Sub Base Hardpoint Temporarily Removed from MW3 Ranked Play Pool

Treyarch has been forced to temporarily remove Sub Base Hardpoint from the Modern Warfare 3 Ranked Play pool for a second time.

Season Two Changes

Season two brought wide-sweeping changes to the competitive Call of Duty (CoD) scene in early February. For MW3 Ranked Play, Rio replaced Skidrow in Search and Destroy and knocked Terminal out of the Hardpoint rotation. Additionally, Treyarch banned the new BP50 and RAM-9 weapons, along with a few other assault rifles (ARs) and submachine guns (SMGs), from Ranked Play.

Sub Base Hardpoint's Return and Removal

As part of the seasonal update, Sub Base Hardpoint was added back to the Ranked Play map rotation after being initially removed due to an exploit. However, just a few days after the patch went live, another game-breaking issue forced the developers to remove the map again.

Reason for Removal

On February 12, Treyarch announced that Sub Base Hardpoint was temporarily removed from the Ranked Play Map Pool while they investigate a new exploit with the Hardpoint P3. Ironically, the same Hardpoint hill was the reason for the map's initial removal in January. Players discovered a new spot at the bottom of the stairs, allowing them to contest the third Sub Base hill inside a building.

Impact on Ranked Play

With the removal of Sub Base, Karachi, Invasion, Skidrow, and Rio are the only active remaining Hardpoint maps in Ranked Play. Community members expressed interest in adding the new season two maps, Departures and Vista, to the rotation. However, Call of Duty League senior manager Spencer Peterson stated that there wasn't enough time to test both maps before the next stage of pro matches. Peterson did not rule out the possibility of testing the maps in Ranked Play before officially adding them to the CDL.

Conclusion

Treyarch has temporarily removed Sub Base Hardpoint from the MW3 Ranked Play pool for the second time due to a game-breaking exploit. The developers are investigating the issue and have not provided a timeline for when the map will be added back to the rotation. Players can track the progress of the investigation on MW3's official Trello board.