Black Ops Cold War: The Road to Launch
In addition to an incredible single-player Campaign led by our partners at Raven Software, our all-new Dark Aether Zombies co-op experience, and the latest chapter in the fan-favorite Dead Ops Arcade series, we’ll be delivering plenty of new Multiplayer content on launch day in Black Ops Cold War.
Starting on Day One, you’ll have new maps to play, more game modes in both Core and Hardcore playlists, new weapons and Create-a-Class content, more Perks, more Scorestreaks, a new Seasonal Prestige system, new Challenges, and other new features to enjoy. As we begin the final countdown to launch, we’ve provided the high-level details on what’s been updated and improved across Multiplayer and Audio for launch (or shortly afterward) since last month’s Open Beta:
MULTIPLAYER
Modes
- Additional Modes
- Added modes since Beta:
- Search & Destroy
- Free-For-All
- Hardcore Team Deathmatch
- Hardcore Domination
- Hardcore Kill Confirmed
- Hardcore Search & Destroy
- Hardcore Free-For-All
- Added modes since Beta:
- Fireteam: Dirty Bomb
- Gameplay
- Added Ammo Caches to Ruka and Alpine.
- Added rappel lines to Alpine.
- Players can now continue sprinting while equipping Armor Plates.
- Players will now automatically be air deployed after 15 seconds in the overhead spawn view.
- Both the downed player and player reviving will be locked in place during a revive to avoid the revive from failing.
- Added the ability to Call for Help while downed.
- Added support for bashing a door when beginning to sprint next to a door.
- Added support for configurable squad wipe respawn delays based on squad size (squads of 1 have no additional squad wipe respawn delay).
- Made adjustments to objective placements.
- Dirty Bombs/Radiation
- Arming progress will now display on the charge when arming a dirty bomb.
- When arming the dirty bomb, lights on the charge will now show how many teammates are assisting in arming.
- Improvements made to radiation visuals when in the overhead spawn view.
- The line to safety while inside of a radiation zone will no longer point players toward out of bounds.
- Loot
- Radiation Vest item added to loot pool. This vest will prevent the wearer from taking radiation damage inside of the radiation zones.
- Combat Bow, VTOL Escort, Cruise Missile, and Gunship added to loot pool.
- Adjusted item spawn rates to reduce higher end Scorestreak frequency.
- Vehicles
- Reduced frequency of Hind spawn.
- Adjusted vehicle drop timing to reduce the frequency of Hind, Tank, and FAV spawns.
- Directional damage indicators now point toward the vehicle when taking explosive damage from a Hind or Chopper Gunner.
- Ping
- Added the ability to Ping while downed.
- Added the ability to Ping from vehicles.
- Added the ability to Ping downed teammates.
- Added the ability to Ping Field Upgrades and thrown C4 explosives.
- Added a center dot while freefalling and parachuting for more accurate pinging.
- Miscellaneous
- Made adjustments to the fireteam intro scene to better highlight the fireteam.
- Added an in-game outro scene that highlights the winning fireteam.
- Killcams and Best Plays will now prioritize downs instead of clean-ups.
- Bug Fixes
- Addressed an issue that would prevent objective waypoints from displaying in the overhead spawn view.
- Addressed an issue where players could be killed as soon as they deployed via air.
- Addressed a number of issues that would cause a player to spawn away from their intended teammate on the ground from the overhead spawn view.
- Addressed an issue where players could not deposit Uranium into a dirty bomb.
- Addressed an issue where the player could be considered out of bounds when deploying from the infil plane.
- Gameplay
- VIP Escort
- Players can now quick-deploy parachute in Crossroads and Armada in VIP Escort.
- The VIP is now taken into the helicopter by a winch operator upon exfil completion.
- The exfil notification is now triggered when the VIP gets near an exfil helicopter in order to give the defending team more time to react.
- Upon getting near the exfil site, the helicopter will begin lowering the fast rope, and all players in the match will be notified that the exfil process has begun.
- Once the fast rope is lowered, the VIP can interact with the rope to hook up for exfil.
