Author: Nik Ranger

Two new Mulitplayer maps spotted in latest CoD: Black Ops 4 trailer Treyarch have released another trailer for their upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 title, and glimpses are shown of two new Multiplayer maps. Released on September 24, the trailer is full of clips from Black Ops 4’s three modes – Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies. In the Multiplayer portion of the video, the two, previously unannounced, maps are shown, at the 36 and 40 second marks respectively. The first map is shown to have blue buildings, while the second appears to be located in a forest-like area that contains a river or some sort of body of water. With these two new maps now thrown into the mix, it’s no longer clear how many will be in the Multiplayer once it is released. Previously it was believed that the game would include seven original maps (Arsenal, Contraband, Frequency, Gridlock, Hacienda, Payload, and Seas Side), four remastered maps (Firing Range, Jungle, Slums, and Summit), and the return of the iconic Nuketown sometime in November. Call of Duty fans will just have to wait until the game drops on October 12 to see exactly how many, and which, maps will be available in the Multiplayer mode. – The new Black Ops 4 launch gameplay trailer can be viewed below:

Two More Teams Eliminated in Epic Matches at the 2018 CWL Championship epic gamesOnly four teams remain at the 2018 CWL Championship, as two more were eliminated in round four of the lower bracket. Championship Sunday kicked off with two headline matches for survival, as eUnited took on Luminosity and FaZe Clan faced Team Envy. When the dust settled, eUnited and FaZe Clan advanced, while Luminosity and Envy were eliminated. Both matches offered series worthy of this stage in the biggest event of the Call of Duty calendar. eUnited and Luminosity have been two of the most formidable squads of the tournament so far, and they clashed in an intense series that eUnited ultimately won 3-1. Luminosity started strong, winning the opening Hardpoint, and looked poised to follow up with a Search and Destroy victory, but from 0-4 down eUnited went on a five-round run, before ultimately securing the win in round 11 to tie up the series. From there, it seemed momentum had very much shifted in eUnited’s favor. They took the lead with a convincing Capture the Flag win, and came up clutch in an incredibly hard-fought London Docks Hardpoint to eliminate Luminosity from the event. Luminosity goes home with a top-6 finish, meaning that for the first time ever the CWL Championship grand final won’t feature either Jordan ‘JKap’ Kaplan or Damon ‘Karma’ Barlow. Meanwhile on the Bravo stream, FaZe and Envy fought about as close a series as could be. FaZe drew first blood with an incredibly close Hardpoint, but Envy hit back with a round-11 win on Sainte Marie du Mont Search and Destroy to tie the series. Envy then claimed the series lead with a CTF win, but weren’t able to close out the series in another incredibly tight Hardpoint, with FaZe forcing a game five. London Docks SND hosted the final showdown, and after putting up a 5-1 lead Envy had the win at their fingertips. FaZe stayed composed, however, pulling off an incredible come-back to claim the series and eliminate Envy. eUnited and FaZe Clan both lock in a top-four finish, and will now face each other for a place in the lower bracket final. Whoever survives that match will play the loser of the winner bracket final between Evil Geniuses and Team Kaliber.

Two more items added to competitive CoD gentleman’s agreement in Black Ops 4 Yet another update has been made to the growing list of ‘GA’s’ (gentleman’s agreement) in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, as professional players fine tune how they play ahead of the CWL Pro League. Treyarch just released the latest Black Ops 4 game update on January 29, as they attempt to keep up with “how the professionals” play, by adding many of the items on the GA list to the official ban list. This included the Ajax specialist, Prophet’s Seeker Drone and even the score streaks that pros had agreed not to use, like the RC-XD and the Dart. However, with the ever evolving ‘meta’ at the professional level, there has already been some new additions to the GA list, with the Pro League beginning on February 4. Not one, but two new additions have been made to the list, the first being Stock 2 – which was expected, after a lot of public debate on whether or not it should be permitted. One restriction which may have gone under the radar for many though, is that the use of double equipment (stun grenades, trophy systems) is now also no longer in play, as per the gentleman’s agreement. Splyce player Donovan ‘Temp‘ Laroda confirmed that double equipment was now part of the agreement, joking that it’s one less way for him to be taken out. wow thank the lord theres no double stuns i only die from beat downs now — The Marksman (@Temp) January 30, 2019 Midnight Gaming player Dylan ‘Envoy’ Hannon also appeared to confirm the changes to the GA list, in a now deleted Tweet. The community was clearly behind the move for Stock 2 to be restricted also, as a poll run by online tournament website CMG was heavily in favor of it being banned from competitive play, after over 12,000 votes.Professional teams won’t have long to get used to the changes before the CWL Pro League begins on February 4.

Two More Call of Duty Players Charged in Deadly Kansas Swatting Following Online Dispute, Federal Court Dates Set The two Call of Duty players that engaged in an online argument which lead to the Swatting death of Andrew Finch in Wichita, Kansas have been charged with various crimes. Following a false 911 call which stated that there was an imminent threat at the residence, Andrew Finch of Wichita, Kansas was killed by police after they responded to the report made by an anonymous individual. However, the call was actually made by Tyler Barriss, a 25-year old California native who “Swatted’ the residence after being given an address by an online Call of Duty player following an argument with a competitor. More: Kansas ‘Call of Duty Swatter’ Tyler Barriss Reportedly Confessed After Arrest, Police Officer Testifies – Casey Viner, 18, of North College Hill, Ohio and Shane Gaskill, 19, of Wichita got in a dispute following a $1 ‘Wager match,’ which led to Viner asking Barriss to ‘Swat’ Gaskill at his residence. Gaskill gave Viner a false address, which was then provided to Barriss in order to make the call, commencing the entire situation. Tyler Barriss was later detained by California police and extradited to Kansas to stand trial. More: Call of Duty Player Reaches Master Prestige in CoD: WWII While Only Using Explosives – Pictures and Video Montage – It has been reported by the Associated Press that Casey Viner was charged with conspiracy to make false reports. Both Viner and Gaskill will face charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, along with various counts of obstruction of justice and wire fraud. Barriss, Viner, and Gaskill will all reportedly have their first day in federal court on June 13th. We will continue to update the story as more information is made available in the coming weeks. Source: AP

Two more Call of Duty 4 maps found in Modern Warfare’s game files ActivisionModern Warfare might be on the cusp of getting two more maps from an older Call of Duty – this time, from CoD 4. The original Modern Warfare title released all the way back in 2007, and forever changed the way we look at the CoD series. Call of Duty 4 introduced kill streaks, class loadouts, perks, and a new leveling system. While all of that has become a staple of the series nowadays, it was a groundbreaking concept back then. Something that goes under the radar is the number of popular maps that have become forgotten as the years go on. Some of them do stick with the series – Nuketown, for example – but the majority of them are left in the past. 2019’s Modern Warfare has done a good job of bringing back fan-favorites, such as Rust from MW2, and it looks like Infinity Ward will have several more coming in the future. Reddit user evilonyx discovered CoD 4’s Killhouse and Broadcast maps both in the files, indicating these might be some of the maps the devs bring into the game next. Nothing is set in stone yet as these just remain leaks for the time being, but it wouldn’t be surprising to see it happen, considering this isn’t the first time maps from the game have leaked. The Season 2 update introduced several new maps, but there’s nothing saying Infinity Ward can’t continue to bring more into the game as the season goes on. In Black Ops 4, Nuketown was actually made part of the battle royale map, so maybe we could see this happen with Warzone – Modern Warfare’s rumored BR game mode. Ahead of the release of Rust, the official Call of Duty website, of all places, actually leaked it, and several other Season 2 details, so we probably won’t be able to count on another mishap like that happening again. Instead, we’ll have to rely on credible leaks, and it looks like these two maps are just the latest. There’s no official timetable on when to expect Killhouse and Broadcast, and there’s actually not even definitive proof they’ll ever be coming. Keep your eye out for more details as leakers wait for nobody.

Two Modern Warfare 3 Juggernauts get locked into an incredibly goofy duel ActivisionThe Juggernaut Recon is more fun than useful, as two Modern Warfare 3 players don the iconic suit and put on the best 1v1 of all-time. At eight kills or 1000 Scorestreak, the Juggernaut Recon isn’t exactly as powerful as you’d want it to be. Donning the iconic suit, the player controls a version of the titan with a shotgun, Riot Shield, and a smoke grenade. As mentioned, it’s not super powerful, and upon using it, it becomes painfully obvious it’s a bit of a troll streak to use. However, two players have managed to make the best of this streak during their time in the Modern Warfare 3 beta. Hilarious clip shows off two Juggernauts dueling in Modern Warfare 3 The Juggernaut Recon is the highest attainable streak in the Modern Warfare 3 open beta. Out of the five playable maps, Rust and Favela are objectively the best maps to use the streak on due to their smaller scope. In a wild sequence of events, two players managed to earn the streak in a game of Domination on Skidrow. Meeting in Mural Alley, they engage in the greatest duel of all time, as they both look to take each other down. Smashing Riot Shields together, laughs are audibly heard during this silly exchange. Eventually, one player emerges victorious from this duel of turtles, but not without the help of a few teammates and a few laughs along the way. In light of the brutal act of violence, one Twitter user replied “Jugg on Jugg violence is a no no.” While cheaters and Battle Rage have been raining on some players’ parades, it’s nice to see some others having a blast in silly moments like these.

Two fan-favorite CoD weapons leaked for Modern Warfare 2 2022 ActivisionA new leak for the upcoming 2022 Call of Duty title, named Modern Warfare 2, has suggested that two fan-favorite weapons from the original game of the same name will be returning to the franchise. 2009’s Modern Warfare 2 is widely recognized as one of the best Call of Duty games of all time, almost unanimously. The maps, modes, atmosphere, and general gameplay are all remembered fondly by Call of Duty players, many of whom are yearning for a return to the “good old days.” With Modern Warfare 2 expected to arrive in November 2022, players will be hoping for similar magic to be captured over a decade later — and with the return of certain weapons, that could be about to happen. According to well-known CoD leaker TheGhostofHope, both the ACR assault rifle and Intervention sniper rifle will be in the game, which will be music to the ears of pubstompers and quickscopers alike. The Intervention, in particular, remains to many the greatest sniper in CoD history, a marksman’s dream across maps like Afghan, Terminal, Highrise, and more. It wouldn’t be completely surprising to see Infinity Ward bring back classic guns such as these, and maybe even more, for the Modern Warfare 2 reboot. Other guns, such as the UMP45 submachine gun, have been mainstays in the series for decades, and IW will no doubt be looking to win over those veteran players who want to see their favorites back in action. While news on the upcoming game is still scarce, and no formal announcements of the game have yet been made, it definitely isn’t too early to start getting excited. Let’s just hope One Man Army noob tubes don’t return…

Two classic Modern Warfare maps leaked for Season 3 Infinity WardA Call of Duty leaker has revealed that two classic maps will be making their way into Modern Warfare once season three gets underway. Prior to its release, many fans hoped that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare would be a full return to the popular CoD subseries that has produced a number of fan-favorite titles. Infinity Ward claimed that the game would only be a soft reboot of the hugely popular CoD subseries, but there has been plenty of influence from other games. Classic CoD 4 maps like Vacant, Shipment, and Crash have joined the multiplayer map pool and they look set to be joined by a few other popular locations. Senescallo, the leaker who revealed details about Call of Duty: Warzone before it’s release, has revealed that Backlot and Village will be returning in Modern Warfare’s third season of content. Backlot, which made its debut in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, like Crash and Vacant, has seemingly been given a recolor to fit in with the new title – though there might be a few more changes to the map design as well. The original location of Iraq, which played into the campaign of CoD 4 has also been changed. Players will now descend on Backlot in Meska, Urzikstan. It’s the same story for Village which proved to be a hugely popular map back in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.The map, which was originally based in Sierra Leone, has been switched up. According to the leaker, it is now set outside of Venskaya, Kastovia, and will feature teams of the SAS and Spetsnaz instead of PMC and African Militia. Senescallo also revealed that there will be two new weapons added to the current arsenal with the SKS sniper and Renetti pistol joining the mix. The leaker noted that all of this is “subject to change” as it is all unreleased but they have proven to be pretty credible in the past. Modern Warfare season three is seemingly set to start on April 7, so we won’t have to wait long to find out either way.

Twitter user has account suspended for leaking Black Ops 4 patch information A Twitter user who managed to acquire an early copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has had their account shut down after releasing details regarding a new patch. The Twitter account, named ‘Ateam_ShAdoWw’, recently stated that a patch had gone live for Black Ops 4, for those who had managed to get their hands on an early copy of the game. Unfortunately, it looks like Activision and Treyarch were unhappy with the Twitter user’s post, as his account has now been suspended. Ateam_ShAdoWw posted a picture of his console downloading a new patch that had gone live for PlayStation 4, titled Update 1.02, and with a file size of around 12GB. The user then posted a screenshot of Black Ops 4’s in-game message to players. It stated that the servers would remain down for multiplayer while Treyarch prepare for the game’s launch, but that the servers would be going live soon. It’s currently unclear as to why exactly the Twitter user got banned. However, it’s likely that his account was suspended for releasing the information that a Day One patch was incoming for Black Ops 4. It’s also possible that he was suspended for showing the in-game message of the day before the game’s official release date. Information regarding the games launch has already been released, with Treyarch revealing that the preload for the game will begin at 12am on October 10 in your local timezone. Black Ops 4 will release on Friday, October 12 on Xbox One, PlayStation 4 and on PC via the Battle.net platform.

Twitter dismiss Fortnite as an esport as Scump and FaZe top 2018 popular list Twitter Gaming has unveiled its year in review for 2018, covering the most popular gaming and esports related Twitter activity over the past 12 months – with some intriguing results. 2018 saw Twitter itself take a more active role in pushing and promoting gaming content and coverage, particularly with esports. The platform broadcasted event livestreams, introduced team and event ‘hashflags’, and gave the coveted ‘blue tick’ of verification to thousands of esports players, coaches and industry figures. In a blog post on January 22, head of Twitter Gaming content and partnerships, Rishi Chadha, states that 1 billion gaming related tweets were sent globally in 2018, and presented top 10 lists of the most popular games, esports teams and athletes. Shockingly, Epic Games’ Fortnite was not the most-Tweeted about game, as it was beaten out by Japanese free-to-play mobile RPG “Fate/Grand Order”. Most-Tweeted about Games in 2018 Fate/Grand Order (@fgoproject) – Fortnite (@FortniteGame) – Monster Strike (@MStrikeOfficial) – Splatoon (@SplatoonJP) – PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds (@PUBG) – Granblue Fantasy (@granbluefantasy) – Ensemble Stars (@ensemble_stars) – Super Smash Brothers (@NintendoAmerica) – Overwatch (@PlayOverwatch) – Final Fantasy (@FinalFantasy) – Next up is the most-Tweeted about esports athletes and there is another surprise here. Twitter appears to have completely omitted Fortnite players, such as Turner ‘Tfue‘ Tenney and Tyler ‘Ninja‘ Blevins from this list, perhaps consigning them to a ‘streamers’ category rather than esports. Instead, the list is dominated by Call of Duty players (5), including two OpTic players (Scump and Crimsix) and two FaZe Clan players (Attach and ZooMaa). Fighting games have two players in the top 10 (Hungrybox and Leffen), while Counter-Strike, League of Legends and Overwatch have one each (FalleN, Doublelift and xQc, respectively). Most-Tweeted about esports athletes 2018 Seth Abner (@OpTic_Scumper) – Félix Lengyel (@xQc) – Juan DeBiedma (@LiquidHbox) – Yiliang Peng (@TLDoublelift) – Ian Porter (@OpTic_Crimsix) – Gabriel Toledo (@FalleNCS) – James Clayton Eubanks (@Clayster) – William Peter Hjelte (@TSM_Leffen) – Dillon Price (@Attach) – Thomas Paparratto (@ZooMaa) – For esports organizations, a similar story is borne out at the top, with FaZe Clan and OpTic Gaming taking the top spots, with another North American organization, Cloud9, rounding out the top three. Three Overwatch league franchises also make it in, OpTic’s Houston Outlaws, Team Envy’s Dallas Fuel and Cloud9’s London Spitfire. Most mentioned esports franchises 2018 FaZe Clan (@fazeclan) – OpTic Gaming (@opticgaming) – Cloud9 (@cloud9) – FNATIC (@FNATIC) – TSM (@tsm) – Houston Outlaws (@outlaws) – Dallas Fuel (@dallasfuel) – G2 Esport (@g2esports) – London Spitfire (@spitfire) – Team Liquid (@teamliquid) – The final list compiles the most-Tweeted about gaming and esports events, with E3 expectedly topping the list. Four esports events make it on the top 10, beating out popular conventions like Gamescom, BlizzCon and TwitchCon. Most talked about gaming events 2018 E3 – Tokyo Game Show 2018 – The Game Awards 2018 – 2018 League of Legends World Championship – Overwatch League Inaugural Season Championship – ELEAGUE Major: Boston 2018 – FACEIT Major: London 2018 – Gamescom 2018 – BlizzCon 2018 – TwitchCon 2018 – The omission of Fortnite players from the list of esports athletes will surprise some, considering Fortnite has held competitive tournaments with tens of millions in prize money, many of which Twitter itself promoted and supported. It’s also of note that despite Japan being the region that tweeted about gaming the most in 2018, that their presence in terms of esports was non-existent on Twitter, likely due to the country’s reluctancy to embrace competitive gaming as other Asian countries have.

Twitch Warzone $400k tournament stream hacked by toxic “little kid” Activision / Twitch / PexelsThousands of viewers were treated to unexpected disrespect during Twitch Rivals’ $400,000 World Series of Warzone tournament stream. During the highly anticipated draft, someone hacked in and flipped everyone off. The World Series of Warzone is a big deal. Hosted by Twitch Rivals and Activision, the event has $400,000 in prizes and stars 150 of the greatest Warzone players around. And it all starts with a draft, where five big-time captains pick teams to represent them. November 16 was North America’s draft, with the actual event scheduled for November 17. But the tens of thousands of viewers who tuned in early didn’t need to wait for an actual match to worry about hackers. Instead, everyone got treated to a random, toxic surprise — as someone hacked captain HusKerrs’ camera and proceeded to disrespect… everyone. Hacker sneaks into World Series of Warzone stream yo @HusKerrs getting real tired of everyones shit pic.twitter.com/HHwj7ZpuVG — Lucky Chamu (@LuckyChamu) November 16, 2021 As you can see in the clip above, all was fine and dandy until Husk’s cam was replaced. Mid-conversation, a random middle finger popped up, directed toward the world, and gave a little wiggle. Somewhat surprisingly, everyone on the stream remained professional and ignored the surprise toxicity. The only one who seemed to notice was ShawnJ, who laughed and looked around with a bit of confusion. Some little kid hacked Huskerrs Cam and got on the WSOW Draft and flipped off the Cam LMAO where is your mama little man 😂 — JoeWo (@AverageJoeWo) November 16, 2021 But viewers and other streamers most definitely noticed, including JoeWo. The “movement king” reacted on Twitter, cracking up at “the little kid” who hacked into the call and gave everyone a taste of some CoD lobby energy. Fortunately, the issue was resolved quite quickly and fans got to enjoy Husk’s face instead of a rogue finger for the rest of the stream. Now everyone can just sit back, relax, and hope that’s the last of the hacking drama we’ll need to worry about with the WSOW.

Twitch streamers outraged as they’re blocked from $100k Warzone “Open” tournament ActivisionA mouther-watering $100K is on the line in the upcoming CDL Warzone Rebirth tournament, but Twitch streamers are dismayed that they can’t enter as the rules stipulate that it’s a YouTube-only streaming tournament. Call of Duty: Warzone tournaments are always a great way to bring more attention to the game and give players some serious incentive for playing it. Usually, tournaments take place on the game’s main battle royale maps, typically, Verdansk in the past, and Caldera now. Season 2 Reloaded has made a few changes to Rebirth island and given it its biggest update in a long time. As a result, the new CDL $100K Resurgence tournament will take place at the home of Alcatraz to provide a bit of variety. If you’re a Twitch partner looking to take part in this lucrative event, then we’re afraid we’ve got some bad news for you. 🪂 WE’RE DROPPING IN AND TAKING OVER 🪂 Think you can hang with the pros on Rebirth Island? Rack up points in an open playlist and take your shot at the best of the best for a chance at $100k 👊 Register now for CDL Resurgence: Rebirth Island 👉 https://t.co/f1ouD1fge6 pic.twitter.com/okjhhPv2Ct — Call of Duty League (@CODLeague) March 23, 2022 Warzone $100K CDL tournament rules slammed by Twitch streamers The allure of this event is the fact that instead of just being CDL-only teams, other teams will be able to compete and qualify and earn a spot in the final brackets. This makes it very inclusive for all Warzone players who register and want to take a crack at competing amongst the elite. Only, it’s not as inclusive as it first appears. As pointed out by Warzone Pro ROKKR Rasim, under the tournament’s official FAQ, it clearly states: “Yes, players must be able to livestream their gameplay and webcam on YouTube. If a player is unable to livestream on YouTube they will be unable to advance beyond the In-Game Open Stage in the competition.” As many have pointed out, this is quite the opposite of an ‘Open,’ and a few Pros have even come out to comment on the tournament’s strict entry conditions. “They just blue balled 99% of the community. Even their pro players are Twitch partners,” FaZe Kalei said, and co-owner of fullsquadgaming Jake Lucky seemed taken aback too: “wait…actually???” they just blue balled 99% of the community. even their pro players are twitch partners LMFAOOO — Kalei (@KaleiRenay) March 23, 2022 Even Faze Blaze stepped in to ask: “What about Twitch partners?” Only to be told the bad news. A lack of many top Twitch streamers comes with a slight positive in that this should free up some room for others who are trying to grow their channel on YouTube.

Twitch streamer dominates Warzone with crossbow while working out Activision BlizzardA crossbow-wielding Twitch streamer managed to dominate in Call of Duty: Warzone, while simultaneously working out on an exercise bike. The crossbow has long counted among the Call of Duty battle royale’s many equippable weapons. However, it often proves a difficult weapon to master thanks, in part, to its arguably steep learning curve. It’s not typically everyone’s go-to tool of choice, though a Season 4 buff to the crossbow altered the state of things for a bit. A Season 5 nerf later reduced the crossbow’s damage output, yet players continue to find ways of getting good use out of it. Warzone streamer dominates with crossbow while exercising InspiredGreen occasionally streams games like Call of Duty: Warzone and Overwatch on Twitch while riding his exercise bike. A clip the Twitch streamer shared on Reddit demonstrates that cycling and crossbow-wielding can be quite a deadly combination. Over the course of the video, InspiredGreen downs and eliminates several other Warzone users with a crossbow. Impressively, the streamer manages such a feat during a cycling session. His outbursts of loud laughter each time an enemy falls serves as the icing on the cake, too. Apparently, InspiredGreen isn’t the only person who likes to run matches of Warzone while cycling. One Redditor said they often play during sessions on their desk bike. Someone else revealed they’ve previously tried playing games on an elliptical. (This probably isn’t the most practical way to play games or burn calories.) Warzone players, regardless of their crossbow preferences, will soon have another sprawling experience to jump into when Warzone 2 arrives. Following Modern Warfare 2’s release on October 28, Warzone 2 will go live across PC, PlayStation, and Xbox on November 16.

