Warzone, Cold War’s Removed Crossbow Returning With Progress Compromise

The previously added and removed R1 Shadowhunter crossbow for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone will receive an official launch this week; fortunately, Activision is offering a compromise for players who already unlocked the weapon via in-game challenges. Call of Duty’s R1 Shadowhunter accidentally went live in the aforementioned titles several days ago. Players were able to either purchase the weapon or unlock it in a series of Black Ops Cold War challenges.

Upon realizing the mistake, Activision pulled the weapon and issued refunds to all who’d purchased the R1 Shadowhunter. Fans who spent a considerable amount of time unlocking the crossbow through gameplay were led to believe their progress would reset whenever the weapon eventually resurfaced. However, the publisher has confirmed that not every player will restart at square one in terms of challenge progression.

This week’s Season Two update for Black Ops Cold War reintroduces the R1 Shadowhunter crossbow, according to a Weekly Briefing post on the Call of Duty website. Players interested in a challenge can unlock the Special category weapon by “using a weapon with no attachments to get three One Shot, One Kill medals in 15 different matches.” For all who previously unlocked the crossbow, a note on the BOCW Trello page reveals that such players “will be placed at 14/15 match completions due to technical limitations with player inventories.” Meanwhile, anyone who started but didn’t complete the challenges will retain their previous progress. Purchasing the R1 Shadowhunter serves as yet another option, which fans can take advantage of on March 24 when the Archaic Range Bundle arrives in the store. The weapon bundle is pictured below.

While active users remain upset about the R1 Shadowhunter’s initial removal, the progression compromise seems the best way of pushing forward given the circumstances. Hopefully, such an issue won’t crop up again, but players were recently able to unlock the Sykov pistol ahead of its official rollout. It stands to reason, then, that the fancy new crossbow may serve as just another in a line of prematurely accessible Call of Duty weapons.

Activision launched both Warzone and Black Ops Cold War last year to incredible success that has yet to subside. And COD faithful are already chomping at the bit for what this year’s new entry may entail. While the publisher remains mum on the matter, rumors from industry insiders suggest that Sledgehammer Games will return to the driver’s seat and take players on another tour through World War II.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Warzone are available now on PC, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 5, Xbox one, and Xbox Series X|S platforms.

Source: Call of Duty, Activision Support, BOCW/Trello

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Brianna Reeves
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A Senior Writer on Screen Rant’s Game News team, Brianna Reeves graduated from Sam Houston Statue University in 2018 with a Master of Arts in English Literature. Brianna’s enthusiasm for games dates back to Mortal Kombat Trilogy on PlayStation 1, along with classics like MediEvil, Syphon Filter, and THPS2. However, Red Dead Redemption reinvigorated her love for the medium; hopefully, that passion reflects in the work she has contributed to Comic Book Resources, PlayStation LifeStyle, GVMERS, and Screen Rant.

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