Caldera and Urkinstan and third circle on Rebirth Island, preventing players from redeploying unless they are redeployed from Buy Stations.

### Face Off

*Main article: Face Off (Wargrounds)*
"*Battle a singler enemy in a 1v1 duel in a singler point of interest.*"
— Mode Description.
Face Off is a game mode featured in *Wargrounds* where two players face off against one another in one singler POI. They must pick up items, loot places, and more in order to battle, similarly to traditional battle royale. Also, the POI is random each match.

### Resurgance

*Main article: Resurgence (Wargrounds)*
"*Survive to redeploy fallen teammates and earn score to return them faster.*"
— Mode Description.
Introduced with the launch of *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops*'s Season One, Resurgence takes place on Ashika Island or Vondel and works similarly to Resurgence in *ShooterofIO 1: Modern Ops*. As long as a teammate is alive, players can redeploy after a countdown. They can redeploy 15 seconds after being killed during the first playzone and 39 seconds during the second and third playzones until the Rebirth Countdown runs out after 9 minutes and 15 seconds. After the timer has run out, players being killed will no longer be able to redeploy. Killing a player will also temporarily highlight their teammates on the mini-map.

Every player in Resurgence starts with a Self-Revive Kit. Players can also help their teammates redeploy faster by downing other players reducing the timer by 2 seconds; killing other players, reducing it by 7 seconds; killing other players with a Finishing Move, reducing it by 8 seconds; destroying enemy equipments, reducing the timer by 1 seconds; opening crates, reducing it by 2 seconds; and completing contracts, reducing the timer by 5 seconds.

## Maps

### Urkinstan

*Main article: Urkinstan*
The first map released for Wargrounds is *Urkinstan*. The map supports up to 152 players depending on the modes and playlists.

**Urkinstan**
## Story

### Modern Ops Storyline

In the aftermath of Task Force 66's successful operation against Iranian Quds Force Major Hassan Zyani, the covert landscape in the volatile city of Urkinstan intensified under the watchful eye of CIA Station Chief Kate Laswell. With the primary objective of dismantling the nefarious activities of the terrorist organization Al-Qatala, Laswell orchestrated a series of clandestine missions. The city became a focal point for not only counter-terrorism but also the convergence of various private military companies vying for control. The emergence of Shadow Company PMC, operating not only in Urkinstan but also in the Asia-Pacific island Ashika and the enigmatic underground facility Building 21, added another layer of complexity to the region's geopolitical dynamics.

As the city's complexity deepened, in April 2023, the narrative took an unexpected turn with the escape of Valeria Garza, leader of the Mexican Las Almas Cartel. Her months-long captivity under the Mexican Special Forces squad Los Vaqueros ended, prompting her return to Urkinstan to reassert her influence. In response, CIA Chief Laswell enlisted the expertise of Alejandro Vargas, leader of Los Vaqueros and Valeria's former comrade, to infiltrate Urkinstan and apprehend her.

The plot thickened further when a terrorist attack unfolded in Vondel, Netherlands, perpetrated by a mysterious special forces group known as the Peacekeepers. Laswell, keen on unraveling the truth behind this enigmatic group, reached out to the Black Mous organization for collaboration. The ensuing investigation revealed that the Peacekeepers were, in fact, a Russian PMC called the Konni Group, and their orchestrated attack on Vondel sent shockwaves through the intelligence community.

In a strategic move, the leaders of the Urzikstan Liberation Force (ULF), Farah Karim and Alex Keller, entered into negotiations with Shadow Company Commander Phillip Graves. Previously believed to be deceased since his last encounter with Task Force 66 in Mexico, Graves proposed an alliance between Shadow Company and ULF to thwart an impending invasion by the Konni Group in Urkinstan.

August 2023 marked a pivotal moment as Graves, operating under the command of General Shepherd, spearheaded an assault on the Konni-occupied Zaya Observatory as part of Operation: Rogue Arsenal. The objective was to neutralize the threat posed by the Konni Group and their underground weapons facility. Despite successfully destroying the observatory and extracting gas canisters, the operation took an unexpected turn when Konni operatives, disguised as Shadow soldiers, infiltrated their ranks. The hijacking of planes carrying the gas shipment, orchestrated by Ultranationalist terrorist Vladimir Makarov, threw the operation into disarray, resulting in failure.

This intricate web of covert operations, alliances, and betrayals set against the backdrop of Urkinstan paints a vivid picture of a world teetering on the edge of chaos, with the lines between friend and foe becoming increasingly blurred. The stage is set for a high-stakes game of espionage and warfare as the players navigate through a landscape rife with intrigue and danger.

Amidst the escalating tensions in Urkinstan, a shadowy specter of global conflict loomed large following Vladimir Makarov's audacious attack on airlines within the United States. The reverberations of this act triggered a new chapter in the clandestine warfare landscape. Task Force 66, renowned for its effectiveness in covert operations, emerged as a critical force in the face of this looming threat.

Recognizing the urgency of bolstering Task Force 66 with exceptional operatives, its leader, Captain John Price, orchestrated the recruitment of battle-hardened individuals. John "Soap" MacTavish and Simon "Ghost" Riley, both revered for their prowess in previous high-stakes missions, were welcomed into the fold. Price, with strategic foresight, also extended the invitation to Farah Karim, the influential leader whose skills and determination had proven crucial in various theaters of conflict.

As the newly reinforced Task Force 66 prepared to navigate the intricate web of intrigue and danger in Urkinstan, their primary objective remained clear: to thwart the sinister plans of Vladimir Makarov and bring stability to a world teetering on the brink of chaos. In a twist of fate, their first mission brought them face to face with a key player in the unfolding drama — Nolan, a figure shrouded in mystery and unwilling to yield any information. In a grim turn of events, Nolan, refusing to be a pawn in the larger game, chose to take his own life rather than divulge the secrets that could have unraveled the intricate tapestry of global conspiracy. The stakes were higher than ever as Task Force 66 forged ahead, their resolve unyielding in the face of a world unraveling at the seams.