Warzone Season 1 brings the Zipline Launcher and Grabber Drone, introducing new ways to flank enemies, reach rooftops, recover loot, and rescue downed teammates. Here's how they work.
Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 is introducing two new Field Upgrades that could significantly change how squads navigate the battlefield, recover teammates, and interact with their surroundings.
The Zipline Launcher and Grabber Drone arrive on November 6, 2026, alongside the full integration of Modern Warfare 4 into Warzone. Both introduce new tactical possibilities, but they serve very different purposes.
The Zipline Launcher creates new routes across the environment, while the Grabber Drone allows players to remotely retrieve equipment, manipulate objects, and move downed teammates.
Here's how both devices work and what players should consider before using them.
Zipline Launcher: Create Your Own Routes Across Warzone
The Zipline Launcher is a new Field Upgrade designed to give players more control over movement and positioning.
Instead of relying entirely on existing ladders, staircases, or predefined ziplines, players can deploy their own connections between locations.
By aiming and firing the device, Operators create anchors and a functional zipline that can be used to reach elevated positions or travel across gaps.
This opens up several tactical possibilities:
Rooftop access: Reach elevated positions without relying on conventional building entrances.
Squad rotations: Establish additional routes between locations.
Flanking opportunities: Approach enemy positions from angles that existing traversal routes might not allow.
Alternative escape routes: Create another movement option when conventional paths become dangerous.
One particularly important detail is that deployed ziplines remain active until they are retrieved or destroyed.
That means a Zipline Launcher isn't simply a temporary movement boost. It creates a physical route that can continue influencing how players move through an area.
The Biggest Catch: Enemies Can Use Your Zipline Too
The Zipline Launcher's greatest advantage also introduces a significant risk.
According to Activision, any Operator can use a deployed zipline, including enemies.
A route created to help your squad reach a rooftop could therefore become an unexpected entry point for another team.
This makes placement especially important. Establishing a zipline near a defended position may improve your squad's mobility, but it also creates another approach that must be monitored.
Players should also remember that Operators can use their Pistols while travelling along a zipline.
This means zipline movement doesn't completely prevent combat, although Activision has not provided detailed information about how aiming or accuracy will behave during traversal.
For coordinated squads, the key consideration will be whether the additional mobility is worth creating a route that opponents can exploit.
Grabber Drone: Recover Loot and Rescue Downed Teammates
The second major addition is the Grabber Drone, a rare Field Upgrade equipped with a remotely controlled grabbing mechanism.
Unlike conventional reconnaissance drones, its primary function is to physically interact with objects and Operators.
Activision has confirmed several uses:
Retrieve weapons and loot from difficult-to-reach locations.
Pick up environmental objects and move them elsewhere.
Collect loot from Buy Stations.
Grab downed teammates and transport them closer to your squad.
The final capability is particularly interesting because it introduces a new way to approach teammate recovery.
A Different Way to Recover Downed Teammates
Normally, recovering a downed teammate requires someone to reach their position and complete the revive.
The Grabber Drone introduces another possibility: moving the incapacitated Operator to a more accessible location before attempting the revive.
For example, if a teammate is downed in an exposed area, another squad member could potentially use the drone to bring them closer to cover.
Importantly, the Grabber Drone does not automatically revive teammates. Its confirmed function is to relocate them so a player can attempt the recovery.
This distinction matters because the device provides a positioning advantage rather than replacing the normal revive mechanic.
Its practical usefulness will depend on the surrounding terrain, enemy pressure, and the drone's remaining battery.
Battery Life Is the Grabber Drone's Main Limitation
Activision has confirmed that the Grabber Drone operates with a limited battery.
Players will therefore need to prioritise their actions rather than treating the device as an unlimited remote collection tool.
Using it to retrieve a valuable item could be worthwhile, but preserving enough battery to move a downed teammate may be more important in certain situations.
The official announcement does not specify the drone's exact battery duration, carrying speed, or maximum operating distance.
Until those details are established, it would be premature to make definitive claims about how reliably the drone can perform under enemy fire.
Which New Warzone Field Upgrade Looks More Useful?
Although both devices introduce additional tactical options, their confirmed functions suggest different applications.
Feature
Zipline Launcher
Grabber Drone
Primary purpose
Movement and traversal
Remote object manipulation
Squad utility
Creates shared movement routes
Retrieves items and relocates downed teammates
Main advantage
Access to alternative positions
Interact with objects without directly approaching them
The Zipline Launcher appears particularly relevant to squads that want more flexibility when approaching buildings or rotating between elevated positions.
The Grabber Drone offers a different kind of utility, potentially reducing the need for players to expose themselves while recovering equipment or repositioning downed teammates.
Neither device can yet be declared universally superior. Their effectiveness will depend on how players incorporate them into actual matches.
How to Obtain the New Field Upgrades in Season 1
Both devices belong to Warzone's Field Upgrade category.
According to the official Season 1 overview, Field Upgrades are equipment items that can be discovered as loot or purchased from Buy Stations during matches.
They are not permanently equipped as part of a player's custom weapon Loadout.
The Grabber Drone is specifically described as rare, meaning players should not assume it will be consistently available in every match.
Exact availability and practical performance will become clearer once Season 1 launches.
With the introduction of Hajin for Battle Royale and Zodiac for Resurgence, these new tools will give players additional ways to interact with Warzone's environments.
The most important development is not simply the arrival of two new pieces of equipment. It is the expanded ability to create movement routes and manipulate the battlefield remotely, introducing tactical decisions that previously weren't possible with these tools.
Call of Duty: Warzone Season 1 launches November 6, 2026.
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