Twitch streamer uses drum kit to go on a killing streak in Modern Warfare Twitter/DeanoBeanoStreamer DeanoBeano has gone viral again thanks to clips of the Twitch drummer dominating Call of Duty: Modern Warfare – all with his drum kit. While streamers often make headlines for playing some sort of strange configuration, it’s rare that they play as well with it as DeanoBeano does with the drums. The streamer showed off one of his most impressive plays yet when he went on an insane killing streak, landing snipe after snipe after snipe, drum sticks in hand. The frenzy of the headshots accompanying the satisfying sound of the cymbal being tapped make the clip even better than if it had been performed with a regular controller or mouse. Just like that in the span of a few seconds, the streamer managed to score five kills with relative ease. Precision drumming at its finest – and it’s not easy. In order to alter his POV, he needs to lightly tap the drums. In less than a day on Reddit, the clip received countless awards from other users and was upvoted over 25,000 times. Using the drums as a gaming controller took some getting used to. As the streamer explained in a YouTube video, “it wasn’t easy to control at first, but after playing for a bit, I finally started getting the hang of it.” This isn’t the first time that DeanoBeano has gone viral either. Back in August, a clip of the streamer scoring a single kill with the drum kit was viewed over one million times. It really goes to show just how much he’s improved since then. As the Canadian’s CoD skills keep improving, there’s no telling how good he will be by the time Black Ops: Cold War comes out. Keep an eye out for this man in your lobbies!

Twitch streamer Forsen claims Warzone 2 has ruined his PC ActivisionDuring its launch, Warzone 2 suffered from shaky server stability, and Twitch streamer Forsen received a healthy dose of PC problems while playing himself. Warzone 2 has seen its fair share of bugs and glitches since its launch on November 16. Players could not invite their friends to matches, died instantly in the Gulag, and fell through the map floor mid-match. Modern Warfare 2’s November 22 update fixed many of the bugs plaguing WZ2, but a few lingering issues remain. Forsen established himself as a Hearthstone competitor and has since become one of the most popular streamers on Twitch, playing a variety of games. Forsen gave Warzone 2 a go, and It’s safe to say we won’t be seeing him dropping back into Al Mazrah anytime soon, as he claimed the battle royale gave his computer “aids.” Forsen slams Warzone 2 PC performance In a clip from his November 23 stream, hilariously titled, “Warzone 2.0 activates a C4 charge hidden in Forsens’ PC,” Forsen lagged out of a Warzone 2 match before even having a chance to jump out of the plane. The streamer didn’t just lose connection to the match, the error crashed his entire stream. After the incident, Forsen took to Twitter and claimed, “Warzone actually gave my computer aids. First, it crashed obs and then a blue screen when I closed it. big problem.” PC Players reported similar issues during the Modern Warfare 2 launch week, and NVIDIA responded by releasing a new Game Ready Driver. The updated driver was designed for “optimized performance, improved stability, and a fix for previously-reported corruption issues.” It’s unclear whether or not the NVIDIA driver would resolve Forsen’s issues, and we may never find out based on his first experience with the game.

Twitch streamer faces ban after stream sniping Tommey on Warzone Infinity Ward / ActivisionCall of Duty pro and streamer Tom ‘Tommey’ Trewen exposed Twitch streamer, LoRDNeTTa, for stream sniping on Warzone, after he attempted to ruin his chances in an online 2v2 tournament. Warzone has seen massive success since its launch on March 10, with many of the top Call of Duty pros and personalities turning to the battle royale mode to compete in tournaments. While there have been many competitions for the BR over the year, one issue that notable streamers have faced is ‘stream-sniping,’ where viewers join the same game and watch their broadcast to gain an advantage over them while playing. Although there are a few measures and tactics used to stop this from happening in popular titles, such as hiding your screen in the early game or having streamer mode enabled, it does not always prevent it from happening. Popular CoD streamer Tommey was unfortunate enough to experience stream-snipers first-hand during his latest broadcast, as they seemingly tried to ruin his game, while he was competing in a 2v2 tournament with fellow streamer Newbz. After getting randomly ambushed by a squad in a helicopter, the pair revealed they were suspicious of their opponents and quickly discovered that one of them, LoRDNeTTa, was streaming on Twitch. It did not take long for Tommey to realize that LoRDNeTTa and his squad had purposefully tracked down his team and he later exposed them on Twitter for their unfair tactics in-game. https://twitter.com/Tommey/status/1309624435394121729 “People like this honestly suck. They knew we were in a tournament yet still do this s**t,” Tommey added, sharing the clip of LoRDNeTTa’s squad hunting them down. The streamer also responded to Tommey, apparently claiming that they were not aware of who he was or that they stream sniped him, however, LoRDNeTTa has since deleted his replies. Shut your dumb ass up. I just watched your VOD live on my stream, you’re the worst type of guy. pic.twitter.com/U4NztzrG9L — Tommey (@Tommey) September 25, 2020 Despite the efforts to ruin his match, Tommey somehow managed to put the drama aside shortly after and even went on to win the Warzone tournament with Newbz. As of now, it is unclear whether Activision or Twitch have issued any punishments to the stream snipers or whether any further measures will be introduced as attention turns to Black Ops Cold War.

Twitch streamer deliberately exposes his Warzone cheats live Activision[jwplayer NR7iW2lk] A Twitch streamer has deliberately exposed himself as a hacker in Warzone in one of the most bizarre displays of decision-making you’ll ever see. Hackers have run rampant in Warzone ever since it first launched, and has been one of the biggest issues in the game from the community’s perspective, with many players losing matches to enemies’ inexplicably accurate aim and awareness. In the past, some cheaters have been stupid enough to accidentally show their modifications while streaming, or explain their methods to top streamers such as TimTheTatman. This, though, is a whole new level of questionable, as a player purposely showcased his hacks for his stream to see. Twitch user truegatter, who has been streaming for around two weeks at the time of writing, loaded into his first Warzone match on September 22 and was quickly opening and closing the cheat menu. It was already clear that he was cheating, with the nameplate of every player in the match popping up above their heads and making them easier to spot. Then, when in the match, his opponents had clear yellow boxes around them to better grab his attention, and he even joked about putting a headshot cheat on, too, seemingly to impress his friends. The issue is, it wasn’t even all that impressive, and even his friends were questioning his antics. “Don’t tell me this is your real account, bro?” they asked him, perhaps assuming he was on a second account. When gatter confirmed that it was actually his main account, and that Warzone streamer SuperEvan had already exposed him, his friend simply asked why he was cheating. Gatter’s only response was that he “copped it today and wanted to see what it was like” while flicking through all of the different settings. It’s obvious that gatter isn’t the sharpest tool in the shed to have gone live while doing this, but it’s not yet known whether he has been banned as a result of his hacking. His Twitch account remains active at the time of writing, but the platform is typically quick to suspend channels which use cheats or hacks in games.

Twitch streamer bragging about skill accidentally shows Warzone cheats ERA7E / Infinity WardCall of Duty Warzone streamer ‘MrGolds’, who has over 70,000 followers on Twitch, appeared to accidentally show a cheat program installed on his PC on stream. Warzone has attracted plenty of the top content creators to the game in recent months, with streaming stars like SypherPK even leaving Fortnite to play more of Modern Warfare’s battle royale mode. However, one popular Warzone streamer has now come under fire after a clip claims to expose him using hacks in-game, showing the menu of cheats on his screen. MrGolds is known for his streams on Call of Duty’s battle royale and regularly pulls in as many as 2,000 live viewers on his channel for his Warzone gameplay, even boasting an impressive 6.0 Kills/Deaths ratio in his title. But a clip of the Warzone steamer, shared by ERA7E, has now been circulating of him seemingly cheating during his August 24 broadcast. MrGolds was sitting in Warzone’s pregame lobby with just under 2,000 viewers when he was questioned by fans who were suspicious of his gameplay. Streamer gets caught with cheat menu LIVE on stream Everyone report his stream pls proof: https://t.co/8LVEjcP05k twitch: https://t.co/fQn1dyLL0a pic.twitter.com/eWfjuq4Wgc— ✴️ (@ERA7E_) August 24, 2020 The content creator even defended his play during the clip, claiming that he was simply skilled at Warzone, despite having, what appears to be, a cheat menu open the entire time. “Just because I have good recoil, I’m good at the game.” MrGolds responded to his chat, asking, “is it the first time you see someone good at the game? Have you ever seen someone playing like this, seriously?” An ‘EngineOwning’ menu was visible behind his task manager window and featured options such as ‘Aim at Enemies’ and more, that could be toggled on and off. Fellow Twitch streamer TGDefinition said “I can’t believe there’s people like this guy using EngineOwning, one of the most common obvious hacks and he doesn’t get shadowbanned or even banned in general.” He also questioned why Twitch had not suspended the streamer. I can’t believe there’s people like this guy using EngineOwning, one of the most common obvious hacks & he doesn’t get shadowbanned or even banned in general, nor does he get suspended on Twitch, but I’ve had both happen to me with no cheats ever used in my lifetime 🤣 https://t.co/3Y6P8UI2I9 — TGD (@TGDefinition) August 24, 2020 However, MrGolds has since denied the claims, revealing that he will be streaming with a background camera to prove he is “not hacking” in-game, during a recent Instagram post. https://www.instagram.com/p/CEPvjIIA9Ka/ Update, August 29: MrGolds Twitch channel has now been banned, like other streamers who have received punishments for accidentally revealing cheats on stream.

Twitch streamer BobbyPoff goes on wild rant against Activision over Warzone hacking Twitter: BobbyPoff/ActivisionPopular streamer BobbyPoff snapped while live on Twitch over Warzone’s ongoing hacker issues, calling on the game’s publisher Activision to do more to stop the prevalence of cheaters. Warzone, despite its incredible popularity and the undeniable success of its first year, has been seriously affected by hackers. Many content creators, streamers and regular players find their games ruined by cheating opponents all too frequently. The issues have, understandably, prompted many to call on Activision to do more. As a multibillion-dollar company, players argue that the Call of Duty publisher has more than adequate resources to implement a robust anti-cheat system. Some Warzone pros and competitive players have even suggested boycotting future events, at least until Activision break their silence over the prominence of cheaters. BobbyPoff, like many other creators, has grown in prominence off the back of Warzone. He sits at 175,000 followers on Twitch, and can be found regularly dropping into Verdansk, as well as dropping some seriously impressive numbers. In a clip posted to Twitter, Bobby can be seen trying to escape a skirmish in a helicopter. However, an enemy with a FFAR snapped onto him in the helicopter, and promptly knocked him into the down-but-not-out state. Suspicions were instantly raised, with the killcam serving as final proof. Understandably, Bobby became irate. “100% hacking,” he said, before launching into an expletive-filled rant. “God-f**king-damn you Activision! You greedy motherf**kers. I’m trying to make a living here and you f**king greedy corporate f**ks can suck on my 18-inch c**k. Two games in a row, I’m trying to make a f**king living here. Two goddamn games in a row! You greedy motherf**kers!” https://twitter.com/BobbyPoff/status/1354916582460428289?s=20 “I’m trying to do my goddamn job, why don’t you invest some money [in an anti-cheat]? Two games in a f**king row, in the biggest tournament – you guys are f**king stupid.” The tweet garnered a lot of traction, with fans echoing Bobby’s immense frustrations at Activision’s silence over the game’s major cheating problems. It currently sits at over 7,000 RTs and just shy of 50,000 likes. Whether Activision are working on an anti-cheat remains to be seen, but many players are more irritated by their failure to provide any meaningful updates. In the meantime, rants like this will remain common. We’ll just have to hope our asterisk keys keep working.

Twitch streamer sets outrageous Black Ops Zombies record after 20-day grind ActivisionA longstanding Call of Duty Zombies record has been broken, with Twitch streamer ‘TomPhantasy’ blitzing ahead of the previous Nacht Der Untoten round-count by nearly 40 after a monster 20-day grind. Although Treyarch is constantly pushing new Zombies maps in Black Ops Cold War, for some, there are still old favorites that are yet to be truly mastered. Some of the most dedicated grinders out there have been pushing boundaries in many classic Zombies maps over the past few years and now, another longstanding record has been broken. Popular Zombies streamer TomPhantasy kicked off a new run in Black Ops 3’s Nacht Der Untoten on July 2. A whopping 20 days later and he finally ended the session with a new world record after clearing 255 rounds. With hundreds of viewers cheering him on live, the 255-round mark was cause for celebration, after almost 300 hours of very, very hard work. “Was in this game for just under 20 days,” TomPhantasy said on Twitter. Throughout the record-breaking session, he was only downed twice. First at round 220, and again at round 249, both of which would still have resulted in a new record after clearing the previous best of 216 rounds set by ‘Chihiro-516.’ “The Zombies community has been supporting me for months when I have been attempting this record through the highs and lows,” the streamer told Dexerto, shortly after cementing his spot atop the global leaderboards. As for the biggest motivating factor behind the lengthy run, TomPhantasy revealed how the game itself demands a huge amount of effort: “I knew I had to keep going, because after 24.8 days the game freezes,” he explained. “This meant I had to play 13+ hours per day for those 25 days.” Nacht Der Untoten Round 255 World Record. Was in this game for just under 20 days. 2 downs (Round 220 and 249). 1252 trades throughout the game and a 5.2 minute trade average. Thank you for all the love on the streams it means a lot. THANK YOU SO MUCH ❤️❤️❤️❤️ pic.twitter.com/yMQR3HJ3Ol — Tom 🇮🇪 (@TomPhantasy) July 22, 2021 Should he have taken a day to rest, there’s every chance he may not have hit the record before seeing Black Ops 3 crash to the home screen. “Over the past year, I have just tested what causes crashes and kept minimal programs open to try and prevent the game ending. I had a lot of help from another zombies player xXSn1p3rC4TXx who also holds a Black Ops 3 World Record.” “I’ve had multiple long games end in freezes or power cuts,” he said. One such heartbreak came in a “100-hour” run, when his power “suddenly cut out.” With dozens of Zombies maps to choose from, TomPhantasy was drawn to Nacht Der Untoten due to its “completely unique” design. “It’s the only map on Black Ops 3 without a ‘Pack A Punch machine or traps,” he explained. But it’s not the only stage he’s set on conquering. Next up, the streamer has his sights set on Gorod Krovi, a 2016 Zombies map. The world record for Black Ops 3 arena is currently 228. “There is an unknown freeze” on Gorod Krovi, TomPhantasy explained, one that “can happen at any time.” If he can overcome this issue, another monumental stream may be on the horizon for this Zombies player. Meanwhile, those jumping into the latest Zombies offerings have been smashing records of their own. Most recently, a remarkable 675-round run was posted in Cold War’s new Mauer Der Toten map earlier this week.

Twitch streamer Aydan “shadow-banned” in Warzone Ghost / Infinity WardOne of Warzone’s most notable Twitch streamers, Aydan ‘Aydan’ Conrad, claims he has been shadow-banned in-game, posting a message of bemusement on social media. [jwplayer UpakiURx] As Activision continues to wrangle with the cheating and hacking issues persistent in Warzone, streamers have been having a tricky time playing the game – as has everyone else. The game’s developers did a ban wave in early February, bragging that 60,000 cheaters had been taken off the servers. However, some of their moderation may be affecting innocent players too. What is a shadow-ban in Warzone? A shadow-ban in Warzone is typically when a player’s account is placed on a kind of ‘naughty list’ – where they are removed from the wider pool of players in matchmaking, and placed into matches filled with more cheaters and hackers. A number of YouTubers have reported this happening to them, blaming frequent in-game reports from opposing players as the cause. Another downside is that queue times are incredibly long, as the available matchmaking pool is reduced so much. It’s unclear if this is exactly what has happened to Aydan too, as he’s simply said “I got shadow-banned on Warzone… wtf?” Other content creators who have had similar problems have been stuck with the shadow-ban for months, and are often forced to start a new account in order to play and create content. Although unconfirmed, it is believed that mass-reporting by players can lead to a shadow-ban, as the game registers your account as potentially being untrustworthy, and a potential cheater. Read More: Warzone devs investigating broken hitmarkers – Aydan will no doubt be in contact with the developer’s support team to get the issue resolved as quickly as possible. We’ve seen other big names in Warzone quit the game entirely over the hacking issues, namely Vikkstar, and compounding these issues with shadow-bans could be another big mess. We’ll keep you updated on the status of Aydan’s shadow-ban situation.

UnRationaL’s team wins Twitch Rivals $250K Warzone Doritos Bowl: final placements Activision / TwitchUnRationaL’s team came away with the win after a controversial day of action in the $250,000 Twitch Rivals Doritos Bowl event. Here’s how the five rounds of private lobby competition unfolded throughout the Grand Finals on January 21. [jwplayer OANUN64K] Team UnRationaL took home the lion’s share of the $250K prize pool. – Team Iron led the charge for most of the event, only falling short in the final round. – Top competitors lashed out over cheating accusations. One team disqualified from the event. – Twitch Rivals Warzone Doritos Bowl Grand Finals: Placements $250,000 was on the line for the Twitch Rivals event, making it one of the biggest Warzone competitions of all time. After a month of delays, 49 teams were all set to drop in a fight for the best placement possible. Regardless of performance, each and every team was awarded in the end. The top Trio claimed a whopping $45,000 for their efforts while the team in last place still got $1,200. Twitch Rivals Warzone Doritos Bowl: Results & recap The first custom match got off an intense start with many of the biggest names dropping out early. While a handful of fan-favorite teams made it to the top 10, it was Team Iron that took out the emphatic win. They knocked out HusKerr’s in the closing moments to secure the victory with 17 kills to their name. They immediately jumped into first place with 42 points in total. Iron and his Trio continued their reign atop the standings through the next two rounds though the gap continued to close. UnRationaL’s team came just one point away from tying the leaders, with Frozone’s Trio falling close behind in third place. A qualifying team closed out the victory in round four, however, things soon hit a bump in the road. The broadcast cut to a prolonged break as cheating accusations began making the rounds. Multiple players lashed out over alleged cheaters in the custom lobby. During the Twitch Rivals: Doritos Bowl ft. Call of Duty Warzone Final, Metzy_B was ruled to be cheating. As a result his team was removed from the event. We take Twitch Rivals Player Conduct extremely seriously. We will continue to investigate any allegations of cheating. — Twitch Rivals (@TwitchRivals) January 22, 2021 After roughly an hour of investigations behind the scenes, METZY_B, kyrptic_j0ker, & Unifyz were disqualified from the event. They would not be eligible for any prizing, the hosts soon confirmed. Therefore, the fifth and final map was played with one less team. 🚨 Today’s $250K Twitch Rivals Warzone event has been overrun with cheating accusations. The tournament has been at a standstill ahead of the final map as players call for a restart due to alleged cheaters in the private lobby. pic.twitter.com/XIm2GUpJKh — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) January 22, 2021 It all came down to a heated final battle though one Trio was able to cruise through to the top spot. UnRationaL, StayFinessen, and Nickool dominated in the final round, securing the first place prize and taking out the win with a 33 point lead over second place. Twitch Rivals Warzone Doritos Bowl Finals: Invited teams & qualifiers 25 teams were invited to compete in the Twitch Rivals Warzone Doritos Bowl. From the most popular streamers to veteran competitors, all of the biggest names were dropped into the same lobby. Read More: Is the DMR still OP in Warzone? – Alongside the invited Trios, 24 qualifying teams are also in the lobby. However, the lobby size soon shrank as one team was disqualified from the event. Twitch Rivals Warzone Doritos Bowl Finals: Format For this major Warzone event, teams played in private lobbies, opposed to the usual kill-race format. There were 49 teams in total as every Trio battled it out in the same match. Read More: Bizarre Warzone bug doesn’t show circle – Points were accumulated across five lobbies as placement and kills were all-important. Each elimination was worth one point and more points were awarded for a better finish. The full point structure can be seen below.

Twitch streamer breaks his knee raging at Call of Duty Warzone Activision/TwitterA Twitch streamer’s game of Call of Duty Warzone ended in disaster after he got so heated he ended up breaking his knee, but the good news is he’s going to be okay. It’s not uncommon to see streamers get overly excited while in the midst of gaming. We’ve seen players break keyboards, desks and even put themselves in excruciating pain. During a game of Call of Duty Warzone back in 2021, Twitch streamer TheDannyHammer died and stood up to yell at his teammate for not pushing with him. In a split second, he toppled over and began crying in pain. “I broke my f**king leg!” he screamed. “Sh*t. It’s f**king broken. Holy f**k!” Unbelievably, he managed to stop the stream, but only after he apologized to his viewers for having to do so. Despite the horrific accident, however, TheDannyHammer is going to be okay. The only man to ever break his knee playing cod 🤣 pic.twitter.com/CFatjAITI4 — TheDannyHammerTTV (@dannywoz) August 30, 2021 Twitch streamer recovers after breaking knee playing Warzone A year after the incident, FullSquadGaming reporter Jake Lucky was happy to announce that TheDannyHammer would be okay. “I am happy to report that TheDannyHammer is going to have a full recovery, but buckled under the pressure this time,” he said. I am happy to report that @dannywoz is going to have a full recovery, but buckled under the pressure this time — Jake Lucky (@JakeSucky) December 20, 2022 Catch him here to make his day lol: https://t.co/NlzfZ7HtKu pic.twitter.com/TktUgkzTma The accident, which happened at a military barracks, was actually quite the spectacle for his whole command. According to Danny, he had to do an injury report and his commanding officer was quite concerned about the ordeal. “The CO showed his kids and told them they weren’t allowed to play COD anymore,” he revealed. Hopefully, the streamer can go the rest of his life without another knee injury, especially considering how rage-inducing Warzone can be.

Twitch bans Warzone streamer using ‘soft’ aimbot hack on stream ActivisionStreaming platform Twitch have banned a Warzone content creator known as ‘chrissoaresgtr’, after it became apparent to viewers that he was using a ‘soft’ aimbot hack while playing Call of Duty’s battle royale. Despite its millions of players and backing from Activision, Warzone has suffered from considerable cheating issues, with thousands of players striving to gain illicit and unfair advantages. Many have criticized the response of developers Raven and publishers Activision in inhibiting players’ ability to cheat. On July 16, Raven confirmed that another 50,000 accounts have been banned, taking the total of banned accounts towards 600,000. New Warzone ban wave from @RavenSoftware 👨⚖️ Hopefully this means less “pants” tags ruining matches. pic.twitter.com/lI9cjjmROI — Dexerto Esports (@DexertoEsports) July 16, 2021 Despite the ban waves, plenty of players continue to lobby Activision to implement a more robust anti-cheat system, which would inhibit many players from being able to hack in the first place. Any player found to be hacking would be automatically banned by the game’s system. While some hacks are blatant, others, like the Cronus Zen and ‘soft’ aimbot are far harder to spot. However, one Twitch streamer who evaded Raven’s July 16 ban wave was quickly caught by eagle-eyed viewers and banned by Twitch. Streamer ‘chrissoaresgtr’ somehow managed to avoid detection in Activision’s banning spree, but viewers realized that even when his crosshairs and aim seemed off, bullets connect with little to no explanation. The natural conclusion is hacks of some sort, allowing his bullets to connect even when his accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. Many Redditors reported the streamer, and Twitch promptly banned his channel. Despite the success of banning a cheater from Twitch, many Redditors were still disappointed that he had managed to evade Activision’s own ban wave. Read More: Best Warzone weapons: Ultimate tier list – There are also concerns about the ability of cheaters to simply create new accounts and continue to cheat. It’s an ongoing battle, but the average Warzone player certainly wants to see more decisive action from the game’s publisher.

Twitch bans 7-year old Call of Duty prodigy ActivisionTwitch banned 7-year-old CoD prodigy, JoDogs, who has established himself as one of the best MW2 Ranked Play competitors. As time goes on, extremely young audiences are flocking more and more to competitive games like Call of Duty. In 2021, Warzone prodigy RowdyRogan wiped out an entire enemy squad with just a set of throwing knives. The young star carried his mom and dad to four straight battle royale victories. In a more extreme example, a 3-year-old CoD player went viral for his insane skill at CoD Mobile. The display of talent received a mixed reaction of applause and criticism. Some questioned whether someone so young should be playing such a violent video game. Twitch has also taken issue with underaged streamers using its platform. JoDogs, a 7-year-old CoD prodigy, has been banned on Twitch, likely due to him being too young to stream on the platform. CoD prodigy banned by Twitch Twitch has very strict guidelines for children on the platform. Here is their official policy on the matter: “If you are under 13 years of age, then please do not use or access the Twitch services at any time or in any manner.” However, it’s unclear if that’s why JoDogs was banned from Twitch. Jacke Lucky reported: “Being underage is against Twitch ToS, but the channel for JoDog2016 on Twitch was called JoDogSquad to represent a family channel as his father always plays by his side.” Lucky added: “Every time I have covered this type of story, Twitch has stood their ground on the ban.” The streamer’s social media account confirmed that an appeal was made to the ban. The father-son duo also announced: “We will continue to stream on FB and also started a Kick account.” In a previous case, an 11-year-old Valorant streamer was banned and unbanned from Twitch without much detail. They streamed for four more months under parental supervision before being banned again. Whether JoDogs should be able to stream or not remains a contentious point on the internet.

