Activision Blizzard most recently added a new operator in Season 5 with a very unique feature - a pet that accompanies him to the battlefield to perform a rather unique finishing move.

The new operator named Arthur is part of Season 5’s BlackCell Battle Pass Bundle. The new character is part of the new faction, Shadow Company, alongside his tactical companion, Merlin.

Tactical Pets are a new addition to Modern Warfare II and Warzone. Players have the option to bring the companion to the Multiplayer, Battle Royale, and DMZ modes.

Players believe the new Tactical Pets give players who purchased the BlackCell bundle an unfair advantage in matches. The presence of the pet companions has reportedly thrown off the strategies of players who didn't pay for the bundles.

Players are tagging the new bundle as "pay-to-win" on the Call of Duty Warzone subreddit. Merlin reportedly has the ability to reveal enemy locations. The Tactical Pet alerts the user of the nearby player’s position by barking, helping the player and their team recognize nearby threats.

In the video below, a player claims that the dog's bark led to his discovery while he was camped in a corner

The BlackCell-only "Dog Companion" is a Pay2Win seeing-eye dog for blind players...
by u/jamcowl in CODWarzone

Some players suggest that the Tactical Pet allows "blind players" to have a "pay to win seeing-eye dog." Many players have supported the statement saying that this may negatively impact the gameplay experience.

Other gamers believe that the use of the Tactical Pet Companion does assist some individuals, but it doesn’t necessarily give them a huge advantage. Others suggest that Merlin’s bark may be annoying or distracting to the user.

Some gamers defended the new Tactical Pet, saying that "there’s no real advantage besides an audio queue" as it only works when the High Alert perk is equipped. The High Alert perk gives players a visual cue when another player is aiming at their general direction. The added audio cue is seen by many as a buff to the perk.

One player suggests that using the Tactical Pet is a disadvantage. The barking could potentially expose players and give away their positions to enemy teams.

It will be hard to get a consensus from the Call of Duty community on the use of Tactical Pets. However, voicing out concerns such as this could help improve the gameplay experience in the future.

We did purchase the BlackCell Bundle and checked out the new Tactical Pet Companion. So far, in matches we have played in Warzone, it is difficult to tell if it does give you an advantage as we heard barking only when the player was really close and footsteps could also be heard. The other team may have also heard Merlin barking, negating whatever advantage we had.

Do you think the new Tactical Pet Companions give players an advantage or not? Let us know in the comments below.