- Combined Arms
Weapons / Gunsmith
- New Weapons
- Added new weapons in multiple categories:
- FFAR 1 assault rifle
- Bullfrog SMG
- M60 LMG
- DMR 14 tactical rifle
- M79 special launcher
- + more
- Added new weapons in multiple categories:
- Weapon Balance
- Assault Rifles
- Tuned general assault rifle performance closer to Krig 6 and XM4 Beta performance for better balance across the class.
- Increased AK-47 recoil.
- Submachine Guns
- Reduced SMG effectiveness at longer ranges to counter the dominance of the class seen in the Beta.
- Light Machine Guns
- Increased LMG damage output to improve the effectiveness of the class.
- Increased LMG ADS times.
- Sniper Rifles
- Adjusted aim assist to feel smoother yet require more skill and precision.
- Slightly increased sniper rifle ADS times.
- Sniper scope glint will now display more regularly.
- Pistols
- Decreased burst-fire pistol hip-fire accuracy.
- Reduced burst-fire pistol max damage range.
- Shotguns
- Reduced semi-auto shotgun fire rate.
- Launchers
- Slightly increased inner damage of launcher rockets to allow for lethal damage when placed precisely.
- Melee
- Slightly reduced sprinting speed with the Knife equipped.
- Assault Rifles
- Recoil and Sight Alignment
- Cleaned up issues with bullet direction and recoil to feel more intuitive and responsive.
- In the Beta, the location of the player’s bullet was always based on the direction of their weapon, which could have a slight deviation to their eye-view perspective through the sights. These should now line up better across all iron sights and optics, providing more precision when ADS-firing.
- Cleaned up issues with bullet direction and recoil to feel more intuitive and responsive.
- Aim Assist Tuning
- Adjusted a number of aim assist parameters to provide a more expected feel across weapon classes.
- Aiming Down Sights (ADS)
- Adjusted ADS transitions to make them smoother and more fluid.
- Adjusted ADS sway to provide more dramatic feel while reducing weapon rotation.
- Adjusted weapon pushback when firing in ADS to address cases where optic models could get too close to the player camera.
- Attachments
- Additional Attachments
- Added more attachments to equip in the Gunsmith.
- Attachment Balance
- Updated balance for roughly half of the attachments across all weapons to increase viability across the board.
- Reworked bonuses and penalties on Barrel attachments to better reflect relationship between ranges, muzzle velocities, and barrel length.
- There are now Barrel attachments that offer shorter Barrel length for increased strafe speed movement, either when hip-firing or ADS-firing. This provides players with greater options for leaning into movement as a kit option.
- Increased enemy reveal range when using the mounted light attachment.
- Attachment Descriptions
- Updated names, descriptions, and statistics categories for weapons to provide a clearer picture of functionality and authenticity.
- Additional Attachments
- Dual Wield
- Added the ability to dual-wield pistols.
- Weapon Levels
- Increased primary weapon levels from 40 to 55.
- Stationary Turrets
Movement
- Sliding
- Shortened slide length.
- Reduced slide speed.
- Sliding is intended as an escape mechanic or quick entrance into crouch or cover. It’s not intended to be over-used during engagements, or to be too advantageous in close quarters. We’ve shortened the slide length and reduced its speed to address these goals.
- Ending a sprint to fire is now faster than sliding to fire.
- In the Beta, it was faster to fire your weapon from a sprint by sliding than by simply ending your sprint to fire. This has been fixed so that ending a sprint to fire is the faster way to get your gun up, and sliding to fire is no longer faster.
- Mantling
Scorestreaks
- Additional Scorestreaks
- Added new Scorestreaks since Beta:
- Combat Bow
- Armor
- Care Package
- Cruise Missile
- VTOL Escort
- Gunship
- Added new Scorestreaks since Beta:
- Earn Rate
- Improved score event tuning and Scorestreak earn potential across all modes.
- Increased score bonus thresholds at 10-kill and 15-kill streaks to make high streaks feel more rewarding, and to help boost score to higher-end Scorestreaks.
- In the Beta, Scorestreaks were being earned more often than intended in several game modes, so we’ve made tuning adjustments to bring the overall earn rate down. On the other hand, because even top players were having a hard time getting to the highest Scorestreaks, we’ve increased the score bonus thresholds for higher kill streaks.
- Scorestreak Tuning
- Attack Helicopter
- Increased Attack Helicopter damage from 5-hit kill to 3-hit kill.