Turns out the Juggernaut killstreak in Modern Warfare is not invincible Infinity WardWith what is of the most difficult killstreaks to attain in the Call of Duty franchise that was accessible from September 19 through to September 23, players were racking up kills and taking names as per usual with the Modern Warfare series. Some popular pro players and streamers even managed to work their way up to the nuke, a 30 player killstreak that ends the match entirely. Meanwhile, other less fortunate gamers have been struggling to make do with lesser streaks. In a September 23 stream, on the final full day of the beta, popular streamer ‘Sick_Nerd‘ was part-way through a game of Ground War. A huge multiplayer mode that pits teams of 32 players against one another on a giant map with vehicles and custom spawn locations. Having accumulated 15 kills in a row, he called down his Juggernaut care package only for it to land in an extremely annoying spot well above him. Slowly climbing up the building he’d only just lept off, the streamer finally reaches the crate and opens it up to equip a seemingly devastating suit of armor, matched with an equally intimidating chain gun. “F*cking PogChamp my dude,” were his now-famous last words as the Juggernaut jumped off the top of the perch and immediately met his demise. In a hilarious fit of rage, we very quickly come to realize that the highly resistant suit of armor actually can’t resist the forces of gravity. Thanks to his sacrifice at the tail end of the Modern Warfare beta, we now all know that when the full game releases on October 25, Juggernauts will not prevent ankle-shattering fall damage. The Modern Warfare beta was met with a great deal of praise over the past week, as former CSGO pro Michael ‘shroud’ Grzesiek even went as far as to call it the “best CoD ever.” The latest release will be kicking off the inaugural 2020 Call of Duty franchise league in which the best pro players from around the globe will compete in home and away games. You can keep up to date with all of the announced franchise teams here.

TSM Viss and Dr Disrespect discuss an interesting way to nerf 9-Bangs in Black Ops 4 Since Black Ops 4 released on October 12, 9-Bangs have been a hot topic of discussion in the community as many feel that the item needs some heavy nerfs sooner rather than later. Many suggestions for nerfs of the 9-Bang center on allowing players greater movement while affected by the item or further decreasing the duration of its stun when used. Team SoloMid streamer Colton ‘Viss’ Visser has suggested a nerf the item that mainly looks at the UI cues it gives rather than the item itself. While Viss does agree that the duration should be decreased a bit, the bulk of this suggestion focuses on visual cues players get when using the item. “You maybe slightly lower the duration, but take away the hit markers from when the people get hit by it,” Viss suggests to Dr DisRespect while playing a game of Blackout. “Because then you don’t know, right? You either have to know that was a good throw or see them with their hand up.” Despite Dr DisRrespect initially agreeing that this idea was an interesting one that he’d never considered before, he was quick to point out some possible drawbacks. “Like there might be a lot of times where it’s like ‘The flashbang was right on his face and you’re telling me he wasn’t flashed when I peaked him?” The Doc says about this nerf suggestion. Overall, though, both streamers seemed to like the idea of this possible nerf despite it having some minor drawbacks. After explaining the idea, Viss was sure to give credit to the idea’s original owner, saying that fellow TSM streamer Corey ‘Halifx’ Mitton actually told him about it first. Given the speed at which Treyarch have been updating Black Ops 4 since launch, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see further nerfs such as this one come to 9-Bangs soon.

TSM plans return to CoD esports despite mass layoffs & CDL turmoil DexertoA recent statement made by esports organization TSM reveals that they would be interested in returning to competitive Call of Duty. While TSM is no stranger to competitive CoD, many of today’s fans may not remember their existence. TSM first signed a team during the Black Ops 3 iteration of the Call of Duty World League. TSM had little success during their brief stent in the CWL with multiple last-place finishes. However, TSM has succeeded in other ventures like League of Legends and Apex. Since pulling out of the League of Legends Championship Series in May 2023, TSM has been on a downward spiral with mass layoffs. But TSM is not the only one suffering recently, as the CDL has also faced its share of layoffs. This has left CDL fans wondering why TSM is so interested. TSM and CDL make a confusing combo The official TSM account posted to its Subreddit to address fans’ concerns about the current situation surrounding the organization. They express that they still make moves within the esports scene but have faced “challenges.” “We want to reaffirm that TSM is still fully committed to esports,” said the post. “Although we cannot share many of the finer details of our plans for the future, we can confirm that we are actively looking to participate in multiple Tier 1 esports, including League of Legends, VALORANT, and Call of Duty.” The organization also states that CoD has a “dedicated community,” which they want to be a part of. However, commenters beneath the initial post were not convinced by the statements. Saying that it was “too late” for TSM to make statements about joining other esports. “TSM buying into a $25 million dollar spot in a seemingly dying league just to get a middle-of-the-pack team,” questioned a user on the CDL Reddit page. “None of this makes sense, especially with the history of TSM.” The CDL recently laid off a significant portion of its esports team, leaving a rumored only 12 employees left. Meanwhile, TSM has drastically cut down its staff to a mere fraction of what it used to be. Regardless, TSM have decided to re-enter Rocket League immediately, and they’ve expressed desire to get back to their former glory as one of the biggest orgs in esports.

TSM Hamlinz suffers explosively dramatic death playing Modern Warfare TSM member Darryle ‘Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Hamlinz has returned to streaming after a long hiatus, but he’s back and has quickly gotten back to entertaining viewers in a way only he knows how. After playing Superhot in VR, we see that Hamlinz still has a taste for the theatrics and those came back in hilarious fashion while playing Modern Warfare. Anyone playing Modern Warfare knows how campy it can be, and as a result, claymores have become a strong part of the current meta. It’s to the point where you never know what’s sitting right around the corner. After eliminating an enemy, Hamlinz moved forward before triggering a claymore and going out to an explosion. As this happened, he flung himself back in his chair like he felt the explosion as well. He quickly recovered, but for a second viewers were wondering if he actually felt the blast. Hamlinz didn’t have much downtime to even take it what happened as he respawned and got straight back to business. Reasons like this are why the Twitch community missed Hamlinz while he was on his streaming hiatus. In fact, both he and fellow TSM member Daquan were hardly streaming so Myth had to take the brunt of the questions. Now that he’s back, we’re able to see these hilarious antics more often and we get to see why Hamlinz is one of Twitch’s most entertaining streamers. The TSM creator skyrocketed in popularity while playing Fortnite as many others did on Twitch, but he’s been playing a lot more variety since his return and it has had a strong impact on his viewership. As many players become burnt out on Fortnite, it’s important to find something else to spend your time on and it looks like Hamlinz has done that. Now viewers are left wondering what upcoming video game death will produce the next over-the-top reaction.

TSM disqualified from Call of Duty Mobile NA Finals ActivisionTSM FTX were disqualified from the Call of Duty Mobile Championship North American Finals on September 5 following the first round of the playoffs. After winning their opening match, TSM were removed from the tournament due to an unspecified rules violation. The Call of Duty Mobile Championship North American Finals represented the final opportunity for North American teams to qualify for December’s Call of Duty Mobile World Championship. The two-day tournament saw the teams that reached the Grand Final secure a place at the World Championship, with the winner taking home $15,000. Read More: Call of Duty Mobile $2m World Championship 2021 announced: schedule & format TSM had won their opening match against Primal but were disqualified following their semi-final victory against ARP Gaming. We’ve arrived 💥 Introducing our first-ever competitive @PlayCODMobile squad! ⚔️ @TSMFTXSolid ⚔️ @tsmCyzu ⚔️ @TipWrath ⚔️ @TSMHihi ⚔️ @TSMGamer_ ⚔️ @TSMSlothy ⚔️ @TSMhaxs pic.twitter.com/otiuImiCRx— TSM (@TSM) September 3, 2021 Disqualified after two wins TSM were a late entrant to the North American Finals, which began on September 4, after they signed the Truly’s roster on September 3. Truly had previously finished second at July’s NA Masters tournament. They had begun the North American Finals well, completing a 3-0 sweep over Primal. They carried that momentum into the semifinals, taking a 3-1 win over ARP Gaming. That meant TSM ended day one with a place in the upper bracket final against NYSL Mayhem. However, desk host Alex “GoldenBoy” Mendez opened coverage of day two on September 5 with an explanation of two schedule changes. First, Tribe and Xplicit would replay game five of their semi-final due to the use of a banned item. Second, TSM had been disqualified due to a “rules violation”. Topic starts at 49:35 ARP Gaming took TSM’s vacated place in the upper bracket final, and eventually went on to win the tournament after beating NYSL Mayhem. Activision has yet not released further comment on the specifics of TSM’s rule violation.

TSM Daequan rages after crazy Modern Warfare claymore fail Team SoloMid’s Daequan Loco couldn’t believe his eyes during a game of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare after streaming one of his worst ever fails on Twitch. The popular internet personality decided to jump right into Activision’s latest installment to the Modern Warfare franchise on November 4, only to find that a lot of players were using some grim methods to take him and his teammates out. While playing through a match on the Piccadilly map, Daequan started to notice that a lot of his deaths were coming at the hands of campers, but there was one moment where he was left screaming into the camera. The streamer was using a class that many others have been equipping since the game released on November 5, switching between an M4A1 and the powerful 725 shotgun – using Overkill to have both primary weapons at his disposal. Despite taking down one player with the latter, he ran right into a claymore and picked up one death. From there, he ran right around to the same side of the map only to be killed by the same piece of equipment yet again. Then, just seconds later, he ran through the middle of the map where another deadly explosive took him out – three claymore deaths in the space of 20 seconds. This might have been one of the worst fails Daequan has produced since streaming the game on Twitch, eventually finishing up in fourth place on Free-for-All. Not the win he was looking for, but it could have been much worse with so many campers out in force. Once the frustrating game concluded, he said: “Bro, I freaking literally died to the same s**t over, and over, and over again!” Maybe next time Daequan jumps into the game he’ll be using the E.O.D. perk, which allows players to hack enemy equipment such as Claymores. At least that way, he might be able to avoid their deadly explosions in the future.

TSM Daequan mocks Modern Warfare’s frustrating meta used by campers The early meta being developed in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare have some people like Team SoloMid’s Daequan Loco annoyed, leading to a hilarious interpretation of the game’s campers. Infinity Ward’s soft reboot to the legendary MW series has been mostly well-received by fans, but already items like claymores, shotguns, and more are creating environments that suffocate the already-hectic maps. In fact, Daequan was questioned by a viewer on why he runs the XRK M4 with the 725 shotgun alongside claymores in his loadout, saying it “only inspires more people to be f**ks” – leading to the streamer calling out the game’s current state. What’s worse: Claymore campers or shotgun spammers? After the question, Daequan responded by noting how Modern Warfare in its present meta is promoting the presence of people who camp in enclosed spaces, only peeking out to set claymores around their vicinity. The streamer comically reenacted the conservative gameplay he’s been watching, as some players are electing to be more passive in their Modern Warfare matches. He mocked the players to point out that community members are “getting mad at the wrong people” since run-and-gun shotgun users are getting some heat for their gameplay, too. “Like, b****, don’t get mad at nobody for using shotguns,” Daequan said. “Lame a*s players got me bent. Y’all get mad at the wrong people.” He went on to point out the flaws for “95% of this community,” as he prefers the action-filled nature of using the shotgun as opposed to Modern Warfare’s other popular tactic. “Bro, 95% of this community is a camping f**k,” he said. “I would much rather run around with a shotgun than sit in a bathroom for 90% of my game time.” Daequan has been encountering a ton of campers in his matches lately. The streamer was speechless after multiple deaths in a row happened seconds apart at the hands of sneaky claymores. While some people suggest using the EOD perk to counteract the explosives, it can still be overwhelming to encounter claymores at every turn. Even though claymores are a popular item in any CoD title they’ve been featured in, frustrations in Modern Warfare could lead to some sort of balance change from Infinity Ward.

TrueGameData uncovers gun that deals 40% more damage in Warzone 2 compared to MW2 ActivisonWarzone 2 expert TrueGameData has identified a weapon that deals 40% more damage in WZ2 when compared to Modern Warfare 2. As Warzone 2 and Modern Warfare 2 share the same arsenal of weapons, players can level up guns in one game and carry all of their progress to the other. Not only that, to keep things simple, the developers roll out combined balance patches, adjusting the power of each of the weapons for both games together. As a result, the community assumed that the damage values for every gun would be the same in both titles, but TrueGameData has discovered this isn’t the case. There is one gun that’s significantly stronger in Warzone 2 and that’s the X12 starter pistol, which deals 40% more damage in the battle royale. X12 deals 40% more damage in Warzone 2 compared to MW2 TrueGameData decided to do some testing in live Warzone 2 matches and discovered something extremely interesting revolving around the X12 starter pistol. After testing its damage in the battle royale and comparing it to MW2, he realized that the gun does significantly more damage in WZ2. At over 15m to the chest, the pistol does 41 damage in Warzone 2 but only outputs 29 damage in MW2 multiplayer. These damage numbers are consistent as you get closer to a target as well, with the X12 dealing 62 at under 9m in WZ2 and only 42 in MW2. After seeing the huge differences in damage between the games, TrueGameData decided to test other weapons including the TAQ-56, M4, and Icarus. However, none of the guns appeared to have different damage values, so it’s interesting it only applies to the X12. With the starter pistol dealing 40% more damage in WZ2 when compared to MW2, it’s certainly more of a powerhouse when used on Al Mazrah.

TrueGameData shows why burst UGM-8 loadout is best long-range Warzone weapon Activision / TrueGameDataWarzone stats guru TrueGameData has explained why the new UGM-8 LMG, which was released as part of Season 4, is the best long-range gun in the entire game, and has broken down the ideal loadout to give it “no recoil.” Every new Warzone season comes with a host of new weapons to try out, but not all of them make a splash in the meta. For every Cooper Carbine, there’s a Whitley that the community just doesn’t take to. Warzone Season 4 added the Marco 5 SMG along with the UGM-8, and while attention has mostly been on the Akimbo SMG, the LMG has proved to be no slouch either. According to Warzone expert TrueGameData, the UGM-8 is the “best long-range gun” in Season 4 and has broken down the perfect loadout. In his June 28 video, TrueGameData experimented with Warzone’s best weapons to find the number one long-range option. He compared a number of different attachment combinations and considered crucial factors like TTK and bullet velocity. After running all of his tests, it was actually a burst build of the UGM-8 that came out on top. It had virtually no visual recoil and an impressive bullet velocity, which means accurate players will be able to delete enemies from incredible distances, especially if they can pull off headshots. “I think the UGM-8, the new LMG, is the best gun in the game, both with the burst barrel and without,” he explained. “I personally like the burst barrel more because it’s easier to hit your shots at extreme ranges. “It has no recoil whatsoever, and you can still get an insane time to kill if you hit two of those headshots.” TrueGameData then broke down his ideal burst UGM-8 loadout for Warzone Season 4. Check it out below: TrueGameData’s burst UGM-8 Warzone loadout Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: Romuald 560mm DA – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: Romuald Tac YR – Underbarrel: M1930 Strife Angled – Magazine: 6.5mm Sakura 125 Round – Ammunition: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Hatched Grip – Perk: Brace – Perk 2: On-Hand – There are three key attachments on TrueGameData’s UGM-8 loadout to unlock its full potential. The first is the Romuald 560mm DA which unlocks burst fire mode, allowing players to land their shots consistently with a more focused firing type. Next up is the Romuald Tac YR Stock and the Brace Perk. Both of these drastically increase accuracy when firing the first few shots which, when paired with the burst fire rate, leave the LMG with virtually no visual recoil. TrueGameData did also note that the fully automatic UGM-8, built by swapping the Romuald 560mm with the Bernard XL214 736mm, came out second in the rankings. So, if you’re not a fan of burst weapons, the new LMG could still be incredibly effective for you. Consider running either of one of these builds in your next match on Caldera, it might just become your new favorite weapon as we head towards Warzone Season 4 Reloaded.

TrueGameData reveals Warzone “hidden gem” AR loadout that’s top tier Treyarch/ActivisionThe Cooper Carbine is the go-to AR for the majority of players in Warzone Season 2 Reloaded, but it may be time to put it down and pick a weapon that often gets overlooked, the Grav. When it comes to picking an AR in Warzone Season 2 Reloaded, a lot of the community gravitate towards the Cooper Carbine or Automaton which both maintain extremely high pick rates. Unfortunately, the popularity of these guns has led to a lot of other ARs being overlooked, when a few of them have the potential to compete with the best. One, in particular, is the Grav, and according to popular Warzone YouTuber TrueGameData, it’s a “hidden gem” that has the potential to be top tier with the correct loadout. With an impressive damage range and a lethal TTK, it’s the perfect AR for beaming opponents at medium to long range on Caldera. TrueGameData’s Grav loadout is a “hidden gem” With the Grav dealing 30 base damage to the body and players having a total of 300 health in standard BR, TrueGameData outlines that the weapon has an extremely efficient TTK as no damage is wasted, as long as you land your shots. Not only that, although the Grav is designed for long-range engagements, TrueGameData kits the weapon out with a sniper support build, making it ideal for medium-range engagements. Of course, if you’d prefer to use the Grav at long-range, we’d recommend running the Axial Arms 3x, Agency Suppressor, 21.3″ Task Force, and the Field Agent Foregrip. This turns the Cold War AR into a laser beam at long distances, but TrueGameData prefers to kit out the deadly weapon for medium-range gunfights. Attachments Muzzle: Suppressor – Stock: Raider Stock – Magazine: 50 Rnd – Optic: Microflex LED – Laser: Tiger Team Spotlight – The loadout above is top-tier when paired up with a meta sniper like the Kar98k or Swiss K31, as it provides you with a huge amount of versatility and allows you to complete in any skirmish, no matter the range. So if you’re jumping into Caldera and want to try out a new AR that’s very rarely used in-game, it may be time to experiment with the Grav and test out this “hidden gem” in one of your matches.

TrueGameData reveals “underused” Warzone AR that rivals Cold War AK-47 Treyarch/ActivisionThe Cold War AK-47 is the go-to meta AR for the majority of players in Warzone Season 3, but it may be time to put it down and pick up an overlooked Modern Warfare weapon, the CR-56 AMAX. While the Cooper Carbine and XM4 were the dominant ARs before the Season 3 update, it’s the Cold War AK-47 that’s risen up as the top-tier choice in Classified Arms. With a devastating TTK and a manageable recoil pattern, the CW AK-47 is a versatile gun that thrives in long-range engagements on Caldera. However, with so much attention on the weapon in Season 3, a lot of other options in the AR category are being overlooked. Well, Warzone expert and YouTuber TrueGameData believes the CR-56 AMAX is a serious contender and can compete with the AK-47 in the current meta. CR-56 AMAX meta Warzone loadout Attachments Barrel: XRK Zodiak S440 – Muzzle: Monolithic Suppressor – Optic: VLK 3.0x Optic – Underbarrel: Commando Foregrip – Ammunition: 45 Round Mags – In his latest video, TrueGameData analyzes the TTK of all of the long-range meta ARs in Season 3 and showcases a surprising discovery. When compared to the AK-47, the CR-56 AMAX actually has a better combination shot location TTK at every range by an impressive margin. This makes the “underused” Modern Warfare AR a contender in Season 3 if you’re looking to maximize your damage on opponents at long range. However, as the weapon only has access to a 45 Round Mag, it does mean that it may struggle in Trios or Quads. So, if you’re a solo player who is looking for an AR to laser beam opponents from afar, the AMAX is definitely worth testing. If the AMAX doesn’t fit your playstyle, consider checking out one of the other options TrueGameData suggests in either the Vargo 52, XM4, Cold War AK-47, or the FARA. Any of these are viable options in Season 3 and can compete in the current meta but as it stands, the AK-47 and AMAX stand out from the crowd in terms of TTK.

TrueGameData reveals underrated Vanguard SMG with “unmatched” damage in Warzone ActivisionWarzone expert and YouTuber TrueGameData claims that CoD Vanguard’s Type 100 SMG is the best in the battle royale when it comes to damage output and should be most player’s sniper support weapon of choice. With all of Vanguard’s weapons available in Call of Duty: Warzone, WWII guns have had a renaissance on Caldera as the MP40, Cooper Carbine and Owen Gun all dominate the most popular weapons list. Naturally, some weapons do not quite make the grade and are left behind as metas evolve. One of those is the Type 100; a well-known weapon in the CoD series but one that currently sits at a pick rate of just 0.77%. However, according to Warzone data specialist TrueGameData, it’s one of the very best options for players in Season 2 Reloaded. Speaking in an April 22 YouTube video, TGD outlined its incredible damage compared to other SMGs and claimed it is on a par with the much more popular MP40. “It’s never been changed, it still has ridiculous damage per second,” he said. “The Type 100 is all the way up [the DPS chart], a 100 DPS almost higher than the Owen Gun. “It’s just insane and I know the recoil goes left and right, left and right and it feels hard to control. But in my experience, inside 15 meters, it still fries people.” Timestamp of 5:00 While it does kick more than some of the strongest SMGs, and has smaller magazines, the damage output makes it incredibly effective at downing enemies at close range. TGD finished: “In my opinion, the Type 100 is still the best gun [at close ranges]. I know the mag is small, it’s one of those guns that’s hard to use, it’s gonna be hard to get multiple kills with it but I’ve always been someone who just loves having the best TTK… it just melts people.” It may not be suited to longer range engagements, but that’s where players’ secondary weapons should come in. With the Type 100, that’s best off being a sniper rifle or a long-range, low-recoil assault rifle like the Kilo or Grau.

TrueGameData reveals long awaited Warzone fix that buffs sniper rifles ActivisionWarzone expert and YouTuber TrueGameData has revealed a long awaited fix to flinch resistance attachments is finally in the battle royale, making a host of Vanguard weapons more viable in Season 2 Reloaded. One of the most innovative aspects of Warzone – but also one that has contributed to the amount of glitches in the game – has been the integration of weapons, equipment, and more from multiple Call of Duty titles. Activision’s decision to conflate the content of multiple titles in one place has led to an unprecedented amount of choice for players, especially in terms of weapons. However, a bug with flinch resistance attachments has been nerfing almost all Vanguard weapons, with players coming under fire far less likely to be able to hit their shots because of the uncontrollable level of kick their aim experiences. TrueGameData, though, has now confirmed that the bug has been fixed, and flinch resistance attachments are back to working as intended in Warzone. In a March 25 YouTube video, the Warzone expert, delved into recoil patterns for plenty of weapons, highlighting the fact that perks to minimize flinch resistance now do just that. “I do have some good information,” he said. “Yes, flinch resistance works.” He compared the Vanguard Kar98k with full flinch resistance attachments to the base version of the weapon, revealing a major reduction in flinch when the attachments are now equipped. Topic begins at 2:15 The change affects all Vanguard weapons but is naturally most noticeable on weapons where hitting a single shot is vital – meaning it constitutes a nice little buff for sniper rifles. Snipers have long been a popular choice in Warzone, and this change could just make them even more prominent in meta. For all the changes in Season 2 Reloaded, you can check out the full patch notes here.

