Are Blueprints Pay-to-Win? Sometimes, But Impact Varies
In short – some blueprints provide gameplay advantages in Call of Duty through optimized attachments that buff weapon stats beyond base configurations. However, many blueprints have negligible impacts, and the pay-to-win potential decreases as more players max level base weapons.
What Are Blueprints in Call of Duty?
Before evaluating if blueprints are pay-to-win, let‘s clearly define what they are in the first place.
Blueprints are weapon variants in Call of Duty games like Warzone, Modern Warfare, and newer releases. They come pre-configured with different attachments, skins, and cosmetic effects.
For example, the Gallantry M4A1 blueprint comes decked out with the following by default:
- Corp Combat Holo Sight
- FSS 11.5" Commando Barrel
- Commando Foregrip
- 50 Round Mag
- Sleight of Hand Perk
This transforms the base M4A1 visually and also buffs its stats. That‘s where blueprint pay-to-win controversy stems from – the potential gameplay benefits certain configurations provide.
Not All Blueprints Are "Pay-to-Win"
Now – are all blueprints pay-to-win by themselves? No.
Most blueprints provide negligible statistical differences or just offer cosmetic changes. However, some outliers exist that provide more tangible gameplay changes.
Examples of "Pay-to-Win" Blueprints
Here are some blueprints over the years that stirred up pay-to-win controversies in the Call of Duty community:
MP5 "ZLR Lockwood" Blueprint
This blueprint buffed the MP5‘s damage range to an extreme degree in Warzone. Initial testing showed it increasing damage by 3-4 bullets at a distance compared to the base MP5.
After player complaints, Infinity Ward nerfed the blueprint by reducing its damage range benefit. But it remained controversial for a time due to the clear advantage it provided.
Fennec "Ascended" Blueprint
The Fennec SMG suffers from challenging recoil on its base version. But the Ascended blueprint all but eliminated recoil with its pre-configured attachments.
This gave many players an almost laser beam Fennec without needing to grind weapon levels to unlock the necessary attachments organically. It dramatically improved the Fennec‘s time-to-kill at longer ranges.
M4A1 "Gallantry" Blueprint
This legendary M4A1 blueprint also stirred controversy back in the day. Dedicated players tested it extensively and discovered the Gallantry killed a full 48ms faster up close than the base M4A1.
48ms translates to around 2-3 fewer bullets to kill depending on network latency. So it was certainly an advantage, albeit minor in some respects.
Counterpoints – Are Blueprints Truly "Pay-to-Win"?
The other side of the argument – many players counter that blueprints aren‘t truly pay-to-win for a few reasons:
1. Most blueprints offer negligible differences
As outlined earlier, only a small subset of blueprints provide actual statistical changes. Most are just cosmetic variants.
2. Hardcore players have max leveled base weapons anyway
Dedicated Call of Duty players organically level up all base weapons to max over time. This provides them access to all attachments that potentially "pay-to-win" blueprints contain anyway.
Fewer casual players fall into this category however.
Some data to back this up:
- Only 10% of Warzone players have earned gold camo for a single weapon so far, indicative of the hardcore minority reaching max weapon levels
- The average Warzone K/D is 0.8 – most players are thus casual-intermediate level
3. Buffed weapons still come down to skill
A pay-to-win weapon means nothing if the player can‘t leverage it with sufficient skills. Factors like positioning, movement, game sense and aim trump raw gun stats.
So in summary – the pay-to-win blueprint issue has nuance behind it. The advantages are often negligible or don‘t outweigh base skill levels for top players.
Developer Actions Addressing "Pay-to-Win" Blueprints
Due to years of player feedback around pay-to-win blueprints, Call of Duty developers have taken action to curb advantages:
- Older problematic blueprints have mostly been rebalanced or nerfed
- Modern Warfare 2 blueprints by design do not confer attachment advantages now
- The base Modern Warfare 2 arsenal has been better balanced around handling, damage profiles and mobility from the beginning
Infinity Ward wants players to earn weapon XP for attachments organically rather than relying on blueprints as crutches. This should provide more even playing fields moving forward.
Are Blueprints Pay-to-Win? – In Conclusion
In closing – some past Call of Duty blueprints provided pay-to-win advantages through stuffed attachments that buffed weapon stats. This caused understandable frustrations in the community.
However, the actual gameplay impact of these blueprints is often overstated. The majority of blueprints do not provide performance changes. Hardcore players have max leveled base weapons anyway, which provide similar attachment combos that some blueprints contain.
And developer actions over time have taken steps to curb pay-to-win potential regardless. The issues mainly affect casual-intermediate players who haven‘t unlocked all weapon attachments yet.
So while the pay-to-win blueprint controversy has valid origins, the real-world impacts are murkier than people make out. And future Call of Duty titles should continue minimizing any residual advantages.
Hopefully this gives helpful color around the complex debate within the Call of Duty community – are blueprints pay to win or not? As with most things, there are multiple perspectives.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments! Do you think any existing or past blueprints provided unfair advantages? Which ones stuck out to you the most?
