Activision dropped a massive COD Next showcase, giving fans a deep dive into what’s coming in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 and the highly anticipated Zombies mode.
With the behemoth of a showcase clocking in at a couple of hours, it’s packed with more details than most of us can handle in one sitting. Here’s a quick rundown of all the key information you need to stay in the loop on the latest Black Ops 6 news.
Black Ops 6 to Introduce New Movement System
The showcase introduced all of the new mechanics players will get to experience. Movement is one of the bigger ones, split into two types: Omnimovement and Intelligent Movement.
Omnimovement changes how players move. It introduces fluid and versatile combat manoeuvres like sliding, diving, and a new supine prone, all with 360-degree movement. You can master these manoeuvres through the Training Course in the Multiplayer Beta.
Intelligent Movement allows players to customize their movement settings. Under the Movement options, you can adjust Sprint Assist, Mantle Assist, and Crouch Assist, tailoring how your operator navigates the environment to exactly how you’d be comfortable with it.
Weapons: Progression, Loadouts, and More
The game streamlines the Gunsmith experience, making loadout customization much faster and more intuitive.
Weapon leveling will grant access to attachments without the need to unlock every Optic Node, and with the introduction of Global Weapon Builds, you can use your custom weapon setups across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Warzone. No more spending hours replicating your settings across games.
Weapon Camos are part of the progression system in Black Ops 6, each of which you’ll be able to unlock by completing some tough challenges. The Camo HUB menu makes it easy to track your progress and set goals for your next unlock.
The camo system is divided into three main categories: Military Camos, Unique Camos, and Mastery Camos.
Military Camos are the first step, and each weapon has nine camos you can unlock by completing challenges. They’re consistent across all weapons.
After you unlock all nine Military Camos for a weapon, you gain access to two Unique Camo challenges specific to that weapon, exclusive to each game mode. Meaning, you can get a total of six unique camos for one weapon.
Mastery Camos are the pinnacle of the camo grind, unlocked after acquiring all the other types of camos. There are four Mastery Camo challenges for a weapon, which unlock some of the most visually impressive skins of the game.
Each game mode offers its own set of Mastery Camos. Black Ops 6 Multiplayer has Gold, Diamond, Dark Spine, and Dark Matter. Meanwhile, COD Zombies has Mystic Gold, Opal, Afterlife, and Nebula.
Aside from weapon camos, the game brings back the classic Reticle Challenges, Calling Cards, and a Prestige system. Players can reset their levels while retaining certain progress to unlock certain rewards. Essentially, there are a ton of ways to earn bragging rights.
A Fast-Paced and Dynamic Multiplayer Experience
An exciting trailer for the game mode dropped earlier this week, but the showcase showed players exactly what they’re in for.
The RICOCHET Anti-Cheat system will be in place from day one, making sure everyone’s on the same playing field. Black Ops 6 Multiplayer is built around the classic three-lane map design, but it won’t be the same experience as before.
The game will launch with 16 multiplayer maps, divided into two main categories: Core 6v6 maps and Strike maps.
The 12 Core maps are small to medium-sized, accommodating anything from close-quarters combat to long-range engagements.
- Babylon (Playable at Beta, Weekend 2)
- Derelict (Playable at Beta)
- Lowtown (Available at Launch)
- Payback (Available at Launch)
- Protocol (Training Map at Beta, MP Map Available at Launch)
- Red Card (Available at Launch)
- Rewind (Playable at Beta)
- Scud (Playable at Beta)
- Skyline (Playable at Beta)
- Subsonic (Available at Launch)
- Vault (Available at Launch)
- Vorkuta (Available at Launch)
The four Strike maps are a lot more compact, tailored for 2v2 and 6v6 modes like Face Off. The Strike maps are:
- Gala (Playable at Beta)
- Pit (Playable at Beta)
- Sand House (Available at Launch)
- Stakeout (Playable at Beta, Weekend 2)
Onto Black Ops 6‘s Multiplayer modes, the new Call of Duty title introduces a new mode called Kill Order, where two teams compete with a focus on eliminating High Value Targets (HVTs) for maximum points. The game will also feature classic modes like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Face Off, and Gunfight.
There’s quite a few gameplay enhancements made in the game as well. For example, the TTK is slightly faster than in previous titles like Cold War, yet still allows for meaningful engagements. A personal health bar appears on your HUD when taking damage, providing critical feedback during combat.