TrueGameData reveals forgotten Warzone SMG loadout to compete with Welgun ActivisionWarzone’s close-range meta has been dominated by the MP-40 and the newly released Welgun. After proving the Welgun had the fastest TTK, TrueGameData has found a LAPA loadout that’s even better. Most players in Warzone look for a weapon that can take down enemies the fastest. Whether it’s a long-range assault rifle or up close submachine gun, people are digging to find the best build. Warzone analyst TrueGameData has been grinding to find the community the best setups that can dethrone the current meta. Just a week after showing that the Welgun had the fastest TTK in Warzone, TGD winds the clock back with a Cold War LAPA loadout that shreds. Warzone LAPA loadout that’s better than Welgun If you want to save the struggle of figuring out what this loadout looks like, here’s TrueGameData’s full LAPA class setup: Muzzle: Agency Suppressor – Barrel: 7.9″ Rifled – Optic: Microflex LED – Stock: Raider Stock – Magazine: STANAG 50 Rnd – This loadout uses a slight variation from the past one that was extremely good. Here, TGD used the 7.9″ Rifled because it is the only attachment to increase fire rate and damage at the same time. He puts on the Raider Stock for a better sprint to fire time. Topic starts a 2:33 for mobile viewers In a YouTube video, the Warzone guru brings up a TTK chart that compares the LAPA to the Welgun. From his data, the LAPA lacks in the first 10 meters but anything past that had a substantially lower TTK than the latter. On top of that, the LAPA also has a better ADS time than the Welgun, which is essential for SMGs in Warzone. The Cold War sub also holds its own in the recoil and movement speed categories. So, with the recent Warzone loadout change, you can pick this up as early as you want in Caldera and try it out yourself.

TrueGameData reveals forgotten Vanguard LMG that could dominate Warzone meta ActivisionWarzone expert TrueGameData reveals that one of the most underused Vanguard LMGs in the game could actually take over the meta. Here’s everything to know about the DP27. The long-range meta in Warzone has been dominated by the Bren for quite some time. However, if that were to change, something needs to take its place. TrueGameData has been digging around looking for the next meta weapons and he thinks he’s struck gold with his latest discovery. He showcased a DP27 loadout that he put a bold claim on. “As soon as the Bren gets nerfed, this is going to be a top weapon for sure.” TrueGameData shows DP27 loadout to rise in meta If you’re just looking for the loadout and don’t need an explanation to why this could be strong in the meta, we have listed TrueGameData’s full DP27 loadout below. Muzzle: MX Silencer – Barrel: Kovalevskaya 680mm B02D – Optic: SVT-40 PU Scope 3-6x – Stock: Empress VZV – Underbarrel: m1941 Hand Stop – Magazine: 7.62x54mmR 105 Round Pans – Ammo Type: Lengthened – Rear Grip: Polymer Grip – Perk: Hardscope – Perk 2: Fully Loaded – According to WZRanked, the gun has a 0.37 pick rate, making it one of the lowest long-range Vanguard weapons. But, the Warzone analyst said one of the biggest takeaways with this build is the amount of the recoil control over a long period of time. Hardscope, Polymer Grip, and Empress VZV, are the three biggest attachments that make this gun a laser when shooting through all 105 bullets in the clip. In a YouTube video, TGD explains that while this gun isn’t extremely overpowered, it will definitely be able to fill the void if the Bren ever gets nerfed. When looking at TTK charts, it has a quicker time than the STG44 and Automaton, which both of those weapons are popular picks right now. So, while fans wait for a Bren nerf, it might be a good idea to start leveling up the DP27 as it could become the go-to gun in Warzone Pacific.

TrueGameData reveals “broken” Welgun attachment making Warzone SMG insane ActivisionWarzone expert and YouTuber TrueGameData has revealed a broken Warzone Welgun attachment that makes the Vanguard SMG one of the best sniper support weapons in the game. Vanguard weapons in Warzone are not particularly new, having been in the Call of Duty battle royale since Warzone Pacific finally came to fruition back in December of 2021. Among the strongest options in terms of WWII weapons is the Welgun, the Vanguard SMG renown for its consistency and fire rate. This has been reflected in the most-used weapons in Warzone, a list that the Welgun has frequently been a part of. However, according to Warzone analyst and content creator TrueGameData, there’s a “broken” attachment for the submachine gun that makes it ultra-consistent at longer ranges and the perfect sniper support weapon. Speaking in a March 26 video, TGD explained that there appears to be a slight glitch with the in-game damage profile of one Welgun attachment, meaning its damage drop-off does not function as expected. The attachment in question is the 7.62 Gorenko 48 Round Mags. As TGD shows, problems with the way it has been programmed in-game mean its damage output stays stable at longer ranges. Although it is strong up close, its true strength is as these medium ranges where it outperforms any TTK expected of a standard SMG. TGD explained: “Overall, it’s very good as a sniper support.” While up close it will still be outgunned by the strongest SMGs in the game – think the Owen Gun and MP40 – there are few, if any, SMGs that can hang with its TTK at longer ranges. Some Modern Warfare or Black Ops Cold War ARs will also outgun it, but users of those weapons will use the inherent mobility and handling benefits of an SMG. It seems likely Raven will look to patch the glitch in a future update but, for now, drop in and get those 48 Round Mags equipped.

TrueGameData reveals “broken” Warzone attachments nerfing Vanguard guns ActivisionCall of Duty: Warzone stats guru TrueGameData has revealed that there are still a number of “broken” attachments for Vanguard’s weapons, including some that are nerfing snipers. When it comes to crafting the perfect loadout for Warzone, there are plenty of different ways to go – especially seeing as Call of Duty: Vanguard weapons can use up to ten attachments. Having the right combination of attachments can easily reduce the recoil down to a point where it’s barely noticeable, or even boost the damage of a weapon so that it’s pretty unbeatable in a gunfight. However, there are apparently a number of Vanguard-specific attachments that just aren’t working properly, and they’re a bit of a waste of a pick – especially as they can do more harm than good. Warzone stats guru TrueGameData highlighted a few of the problematic attachments in his March 15 video, showing that when it comes to Welgun, the Flash Hider muzzle and Unmarked perk do not give much position concealment as they’re supposed to. Meaning, you’re visible to enemies. On top of that, the YouTuber noted that the Vanguard snipers are also struggling due to the “broken” attachments. Notably, the Shrouded perk is not concealing glint as it should, and using it is a waste. Additionally, attachments with Flinch Resistance – like the VDD Thumbhole stock and Focus perk – aren’t working either. “It does not work. None of the Flinch Resistance perks are working at all yet, none of the attachments are working, which is a really big bummer because that would make these Vanguard snipers a lot better,” the YouTuber added after testing some max Flinch Resistance loadouts. Broken attachments are certainly not new to Warzone, they have been an issue before, but it can be a while before the developers get things ironed out. The YouTuber also noted that he’s looking under hood at recoil perks, so there could be a handful of things that the devs need to look at before long.

TrueGameData reveals best Modern Warfare 2 guns to level up ahead of Warzone 2.0 ActivisionWarzone YouTuber and Call of Duty expert TrueGameData has revealed his picks for the best Modern Warfare 2 weapons to level up ahead of Warzone 2.0’s release. Warzone 2.0 is confirmed to be launching alongside Season 1 of Modern Warfare 2 on November 16. Plenty of details have been confirmed about the battle royale sequel, including its Al-Mazrah environment and changes to standard lobbies from the first BR. What’s not yet clear is the level of synchronization there will be between Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0. We expect all of its weapons to translate but there were major issues in the first Warzone as a result of its content being drawn from three annual installments. Ahead of its release, players have been wondering which weapons are best to level up so they have attachments unlocked and ready to use. Now, one expert has offered his opinion. Best MW2 weapons to level up ahead of Warzone 2.0 TrueGameData became well known during Warzone’s life-cycle as an expert statistician and content creator. Choosing the weapons based off their performance in MW2, he outlined multiple picks for long-ranges and close-ranges, explaining that they should generally translate to Warzone 2.0 in the same way they did the first BR. Best long-range MW2 weapons to level up for Warzone 2.0 Lachmann 556 – TAQ-56 – EBR-14 – RPK – Kastov 762 – On the long-range choices, TGD explained that he took into account accuracy above all else, but also considered handling and mobility to best reflect the characteristics that matter most in Warzone. “Accuracy’s king,” he said, “so the Lachmann 556 and TAQ-56 both are looking pretty good.” Best short-range MW2 weapons to level up for Warzone 2.0 Lachmann Sub – Fennec 45 – Vaznev-9k – On the close-range weapons, TGD took into account accuracy to a lesser extent, saying: “The one that stands out the most to me is the Fennec because it has the most range [before the first drop off].” It’s high fire rate means it also kills quickly and so looks primed to start off strong in Warzone 2.0. While he did concede that it’s impossible to know exactly, the Lachmann 556 and Fennec 45 look like the best guns to level up in Modern Warfare 2 to ensure you’re ready for Warzone 2.0.

TrueGameData reveals best methods to lower Warzone input lag ActivisionWhen it comes to video games, input lag can be one of the most frustrating things to deal with. However, in Warzone it can be the difference between life and death, but TrueGameData has revealed the best way to make sure you don’t have to play with this. Input lag is the amount of time it takes the button or key that was hit to perform the action in the game you’re playing. For example, in Warzone you may hit the fire button, but it could take up to a few milliseconds for the game to register that you actually hit the button. This means that you need to have the best settings to assure that everything is as close to immediate as possible. Thankfully, TrueGameData has broken down some key settings to make sure that this number is basically zero. Best settings to eliminate Warzone input lag In a YouTube video, TGD talks about how frustrating it can be to encounter input lag in a game, but there are ways to prevent this from occurring. The first thing to note, if you are playing on a PC then you will have the lowest response time using a mouse as your source to aim. This has a 0.5 millisecond response, where as the PlayStation controller is two and a Xbox one is four milliseconds. If you are opting for a controller, you want to make sure that it is through a wired connection as this accounts for nearly 10% of input lag. While this is the biggest thing to note, FPS needs to be your next priority. According to the chart, the higher your FPS is, the lower your input lag will be. TGD said that your response time is calculated based on the number one divided by your FPS, meaning the higher the better. To help maximize your FPS, you can check out our guide on the best video settings for Warzone. He adds on some other elements, but these are by far the most important. So if you are looking to minimize your input lag, you will want to use these

TrueGameData reveals best “long-range meta” Warzone loadout ahead of Season 3 Treyarch/ActivisionLong-range weapons in Warzone are essential for beaming down opponents from a distance, but which AR or LMG is the best option ahead of Season 3. Since Warzone’s release all the way back in 2020, the arsenal of weapons available to customize has been growing with every single update. Although this gives the community an endless amount of choice when it comes to creating the perfect loadout, it can often be overwhelming. This is especially the case when looking to pick out a gun that performs well at long-range, as there are countless ARs and LMGs that are considered strong. Well, sometimes it’s better to have an expert do the thinking for you, and Warzone YouTuber TrueGameData has outlined exactly which “long-range meta” weapon you should be using. TrueGameData’s Vargo 52 Warzone loadout Attachments Barrel: Spetsnaz RPK Barrel – Muzzle: GRU Suppressor – Optic: Axial Arms 3x – Magazine: Bakelite 60 Rnd – Underbarrel: Spetsnaz Grip – In his latest video, TrueGameData broke down all the best “long-range meta” weapons currently available in Warzone. Although he recommended the Cold War AK47 and AS44 due to their lethal TTKs, he did note that they can be very tricky to control. As a result, he suggests players that struggle with recoil opt for the Cooper Carbine or KG M40 LMG, as they’re capable of beaming enemies from distance without too much kickback. Despite this, TrueGameData named the Vargo 52 the “best weapon right now” when it comes to long-range engagements as it has both the TTK and stability that a lot of the other options lack. However, he did note that it’s possible the Vargo is nerfed in the Season 3 patch, so make the most of this weapon before it’s changed. TrueGameData’s Vargo loadout focuses on maximizing the weapon’s damage and control so it can lock onto enemies from a distance. Not only that, the 60 Rnd mag will allow you to take out a whole squad without reloading, as long as your aim pinpoint is accurate. Keep in mind that all of the weapons above are viable options and creating the perfect loadout all comes down to preference. So, don’t be afraid to switch up some attachments if they don’t fit your playstyle.

TrueGameData proves Warzone PPSh can still be meta despite Season 2 nerfs Activision / TrueGameDataWarzone expert TrueGameData breaks down why the PPSh could still find its way into the Season 2 meta despite it getting nerfed from its overpowered state. At the beginning of Season 2, the PPSh received a secret buff that made it one of the strongest guns in Warzone history. The devs noted that this was caused by a glitch that was giving the SMG higher damage values than intended. In a February 24 Warzone patch, the buff was removed but Raven still made the gun better than it originally was. And TrueGameData shows why it can still be viable on Caldera. TrueGameData shows new TTK for PPSh The PPSh was extremely strong, but while the devs reverted its bugged state, they also gave it a damage buff from its original state. In a YouTube video, TrueGameData goes through the three stages this gun was in and how it stacks up now. These versions are “Old Old” “OP” and “Current.” When looking at the current compared to the OP, the gun lost about 7-10 damage at close-range, but still kept most of its damage at medium. However, as you can see in the chart below, it still stacks up rather nicely to its ‘Old Old’ version. You can see from the picture that the live state of the PPSh actually gains damage in close and medium range. This is the main reason he claims that the gun is still good for Warzone. TGD does believe that the Welgun will dominate Season 2 following all of the nerfs. However, he still thinks that the PPSh is really good and viable. So if you spent time leveling it up and want to use the SMG, it shouldn’t hurt you too much.

TrueGameData exposes Warzone massive silent nerf to popular Ghost perk Activision / TrueGameDataWarzone expert TrueGameData has confirmed that the devs silently nerfed the popular Ghost perk as it now only hides you from enemies while you are moving. When it comes to the perfect loadout in Warzone, you need to make sure you have everything from weapons all the way down to perks. The second slot is dominated by Overkill and Ghost. Once you pick up that second loadout, you equip Ghost to go invisible from enemy pings. While many “coward” campers abuse this, people have been asking for the perk to get changed, and Raven Software have done so. Warzone Ghost perk was secretly nerfed There are plenty of Warzone analysts out there, but none are trusted to the levels of TrueGameData and JGOD. This time, TGD did some digging after finding a broken Welgun attachment, and tweeted a massive discovery. Confirmed in PRIVATE LOBBY – ghost no longer hides you when you are not moving. But still does when you are moving. I will be retesting in public matches soon, as well as all different move speeds — 𝗧𝗿𝘂𝗲𝗚𝗮𝗺𝗲𝗗𝗮𝘁𝗮 (@TrueGameData) March 28, 2022 TGD said that while he was testing out things, he can now confirm that “Ghost no longer hides you when you are not moving. But, still does when you are moving.” He also explained this in a YouTube video. This change means that campers using the perk will no longer be able to lay down in a bush, sit in a building, and so on, to stay alive. When UAVs are used, if you have this perk and are standing still, you will appear as a red dot on the minimap. Fans were happy to see this change as many people commented “massive W,’ and “nice.” One of the biggest balancing W’s in Warzone. How Ghost should always work. — Christopher (@poorchris_) March 28, 2022 Twitter user Christopher was one of those, as they are calling this the “biggest balancing W’s in Warzone.” Players have always wondered why Ghost worked differently in Warzone than it did in other Multiplayer games like Black Ops Cold War. Since finding this Raven Software have confirmed the change in their patch notes, and is in effect across public and private matches, as well as Modern Warfare multiplayer games.

TrueGameData explains why ZRG is Warzone’s “King” sniper after Kar98k nerfs ActivisionWarzone expert TrueGameData has outlined why the ZRG 20mm is the new ‘King’ sniper in Season 3, as the once-meta Kar98k and Swiss K31 continue to plummet in popularity. Players are continuing to adjust to Warzone’s Season 3 update, which dropped on April 27 and constituted the biggest meta shake up we’ve seen since the Vanguard integration way back in December. Among other changes, it significantly weakened the majority of sniper rifles, including the dominant Kar98k and Swiss K31. Both had their one-hit abilities essentially removed, meaning players have been pushed to slower, more cumbersome snipers that evaded major changes. With many players searching for a new long-range meta sniper, Warzone expert TrueGameData has weighed in on the debate and believes there is a clear winner. In his May 7 YouTube video, the Warzone data expert outlined Black Ops Cold War’s ZRG 20mm as the clear ‘King’ of Warzone snipers. He highlighted the weapon’s monumental damage but also some features that set it apart from Vanguard competitors. “The ZRG is perfectly steady when you’re flying, perfectly steady when you’re strafing,” he explained. “It has the best bullet velocity, it has a very fast fire rate, so you can finish your downs really quickly. There’s virtually no argument to use any of the other one-shot-kill snipers.” TrueGameData’s best ZRG 20mm loadout in Warzone Season 3 He also outlined his go-to build of the Cold War sniper, which is detailed below. Muzzle: Wrapped Suppressor – Barrel: 43.9″ Combat Recon – Laser: SWAT 5mw Laser Sight – Rear Grip: Airborne Elastic Wrap – Magazine: 5 Round Mag – Players will also need a sniper support weapon, with TGD highlighting the Volk as his current go-to. Its medium range capabilities mean it is ideal for those gunfights where a sniper is unsuitable, and will give players the best chance of bringing home wins.

“Troll” M4 loadout is actually a laser beam in Warzone 2 ActivisonWarzone 2 guru Metaphor has created an off-meta M4 loadout that features a sniper scope, and although it’s “troll”, the build laser beams foes on Al Mazrah. While identifying and using the best meta weapon loadouts in Warzone 2 does guarantee you kills and victories, it can get a little boring using the same setups. Of course, it’s always refreshing when the devs drop a huge balance patch, but those don’t arrive very often in-game and a meta is very quickly established. Well, instead of running a typical top-tier class, Metaphor decided to create a bizarre off-meta loadout that’s extremely fun to use on Al Mazrah. The laser beam M4 loadout features a sniper scope and has absolutely no recoil, making it easy to land every single shot. Sniper scope M4 loadout in Warzone 2 Attachments Barrel: Hightower 20″ Barrel – Muzzle: FTAC Castle Comp – Underbarrel: VX Pineapple – Optic: Luca Bandera Scope – Stock: Demo Precision Elite Factory – Metaphor built this off-meta M4 to have “as much recoil control as possible” which makes it a laser at medium to long-range. It’s worth noting that he makes it very clear this is a “troll” class setup purely to have “fun” on Al Mazrah, so don’t expect this build to compete with optimized top-tier loadouts. However, with the attachments equipped, the M4 retains its potent TTK and has plenty of damage to wipe out any foes in your path. Of course, the main strength of this setup is the minimal kickback which makes the gun incredibly addictive to use, as it feels like you can’t miss a bullet. Topic starts at 0:24 It’s easy to get caught up in the habit of only using the very best setups in Warzone 2, but sometimes it’s fun to take a break and experiment with a bizarre build. While there’s no chance the sniper scope M4 will be taking over Al Marah anytime soon, it’s guaranteed to catch a few opponents off-guard and will leave them puzzled about which weapon sent them to the Gulag.

Trippy CoD Vanguard glitch turns player’s game into a rave party ActivisionA new breed of visual glitch has been discovered in Vanguard that impedes your screen with a horrific variety of colors and flashes that would be better suited to a nightclub. No matter how playtesting is done it seems that glitches and bugs will always fall through the cracks in CoD games. In recent weeks, aside from a cheater showing his cheats during a livestream, Vanguard hasn’t had too much to shout about in terms of proper irregularities. This has changed though as a mindboggling visual hiccup has been seen in the game. We’ve seen distorted textures that have played havoc with the map itself and its surroundings before, but this new anomaly is new for Vanguard and certainly makes for unusual gameplay. Vanguard visual bug makes the player party With the tiny nature of the Dome map and Killstreaks amongst other things, visibility can become a menace at the best of times, especially with the smoke billowing from the map’s various fires. So you’d argue that any additional visual hindrances are not ideal. This is why when Reddit user McGitGud was suddenly hit by a glitch, they asked for “any help” regarding the issue. Read More: Best STG44 Vanguard class loadout – Attempting to dash around the map and rack up as many kills as possible, the player was subjected to an endless onslaught of flashing and weird rainbow-like strobe effects as the character’s model was quickly malfunctioning. As we’ve said, Warzone players will be familiar with this kind of visual glitch happening to the environment, but it never usually transfers across to the player as well. Be warned, the video contains bright, flashing images that may not be suitable for people with epilepsy: you can check out the video in the attached link here. One player suggested that the OP had “ate too many Christmas lights and now are a living Christmas light,” whereas another memed: “THE NUMBERS MASON…WHAT DO THEY MEAN?!” To be fair, you could easily mistake this as a weird montage cutscene ripped directly from a CoD campaign. To the player’s credit, they soldiered on admirably and were still picking up kills even with this visual impediment. Lots of users suggested that the player updated their GPU Driver, but there was no definitive answer as to why this occurred.

Trick or Treat in Warzone Haunting event: chest locations & rewards ActivisionFrom Blueprints to weapon charms and plenty more, Warzone’s new Haunting of Verdansk Halloween event has dropped 16 unique items across the map. Here’s everything you need to know to claim them all. [jwplayer KfbNyXWJ] Warzone has been well and truly taken over in the new Haunting of Verdansk Halloween-themed event. Horror film icons are available to unlock in new bundles, a spooky nighttime version of the battle royale has been deployed, and there’s even a new Zombie Royale Limited-Time Mode (LTM) Activision has clearly gone all out with this haunting takeover, but there’s still more to it than meets the eye. On top of everything outlined in the new roadmap, Warzone also comes boasting a ton of free items in the new event. Just for exploring the map, 16 unique unlocks can be yours. There’s a special treat waiting for you at the very end as well. From an overview of each reward to where they can all be found, we’ve got you covered with a complete rundown. How Trick or Treat works in Warzone From October 20 through November 3, there will be plenty of fresh content for Warzone players to sink their teeth into. Featured throughout the event is a new trick or treat system full of goodies and surprises. Boxes are scattered around Verdansk for you to find. Some might contain rare weapon Blueprints, though others could come with a “terrifying fright.” There’s no guarantee that you’ll get a reward from every box you open, but they’re well worth your time. There’s no need to worry about these boxes ruining your run either. You’ll get a fright, but the ‘trick’ part of this trick or treat gimmick deals “no damage,” Activision confirmed. Upon claiming all 16 rewards on offer, a Legendary Assault Rifle Blueprint will be all yours. The boxes are spread out far and wide so be sure to use our guide below to hunt them all down. Trick or Treat locations in Warzone Just like regular Supply Boxes in Warzone, these special crates are randomized. There’s no guarantee that one will be waiting for you at every single location in a single match. It might take some time across a good number of games over the next few weeks of the event. There are five sections of the map that have a chance to contain Trick or Treat boxes, with two to four points of interest at each. You’ll need to claim rewards at each area over time as some are exclusive to certain points of the map. In other words, you can’t drop into the same location over and over expecting to find unique rewards each time. Once you’ve claimed the rewards from a specific part of the map, a checkmark will appear in-game. Use this as you advance from one location to another, just to make sure you’re crossing every section off the list. A full rundown of every possible location can be found below. Sector One – North Gora Dam – Arklov Peak Military Base – Karst River Quarry – Sector Two – West Verdansk International Airport – Storage Town – Atlas Superstore – Zhokov Boneyard – Sector Three – Southwest Hospital – Novi Grazna Hills – Sector Four – Central and South BCH TV Station – Verdansk Stadium – Downtown – Sector Five – East Gorengrad Lumber Yard – Port of Verdansk – Zordaya Prison Complex (Gulag) – Trick or Treat rewards From spooky Calling Cards to weapon charms and a ton more, there’s plenty to unlock during this limited-time event. First up, just for opening the Trick or Treat menu in-game, a weapon charm will be yours. Next up, it’ll be on you to track down each location across the map. Once you’ve ticked off all 16, a special treat will be all yours. The “Pumpkin Punisher” Legendary Assault Rifle Blueprint is on offer throughout this Halloween-themed event. As the name implies, it’s a vibrant orange weapon with a creepy face carved into the side. Everything from the magazine to the muzzle has been painted or tinted orange to keep it consistent. Below is a look at all 16 items you’ll collect on your way to the Legendary Blueprint. You have from October 20 until November 3 to track down every unique item. Once it’s over, the one of a kind Blueprint will be gone, so make sure you get in quick.

