The Call of Duty: MW2 beta has left some players confused and frustrated about the Dead Silence update and the overall audio levels.
The Call of Duty community is consistently outspoken about their complaints and criticism (look no further than a stream by Herschel "Dr Disrespect" Beahm, who claims to be one of the franchise's biggest fans while also uninstalling Warzone numerous times). The MW2 open beta has given them plenty to discuss, including the lack of gore and the red dot-less mini-map.
But one of the biggest frustrations has been surrounding Dead Silence, which has returned as a Field Upgrade in Modern Warfare 2. Previously, Dead Silence was a perk, instantly making players silent while moving around the map.
This powerful buff being changed to a Field Upgrade has left players confused and annoyed, especially since they must activate a player animation to use Dead Silence — an animation that includes a very loud alert, defeating the purpose.
Call of Duty League broadcaster Joseph "MerK" DeLuca tweeted that he was confused by the Dead Silence change.
Others players have expressed similar sentiments about the strange way Dead Silence works (or doesn't work). Dead Silence is supposed to make players discreet by reducing their audio but now their location is given away with an extremely obnoxious sound.
Call of Duty: MW2 developers discussed the game's realistic audio in previous teasers leading up to the beta. But while realistic foosteps may be immersive in the campaign, players wondered how this would impact multiplayer matches.
The sound design has been a big topic of discussion during the beta, with many streamers saying that the footstep audio is very loud. Footsteps can be heard whether a player is running, walking, or even crouching. And within a building, the footsteps echo.
Other prominent people have been saying that Dead Silence doesn't make a big difference with how Infinity Ward handled it in the newest game. The footsteps are so loud, gamers say, that players can still be heard when they use Dead Silence in MW2 — especially if you're using a headset.
Infinity Ward responded to initial complaints during the beta, announcing that they plan to reduce footstep audio range. Developers also plan to make friendly versus enemy footsteps distinct from each other so players can better recognize who is approaching.
Infinity Ward hasn't responded, however, to the change to Dead Silence. It's currently unclear if there will be any updates to this Field Upgrade come the game's official launch later this year.