Body shields are now a thing. Players can grab an enemy as a temporary shield in close-quarters situations, providing a strategic layer of protection before executing a finishing move.
A Dynamic Death Camera has been implemented. Enhanced hit zones lead to more detailed death animations, dialling the level of realistic gruesomeness to an 11.
The game also offers customizable HUD options and has improved audio, making sure that critical audio cues, like gunfire and footsteps, are clear and spatially accurate.
Map Voting and Theatre Mode will both be making a return. Additionally, Ranked Play will be introduced right from the start of Season 1, unlike previous titles.
Multiplayer Loadouts have also undergone a huge change. Your pre-match Loadouts screen, which allows for up to ten total Loadouts to be created, renamed, duplicated, or deleted, is based around a weapons bench you can see in the background, behind the Loadout UI. This is updated as you access each part of your Loadout.
All About the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer Beta
The showcase gave us a small teaser of some of the Operators players will get to play as. More Operators will be available at launch, but here are the Operators you can pick from during the Beta.
Rogue Black Ops
- Adler (Vault Edition)
- Park (Vault Edition)
- Westpoint
- Nazir
- Bayan
- Marshall
Crimson One
- Brutus (Vault Edition)
- Klaus (Vault Edition)
- Caine
- Toro
- Bailey
- Stone
The Multiplayer Beta is divided into two weekends, each offering different content and features for players to experience.
Weekend One runs from August 30 to September 4, available to players who pre-ordered the game on any platform (PlayStation, Xbox, PC). Players can level up to a maximum of Level 20 during this weekend.
The maps that will be available during Weekend One are:
- Core Maps: Derelict, Scud, Rewind, Skyline
- Strike Maps: Pit, Gala
In terms of game modes, Team Death Match, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Order, and a few Face Off variations will be available.
Weekend Two will start on September 6 and end on September 9. It’s open to all players across all platforms, and the level cap will be increased to Level 30.
For this weekend, the available maps are:
- Core Maps: Babylon, alongside the four maps from Weekend One.
- Strike Map, Stakeout, along with Pit and Gala.
A few new game modes will be added to the roster, including Gunfight and Face Off Kill Order.
More details on the progression system and the obtainable rewards for each level can be found on the Official Call of Duty blog.
And Finally, Key Details About the New Zombies Mode
Hold on tight, as we’re nearly at the end of this gigantic update. Black Ops 6 Zombies has a bunch of new and familiar elements that’s going to pull in every newbie and veteran of the franchise.
Players are assumed to be part of Project Janus, working under the watchful eye of Security Chief John Blanchard. The narrative ties in with the return of Edward Richtofen, who heads the Project Janus organization from a location close to Liberty Falls.
Talking about Black Ops 6 Zombies‘ setting, Liberty Falls is one of the two launch maps, turned from a quaint, peaceful town to one overriden by grotesque monstrosities at every corner. The other is Terminus, and more will be added over time. Every map will have a multi-stage Main Quest that will provide players with unique, limited-time rewards.
Players can craft equipment, upgrade weapons, and explore the map using Ascenders and Ziplines, with all routes leading to the “Alamo“—the Liberty Falls Savings & Loans Bank Building.
The environment is designed to be a lot more interactive and responsive. With Liberty Falls in particular, you’ll have tons of traps in your surroundings that you can use to aid your fights.
The map features a ton of enemy variants, including the classic Shamblers, armored Grotesques, and more powerful Abominations. If you’re feeling overwhelmed, you can call for extraction.
Black Ops 6 Zombies will have a Directed Mode designed to help newcomers through on-screen objectives and difficulty capping. Players can gradually grow their skills before they’re thrust into the chaos of it all. This mode will arrive post-launch, with rewards for those who complete the Main Quest before its introduction.
As mentioned before, players can earn Weapon Mastery camos separately from the other game modes. There will also be Dark Ops Challenges and a Prestige system to further incentivize players.
On the weapons side of things, there are over 100 confirmed Augments that allow players to enhance their Perk-a-Colas, Ammo Mods, and Field Upgrades. GobbleGums will also be making a return and can be randomly picked up from machines in matches.
There are also a couple of Wonder Weapons you can wield, like the Thrustodyne Model 23 exclusive to Liberty Falls, and the Ray Gun.
These are the highlights of the showcase, and there’s a ton more fun and interesting details that you’ll get to experience yourself when Black Ops 6 comes out.
Activision has seemingly really knocked it out of the park with this one. What are you most excited to experience in Blacks Ops 6? Let us know in the comments below!