Trials world records in Modern Warfare: Gun Course Infinity Ward have released a new mode called ‘Trials’ in Modern Warfare, where players are tasked with completing a course in the fastest possible time. Here’s a list of the current world records on PC or PS4/Xbox. What is Trials? Trials is a dedicated game mode in which players are tasked with completing a variety of training exercises in the fastest time possible. Trails only becomes available after completing the Enlisted Ranks (Level 55 threshold), to ensure that players are primed and ready to take on whatever the course throws their way. Gun Course is the first training course to make an appearance in Modern Warfare. Players are assigned with “clearing all enemy targets and avoiding civilian casualties” — reminiscent of the fan-favorite ‘F.N.G’ training mission from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. How does Trials work? Senior Communications Manager, Ashton Williams, revealed exactly how Trials would play-out in Modern Warfare. “Once you’re in Officer Ranks, you’ll earn tickets (that) you can use to compete in Trials,” he explained. “Already in Officer Ranks? You’ll get access to tickets you’ve already earned.” After reaching Level 55, players can earn tickets as they progress through their ranks — one ticket grants three attempts at the course. Each attempt is rated from 0 – 3 stars, with each rating providing a different XP bonus. Players with the fastest completion times will be rewarded with the largest XP bonus. The bonuses range from 10,000 XP for a sub-40-second finish, to 5,000XP for a sub-90-second run. Anything above 90 seconds will be classed as a 0-star rated performance, yielding no XP bonus. Trials are set to rotate, so Gun Course might not be on the cards for much longer. Players that have already maxed out their rank and used their tickets will have to wait until their Officer Rank resets in the next in-game season to earn more tickets. Trials world records Obtaining a world record of any kind in Call of Duty places you within a small percentile of millions of players that are able to do so. Whether you’re chasing a leaderboard position or attempting a new record, it is no easy feat to achieve top honors among a playbase of millions. Gun Course Gun Course offers a selection of close-quarters battle (CQB) weapons to complete the course. Players have used a range of tactics so far, with the current PC record using an SMG (which boasts a larger magazine capacity). By contrast, the console world record holder used a pistol to make their way around the course in the fastest possible time. The current PC world record stands at 25.6 seconds, while the quickest time on console (PS4) has been reported at 31.5 seconds. Gun Course PC world record: u/yungnutlord (25.6s) Gun Course console world record: u/xTomGx (31.5s) As more players reach the Officer Ranks, there will be a larger group attempting to break the above records. Of course, players will be looking to achieve that elusive 3-star rating, in a bid to be rewarded with the largest possible XP bonus. Although we know that Trials are set to rotate, just how long Gun Course will remain available for is yet to be established. Considering that ticket opportunities will reset when Officer Ranks reset (i.e., each in-game season), it would make sense that each course will rotate on a seasonal basis. Reckon you’ve got what it takes? Make your record known (with proof) and perhaps your name will be the next up there!

Treyarch’s Vonderhaar gives update on Hardcore mode in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 for first time Update: David Vonderhaar has now clarified that he was only referring to Blackout (the battle royale mode). Hardcore modes are expected to be in regular multiplayer. Original article: Treyarch studio design director David Vonderhaar has discussed hardcore modes in Black Ops 4 for the first time answering a fans query on Twitter. Hardcore is a variation of the standard playlists in Call of Duty, which has been a feature in every CoD multiplayer so far, and has had its own dedicated community for years. It strips the game down to its barebones, removing the HUD, ammo counts, and leaving only the player and their weapon. Health is also set to 30%, meaning players die in 1-2 bullets typically. Another notable point, is that in previous games, there was no health regeneration in hardcore, which is where the problem perhaps lies for Black Ops 4. There is no more automatic health regen in Black Ops 4, instead players must manually heal, but this leaves a problem for hardcore – would manual healing just be removed entirely? For now, it seems that Treyarch have not come up with a solution for hardcore, as Vonderhaar responded to a question asking “is the hardcore mode in Black Ops 4? and is it still no health regeneration”, answering “not yet.” This response likely means that hardcore is not going to be available at launch, which will be a major disappointment to a large portion of the Call of Duty player base. While the standard ‘core’ playlists have always been more popular, hardcore has been a warranted playlist in all previous games, with many players much preferring it to the bullet sponging in core. Vonderhaar’s answer certainly leaves room for optimism that it could be added in the future, but it will not quench the desire of a lot of players.

Armor changes coming to Call of Duty Blackout private beta, says Treyarch’s Vonderhaar GameInformer / TreyarchTreyarch are ready to address the armor issue in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout battle royale private beta. Armor has been a major point of contention since players got a chance to try out the Private Beta, which went live on September 10. Now, Treyarch Game Design Director David Vonderhaar has gone on social media to announce that the development team is looking at ways ti improve Armor. According to his tweets, the changes will be tested out on September 12 in the hope that they can be implemented into the private beta come September 13. One of my favorite things about working on Black Out is that not everything has to be nerfed or buffed purely on its stats. We have an entirely new tool (Item drop rarity) and it’s super important for us to be methodical about this stuff. TL;DR – Armor is getting nerfed. Those changes will be tested tomorrow for *potential* release on Thursday morning. Many have complained that the third level of Armor is currently too strong and over-powered, and that it is also too readily available on the map for players to find. While it is not yet clear in what way will Treyarch look to nerf Armor, it appears that Vonderhaar is hinting at some sort of item drop adjustment to one or more levels of the Armor, which would presumably make it less commonly found. Vonderhaar has said that more information about these changes will be available in a proper blog post to be released on September 12. All in all, Treyarch are delivering on their promise to look at and prioritize community feedback, and use it to implement changes and adjustments into the game in order to ensure that the final experience is fresh, fun, and balanced.

Treyarch’s Dan Bunting Discusses Competitive in Black Ops 4 – “Competitive players will be surprised” Twitter/ActivisionCo-Studio head at Treyarch, Dan Bunting, has spoken for the first time about competitive play in Black Ops 4, amid the on-going debate with players, fans and casters. With a host of significant changes to the fundamentals of CoD, including 5v5 public matches, manual healing and much more, the competitive community is debating how it will all work in competitive. In an interview with Millenium, Bunting discussed the beta and touches on the competitive side of things, explaining that they will “do a lot“ for competitive this year. In terms of the games overall design, Bunting said that the game is a mix of the “best of Black Ops 2 and Black Ops 3”. So what does Dan Bunting say about competitive? Well he reassures us that Treyarch is focusing on the esports side of things, and that competitive players will be “surprised.” The following is translated from French, read the original interview here. “Staying in line with what we did on previous Black Ops games, we will do a lot for the competitive scene. We have not announced anything about the new competitive system but we will talk about it very soon. This will be an integral part of the gaming experience, and we think [Black Ops 4] is the right game to promote the competitive experience. I think competitive players will be surprised.” Bunting also touched on the change from 6v6 public matches to 5v5, and how this could affect the competitive scene. “Some [public match] modes are in 5v5 others are in 6v6, but we really thought of this game for 5v5. The reason we switched to 5v5 is that we wanted to encourage interaction and communication within the teams. When the games become a bit chaotic, it doesn’t really give you time to breathe, think and talk with your teammates. We really wanted to reintroduce this tactical side, make the game more rewarding, more predictable so that players can really control the game. That’s why we made this decision, and I think the 5v5 will appeal to competitive players because it effectively reduces the gap between the traditional experience, the competitive experience and even the professional player experience. But on the other hand we’re also trying not to upset the habits of casual players with playlists like Chaos that is close to what they know.” Whether 5v5 is also introduced or not for competitive remains up in the air, but it would be one of the more drastic changes if it was. For now, there is still the CWL Championship for WWII to get through, before the competitive community can really focus on Black Ops 4. Source: Millenium

How and When to Watch Treyarch’s Special Live-Stream Preview of Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Private Beta Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 developers Treyarch have announced that they will be hosting a special live-stream for the Private Beta of the ‘Blackout’ battle royale mode. The stream is scheduled for Friday, September 7, at 11 AM PT / 2 PM ET / 7 PM BST and will be aired live on Twitch and YouTube. For your convenience, we have included the Twitch live-stream down below, and provided links to both streams as well. Watch live video from Treyarch on www.twitch.tvThe stream will feature Co-Studio Head Dan Bunting and Studio Design Director David Vonderhaar as the pair will preview the upcoming Private Beta for the highly anticipated Blackout mode. The Private Beta will be going live on September 10 for the PS4, and on September 14 for the Xbox One and PC, with both Betas ending on September 17. To keep updated with all of the released information so far, you can visit the links provided below: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Player Count Officially Announced – Full Blackout Battle Royale Map Revealed in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – All Locations – How Player Health and Healing Will Work in CoD: Black Ops 4’s ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Mode – How Weapon Rarities Will Work in CoD: Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Mode – New Details Released About ‘Cargo Truck’ Vehicle in Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Mode – Watch the Official Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Gameplay Trailer –

Call of Duty dev hints at big weapon balancing in Blackout A developer at Treyarch has surprised many fans by suggesting that a huge weapon balancing overhaul could be on the way to Call of Duty: Blackout soon. A lot of Blackout players have complained about the strength of the armor in Call of Duty’s Battle Royale mode. Despite many players demanding that Treyarch do more about the strength of the armor, it seems that it’s actually some guns that are set to be nerfed. On Reddit, a Treyarch developer stated: “We’ve got a nice beefy balance pass incoming, and the ABR is included in that.” As the comment before this was about an ABR nerf, it looks like this gun won’t be as popular going forward. Given that the ABR is one of the more powerful guns at the moment, a lot of players may actually agree with this particular nerf. Within the next couple of updates, though, fans will be expecting to see changes to armor strength, particularly the level 3 variant, as it can take a whole round of bullets to take down someone who is wearing it. Since Call of Duty: Blackout was released in October 2018, armor strength has drastically increased. With some guns being nerfed, it may require even more bullets to take down the enemy. That said, further adjustments to armor will likely occur in the near future. Weapon balancing essentially means not having any overpowered or underpowered weapons. This includes each weapon being best at a certain distance. For example, the ABR is good at short range but also at a distance, which is probably why it’s being nerfed. The Spitfire can only be used within about 10 metres and after that, it’s a lot less effective, so it’s about finding a balance. Many players will always have a soft spot for weapons and will continue using them despite balance changes. For example, the Rampart has been buffed and become one of the more powerful weapons, yet the ICR has always been a fan favorite. Follow @Dexerto on Twitter to keep up to date with all the latest Blackout updates and discussion.

Treyarch’s Vonderhaar teases upcoming changes to Call of Duty Blackout: Alcatraz Call of Duty Blackout’s new map, Alcatraz, could be getting some much-needed changes in the near future after Treyarch’s Studio Design Director, David Vonderhaar, discussed some of the fixes. Alcatraz changes incoming The surprise release of the second Blackout map has been received positively by fans. Alcatraz provides an alternative Blackout experience with the emphasis being on close quarters combat and frantic, fast-paced action. However, there are some clear faults with the design of the additional mode. The map itself runs well but the collapse mechanics and debatably a few other elements need adjusting. We’ve already discussed five changes that Call of Duty Blackout’s Alcatraz needs and it looks like a few of them are going to be implemented. Collapse speed The most obvious change that’s needed is the collapse speed. Many fans feel the collapse is currently your primary enemy in the final stages, something Vonderhaar has made clear shouldn’t be the case. Read More: New Call of Duty Blackout map Alcatraz – number of players, respawns and other details revealed – On April 12, Treyarch’s most public figure tweeted: “I still don’t love the final collapse in Alcatraz. I want to slow it down even more. The collapse should push engagements – it shouldn’t be your primary enemy.” PPS: I still don’t love the final collapse in Alcatraz. I want to slow it down even more. The Collapse should push engagements. It shouldn’t be your primary enemy. (Stole that line from @MaTtKs.) I know some people. — David J. Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 12, 2019 In a later Tweet, he went on to add: “We doubled the time (slowed it down) it will take to collapse. Just need to get it play tested & integrated into the live environment.” The Alcatraz final collapse kills 2/3 of the players left alive at that point. We doubled the time (slowed it down) it will take to collapse. Just need to get it playtested & integrated into the live environment. I am turning up the pressure a little bit to get this one done. — David J. Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 13, 2019 While no specific time frame was mentioned, it sounds like the change could be added very soon. Interestingly, he also stated that the final collapse, in its current form, kills two-thirds of the remaining players. This seems hard to believe, but if true, it shows just how much the final collapse needs altering. Taking the cowards way out Anyone who has played Alcatraz will know that getting knocked early and being left to bleed out is one of the most frustrating things in gaming, period. If left untouched after being knocked, it can take a minute to bleed out, resulting in two respawn opportunities missed. Vonderhaar agrees that this is poor, regarding this he said: “Not being able to take the Coward’s Way Out when you have zero chance of being revived in Alcatraz and miss the wave spawn timer? Yep. Gross. Will fix asap, Please don’t hang me over what asap means.” An open, quick and excellent response – something the Treyarch team are becoming known for. Stash box change Otherwise known as a body bag or death box, Blackout players have grown accustomed to the looting process. However, one slightly annoying issue remains whereby it is difficult to get off the stash box UX, especially with multiple boxes in close proximity. A new concept has been shared which would remove this problem. Currently, you need to walk away from the stash box to close it. The new method would see you click circle on PlayStation, or B for Xbox users, instead. While it would come at the expense of being able to move while looting a body, it would significantly improve the speed of which you can loot multiple boxes. Pistol spawns One change that looks unlikely is the load out you will spawn with. Vonderhaar makes a fair point here. Maybe spawning with a RK 7 Garrison would be appease those on both sides of the fence. These changes will result in the exciting Alcatraz map being even more fast-paced. Everyone can enjoy Blackout for free until April 30.

Treyarch under fire for releasing identical skins in Black Ops 4 supply drops Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 developers, Treyarch, have been criticized by fans after they released a skin with almost identical features to another, and giving it a different name. Like almost every other multiplayer game on the market right now, players are able to make their character unique in Black Ops 4, by purchasing or earning various skins that alter the clothing their in-game soldier wears. However, fans were left disgruntled after finding that Treyarch had released another variant for the Battery specialist, noticing it was extraordinarily similar to another skin. The rare outfits – Fall and Classic – both feature a similar design, with very few differences despite being released as standalone cosmetic outfits. In case you can’t see, there are some very minor differences: there is hints of green in the Fall outfit which isn’t seen on the Classic variant, as well as the scissors on the character’s leg changing color. Other than that, the skins appear to be exactly the same – prompting fans to vent their frustrations at Treyarch’s lazy cosmetics, and some suggesting that it is a deliberate ploy to fill up the ‘loot’ pool for supply drops. 600Players on Reddit were quick to mock the design, claiming to have won a “spot the difference” challenge for highlighting the subtle differences between the two items, as well as joking that someone had forgot to “pay the designers”. Treyarch were criticized for their laziness, and some players were forced to check whether they already owned the outfit due to its similarity. It wouldn’t be the first time that a Call of Duty developer has been blasted for releasing similar items with different names either. In 2017’s WWII, Sledgehammer Games were called out for releasing multiple emotes in supply drops with 100% identical animations, but with a new name for each, filling up the supply drops with duplicate emotes. Whether these skins are intentionally the same or simply an oversight on Treyarch’s part, fans are right to be upset, given how long it currently takes to earn a supply drop, or ‘reserve’ as they are called in-game. Some estimates suggest it takes over an of playtime to earn a supply drop, and players are only given one item in the drop, rather than three as in all previous Call of Duty games.

Treyarch under fire for ‘pay-to-win’ supply drop weapon in Black Ops 4 Treyarch/VVabyDevelopers Treyarch are receiving backlash from the Call of Duty community over the implementation of the S6 Stingray into Black Ops 4, with the gun described as ‘pay-to-win’, particularly with its operator mod. Black Ops 4’s latest major update came on June 4, in the form of the ‘Days of Summer’ update, which changed numerous aspects of the popular FPS. It also added 5 new weapons, all but one of which are only available through the game’s microtransactions. The Vendetta Sniper Rifle is available at Tier 50, but the other 4 weapons – the Locus, Peacekeeper, S6 Stingray and Ballistic Knife are only available in Reserve Crates, which can be bought with CoD points, which cost real money. It is the S6 Stingray which has garnered even more criticism, as it is widely considered overpowered. The S6 Stingray is a 2-round burst Tactical Rifle, and has an operator mod known as ‘Impact Blast’. Earned at Weapon Level 15, the operator mod means ‘flechette projectiles’ explode upon impact with an enemy. Operator Mods need 2 slots in create-a-class due to the wildcard required to enable them, but it is clear the extent to which players believe the S6 Stingray needs a nerf, particularly taking into account its capacity to one-shot kill as a Tactical Rifle – an ability usually reserved for Sniper Rifles. Given the fact it is only accessible via Reserve Crates, the community feels it is ‘pay-to-win’ – meaning that players will be rewarded with the strongest items if they invest real money into the game. There have been numerous Reddit posts detailing it’s overpowered nature and calling for nerfs. “The fact that they think this is acceptable to add this gun in a high TTK [time to kill] CoD game is another level of greed and incompetence,” one Reddit user said. “The fact this gun can kill in 1-2 shots, while majority of the weapons kill in 4-5 is mind blowing.” Similarly, popular CoD content creator SwaggXBL demonstrated its strength in public match, in which he dominated the opposition thanks to the gun’s insane abilities. Oh you thought the Dragon Breath was bad? this is the Stingray OP mod… pic.twitter.com/1PmjnfKwon — Kris (@SwaggXBL) June 5, 2019 It’s important to remember that Activision, publishers of Call of Duty, are likely to be more responsible for the disliked, ‘pay-to-win’ nature of these new weapons, as they have the final say on how the game’s microtransactions operate and how DLC is distributed. While there is a weapon bribe available at Tier 25 of the Battle Pass, this only provides a new weapon or a MKII version of an existing weapon: meaning players’ chances of acquiring the new weapons are even lower. The community’s despondence with this method of dispensing DLC is not dissimilar to previous CoD titles, such as Black Ops 3, which also saw multiple weapons added to the game that were only accessible through convoluted, expensive Supply Drop systems.

Treyarch under fire for another overpowered Black Ops 4 supply drop weapon TreyarchDevelopers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, Treyarch, have been accused of making the same mistake yet again with their supply drop weapons, adding an apparently “overpowered” crossbow behind a paywall. If you’re a regular Black Ops 4 player then this story may be serving you some deja vu, as back in June Treyarch had to nerf another of their reserve-only weapons, the Stingray. Players bemoaned its ridiculous time-to-kill, especially with the operator mod attached, which would take out an opponent in only two shots. The Stingray was seriously OP when first added to Black Ops 4. It seems that they haven’t quite learnt from that mistake, as the latest addition to the supply drop arsenal (that is, weapons that can only be acquired through the lucky dip of a reserve case opening), is being labelled overpowered yet again. On July 16, a player posted footage of the new ‘Reaver C86’ crossbow in action, demonstrating that it will destroy the robot in the Safegaurd mode in mere seconds – much faster than any other weapon is capable of. The fan posted “The Reaver C86 crossbow destroys the Safeguard robot SO QUICKLY. Literally, it’s GAME CHANGING” Other players clearly agreed, with users recalling the previous Stingray episode as another example: “They made this EXACT mistake with the stingray. ‘Whoops’ our RNG only weapon is overpowered.” Another wrote “you finally fixed this problem on the stingray after a MONTH and now you turn around and make the same mistake not a week later? Treyarch is simply incompetent.” Harsh words from fans, but players are clearly becoming increasingly frustrated with what appears to be a rather haphazard approach to adding new weapons, and the fact they are only obtainable through luck-based reserve cases certainly doesn’t help matters. Treyarch respond to Reaver C86 complaints Thankfully, a Treyarch dev was on hand to acknowledge the post, thanking another user for tagging him in the Reddit thread. However, the developer gave no insight into whether or not the weapon’s balancing issues will be addressed, or when. The Reaver C86 crossbow was added in the Operation Apocalypse Z update. Black Ops 4 is now in the closing stages of its first year life-cycle, with many Call of Duty fans now with one eye on the upcoming Modern Warfare. The move to put weapons in supply drops (or ‘reserves’ as they are called in Black Ops 4) was criticized heavily following the big ‘Days of Summer’ update, and there is hopes that Modern Warfare will stray away from this monetization model.

Treyarch to release Call of Duty: Black Ops 5 in 2020 as Sledgehammer game dropped Sledgehammer Games has apparently had their next entry in the Call of Duty series put on hold, with Treyarch taking over for the 2020 release, according to a report from Kotaku. The report, published on May 18, claims that SHG’s attempt at the 2020 Call of Duty is in a ‘mess’, and that trusted developers Treyarch have been drafted in. Activision told both developers earlier in May, putting the planned 2020 release from Sledgehammer Games and Raven Software on hold. Treyarch will be expected to release a fifth entry in the Call of Duty series, and Kotaku says that Sledgehammer and Raven will now support them in its development. “Treyarch, based in Santa Monica, California, is in charge of leading Call of Duty: Black Ops 5 for 2020,” the report states. Kotaku’s sources apparently also confirmed that the game’s campaign will be set in the Cold War era, which Sledgehammer and Raven had been working on, and is also expected to be released on both the current-gen consoles, as well as next-gen PlayStation and Xbox. Sledgehammer’s last Call of Duty release was 2017’s WWII, which despite initial hype and very strong sales, received mixed reaction from the fans. Kotaku’s sources say that Raven Sofware was in fact the lead developer on the 2020 title, with Sledgehammer working as the supporting studio, until the decision to push forward Treyarch’s new game. Previous to Sledgehammer’s Advanced Warfare, released in 2014, Call of Duty games had been developer by Treyarch and Infinity Ward exclusively, on a two year cycle. Now, Treyarch will have one year less to produce their next CoD, but will have Sledgehammer and Raven to support.

Treyarch finally address Black Ops 4 supply-drop controversy with new update TreyarchTreyarch, developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, have announced that they will finally be making it easier for players to access non-duplicate DLC weapons, following controversy surrounding the way they were implemented. Since June 4’s Days of Summer update, many community members have been critical of how new weapons were implemented into the game, with all but one of the new weapons only accessible through Black Market Reserve Crates. Particular criticism from the community was centred on the overpowered S6 Stingray, and the fact that the weapon bribe granted to players at Tier 25 of the Battle Pass also includes MKII versions of weapons that are already in the game. However, Treyarch recently announced the addition of contracts to Black Ops 4, which see players granted greater opportunities to earn DLC weapons. Most notably however, Ultra Weapon Bribes are being added to the game. The first Ultra Weapon Bribes will give players a “Black Market weapon that you don’t own.” But for the Call of Duty diehards, if they own any variant of all the Black Market weapons, then Ultra Weapon Bribes are going to hand out “a MKII Weapon, Mastercraft, or other variant that you haven’t unlocked yet.” The contracts are being added on Tuesday, June 25, when Black Ops 4 receives its latest significant update. Players will undoubtedly be pleased with the better opportunities Treyarch are providing to earn DLC weapons. Treyarch games in the past have received significant criticism for their handling of DLC dispensing, such as Call of Duty: Black Ops III which, by the end of its life cycle, had more supply-drop exclusive weapons than base weapons in the game. The community’s vitriol has become so significant that senior members of the Treyarch team, such as David Vonderhaar, have publicly denounced it, as they try to focus on their work.

