Summary
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6is the upcoming newestCall of Dutyrelease and the twenty-fourth game in thecritically acclaimed franchise. It was released afterModern Warfare 3but is a direct sequel toBlack Ops: Cold War. Black Ops 6, developed by Treyarch, aims to return to form and be true to the series, offering nostalgic features and plenty of variations from what players have come to expect from the last twoModern Warfaretitles.
The newerModern Warfaretitles have fundamentally changed some of the core systems of theCall of Dutyfranchise, offering a more seasonal live service model and focusing heavily onWarzoneintegration. The gameplay also changed, promoting a slower playstyle in an engine that ultimately facilitatesWarzoneas the primary mode.Black Ops 6is a slight deviation from this formula, offering new changes and nostalgic features alike to capture the signatureBlack Opsstyle.
1Warzone-Specific Camo Challenges
Even More To Grind For
One of the more engaging elements of theCall of Dutyfranchise is unlocking the various weapon camos and doing the challenges associated with each unlock. This gameplay loop is a long-running staple of Call of Duty, and the later entries in the series also implemented camos to be unlockedthrough the zombies mode. One example of this is in the previousBlack Opstitle,Black Ops Cold War.Modern Warfare 3had multiplayer camo challenges as well as Modern Warfare Zombies camo challenges.
The Warzone mode inCall of Dutytook the gaming industry by storm upon its release inModern Warfare (2019)and subsequent standalone release. Since then, Warzone has become a popular staple of the franchise and a fan-favorite mode, often being the sole focus of many players. This is likely the reason for a change that will take place upon the release ofBlack Ops 6Season One.When Warzone is integrated, players will be able to complete Warzone-specific camo challenges to unlock Warzone camos. These camos are Gold Tiger, King’s Ransom, Catalyst, and Abyss. Warzone camos will take their place alongside the unlockable multiplayer and zombies camos, totaling three different mastery camo categories for players to work toward completion.
2Omni-Movement
A New Way To Traverse
TheCall of Dutyfranchise has often stuck to its successful formula, and whilst games in the franchise offer content additions, most don’t deviate from the formula. Titles likeBlack Ops 3andBlack Ops 4introduced hero shooter aspects, but most other titles kept fundamentals such as movement relatively similar, be it grounded movement or exo movement.Modern Warfare 3stuck firmly to this standard grounded approach, initially opting to slow down movement mechanics.
Black Ops 6, in stark contrast to its predecessors, has entirely reworked the way movement functions. The system has been dubbed omni-movement, on account of the omnidirectional movement system present in the game, allowing sideways and backward movement that maintains speed and allows for fluid 360-degree motion. This also comes with a new supine prone system, which allows players to turn 360 degrees while prone, a mechanic similar toRainbow Six Siegein the way the gun is aimed from the back when rotated in prone. Players can also turn fully while sliding, as well as dive into prone, a system akin to diving in theMax Payneseries.
3Time Setting
Say Goodbye To Modern War
TheCall of Dutyfranchise is no stranger to differing time periods, starting life as a World War 2 shooter before covering all sorts of historical and science fiction periods such as Vietnam, the Cold War, Modern Day, the Near Future, and the Far Future. Despite this, the last twoCall of Dutyentries have taken place in the modern day. BothModern Warfare 2andModern Warfare 3were contemporary military shooters that remained grounded in the modern-day military setting,at least in their campaigns.
Black Ops 6continues fromBlack Ops Cold War, a game unsurprisingly set amid the Cold War, an era then untouched by theCall of Dutyfranchise. This direct narrative sequel takes place in 1991, meaning the weapons and setting are unique when compared to the modern military setting ofModern Warfare 3.The campaignwill also follow a different story, obviously set in a very different political landscape wherein players will take the role of rogue operatives attempting to identify traitors within the CIA.
4Return Of Classic Prestige
An Old Favorite
One of the most beloved and core elements of theCall of Dutyfranchise is the ranking system. For nearly the entire history of the franchise, the games have followed a prestige ranking system wherein players must reach a numerical level cap before prestiging and having their progress reset, but with a marker indicating how many times they have prestiged. Later entries would iterate on this, going beyond the standard 10 prestige cap and allowing players to rank up a further 1000 levels.
A much-maligned element in modernCall of Dutygames, notablyModern Warfare 3, is the changing of this formula to facilitate a seasonal level system. This system capped players at level 55 until the season started, then unlocked subsequent levels each season, with no true prestige system available.Black Ops 6is set to return to form, allowing players to access and progress through a traditional and nostalgic prestige system from the start, with 10 prestiges and a further 1000 levels for players to push through. This system is not just nostalgic and long-awaited, but gives players a further sense of progression from the start, knowing they have all of those levels to work through at their own pace.
5Camo Unlocks Don’t Require Weapon Levels
No More Weapon Level Grind
“Camo Grinding” as it’s known, is a beloved and pivotal element of theCall of Dutyfranchise, wherein players aim tounlock the mastery camoson each of their weapons. These camos are weapon-specific, then weapon category-wide, and ultimately end in a mastery camo which requires every mastery camo unlocked for each gun. These camos are unlocked through challenge completion and become the core of manyCall of Dutyplayers' focus, with camos offering a unique way to display a player’s achievements.
A change brought about in newerCall of Dutytitles, and on display inModern Warfare 3, is the much-maligned caveat that players must first reach specific weapon levels before being able to progress the associated camo challenge. This created an unnecessary and frustrating roadblock to players' camo progression and often meant that “camo grinding” could not be done as efficiently as in other titles.Black Ops 6is removing this level requirement, and allowing players to progress all of their camo challenges without first reaching a specific weapon level. This is a long-awaited returning feature and will see a massive improvement in the quality of life for players.
6General Playstyle
Faster TTK And Faster Gameplay
TheCall of Dutyfranchise made a name for itself as a fast-paced and frantic arcade shooter that modernized the adrenaline-fuelled action of arena shooters. The franchise has had varying levels of pace to its combat, notably at its height when “exo"Call of Dutygames became popular, offering fast and gravity-defying gameplay.
Over time, however, the pace of theCall of Dutyseries has slowed down, most notably upon the release ofModern Warfare (2019)andWarzone, wherein loud footsteps sound disincentivized run-and-gun gameplay. This was at its height inModern Warfare 3, where many fast-paced movement techniques were initially nerfed, alongside the still-high footstep volume.Black Ops 6, however, remedies this by reintroducing a fast-paced movement system, alongside lowering footstep volume so that players who run and gun are not at a disadvantage and do not have to utilize equipment or perks similar to Ninja or Dead Silence.
