Modern Warfare 3 was released on November 10, 2023. The game has faced many issues with the release and the early access phase of the campaign. The campaign has disappointed almost everyone in terms of length and quantity. There have also been hordes of other issues like inability to play and the Call of Duty HQ increasing load time. The title has ultimately been unable to meet expectations so far.
Fans have been so frustrated that before the game went live on November 10, the user reviews page for Metacritic wasn’t available. But in frustration, some fans review-bombed the wrong Modern Warfare 3, instead attacking original one which released in 2011. This led to the game’s user score on Metacritic plummeting to 4.5.
Now, only a few days after Modern Warfare 3 has launched worldwide, another issue seems to have seemingly made things worse for the already disappointed fans. Something which can be found easily on social media platforms like Reddit is complaints about the Riot Shield.
What Went Wrong With Modern Warfare 3’s Riot Shield
The Call of Duty series is evolving at a very steady pace. The changes which have been implemented have had mixed receptions. It is only natural for fans to have their individual opinions about the games. This holds especially true for titles like Modern Warfare 3, which are very dense in content.
It is true that no matter what the studio implements, or what kind of gameplay, rebalancing changes are done to the game’s meta. They cannot please everyone. As to Riot Shields, they have been a source of grief for fans of the latest game. In Modern Warfare 3, the player’s maximum health has been increased by 50% and now stands at 150.
This was essentially done to balance the game, making the gunfights a little longer and more realistic. A more extended health bar implies that the time to kill an enemy will obviously be longer. Fans felt in previous games that the gunfights were a little too rapid.
Last year, fans began using Riot shields that could be handily equipped on the player model’s posterior and protect them from damage. Now that the health has been extended to 150, the riot shield as an add-on proves arbitrary. The source of complaint is that it makes players escape gunfights almost without a scratch due to the extra protection.
What Do Fans Have to Say About the Riot Shield and Other Exploits in Modern Warfare 3
A user on Reddit with the handle, u/jamesswazz, expressed their feedback on how Riot Shields were decreasing the enjoyability of the game. This was due to the Time To Kill increasing even further due to the shield.
In their own words, the Redditor said:
As above. For some reason in MW3 it feels so much harder due to kill shield players due to the increased TTK. It just ends in with them running away and never dieing 90% of the time
…This is clearly unfair and it’s just straight up annoying to play against and I think everyone is in the same boat after one year of MW2
There was another post regarding the same issue on the Modern Warfare 3 subreddit. This one read:
…why the hell do we need the riot shield in a 150HP game?
Like seriously, please SHG, reconsider shields. Remove them from people’s backs, or allow them to be shot through altogether when they’re on someone’s back.
The post also highlights that although there are some counters provided to the Riot Shield like the semtex, drill charge, and thermite, these can only be used once per spawn. With the number of people who have been exploiting the Riot Shield mechanic, the counters aren’t very effective.
The post had some comments in which players are also highlighting other exploits in the game, which you can read here. In every multiplayer game, there are set of exploits and mechanics which are used by players to increase their chances. While some people are seemingly stoic about these, the others prefer to voice their opinions.
Since, players are using a mechanic provided to them by the game and aren’t resorting to unfair means, the act is not downright immortal or unfair. It is entirely understood that multiplayer games are very competitive, but these mechanics ruin the experience for casual players.
It will be interesting to see if Sledgehammer Games addresses this issue in the future. Modern Warfare 3 is now out on PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Series X|S and PC.
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