Treyarch to develop Call of Duty Zombies in CoD: Vanguard Sledgehammer GamesWhile one may think zombies is going to take a step back with Sledgehammer Games leading development for Call of Duty Vanguard, a one-of-a-kind crossover between developers is coming, and the endless horde of zombies is back! Ever since zombies was introduced by Treyarch Games back during Call of Duty: World at War, it has remained one of the fan-favorite game modes each time it’s been Treyarch’s time to develop the next Call of Duty. But, with Sledgehammer Games developing CoD Vanguard, one would assume there’s not going to be any continuation of zombies within Call of Duty 2021. But, a surprise crossover is upon us, and it’ll be the first time in CoD history, we’re going to see Treyarch implement zombies within a game they aren’t directly developing. Treyarch to develop zombies in CoD Vanguard This is a rather surprising development in terms of the Call of Duty franchise, as this has never happened before. Fans of zombies are used to waiting a few years before they can jump back into the action, but with the release of Vanguard, this is going to change. Treyarch will be taking the lead for the development of the Zombies game mode within Vanguard, and the story within the game mode is going to be a direct prologue to the events that occurred during Black Ops Cold War. So, there’s no telling how Treyarch is going to develop some twists and turns for this mode this time around, but we’re sure all of our favorite zombie characteristics are going to be inside. Treyarch Engine for Zombies in Vanguard? We can assume as of now, that Treyarch will be working hand-in-hand with Sledgehammer Games to use the engine within the game instead of their own. Keep in mind that Vanguard is going to use the base of the Modern Warfare engine, but expand and improve it for modern-day hardware and consoles. So, we’ll have to wait and see how zombies play out, but this is an exciting time for fans, and we’re amped to have it back. Call of Duty: Vanguard will release on November 5, 2021, for PlayStation, Xbox and PC.

Treyarch to confirm Call of Duty: Blackout PC frame rates very soon Treyarch have confirmed that they will be making an official announcement about PC frame rates in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Blackout battle royale mode soon. Despite being Call of Duty’s first foray into the battle royale genre, the Blackout beta was a huge success on every platform. One of the only concerns for PC players was that the frame rate was capped at 90 frames-per-second. With the game due to be released in less than a fortnight (October 12), players are still no closer to finding out whether that FPS cap will be removed so that they can make the most of the monster PC gaming rigs. One Redditor started a thread on the subject, quoting an interview from EGX Berlin as confirming and uncapped framerate for Black Ops 4 multiplayer and Zombies, but not making an official statement about whether that would apply to Blackout or not. It would seem that this thread caught they eyes of the developers, though, as the official TreyarchPC account responded, promising that players will have their answer soon: “That official statement is coming soon. I mean it! Don’t lose your minds.” With monitor refresh rates of 144Hz, and even 240Hz, becoming something of the norm for PC players in recent years, and some rigs capable of churning out over 300 FPS on even the most demanding of games, many PC players are concerned that the only bottleneck in the performance of Blackout will be dictated by the game itself. Treyarch made it clear that the FPS cap during the beta was implemented to “ensure as smooth an experience as possible for everyone” while they tested server capacity and performance and that they would be attempting to optimize the game in time for launch. Whether those tests resulted in them being able to optimize the game to be able to at least run at 144Hz is still a mystery. Keep an eye out for more information as it becomes available.

Treyarch ‘Testing’ Split Screen Capability for Blackout in Black Ops 4 Split screen could be coming to Call of Duty’s much anticipated battle royale mode, Blackout, according to design lead David Vonderhaar. Blackout will be Call of Duty’s first foray into battle royale, advancing on the popularity of games like PUBG and Fortnite, but it will be crucial that CoD stands out from the increasingly saturated genre. Split screen is becoming more and more of a legacy feature, as online multiplayer has taken over and playing with friends physically in the same room has somewhat become a thing of the past. CoD’s standard multiplayer hasn’t featured split screen capability on next gen consoles, but Vonderhaar has confirmed they are ‘testing it now’, for Blackout specifically. Speaking to Game Informer, Vonderhaar said it is “very feasible” to have split screen in Blackout, however when asked to clarify further, he was reluctant, simply affirming that it is being tested. “Very feasible, I don’t know yet, testing it now.” In a lengthy interview answering hundreds of quick fire questions, lots of new details were revealed about Blackout, but it is clear that it is still a mode very much in the development stage. There was a lot of information to take in during the interview that this point on split screen may have been lost amongst the conversation, but it is a notable consideration from Treyarch. Split screen has been used in Treyarch’s Zombie modes extensively, and if it makes an appearance in Blackout, it may also be possible in standard multiplayer too. Check out other Blackout info from the interview: Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Player Count Officially Announced – Four Vehicles Revealed for ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – First Teaser Images Revealed for ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Map – How Player Health and Healing Will Work in ‘Blackout’ Battle Royale Mode –

Treyarch teases Zombies perk return in Black Ops Cold War ActivisionTreyarch have officially teased that the return of the fan-favorite Zombies perk Tombstone Soda is coming to Black Ops Cold War, which would make it the first perk to be added to the game since its November 2020 launch. While Black Ops Cold War: Zombies brought back many of the most famous perks in the mode’s history, like Juggernog and Speed Cola, there are still some that haven’t been added to the game. Luckily, it seems like at least one other highly touted perk from the series’ past will be coming to the game soon. Over on Twitter, Treyarch posted a tweet celebrating the end of 2020 and the start of 2021. While that’s relatively normal for game developers, Treyarch took it a step further and seemed to tease that Tombstone Soda would be returning. The tweet itself is pretty clear, showing the perk designed as a can, rather than a bottle like all the other iterations of it, signifying that this is indeed for Black Ops Cold War. In the past, Tombstone Soda, which originally debuted in 2012’s Black Ops II, acts as a way to get back all your items after you’ve gone down. Players could spend 2,000 points, forgo the ability to be revived, and then, once they collect a power-up near where they went down, they’ll receive all the weapons and perks they had before they got knocked. R.I.P. 2020. Here’s to a hell of a year in 2021. #HappyNewYear pic.twitter.com/fkBNjA36nj — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) December 31, 2020 While it’s not the most simple perk to understand when compared to others, it is pretty useful if you play Zombies matches with other players, as it can allow you to essentially start back right where you left off. Whether the effect will still be the same in Black Ops Cold War remains to be seen. It wouldn’t be completely unfounded for the effects to be changed up slightly when it releases, especially given the fact that players can upgrade perks in-game. Read More: Best weapons to use in Black Ops Cold War – There’s also no telling when Treyarch will bring the perk to the live title. The developers have already confirmed that a new Zombies map will be coming in Season 2, so it wouldn’t be shocking if Tombstone Soda makes its debut when that map launches. Fans of the popular undead mode will be eager to learn more in 2021.

Treyarch teases return of fan-favorite Call of Duty multiplayer mode ActivisionTreyarch has teased the return of fan-favorite classic specialist, the iconic WMD map, and even sweeping changes to Blackout. However, they have now shifted their focus to resurrecting a classic popular game mode from Black Ops 3, confirming Prop Hunt will be making a return. Treyarch profile picture gets Prop Hunt fans excited On April 28, Treyarch changed their Twitter profile picture to a half-opened metal-looking box that has eyes peering out – as if whatever is inside the box is wary of something finding its location. It’s clearly a reference to the Prop Hunt game mode that made its debut in Black Ops 3. In Prop Hunt, players are split into two teams – the props and the hunters – with the hunters having to uncover the props before the time runs out in order to win. The mode was made popular in Valve’s “Garry’s Mod” before finding its way into a number of other popular titles – including multiple Call of Duty games following Black Ops 3. . @Treyarch’s newest profile picture…teasing new MP game mode. pic.twitter.com/7ASZv12k9G — Call of Duty News (@charlieINTEL) April 28, 2019 Strike from the Shadows campaign Treyarch confirmed that Prop Hunt would be coming back in their latest update, but it has not gone live yet, and there is no confirmed date for when it will be live in game. Prop Hunt and Misty are currently planned to go live in #BlackOps4 next week on PS4, and more weapons are coming throughout our next Operation, including a new sniper rifle and much more. We can’t wait to show you what’s just around the corner. — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) April 23, 2019 The developer has been known to tease new content in this manner in the past, with eagle-eyed fans responding quickly to changes before Treyarch moves on to teasing the next incoming addition to their game. Read More: Top 20 highest earning Call of Duty pros – Adding Prop Hunt during their ‘Strike from the Shadows’ content campaign makes sense considering when hiding as a prop, you’re doing your best to stay hidden – as if you were hiding in the darkness of shadows.

Treyarch teases more round-based Zombies ahead of Shi No Numa ActivisionCall of Duty: Vanguard’s first round-based zombies map Shi No Numa was added in the Season 4 Update — but it looks like Treyarch may not be done there. Vanguard Zombie players are extremely upset with the lack of support for Zombies and have been pleading for a round-based map ever since the game’s initial launch. Treyarch opted to turn away from round-based gameplay in Vanguard and instead focused on players completing objectives, a decision that went down poorly with the Zombies community. Zombies fans finally had their prayers answered, as Vanguard received its first round-based Zombies map Shi No Numa in the Season 4 Update. After months of anguish, it looks like Shi No Numa may be the start of a new chapter. Playing Shi No Numa will be a great way to unlock the Push Dagger. Treyarch teases more round-based content CoD YouTuber MrDalekJD pointed out in Treyarch’s Shi No Numa blog post that it was labeled as the “first” classic, round-based Zombies experience in Vanguard. The YouTuber said, “It almost sounds like this won’t be the only map coming to Vanguard?” The Treyarch community Twitter account responded with an eyes emoji which seems to confirm that MrDalekJD’s suspicions are correct. Call of Duty: World at War was also set during World War II so it makes sense for Treyarch to add maps such as Shi No Numa to Vanguard. It will be interesting to see if any of the other infamous World at War Zombies maps – Nacht Der Untoten, Verruckt, or Der Riese – are next in line for a Vanguard reimagining. Zombies fans will just have to wait at the edge of their seats until future plans are officially confirmed.

Treyarch tease sniper buff in next Black Ops Cold War update TreyarchTreyarch developer Tony Flame has teased sniping fans with a potential buff for the M82 in Black Ops Cold War’s next balancing update. Sniping in Black Ops Cold War has, despite the game being just a week or so old, already become a slightly contentious topic in the community. It seems that Treyarch have sought to mitigate snipers’ slow ADS speeds by upping aim assist. However, this has led to players simultaneously calling for them to be buffed and nerfed. In the first major Black Ops Cold War update, from November 20, Treyarch nerfed snipers’ movement speeds and ADS times slightly. There were also major nerfs for the M16, AUG and FFAR 1. While Treyarch have so far been tight-lipped about the future of the Pellington and LW3 Tundra – the game’s two bolt-action sniper rifles – they have hinted that the M82, a semi-automatic sniper rifle in the vein of the series’ Barrett 50. Cal, will be buffed in a future update. On November 21, Tony Flame tweeted Treyarch’s “Next order of business.” Attached to the caption was an image of the M82, and then an image of a car buffer. Many took this as confirmation of a future buff for the M82, which has started life as the weakest of three fairly average sniper rifles. Compared to past years, the ADS and one hit areas of BOCW’s snipers are all far slower and smaller. Naturally, the replies dissolved into discussions about snipers’ place in Black Ops Cold War’s early meta. One player commented that “snipers are overpowered already”, while another argued: “Snipers need an ADS speed buff, you realize the only players complaining about snipers are bad players?” It seems that Treyarch already have a difficult task of pleasing everybody when it comes to Black Ops Cold War’s snipers, but, with all the data and statistics behind their decisions, it’s safe to assume they wouldn’t make changes they didn’t think were necessary for the game’s fairness. We’ll bring you the full changes to the M82 when the specifications of the buff are clear.

Treyarch tease return of fan-favorite Specialist in Black Ops 4 Operation Apocalypse Z TreyarchThe next Operation content stream in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will see the return of a Specialist from Black Ops 3, according to a new teaser put out by developers Treyarch. With Operation Spectre Rising coming to an end in Black Ops 4, Treyarch have already announced that it will be followed by Operation Apocalypse Z. In anticipation of the upcoming event, the developers have changed the profile picture of their official Twitter account to a teaser for the new Specialist that will be introduced. However, for those who played Black Ops 3, the Specialist will not be new at all, as the teaser is clearly for the Reaper, one of the more oft-used characters in the third Black Ops title. In fact, Reaper has already existed in Blackout battle royale as a playable character for several months now, so most players should already be familiar with it once it rolls into Multiplayer. 500The Reaper, whose official name was Experimental War Robot-115, was one of the more powerful Specialists in Black Ops 3, especially towards the start of the game. Its Specialist Weapon was the Scythe, a deadly minigun that would protrude from its arm and shred enemy players apart with an incredibly high fire rate. It’s Ability, Psychosis, allowed it to deploy three translucent yellow decoys and hide among them, throwing off enemies until it was too late. That being said, if the Reaper does get brought back in Black Ops 4, there is no guarantee that its Weapon and Abilities will be identical to its version from the previous title. Once added, it would become the 14th Specialist available in Multiplayer, and the fourth to be added after the game’s release, joining Zero, Outrider, and Spectre. Operation Apocalypse Z coming soon Operation Apocalypze Z, the fifth major content stream in Black Ops 4, is expected to contain a flurry of new content for Multiplayer, Zombies, and Blackout. While not much information has been officially announced about this next Operation, data-miners have already leaked details about it, such as some of the weapons that will be added and the fact that there could be Zombies added in Multiplayer. The official launch date for this event is July 9, 2019 on PlayStation 4, releasing on the Xbox One and PC seven days later.

Treyarch tease return of classic Multiplayer game mode in Black Ops 4 TreyarchCall of Duty developers Treyarch have dropped another teaser for upcoming content in Black Ops 4’s Operation Apocalypse Z, and it looks to be the return of a classic Multiplayer game mode. On July 5, Treyarch changed the profile picture of their official Twitter page to a brand new emblem that’s never been seen before in Black Ops 4. The logo features an ax smashed into the top part of a menacing skull, all of which is in the middle of a gold and silver ring that’s placed over an undisclosed location or map. The appearance of this icon on Treyarch’s Twitter page immediately sparked a lot of excitement, as players instantly recognized it to be for the popular Sticks and Stones Multiplayer game mode. Although, in past Call of Duty titles, the logo for this mode has been a bit different than the one below, the presence of an ax and bones is enough to give it away. 600What is Sticks and Stones in Call of Duty? Sticks and Stones is an online Multiplayer mode that’s existed in numerous CoD titles in the past, including all of the Black Ops titles. It normally features six players all facing each other in a free-for-all style game, with the player who earns the most points when the timer runs out being crowned victor. Points are earned from kills, which can be done by using the weapons that players are given at the start of every match – Crossbow, Ballistic Knife, and a Combat Axe (or Tomahawk). Players who get killed by a Combat Axe, or commit suicide with their own Crossbow, see their points get “bankrupted,” or dropped down to zero, forcing them to start their points tally over again. When will Sticks and Stones be added? As of now, there is no clear answer to when players can expect Sticks and Stones to be a playable mode in Black Ops 4, especially since Treyarch haven’t even officially confirmed that the mode is coming. However, it’s very likely that the mode will make its debut sometime at the start or during the next Operation content stream, Apocalypse Z. The new Operation is expected to include a lot of new content, including the return of a fan-favorite Specialist from Black Ops 3, several new weapons that have already been leaked by data-miners, and a couple more Black Ops Pass-exclusive maps. Operation Apocalypse Z is scheduled to kick off on July 9 on PlayStation 4, releasing on the Xbox One and PC seven days later.

Treyarch tease return of another classic Black Ops map in Black Ops 4 TreyarchTreyarch may have teased the addition of a classic map from the original Black Ops game making a return in Black Ops 4. The year of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 may be beginning to wind down now that summer is here and everybody is gearing up for Modern Warfare, but Treyarch is still pushing out lots of new content in an effort to end their yearly cycle strong. The developers have been hard at work, teasing fans about the return of older specialists, as well as making changes to Blackout. And, if their newest hint is anything to go by, there is another fan favorite map about to enter the multiplayer pool. On July 5, players noticed that the Treyarch Twitter account had changed their profile picture to tease the return of the Stick and Stones game mode in Black Ops 4. However, eagle-eyed fans have noticed that that wasn’t all they were teasing. It didn’t take long for fans to recognize the background of the image as Havana from the original Call of Duty: Black Ops. Despite the small image, the balconies above the sniper house – from the Tropas spawn – could be easily spotted, as well as the blue building that sits opposite and leads to the small alley near the water fountain. Here’s @Treyarch’s latest profile picture :monocle: pic.twitter.com/1xHh16tech — Call of Duty News (@charlieINTEL) July 5, 2019 Despite the Sticks and Stones logo, a number of players pointed out that the background to the image looked like the classic map from Black Ops one. “So we just going to ignore the bo1 remake map in the background,” replied one fan. Another eagle-eyed CoD fan, Xander_Frangos, added: “Sticks and stones as well as Havana, dope.” So we just goin to ignore the bo1 remake map in the background:joyful: — 1229:wilted_rose: (@SUP3R_CH31F) July 5, 2019 It certainly wouldn’t be the first time that Treyarch has gone to the well and picked out a former Black Ops map to bring back. At the end of April, the developers revealed that a remastered version of WMD would be making a return via the Black Ops Pass for players who had shelled out on the additional content. It remains to be seen, that if Havana is making a return, when exactly the map will be added, but the best guess would be as part of the next operation – Apocalypse Z – which is set to release on July 9 for PS4, and July 16 for Xbox One and PC. The addition of Havana has not been confirmed by Activision or Treyarch yet, but the map in the background of the Sticks and Stones teaser does look strikingly similar.

Treyarch Tease New Secret Game Mode and New Map For Black Ops 4 Beta – Plus Changes After First Weekend Treyarch has revealed that a “secret new mode that has been kept under tight wraps” will be coming soon the Black Ops 4 beta, plus a host changes and updates. The day 3 recap rounds up the first weekend of action enjoyed by PlayStation 4 players, which was fans first experience with the upcoming release. For next weekend, where Xbox One, PS4 and PC players will get hands on, here’s what Treyarch has teased: “Just because Week 1 is coming to a close doesn’t mean we’re shutting things down. . . we’ll be back with a second week of Beta action starting this Friday (PS4/XB1/PC), which will feature a few new items that you’ll want to jump in to see. We probably shouldn’t reference the new map that you saw in the beta trailer, secret new mode that has been kept under tight wraps, new XP events, and/or new level caps that you’ll see next week, so we definitely won’t do that.” Check out the full day 3 recap for what Treyarch are changing and looking into: To all of you in the Call of Duty Black Ops community, you’ve played the living hell out of this game over the weekend, and you’ve provided an incredible amount feedback – the entire team at Treyarch sends its thanks. These last few days have put a spotlight on what it means to be a part of this community, and it’s an amazing opportunity that wouldn’t happen without you. Alright, enough mushy stuff. Let’s get on with the updates – while you were enjoying your morning chai lattes, we were rolling out a new live update with the following changes: Added Kill Confirmed to Chaos TDM and set it as the Featured Playlist. – Fixed several spawn issues that were discovered in Domination thanks to your help. – Added functionality to lock the Specialist select mid-match in Search & Destroy to prevent players from dying when switching Specialists during a round in progress. – Made numerous stability fixes and performance improvements. – Next week, we have a lot more in store, including new content and a title update that addresses many larger-scale issues, along with additional tuning based on what we’re seeing with performance of content. Here is a preview of what’s to come in the upcoming title update: Scorestreaks We’ve made a big pass at tuning the effectiveness of Scorestreaks that are underperforming. This includes: expanding the Hellstorm cluster lock-on radius, increasing the damage per shell of the Lighting Strike, upping the health of the Sentry turret, increasing the Strike Team’s weapon accuracy, improving the Strafe Run’s plane pathing and increasing the Attack Chopper’s targeting capabilities. – – Movement As promised, we’ve also made some modifications to locomotion, namely to reduce the amount of bunny hopping + sliding combo moves. We realize how important locomotion is to the feel of the game, so this is always a delicate balancing act and we’re taking it slow, starting with: reducing the global jump height by 5 units; slowing down very slightly the acceleration on sliding; and jumping multiple times in a row will now scale down jump height with each subsequent jump. – – Maps/Modes A pass at performance optimizations has been made across all maps in the Beta for improved framerate. – Made a pass at global spawn improvements in various maps and modes. – Updated Hardpoint locations and rotation on Seaside. – – Specialist Weaponry/Equipment We’ve made some tuning adjustments including reducing overall effectiveness of the K9 Unit while fixing some of its more *ahem* egregious pathing issues. – – Armor Because we know this is a hot topic, we’re going to address it separately with a dedicated thread. We did say that we wanted to leave this alone until more content is unlocked, and we’ve had more time to crunch the data from all of the content in the game. For now, we are making some early tweaks which we’ll discuss in a later post. – –

Treyarch tease new Multiplayer content and next Operation coming soon to Black Ops 4 Call of Duty developers Treyarch have hinted at some of the new content that’s coming soon to the Multiplayer in Black Ops 4. On April 1, in reply to fan asking about the upcoming content in Multiplayer, the official Twitter account of Treyarch teased at what players should expect to see in the coming weeks. “Barebones goes live for all platforms tomorrow, then we’ll be dropping Infected up next,” they tweeted. “Followed by free Arsenal Sandstorm map for everyone, and of course, a new batch of Multiplayer maps when our next Operation kicks off later this month. Can’t wait!” Yes! Barebones goes live for all platforms tomorrow, then we’ll be dropping Infected up next, followed by the free Arsenal Sandstorm map for everyone, and of course, a new batch of MP maps when our next Operation kicks off later this month. Can’t wait! — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) April 1, 2019 What is Barebones in Black Ops 4 Multiplayer Barebones is a special Multiplayer playlist in Black Ops 4 that does not allow players to use certain things that they normally can in the default modes, such as Specialist abilities and equipment, weapon Operator Mods, or Gear, such as Stim Shot, Armor, Acoustic Sensor, etc… Currently, the only Multiplayer modes available in the Barebones playlist are Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardcore TDM, and Hardcore Domination. The Barebones playlist went live for PlayStation 4 players on March 26, and will be available on the Xbox One and PC starting April 2. What is Black Ops 4 Infected and when does it go live? Initially announced on March 25, it appears that the Infected mode is coming to Black Ops 4 sooner rather than later. The highly popular mode features a lobby of ‘survivor’ players trying to avoid the one ‘infected’ player. As the match goes on, any survivor that comes into contact with the infected player also becomes infected, until either all of the players become infected or the timer runs out, at which point all survivors are crowned victors. While the release date for this mode has not yet been officially announced, it looks as though it’ll come shortly after the Barebones release. As per Sony’s exclusivity agreement with Activision, this mode will likely first only be available on the PS4 before going live on the Xbox One and PC a week later. What is Arsenal Sandstorm in Black Ops 4 and when does it go live? Arsenal Sandstorm will be the next weather variant of an existing Multiplayer map in Black Ops 4, following Seaside Sunset, Firing Range Night, and Contraband Hurricane. These variants, available for free to all players, feature an existing map but with an alteration made to its weather, lighting, and time-of-day. It’s not exactly clear when Arsenal Sandstorm will be added in Black Ops 4, but according to the tweet above, it will be added after the Infected mode goes live. When does the next Black Ops 4 Operation start, and what will it include? The currently ongoing Operation Grand Heist is set to come to an end towards the end of April, giving way to a new Operation content stream later this month. As had been expected, the tweet confirms that the new Operation will include new Multiplayer maps, just like previous two Operations, although it’s likely that the new maps will, once again, only be available to owners of the Black Ops Pass. As for other Multiplayer content, the next Operation will include 100 tiers filled with new cosmetics, weapons, variants and Mastercrafts, and possibly even a new Specialist.