- Chopper Gunner
- Slightly reduced Chopper Gunner duration and damage.
- Attack Helicopter
- Costs
- Balance adjustment to all Scorestreak costs.
- UI
- Added a numerical display showing remaining score required to earn your equipped Scorestreaks, which appears briefly on respawn and after closing the Scoreboard.
- Improved Scorestreak tablet cursor speed.
- Improved visibility of Scorestreak tablet red dots for indoor enemies.
- Cooldowns
- Added variation to Scorestreak cooldowns to allow for more interesting player choices and strategy, while also reducing low-end Scorestreak spam.
- Miscellaneous
Spawns
- General spawn adjustments across all modes.
- Enemies in Gunboats will now properly cancel spawns within their line of sight.
Perks
- Flak Jacket
- Flak Jacket damage reduction reduced by 5%.
- Paranoia
Equipment
- Frag
- Improved Frag throwback speed.
- Stim Shot
- Cooldown increased from 8 seconds to 11 seconds.
- Decoy
Field Upgrades
- Field Mic
Features
- Added Military Ranks up to 55 in standard player progression.
- Added Seasonal Prestige player progression system, beginning at launch after completing Military Rank 55.
- Added Challenges for Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies.
- Added unlockable Weapon Camos.
- Player and weapon customization now available.
- Added Combat Record.
- Added Theater support.
- Added Multiplayer bot support.
- Added Finishing Move support.
- Added Weapon Inspect support.
AUDIO
Game Audio
- General
- Polished volumes and sound falloffs for weapons, foley audio, ambient systems, and map transitions.
- Additional map sound design improvements.
- Gameplay Audio
- Improved weapon and footstep sounds.
- Improved hit marker sounds.
- Improved player damage feedback sounds.
- Acoustics
- Polished acoustics systems that simulate how sounds travel through/around geometry.
- Since the Beta, we’ve created new reverbs for multiple areas, polished filter values so full occlusion now sounds more natural, and tweaked the way interior and exterior sounds blend as you move through spaces.
- Tuned acoustics of every map.
- This affects how the map geometry influences every sound, from reverb (how sounds bounce and echo) to occlusion (how objects block sound waves). Map acoustics are based on physical simulations of sound waves travelling through the map. As a result, all sounds should feel even more immersive and realistic, with a high level of fidelity.
- Polished acoustics systems that simulate how sounds travel through/around geometry.
- Music Player
- Added Music Player, allowing players to listen to music tracks unlocked by playing the game.
- Players can select tracks as their menu music or in-game music.
- Audio Presets
PRE-LAUNCH FAQ
We've also received plenty of feedback and questions since the Open Beta that we’d like to address as we ramp up to launch, including several questions from the Zombies community. Read on below to learn more:
Q: Will movement/spawns/sniping/etc. continue to be tuned after launch as needed?
A: Absolutely. Just as we’ve gathered data and feedback from the Alpha and Beta to help inform further changes to movement, map spawns, weapon tuning, player visibility, Scorestreaks, and so on, we’ll continue to gather data after launch and beyond to continue to provide the best experience for all players.
Q: Are more free maps coming after launch?
A: Yes! We have a massive lineup of post-launch content planned, starting with Nuketown ’84 on Nov. 24th and more new maps arriving with Season One, which kicks off on December 10th. Watch for more info on everything in store for Season One as we get closer to December.
Q: How will Black Ops Cold War integrate with Warzone at launch and in Season One?
A: At launch, you’ll be able to jump into Warzone from the front-end menu in Black Ops Cold War and use any of the Operators you’ve unlocked from Black Ops Cold War in Verdansk, including any earnable and unlockable skins.
Starting in Season One in December, weapons from Black Ops Cold War will be accessible in Warzone, as well as the new Seasonal Prestige progression system, allowing players to level up and earn progress toward Prestige Levels across both games. We’re also bringing a classified Warzone experience to Verdansk starting in Season One, along with some other surprises... and that’s just the beginning.
Learn more about the evolution of Warzone in December with Season One of Black Ops Cold War at the Call of Duty blog.
Q: When can I pre-load the game if I’ve pre-ordered digitally?