Treyarch tease new mode coming in Black Ops 4 Update Treyarch have all but confirmed a new mode will be dropping in Black Ops 4 in an update set for January 8, but it’s not the mode that everyone is waiting for. Responding to a Reddit post, Treyarch’s official account strongly hinted that a “Mercenary Hardcore” mode will be coming, in a new update. The mode, while certainly in demand, is a fairly niche one, only suiting players in Hardcore who don’t run in parties, which is far from a majority of the player base. growing number of players who are becoming impatient waiting for the launch of League Play.However, this comment from Treyarch at the very least confirms there are updates coming soon, and they will have no doubt heard the calls from the community regarding League Play. The latest word from the development studio was in December, when it was announced that League Play and the associated World League Hub would release fully in ‘early 2019’, but there has been nothing more concrete since. The comment from Treyarch was made at 7:37pm PT on January 7, which tells us the update with a Mercenary Hardcore playlist will be coming January 8. While it is probably ambitious to expect League Play is included in the update, players will be very keen to have at least an update on its progress, or perhaps even an official release date.

Treyarch tease major SMG changes coming to Black Ops 4 Call of Duty developer Treyarch have hinted that Black Ops 4’s submachine guns may receive a major buff in the near future. Black Ops 4 is the latest addition to the legendary Call of Duty series, but many fans have voiced their annoyance at the current state of the game’s weapon balancing, claiming that the SMGs aren’t powerful enough. This has caused most players to stick with assault rifles as their go-to gun of choice, with the Maddox RFB widely considered to be the best all-round weapon in the game. What’s wrong with Black Ops 4 SMGs? In a post made on the /r/BlackOps4 subreddit, user enduroforever broke down the many issues they had with the current state of the game, claiming that the submachine guns in Black Ops 4 “have to be the worst set of SMGs that we’ve gotten in a CoD game.” “They are so laughably bad compared to assault rifles,” wrote the clearly unhappy Redditor. “How did we go from Black Ops 3, a game that had amazing SMGs and weapon balancing, to a game where the only guns that are consistently great are the assault rifles and LMGs?” This is because a number of assault rifles have such high damage, that they kill in close-quarters combat quicker than the majority of SMGs. The Saug 8mm and Spitfire are extremely viable at close range, but as enduroforever pointed out: “What’s the point in using those guns when the assault rifles do a better, consistent job at almost every range?” Treyarch hint at changes While many Black Ops 4 fans noted their agreement with the sentiment in the comments section, one particular response stood amongst the rest, as a member of the Treyarch development team teased that SMGs could be receiving a buff in the near future. The developer, known only as Tflamez on Reddit, stated: “If you feel this way, you might have a pleasant surprise coming soon.” What form this buff to the SMGs will take is currently unknown, but many believe that assault rifles like the Maddox RFB also need to be nerfed in short-range gunfights if people are going to start using submachine guns. There is currently no timeline for the improvements for the SMG to be released, but Treyarch normally release updates for the game every Tuesday, so it’s possible – although unlikely due to the lack of official announcement – that we could see these changes implemented on April 23.

Treyarch shows off behind the scenes creation of Nuketown Call of Duty Developer Treyarch released a new video series that gives a behind the scenes look at one of the most popular video game franchises of all time. The series, called Declassified, started off with a look at the development history of an iconic map in FPS history, Nuketown. Since its appearance in the original Black Ops, Nuketown has been a part of every Black Ops release as a multiplayer map and was even redesigned for Zombies. In Black Ops 4, Nuketown features on its own island in the Blackout mode, in addition to Multiplayer. Adam Hoggatt, Senior Level Designer at Treyarch and creator of Nuketown, explained how one of the most popular maps in video games started with a random email. “An email came out from [David Vonderhaar] saying, ‘Hey what if we make a small map based on those nuclear testing towns?’ I started getting ideas in my head instantly,” said Hoggatt. Black Ops producer Miles Leslie was apparently not in the original email chain, because he was not aware of the Nuketown concept, saying, “Adam came in and was like ‘hey I made this map,’ we didn’t ask you to make this map. Why did you make this map?” Thankfully, the Miles and the team immediately recognized the potential of Adam’s concept anyway and Nuketown was born. Adam and Miles would go on to explain the changes to Nuketown throughout the development process, like adding the bus and van in the middle of the map, as well as adapting the map to the jetpacks of Black Ops 3. The complete Declassified episode can be found below.

Treyarch show off remastered version of Firing Range map in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 In the third of a series of map previews for Black Ops 4, Treyarch has now shown off the classic and revered ‘Firing Range’, which will be making it’s return once again to a Black Ops title. Firing Range is now the only map to be featured in every iteration of the Black Ops series, except of course Nuketown, which will also be making it’s way to Black Ops 4, though not till November. First appearing in the original Black Ops, it has long been regarded as one of the best designed maps in the franchise’s history, and with good reason. Based on a military base in Cuba, inspired by the events of the original Black Ops campaign, Firing Range is bright, warm and always full of action. Despite being relatively small, it allows for both short and medium range fights, and there is good variety of verticality. It loosely follows the three lane design which Treyarch is known for, but it is not straigh forward layout, instead taking a more boomerang like shape, with the center of the map very open and dangerous. The official in-game description of the map in Black Ops 4 reads: U.S. Forces gear up for Red Team/Blue Team blue team combat training exercises in this Guantanamo Bay military base. See you there on Day One. #BlackOps4 pic.twitter.com/iLek9Ss2GR — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) October 2, 2018 Treyarch has already shown off two other new maps, Morroco, which is not a remake, and then the remastered version of another classic Black Ops 1 map, Summit. In total there are now thirteen maps confirmed for multiplayer, with two more remasters still to be shown (Slums and Jungle), plus one more unknown map, which was seen in the recent launch trailer. This map featured a jungle terrain with trees, foliage, some sort of body of water, so fans are still eagerly waiting a teaser video for it.

Treyarch Roll Out Update with Multiple Fixes for Black Ops 4 Beta – Patch Notes With another day of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Beta in the books, Treyarch have released a full list of issues which they have rolled out an update for. The big update came after day one of weekend 2, which saw changes to movement and lots of weapon buffs and nerfs, but there is still some significant changes after day 2 as well. This update mainly focuses on fixing small issues, bugs and glitches, rather than any major overhauls to the beta gameplay. See the full update from Treyarch below, which also keeps Double XP and Double Weapon XP rolling for the remainder of the beta. With approximately 24hrs left in this week’s Beta, we’re still making updates – here’s a list of what you can expect today: General Fixes General Stability and Performance Improvements. – – Scorestreaks: General Increased the delay at the start of a round before you can activate certain lethal Scorestreaks. – – Strike Team Doubled the health of each Strike Team squad member. This should help the Strike Team survive and react in situations where they are taking fire from several enemies at once. – – Mantis Fixed a text string on the Care Package containing the Mantis. – – – General – Maps: Gridlock: Fixed an exploitable location near the bath house which allowed players to look across the map. – – – Gridlock: – Yesterday, we discussed that some people were encountering difficulties booting up the game on Xbox One. We’ve deployed a fix and all signs suggests that it has been resolved. Once we get out of the immediate blast radius of the Beta weekend, we plan to come back with a comprehensive recap of the full Beta weekend, as well as address a few design changes that are on the horizon . . . stand by. In the meantime, you’ve got 2XP and 2xWeaponXP to keep you busy, a new map to dominate (Hacienda), a new mode to master (Heist), and a Level Cap of 40 to hit. Regarding the level cap, you’ve got some work to do on that last one (you know who you are). And the reward for doing it? Players that achieve max rank during the Beta will earn one permanent unlock token, which unlocks any item from the Create-a-Class menu at launch. See you online! Source: Reddit

Treyarch reveals what’s coming next for Black Ops 4 – Pro Series Playlist, Blackout camo progression, and more It’s shaping up to be a hectic week for Call of Duty fans, as Treyarch have detailed even more content that’s set to hit Black Ops 4 very soon. After a quiet start to 2019, Treyarch have gotten back into the swing of things with a consistent and steady stream of new Black Ops 4 updates. The v1.12 update dropped on January 29, bringing plenty of new features and changes for every game mode and now Treyarch have revealed that there is even more in store on January 31. In a series of tweets posted on January 30, Treyarch announced that a few highly-anticipated features are coming in less than 24 hours. Live tomorrow in #BlackOps4: • MP: Pro Series playlist featuring updated CWL rules • Zombies: Mastery Camos + additional camo support • Blackout: New camo progression + Mastery Camos + Zero Outfit Unlock mission (PS4) • PC: 1.12 update + PC-specific improvements — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) January 30, 2019 As with the last few updates, this one will bring a little bit of everything to players of all three game modes. Multiplayer fans are no doubt anticipating the release of the Pro Series playlist as a way to hold themselves over until the launch of League Play. This new playlist will feature the full CWL ruleset in a more casual, non-ranked setting. Zombies fans will be able to look forward to new Mastery Camos and additional camo support to bring the progression in line with what Multiplayer has to offer. Finally, Blackout will be receiving new camo progression and Mastery Camos, along with a brand-new unlock mission for a Zero outfit. Not only that, but they also announced that Blackout would be getting a special 2X Merit event this weekend to go along with brand-new camos. It will kick off on February 1 at 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT and until February 4 at the same time. 2X Merits are also coming to #Blackout on all platforms this weekend, and Down But Not Out returns tomorrow as the Featured Playlist on Xbox One! pic.twitter.com/yELKKTjjeo — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) January 30, 2019 It’s unknown when exactly this update will go live, but we expect it to drop at the usual time of 10am PST / 1pm EST / 6pm GMT. As always, be sure to follow us @DexertoIntel on Twitter for all the latest on everything Call of Duty related.

Treyarch reveals Black Ops 4 Zombies maps coming at launch Zombies fans will be happy with the latest details from Treyarch on the highly-anticipated game mode ahead of Black Ops 4’s release. In a video uploaded to the official PlayStation YouTube channel, Zombies director Jason Blundell has given an inside look at what Zombies maps will be available with the game at launch. Unlike previous iterations of the franchise that have only launched with a single Zombies map, Black Ops 4 will ship with three maps for fans to sink their teeth into — IX, Voyage of Despair, and Blood of the Dead. IX will see players transported back in time to a gladiatorial arena complete with medieval costumes that will allow players “to experience the gore, the blood, and the violence” of that era. Voyage of Despair is another time-traveling affair where players will do battle on the infamous Titanic, and Blundell assures there is “more to the situation than just icebergs.” The final map is a blast from the past in the form of Blood of the Dead, which is a reimagining of the map Mob of the Dead from Black Ops II. Players will meet the familiar cast of characters as they try and escape from the prison island. Starting as a mere easter egg on Treyarch’s Call of Duty: World at War back in 2008, Zombies had grown into a cultural phenomenon over the last 10 years. Also shipping with Black Ops 4 is Blackout, Treyarch’s battle royale mode, that received widespread praise during the beta and has many players preparing to dive in once the game launches on October 12.

Treyarch reveal what’s coming this week to Black Ops 4 and preview upcoming v1.13 update Black Ops 4 players have a lot to get excited about this week as Treyarch announced on February 4 a slew of content coming to the game. Treyarch isn’t slowing down its feed of content to its players, as the latest plans feature new Hardcore and Mercenary for a popular map and the addition of a popular Blackout mode coming to Xbox and PC. In a tweet, Treyarch announced the coming content for its popular shooter that will see loads of bloodshed on Nuketown and while non-PS4 users will have a massive load of new offerings for both Blackout and Zombies. This week in #BlackOps4: TUESDAY • MP: Hardcore Nuketown • MP: Mercenary Nuketown • Zombies: IX Gauntlet (Xbox One/PC) • Blackout: Ambush limited-time mode (Xbox One/PC)THURSDAY • Blackout: New camo progression system and Zero Outfit Unlock mission (Xbox One/PC) pic.twitter.com/m7IzjRerhB— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 4, 2019 Tuesday, February 5 will bring the new Nuketown playlists for Multiplayer, while the Xbox and PC iterations of the game will get the Zombies IX Gauntlet mode as well as the Blackout Ambush limited-time mode. Then a few days later of February 7, Xbox and PC players will get to experience the Blackout weapon camo progression system and the Zero Outfit Unlock mission. Read more: How to watch the Black Ops 4 CWL Pro League – streams, schedule, scores, standings, and more – Playstation 4 players have already been enjoying the new content, but the latest news will open the latest offerings to all players. Shortly after, Treyarch updated its community on the next major game update, saying that the planned changes will come with the v1.13 update releasing “later this month.” Our next round of weapon balancing updates is planned for #BlackOps4 1.13 later this month, along with all-new content in MP, Blackout, and Zombies. The new Pro Series Featured Playlist also continues on all platforms, and Ambush starts its second week in #Blackout on PS4! — Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) February 4, 2019 The update is set to implement some balancing changes to several weapons as well as introduce a slew of new content to all three major game modes. According to previous announcements from Treyarch, the update will also bring the highly anticipated and long awaited League Play to Multiplayer.

Treyarch Reveal New Details About How the New Health Regen System Will Work in CoD: Black Ops 4 Call of Duty developer Treyarch have revealed further details about how the new health regeneration system will work in the upcoming Black Ops 4 title. A detailed explanation was posted on the Black Ops 4 Reddit page on May 18th, a day after the new system was initially introduced during the Community Reveal Event. For the first time in Call of Duty history, the players’ in-game health will no longer automatically regenerate after taking damage. Instead, players will now have to manually trigger their health to replenish, similar to a weapon needing to be reloaded once it runs low on ammunition. Read More: First Look at Live Multiplayer Gameplay and New ‘Contraband’ Map of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 – In their Reddit post, Treyarch explained that the reason behind this new feature was to add a whole new tactical layer to combat and to break out of the classic “gameplay loop” that has become stale over the years. The “gameplay loop” refers to the cyclical process of spawning into the game, engaging in combat, dying, and restarting the process all over again. The post goes on to break down the new healing process, which will require players to press a dedicated button to initiate the health regen. However, in order to limit the potential for this to become too overpowered and too much of a bailout, there is a standard 8 second cooldown before the health regen can be triggered again. Players will be given the chance to shorten this to 4 seconds by adding the STIM PACK in the Gear slot in Create-a-Class. – The entirety of Treyarch’s explanation of the new Health Regeneration System can be viewed below or on the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Reddit page. First and foremost, a big thank you to everyone that tuned into yesterday’s reveal and made it a tremendous success! Coming out of yesterday’s reveal event, we noticed that there are questions around Health regeneration and how it works. We got answers, but let’s start with a little context first . . . Understanding how Health works in Black Ops 4 MP boils down to two parts of our design philosophy: the gameplay loop and the drive to create a more tactical gameplay experience. You often hear us talk about the “gameplay loop,” which is: spawn into the game, engage in combat, die, restart. Our motivation for the change to Healing mechanics is to extend the most fun part of the gameplay loop which is combat. Initiating your own heal introduces tactical gameplay decision-making opportunities: players can disengage from combat and heal up or players can rush an unsuspecting opponent who may be healing himself. These are things that introduce a more tactical pace to the game, where instead of simply losing to the person who shoots first, you may be able to survive a gun fight with smart maneuvering. Players manually trigger their healing process with a dedicated button.. This becomes as second-nature as reloading your weapon. Note that the button works on a cooldown, so you won’t be able to heal yourself immediately, you’ll need to wait until you’re powered up again. This takes 8 seconds and then you can heal again. That goes down to about 4 seconds if you select the STIM PACK in your Gear slot in Create a Class. As a disclaimer, we are currently pre-alpha in development and all game tuning can and will change between now and game launch. Hope that helps – please keep the questions and the feedback coming. In the future, we’ll look to reply to questions like this on studio livestreams, as well as on our social channels (Twitter: @Treyarch). – Treyarch

Treyarch reveal changes to Blackout – Revive times, crawl speeds and more A Treyarch developer has given new details on some of the changes being made to Blackout, the battle royale mode in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. After a week long beta (on PS4), Blackout saw a host of changes implemented, as Treyarch responded to feedback on the go. Since the beta has ended, Treyarch are still hard at work making final adjustments to the mode, as it will require endless tinkering to ensure the best experience at launch an beyond. YouTuber Tejbz revealed that he had been told by Treyarch that the revive time in Blackout had been doubled, however a developer has clarified that it is not precisely double. Matt Scronce, Senior Game Designer at Treyarch, as specified the exact change. “Blackout was 3 seconds revive in beta and we’ve increased it to 5 seconds for launch”, he said in a Reddit post. Additionally, to counter the slower revive time, they have increased the speed at which your character will crawl while down, allowing you to get to cover and teammates faster. Scronce explains that it is hoped by promoting revives, the ‘Medic’ perk will be more useful, a perk that was somewhat underused in the beta. Medic will reduce the revive time by 50%. Finally, answering a question about the revive times in other popular Battle Royale games, which are typically longer (for example 10 seconds in Fortnite), Scronce explains “we enjoy the gameplay around revive times at a quicker pace compared to the genre standard.” Blackout will launch with Black Ops 4 on October 12, when fans will finally be able to get hands on with the full game, and undoubtedly have plenty more feedback for Treyarch to consider. Judging by their very receptive attitude so far, it appears Treyarch is happy to not only recieve feedback, but act on it quickly, with patches almost daily in the beta.

Black Ops Cold War bug fixes & more coming in next update from Treyarch TreyarchBlack Ops Cold War developers Treyarch have revealed a number of bug fixes that players can expect in an upcoming update, including frustrating bugs relating to the H.A.R.P. scorestreak and Fireteam Dirty Bomb game mode. Since Black Ops Cold War’s launch, some fans have accused Treyarch of being slow to fix prevalent bugs and other issues in the most recent Call of Duty installment. It’s quite a common complaint in the gaming community, with fans keen to see prompt action taken whenever something in-game isn’t working as it should. Thankfully, Treyarch’s responsive community manager and BOCW Trello board have given us an idea of what we can expect in future updates, and there’s a host of frustrating bugs down to be sorted. They are as follows: H.A.R.P. failing to show all enemies – Fireteam Dirty Bomb mode only allowing matches on Alpine – Negative CoD points balance – Intrusive HUD messages in FTDB – H.A.R.P Scorestreak fix Probably the most significant one is an issue with the H.A.R.P. scorestreak. Known as the Blackbird, Orbital V-SAT and HATR in previous Treyarch games, this scorestreak offers a live look at the location and direction of all enemy team members. However, players have noticed that, in the weeks after its implementation, certain enemies fail to show. This is immensely frustrating for players who have earned the powerful scorestreak, only to die to an unseen enemy who should have appeared on their minimap. Thankfully, this issue is now listed as having a scheduled fix, meaning we can expect a patch very soon, perhaps on January 26. Fireteam Dirty Bomb Next up, Treyarch have responded to an issue that sees Fireteam Dirty Bomb players only finding Alpine, despite Ruka and Sanatorium being the mode’s rotation. Josh Torres, Treyarch’s Community Manager, responded to say that Treyarch are “tracking this issue but I don’t have any updates at this time.” A fix on this one could be slightly slower, but we can expect one soon now it’s on Treyarch’s radar. Negative CoD point balances Finally, fixes for negative CoD point balances and HUD notifications in FTDB are also scheduled. The former, rather bizarrely, saw players being told that their CoD point balances were below zero, while the latter saw intrusive messages about detonation remaining on screen for far too long. Both these issues should be eradicated in Black Ops Cold War’s next update. For a full idea of the fixes Treyarch are investigating and have fixed, check out their dedicated Trello board.

Treyarch reveal special Black Ops 4 rewards ahead of CWL Championships 2019 Treyarch/MLGTreyarch has announced its Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 “Champs Week” rewards that players will receive in both multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies. The final competitive event of the Black Ops 4 season kicks off on Wednesday, August 14, and runs through to August 18, and Treyarch is marking the celebration with a few days of in-game rewards for players. There are, sadly, no cosmetics or even free supply drops, even though they would be very welcome, but instead, players can get their hands on a few helpful boosts that will see them level up quicker in multiplayer, blackout, and zombies. Starting at 10 AM PT/1 PM EST and 6 PM BST on Monday, August 12, players will receive double XP in multiplayer for both their own levels and weapons. Players in Blackout will also be rewarded with double merits towards their Blackout level. In Zombies, Treyarch is handing over 2x Nebulium Plasma so you can grind your ways through rounds of zombie hordes in a bid to claim those all-important Elixirs and Talismans before you start again. Get ready for #CWLChamps with our five-day “Champs Week” Quad Feed starting tomorrow at 10AM PT, including: • 2XP • 2X Weapon XP • 2X Nebulium Plasma • 2X Merits pic.twitter.com/DBskgYSXEg— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) August 11, 2019 This bonus quad-feed event will not run all the way through until Championship Sunday, however, as it ends in the days leading up to the end of the prestigious tournament. Black Ops 4 players will only have until 10 AM PT/1 PM EST and 6 PM BST on Friday, August 16 to earn those boosts and attempt to rank up before a brand new CoD Champs victor is crowned and written into the history books. Fans from across the world will tune in to watch OpTic Gaming try to reclaim their crown, 100 Thieves try and cement themselves as the best Black Ops 4 team around, and to see if an end of season victory in on the cards for the resurgent eUnited. It remains to be seen if Treyarch has anything else up their sleeve for a further celebration as the Black Ops 4 competitive season comes to a close but anything else would be a bonus on top of double XP.

Treyarch responds to complaints about poor server performance in Black Ops 4 Black Ops 4 developer Treyarch has responded to the recent findings that showed sub par server performance. In a post on reddit that covered the October 21 update, Treyarch responded directly to the reports of Black Ops 4’s servers running at 20Hz. Their comment is below: We’ve also noticed a lot of discussion around network performance over the past couple of days and wanted to take a moment to address this directly. We’re constantly working to optimize the game, and particularly network performance, to ensure the highest quality online experience for our players. For a game launch with as massive a population as ours hitting so many global servers at once, we configure our infrastructure to ensure game stability as the highest priority over all other factors. Now that we’re past the initial launch of the game, we are focusing on fine-tuning network performance around the globe, using the real-world data that we have collected. Over the course of the next two weeks, we will roll out several updates to our network setup that will continue to improve upon the experience of our players since launch. As we have always said, launch is just the beginning, and we’re committed to making Black Ops 4 the best-supported game we’ve ever delivered. This is a journey that will involve constant adjustments, improvements, and additions. We appreciate your continued support and patience – thank you! The comment confirms suspicions that the massive player base at launch of Black Ops 4 (and the new Blackout mode) was a little too much for the game to handle at 60Hz servers. Hopefully, server performance will be restored once the launch period kinks are worked out. The rest of the October 21 update is below. Today, we’ve made a minor update to the game that includes stability improvements across all modes, including fixes for some particular crashes in Zombies. We’re also investigating specific bugs and other issues raised by the Zombies community and will follow up in the coming days. We’ve made the following updates to the game (Global): General Miscellaneous Addressed a crash at the end of matches for Master Prestige players in Multiplayer and Zombies. We’re planning further improvements for related UI issues in a future update. – General stability improvements across all modes. – – – Miscellaneous – Zombies Miscellaneous Addressed a crash when crafting the Shield with Frugal Fetish equipped. – Various stability fixes across all maps. – – Blood of the Dead Addressed an issue with the Shield not displaying the correct updated version for the player. – – Classified Addressed a crash when turning on the power in a Custom Mutations match. – – – Miscellaneous – Blackout Stash Looting Addressed an issue where players had to scroll right or left on the d-pad multiple times to navigate through Stash lists. – – Circle Collapse Addressed an issue where the Collapse circle would sometimes appear invisible to players. – – – Stash Looting – Multiplayer Scoreboard Addressed an issue that highlighted the wrong score on the scoreboard if the scoreboard was opened immediately after death. – – Specialists Jumping while sprinting with Ruin now performs the same as with all other Specialists. – – – Scoreboard – Source: Reddit

Treyarch responds to Cold War bug totally removing teammates names in-game Activision / TreyarchTreyarch has finally responded to a frustrating Cold War bug that was removing allied nameplates from the game. Black Ops Cold War’s visibility can be poor at the best of times and while tweaking your in-game settings can help, seeing your teammates’ nameplates is incredibly important. This is especially true if you wish to avoid wasting any ammo or accidentally teamkilling in the game’s hardcore modes. However, a recent bug has been making it increasingly difficult for players to distinguish friend from foe. Nameplates are one of the easiest ways to distinguish allies, but several players have reported an issue where they disappear completely. Not only does this lead to some incredibly frustrating deaths, it can also give the enemy team a huge advantage. Fortunately, Treyarch has responded and are looking to address the game’s nameplate issue for good. Posting on the official Cold War subreddit, AAC_Nitro stated that they had been experiencing an issue with allied nameplates. “My teammates do not have any distinct icons or names over their head unless I look directly at them. Been shooting at teammates all day, [so] if there’s a setting I need to change, please help.” It appears AAC_Nitro hasn’t been the only player to experience this strange issue. In fact, several players reached out to explain that they too had experienced this frustrating bug. “Glad I’m not the only one this happens to,” said Bighead253. “I have to hard reset my Xbox every time this happens.” According to one player, the problem seems to arise when going from Cold War’s Zombies mode to the standard multiplayer. Quite what is causing this issue remains to be seen, but Treyarch devs are aware of the issue. “We’re investigating this one. You’re correct that it seems hard to reproduce 100%. I made sure to forward the latest threads and we’re currently taking a look at it.” Read More: Cold War players demand further sniper nerfs – In the meantime, Cold War players have found that simply restarting the game fixes the issue. It’s also best to avoid playing multiplayer immediately after a round of Zombies – instead, simply restart your game and boot up which mode you wish to play. It’s a little annoying, but this should alleviate any frustrations that come with Cold War’s nameplate bug.

Treyarch responds to Blackout looting bug in October 20 game update Treyarch has fixed a major looting bug in Blackout, which occurred following the latest patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. Treyarch announced the fix in a response to a complaint on Reddit on October 20, which stated that the game was ‘unplayable’ due to the glitch. Read More: Clayster agrees to extension with eUnited – The bug in question prevented players from looting the bags of fallen enemies – but only if their backpack was already filled to max capacity. Treyarch likewise confirmed an additional update forthcoming later in the day, as well as other ‘tweaks.’ ‘This has been fixed,’ Treyarch wrote. ‘Additional minor update coming later today with some other tweaks!’ Read More: Have Black Ops 4’s servers been downgraded? – These ‘tweaks’ could point to the game’s recent update to its Halloween event, allowing PS4 users to gain free access to the Halloween stream through the Black Market. Additionally, players will receive seasonal gear that they can use across all game modes, as well as a slew of new challenges in Zombies called Halloween Calling. Many users are hoping for a fix to the game’s stuttering issue, as well, which has been widely reported across the Black Ops 4 subreddit. Some players have even reported their game freezing for an entire second or more. Blackout has seen massive success since its release, currently topping Twitch’s most-viewed games and succeeding the likes of Fortnite and League of Legends – even during the game’s World Championships, as reported by Twitch’s statistics on most-watched games per hour as taken on October 17.

Treyarch responds to Black Ops Cold War killstreak complaints TreyarchThe Black Ops Cold War multiplayer reveal gave us our first look at new competitive footage. Many in the Call of Duty community were quick to lash out at changes to the killstreak system, however a Treyarch developer has clarified why they were made. As each Call of Duty release comes around, the killstreak system is often tweaked for better or worse. Some iterations played with the idea of scorestreaks instead, while others have stayed true to form. Treyarch’s recent Black Ops Cold War reveal was received well for the most part. However, streaks soon came under fire. “We’ve updated scorestreaks so that earned score is kept through death,” Treyarch explained in the multiplayer showcase. “This change gives all players a chance to engage with scorestreaks.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the more hardcore player base lashed out at these changes, criticizing the devs for ‘catering to casuals.’ There’s more to the system than meets the eye, however, as bonuses can be applied for longer killstreaks. Even the most experienced pro players were left confused after going hands-on with the Alpha. But Treyarch Game Designer Tony Flame has since expanded on the streaks while addressing concerns on Twitter. The Black Ops Cold War Scorestreak System incentivizes a greater range of playstyles. Earn low-tier streaks by contributing your part to a team victory. But to afford the juicy high end streaks, you still need to rack up multiple kills in the same life to earn that Streak Bonus. — Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 11, 2020 “The Black Ops Cold War Scorestreak System incentivizes a greater range of playstyles,” he shared on September 10. “Earn low-tier streaks by contributing your part to a team victory. But to afford the juicy high-end streaks, you still need to rack up multiple kills in the same life to earn that Streak Bonus.” Essentially, the more you do in a single life, the faster you’ll reach the more devastating streaks. A ‘Chain Score’ is shown on your HUD when performing well. This will indicate your current bonus for stacking up multiple kills in a row. You’ll be able to call in a Chopper Gunner much sooner if you go on a tear, as opposed to dying on repeat and waiting for your score to pile up. I wouldn’t say that at all. Trust me we’ve still gotten plenty of feedback internally that some Players cant earn streaks, and that’s ok. But we do want more of the middle-tier players who invest so much time in our game to also participate in the fun. — Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 11, 2020 While some argue that this change “rewards bad players,” Flame “wouldn’t say that at all.” “Trust me we’ve still gotten plenty of feedback internally that some players cant earn streaks, and that’s ok,” he added. “But we do want more of the middle-tier players who invest so much time in our game to also participate in the fun.” In terms of potential changes from the Alpha, it’s clear that Treyarch is taking feedback from the community. “This is something we are actively working on,” Flame reassured. “We’ve built an extremely in-depth economy model for this system, and we’re ready to pipe in and review analytics data from when everyone starts playing so we can dial it in.” This is something we are actively working on. We’ve built an extremely in depth economy model for this system, and we’re ready to pipe in and review analytics data from when everyone starts playing so we can dial it in. — Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 11, 2020 Moreover, they’re actively working towards a state of scorestreak balance for the competitive playlist. “We are still developing the final competitive ruleset. Will be able to speak more on this soon.” So while standard Black Ops Cold War playlists may still offer a chance at streaks for those not performing well in a single life, it could be a different story altogether in competitive modes.

Treyarch responds to backlash over Black Ops 4 timed special events on PS4 Fans weren’t too happy with Treyarch when it was announced that PS4 players would gain access to a Halloween-themed Special Event before PC and Xbox players did. On October 19, Treyarch announced that in addition to the return of the Black Market, they would be rolling out Special Events periodically that bring new items for players to unlock. While all players would eventually be able to participate in the events, they would be coming to PS4 players seven days before the other platforms get them. The outcry from the community on both Twitter and Reddit was swift and furious as many Xbox and PC players were unhappy with the idea of getting to experience the event for less time than PS4 players. One of the most upvoted threads on the r/BlackOps4 subreddit summed up the feelings of community members as ‘wolfflame21’ expressed his displeasure with the extent that platform exclusivity had grown. As the outrage grew, however, Treyarch finally cleared the air to let PC and Xbox players know that they would actually have the same amount of time to experience the event as those on PS4. No, you get the same amount of time. PS4 users just get it earlier, but you’ll have the same amount of time to complete what you want. — I||I TreyarchPC I||I (@TreyarchPC) October 19, 2018 It turns out that PS4 players will simply gain access to these events seven days before PC and Xbox players, but the time they have during the events will remain the same across all platforms. While players were certainly justified in their outrage at possibility having less time with these Special Events, everyone can surely breath easy now that the air has been cleared. Black Ops 4’s Black Market went live with the 1.03 update on October 19 and has introduced a host of new items to chase through the “Operation” First Strike” promo event.

Treyarch responds to game-breaking Black Ops Cold War controller bug TreyarchYou may have had your controller disconnect randomly while playing the Black Ops Cold War beta. Rest assured, you’re not alone and the developers at Treyarch are fully aware of the game-breaking issue. [jwplayer ulMZS35X] The Black Ops Cold War beta went live on Thursday, October 8. If you’ve been grinding throughout the PlayStation 4 period of the test, there’s a good chance you’ve encountered a few problems. After all, that’s the point of a beta. From critical network issues to a sliding bug that made players faster than ever, a handful of problems have already been addressed, though one truly “game-breaking” glitch is still weighing the experience down for some. If you’re playing with a controller, which the majority of PS4 players are, you need to be cautious of this one. Seemingly at random, your controller can outright switch off and leave you defenseless. Regardless of whether your controller is plugged in or wireless, whether it’s fully charged or running low, this bug can strike at any time. When loading into a map, your device can randomly be shut off without warning. “As soon as I got to the select class, my controller turned off,” FrostByte2048 said. From here, there’s no way to turn it back on midway through the game. Even after being “kicked for inactivity,” they couldn’t get the Dualshock back up and running. The only solution “was to reset [the] PS4 by holding the power button.” It turns out this is quite a common issue as dozens of players chimed in with similar experiences from the beta. We’ve even encountered the problem first-hand here at Dexerto too. However, Treyarch is fully aware and trying to push out a fix as soon as possible. “Our team is investigating issues like these,” Treyarch dev FoxhoundFPS responded. They even highlighted other instances of the bug, ensuring they’re on top of it. There’s no telling what causes the disconnect, though some players believe it to be map specific. Cartel could be the main culprit, though the problem can still arise on other maps. Be sure to double-check at the start of every game just to be safe. With the beta moving to all platforms from October 15 onwards, perhaps a fix will be included as the early access goes live once again.

Treyarch respond to “unbreakable” tank concerns in Black Ops Cold War TreyarchJosh Torres, Community Manager at Treyarch, has responded to fan concerns over the strength of tanks in the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, after Alpha footage caused unrest. With Modern Warfare’s life cycle winding down, many Call of Duty fans are turning their attention to Black Ops Cold War, the upcoming title from Treyarch. Recent days have seen fans given their first official look at multiplayer, with some of the world’s most popular content creators and pro players given incredibly early access. Among other things, fans took note of the re-introduction of tanks, vehicles that have flitted in and out of the CoD series. They have featured in Treyarch games before, namely World at War and Black Ops III (albeit re-skinned in a futuristic way). However, tanks came under scrutiny from certain Reddit users, many of whom expressed concerns about the strength of tanks and how they could offer players invulnerable positions. Josh Torres, quickly though, responded to ease player concerns, confirming that a number of changes to tanks have already taken place since the Alpha that many content creators played. “Core concept right here,” he said. “We’re in Alpha and can tune/adjust these types of things.” He finished by emphasizing how tanks will indeed be easily destructible if players “focus” on it. Similarly, he highlighted how players can now edit classes in the middle of matches, meaning they can create an anti-tank class if they need one, but don’t already have one prepared. “Tanks go down very quickly when focused,” Torres said. “You can also spec your weapons out to be anti-tank. Everyone should have a good anti-streak class. You can even make them in-game. No more excuses.” The news was welcomed by a number of Redditors, who seemed more relaxed at the prospect of balanced tanks. We expect to see many more tuning and adjustments made before Black Ops Cold War releases on November 13.

Treyarch respond to complaints about player collision in Black Ops 4 Call of DutyCall of Duty: Black Ops 4 developers, Treyarch, have responded to an in-game issue where players’ character models collide and get caught on one another. Black Ops 4 has recently received some criticism from the CoD community, over issues such as the the removal of the Team Deathmatch playlist on PC and the absence of Combat Records, which prompted Game Design Director, David Vonderhaar, to publicly respond. Now, complaints over in-game collisions with teammates have also been addressed, after a clip from CWL Fort Worth showed even professional players are suffering from the issue on the big stage. Other games, such as Respawn Entertainment’s Apex Legends, are designed in such a way that friendly players cannot clash, and just pass through one another, in order to reduce teammate collisions. Black Ops 4 does not have such a feature. There have already been complaints from community members about the issue, and now, on March 17, an official Treyarch employee replied on a Reddit post. This follows a clip from Fort Worth, which shows professional Gen.G player Colt “Havok” McLendon colliding with his teammates while trying to get to the bomb at the start of a S&D round. The reply from Matt Scronce, Senior Game Designer at Treyarch, says that they have a fix “ready to go”, but have refrained from implementing it due to the “timing and risk assessment”. This is likely in reference to the on going CWL Fort Worth tournament, as changes in the middle of a tournament would prove very unpopular amongst the competitive community. The reply from Treyarch concludes that it was an “unfortunate bug that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.” Given the nature of the response, it’s likely we’ll see a patch and fix early next week, once CWL Fort Worth has reached its conclusion.

Treyarch respond to claims that Black Ops 4 microtransactions are run by Mark Lamia TreyarchTreyarch, developers of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, have denied the rumors that Studio Chairman Mark Lamia is solely responsible for the game’s microtransactions, after a leaker claimed to have “inside” information. Call of Duty titles of late have – generally – received significant criticism for their implementations of microtransactions. Treyarch’s two most recent CoD titles have arguably been the most widely condemned. 2015’s Black Ops III, by the end of its life cycle, had more supply-drop exclusive weapons than base weapons. Similarly, Black Ops 4 has seen a number of weapons added exclusively to reserve crates, meaning they are incredibly difficult for players to obtain, if they are unwilling to spend big. There have been discussions over who is to blame for these microtransactions, with many arguing Activision, CoD’s long-time publisher, are ultimately responsible. However, one Twitter account, known for leaking CoD information, cast doubt on this view recently. On July 24, they tweeted that “Mark Lamia is the one managing MTX at Treyarch, nobody else”. It also states that Activision “just overlooks everything and controls the larger things, such as the Season Pass”. Mark Lamia is the Chairman of Treyarch, a company he has worked with for over 9 years, since he delivered the reveal of Call of Duty: Black Ops back in 2010. However, in response to the Twitter accusations, Treyarch’s Community Manager responded via Reddit. “Typically we don’t respond to rumors, but this claim is based on false information and is targeting an individual,” it starts. It goes on to explain that Lamia transitioned to a more senior role during Black Ops 3, but that “no single person is solely responsible for decisions around design of the game – it’s always a team effort”. It concludes by stating that the accusations are “hurtful and unfair”, and that they want the focus to return to “constructive feedback’, rather than singling out individuals to scapegoat. While many community members are still unhappy with Black Ops 4’s microtransactions, it’s clear Treyarch are reluctant to reveal the real reason for their implementation, and are not going to alter this tight-lipped approach anytime soon.

Treyarch respond after Nadeshot and Priestahh highlight specialist “glitch” at CWL Champs 2019 Instagram: Nadeshot, Priestahh/CWLTreyarch Gameplay Designer Tony Flame has responded to a debate surrounding Ruin’s Gravity Slam in Black Ops 4, after 100 Thieves were the victims of a bizarre incident at CWL Champs 2019. 100 Thieves were playing Luminosity Gaming in the Winners Bracket Round 1, in a clash of two juggernauts that many expected to see later in the tournament. At 2-1 down, 100 Thieves had their backs against the wall in Frequency Hardpoint. The game was tightly contested, but a controversial moment dominated the immediate aftermath, as a Priestahh Gravity Slam failed to kill any Luminosity players, despite seemingly occurring in a packed room. Luminosity were 219-170 down, but secured the map’s second hardpoint, as well as spawns. 100 Thieves looked to break around Priestahh’s Gravity Slam, but the specialist ability failed to kill any of the Luminosity players. Luminosity held the hardpoint to perfection, cementing the map (and series) win, sending Nadeshot’s organization into the Losers Bracket in a surprising upset. However, many were quick to question the incident, arguing that the game glitched and Priestahh should have got numerous kills. OpTic Gaming’s CEO, Hector ‘H3CZ’ Rodriguez, tweeted that he didn’t understand how it failed to pick up a single kill. “I would like an explanation on that Slam from Priestah,” he said, “even if behind the table, the people to the right weren’t safe… thoughts?” I would like an explanation on that Slam from Priestah, even if behind the table, the people to the right weren’t safe… thoughts? — Hector Rodriguez (@OpTicH3CZ) August 16, 2019 The 100 Thieves player in question, Priestahh, was incensed about the situation, asking “where the fuck did my slam go??”. The organization’s founder and CEO Nadeshot, formerly a professional CoD player himself, also claimed that the game “glitched out, 100%”. The confusion was shared by other community members but Treyarch Gameplay Designer, Tony Flame, responded to try and add some clarity to the situation. “The Slam spot did not reach the hallway, if it had, they woulda been gone,” explained Flame. “Looking at the mini-map, it looks like enemies were behind the wall, then jumped out after the slam.” Essentially Flame is arguing that the game did not glitch, but that the table, paired with clever movement on Luminosity’s behalf, prevented the Grav Slam from connecting. It’s hard to know a 360 degree radius slam from a limited 1st person viewagle. The Slam spot did not reach the hallway, if it had, they woulda been gone. Looking at the mini-map, it looks like enemies were behind the wall, then jumped out after the slam. Watch minimap and zoom in pic.twitter.com/rgaYBVLuYY — Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) August 17, 2019 Despite the frustration, some community members argued in favor of Flame’s explanation; that Luminosity played it to perfection and 100 Thieves were scrambling for excuses. The match saw 100 Thieves fall into the Losers Bracket surprisingly early on, but they remain in the $2 million tournament after an incredible reverse sweep of FaZe Clan. They kick off their Saturday against a team currently in the Winners Bracket, while Luminosity start against Team Reciprocity, the roster that knocked FaZe Clan into the Losers Bracket.

Treyarch respond after Black Ops 4 Twitch streamer accused of cheating TreyarchTreyarch have responded after a Black Ops 4 streamer was accused of cheating in Blackout, leading to them seemingly being banned from Twitch. Black Ops 4 is reaching the end of its life cycle and the majority of the CoD community is gearing up for Modern Warfare, but there is still a lively Blackout player base on console – including a select few who are cheating to gain an unfair advantage. There has not been a huge issue with hacking in Blackout, with Treyarch generally being considered as fairly adept at cracking down on hackers. However, one player was clearly frustrated after encountering an apparent cheater in Blackout, and vented their frustrations in the hope of getting a ban implemented. The post on August 24, shows the user spectating ‘TTVchadattak’. ‘TTV’ is often added onto a player’s username in order to advertise their Twitch channel, with ‘TTV’ standing for “Twitch.tv”. However, this particular Blackout player appears to have done nothing but advertise their own cheating. The clip, uploaded by Reddit user ‘lizardpeter’, appears to show the streamer hacking, as his aim snaps suspiciously numerous times, even through walls. To add to the suspicions, the player already has 17 kills. While a tally this impressive is certainly possible, it seems to have been acquired illicitly. The post was entitled: “TTVchadattak is blatantly hacking in Blackout on PC. Here is video proof. Everyone PLEASE REPORT and help us ban him!” In the 18 hours since it was posted, it has amassed nearly 2,000 upvotes as players strive to draw attention to it. It seems to have worked, with Treyarch Communications Coordinator Josh Torres replying: “Thank you for the additional tag. We’ll send this in for processing.” While it can’t be confirmed whether the player has been banned from Black Ops 4, their Twitch channel does appear to have been banned. It’s likely this is for the cheating incident being reported and traced back to the Twitch channel, but again, this cannot be confirmed. The channel page currently displays the familiar Twitch message: “Sorry. Unless you’ve got a time machine, that content is unavailable.” It certainly sounds like Treyarch will be clamping down on the alleged offender, in the same way it appears Twitch have. Black Ops 4’s player count is likely to be down for the weekend of August 23-25, given the release of Modern Warfare’s Gunfight Alpha. Despite the game being nearly a year old, it looks like some are still willing to cheat to win.

Treyarch Release Minimum and Recommended PC Specifications for Black Ops 4 Beta Treyarch have finally released a full list of specs, both minimum and recommended, for PC gamers wanting to get into the Black Ops 4 Beta on August 10. PC gamers are sent to be in for a treat this year, with a separate studio, Beenox, working exclusively on the PC version of Black Ops 4. So here’s what you will need to be equipped with the have a good experience of the beta, which will go live on PC for players with preorders on August 10. It then goes to an open public beta on August 11. Please note: these specs relate specifically to the Multiplayer Beta only. As you know, beta means that the game is still in development and we continue to tweak and refine both the gameplay and technical details. OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent RAM: 8GB RAM HDD: 25GB HD space Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850 DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent Network: Broadband Internet connection Sound Card: DirectX Compatible OS: Windows 10 64 Bit CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k or AMD equivalent RAM: 12GB RAM HDD: 25GB HD space Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580 DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent Network: Broadband Internet connection Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Any PC gamer with a Battle.net account can get in to the Open Beta on Battle.net starting at 10am PT on August 11. Those players who pre-purchased Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 are invited to a full day of Early Access beginning 10am PT on August 10. If you haven’t done so, now is the time to sign up for a free Battle.net account and populate your friends list in preparation for the epic showdowns… Across Battle.net it’s easy to communicate with your friends and add new acquaintances that you meet in-game. This Multiplayer Beta showcases six modes—Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, Search & Destroy, and Control. You will battle over six distinct maps—the four already seen at various events, plus two new ones, Gridlock and Hacienda—across playlists that showcase all the content that the Specialists revel in. Participating in the beta helps our development teams here at Treyarch, at Beenox, and at Blizzard gather data that is used to fine-tune the PC experience. Your feedback is not only welcome, but also a key element in ensuring that we collectively deliver the best PC experience possible. Source: Treyarch

Treyarch Release Update for Black Ops 4 Beta – Jumping and Sliding Changes, Weapon Buffs and Nerfs – Full Patch Notes Treyarch has addressed some of the community’s concerns after day 1 Black Ops 4 Beta (weekend 2), including changes to movement and numerous weapon and specialist updates. The development studio had their fingers on the pulse with feedback over the course of both weekends of the Beta, posting an update daily responding to requests. The biggest change fans will be interested in following the first day of the second weekend, is a slight revision of the movement changes. After Weekend 1, Treyarch significantly nerfed sliding and jumping, but the player base immediately voiced concerns that the changes were too drastic. More: Treyarch’s Dan Bunting Discusses Competitive in Black Ops 4 – “Competitive players will be surprised” – Movement: Jump – As we mentioned in our Day 3 Beta Update, we made some modifications to jump mechanics to reduce bunny hopping. After reviewing those changes yesterday and taking into consideration the feedback from the community, we’ve relaxed some of that tuning by increasing the default jump height back to where it was last weekend. We are still scaling down jump height with each subsequent jump to prevent repeated jumping during combat, but that initial jump is now 5 units higher again. This should help with some of those more difficult mantles. – Slide – Alongside our updates to jump, we also made some slight reductions to slide speeds and distances for Weekend 2. Now that we’ve had a chance to play with those changes internally and out in the wild with you all, along with evaluating feedback, we’re slightly increasing the default slide speed and distance. Our goal is to strike a nice balance between Weekend 1 and the current tuning. We intend slide to be used as a way to get to cover and perhaps surprise an enemy around a corner. This is a delicate balancing act between achieving those intentions while ensuring slide is not used as a primary means of traversal and cannot be spammed repeatedly during combat. If you really want to get your slide game on, check out the Dexterity Perk which will increase your speed and distance while sliding! – Weapons: GKS Extended the damage range to compete better at mid-range. – – ABR 223 Increased 2nd shot recoil to make it harder to hit the 3rd shot in the burst at longer distances. – – Specialists: Recon Reduced sensor dart duration. – – Torque Reduced razor wire cooldown. – – Scorestreaks: Mantis Health buffed . – – Game Modes: Heist Removed irrelevant items from the Hellion Salvo’s upgrade path. – – Xbox 1 Crash: During Day 1, we became aware that some people encountered difficulties booting the game on Xbox 1. After investigating this, we believe that we’ve identified the root cause as one that is related to Friends/Presence features. This morning, we’ll deploy a fix to address this issue. Part of that fix will involve removing the Friends presence in-game, which means that the Friends List on the social menu will not populate. NOTE: The Xbox Live platform Friends systems can still be used for joining, invites, etc. In the event that you are still encountering issues, please flag it with #BO4Beta and @ATVIassist on Twitter. – Finally, there was also some general stability and gameplay fixes: General Fixes: General Stability and performance improvements. – Removed 30fps cap on Best Play cams for increased frame rate on playback. – Check out the full patch notes here. Source: Reddit