A: Depending on your preferred platform, you may already be able to pre-load the game! Dates and timing below:
- PlayStation 4: Nov. 5th at 9PM PT
- Xbox One: Nov. 5th at 9PM PT
- PC: Nov. 10th at 10AM PT
- Next-Gen Consoles: Available on their respective launch dates (Nov. 10th for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, Nov. 12th for PlayStation 5).
Q: How will enforcement against potential cheating be handled?
A: We have a zero-tolerance policy for cheating, and action is always being taken behind the scenes to crack down on this behavior. As always, please report suspected cheaters using the in-game reporting tools.
You can report players by going to “Player Details” on a player’s name at the Scoreboard, or from After Action Report > Social > Recent Players. These reports go to dedicated security teams that monitor and investigate potential infractions 24/7.
Q: Will we be able to see our network ping details in Settings?
A: Yes. Average latency will be displayed under the Account & Network section, as well as graphs for packet loss and server latency.
Q: What’s the design philosophy behind the revamped Scorestreak system?
A: We’ve reworked the Scorestreak system to incentivize a greater range of play styles in Black Ops Cold War. This means players will keep their score after death, and the earn rates on Scorestreaks have been tuned using data from the Alpha and Beta to maximize fun and minimize Scorestreak spam.
As you’ve seen above, we’ve recently adjusted Scorestreak costs, earn rates, and streak bonuses to ensure that players are rewarded for both playing the objective and racking up multiple kills in the same life. Cooldown rates have also been tweaked to further balance the system and keep spamming to a minimum. Of course, we’ll continue to tune the system for best possible experience post-launch.
Q: Can we start earning Prestige Levels at launch?
A: Yes. You’ll be able to level up through Military Ranks 1-55 at launch, then earn up to 3 Prestiges by reaching Season Level 100 during the Pre-Season period between launch and the start of Season One. Get all the details on the new Prestige system at our Player Progression blog.
Q: Will the main Easter Egg quest be enabled in Zombies at the same time for all regions?
A: Yes, we’re aiming to enable the main quest and several side quests simultaneously on November 13th, so everyone can start the hunt on equal footing. Follow us at @Treyarch on Twitter for details on exact timing as we get closer to launch.
Q: Will Weapon Inspect be supported in Zombies?
A: Yes, Weapon Inspect is a feature in both Multiplayer and Zombies.
Q: Will we be able to use the new Ping feature in Zombies?
A: Yes! For the first time in Black Ops Zombies, we will support Ping as a feature across Zombies. Check out our Zombies Gameplay Guide at the blog for more details on all of the new systems and improvements coming to Zombies.
Q: Is the Zombies HUD customizable?
A: Yes! You’ll be able to toggle several HUD visuals on and off in Settings, including zombie health bars, enemy names, hit marker visuals, crosshair visuals, floating damage numbers, friendly player names, and more.
Q: Will we be able to unlock Zombies Prestige Icons at the Prestige Shop starting in Season One?
A: Yes, you’ll be able to unlock Legacy Prestige Icons from previous games – including icons from Zombies – once you unlock the Prestige Shop after you earn your first Prestige Key starting in Season One. Learn more about Prestige Keys and the Prestige Shop here.
Q: Is there a physical Collector’s Edition of the game?
A: The Ultimate Edition is the premium edition available for Black Ops Cold War, which you can pre-order here.
GET UP TO SPEED
For a full recap of everything coming to Black Ops Cold War at launch, check out the resources below from Treyarch and the Call of Duty Blog team to get caught up so you’re ready to jump in on Day One:
- Welcome to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
- Black Ops History: Alex Mason
- Black Ops History: Frank Woods
- Black Ops History: Jason Hudson
- Black Ops History: Adler and Park
- Black Ops History: Lazar and Sims
- Black Ops Cold War Multiplayer Reveal
- Into the Dark Aether: A New Zombies Story
- Black Ops Cold War Zombies Gameplay Guide
- Player Progression in Black Ops Cold War
- PC Launch Trailer and Specs (Call of Duty Blog)
- Pre-load Details (Call of Duty Blog)
- A Deep Dive into the Black Ops Cold War Campaign (Call of Duty Blog)
And now we count the hours until we can jump into Black Ops Cold War on November 13th with all of you around the globe. Hope you’re as ready as we are!
-Treyarch