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The Haunting Returns
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Gameplay improvements, Wonder Weapon upgrade details, Prestige Shop updates + more, plus a look at tomorrow’s new playlists.
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New MP maps, new weapons, the finale of Black Ops Cold War Zombies, Alex Mason’s return, and much more. It’s all here.
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Get ready for Season Six on Oct. 7th!
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Complete all challenges in Black Ops Cold War or Warzone to unlock new rewards, including the latest melee weapon.
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Nuketown 12v12, Demolition, Zoo 24/7, Gunfight Blueprints, and more.
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2XP + 2WXP Weekend begins, plus additional MP & Zombies updates and TEC-9 tuning.
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Get ready for Zoo and Demolition in MP, new ways to play every pillar of Zombies, new Prestige Shop rewards, The Numbers Event, a new Melee weapon, and more.
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Plus Season Five Moshpit, new Gunfight Tournament, new Throwback Moshpit, and 2XP Weekend incoming!
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August 12, 2021
All-new content is coming to Multiplayer, Zombies, Outbreak, Onslaught, and Dead Ops Arcade 3 in Season Five starting at 9PM PT on August 12th! New content and features include:
Global:
Multiplayer:
Zombies:
Season Five launches this week with an epic new Battle Pass packed with 100 tiers of fresh content. Pick up the Battle Pass and instantly get access to the badass Perseus Operator “Kitsune” at Tier 0, and work your way to Tier 100 for two free weapons, new Weapon Blueprints, Operator Skins, Vehicle Skins, War Tracks from Call of Duty: World at War, and much more. Plus, players who purchase the Battle Pass Bundle before August 31st will unlock Kitsune’s “Kyubi” Operator Skin as a special bonus.
This season expands the arsenal even further in Black Ops Cold War and Warzone with the new EM2 assault rifle, TEC-9 variable-fire SMG, and Cane melee weapon unlockable at launch. Later in the season, players can get their hands on the Marshal shotgun pistol via in-game challenge or Store Bundle, as well as an additional melee weapon as part of "The Numbers" mid-season event.
Four new Prestige Levels (20-23) will become available on the path to Prestige Master, and even more legacy content from previous Black Ops titles will arrive at the Prestige Shop, including the Level 50 Animated Calling Card from Black Ops 4. Players can also trade in their Prestige Keys for the new “Dream Crasher” Pistol Blueprint at the Prestige Shop at the start of the season!
Two new sets of Season Challenges in Multiplayer and Zombies are incoming with Season Five, each offering exclusive Calling Card and XP rewards, as well as an Animated Master Calling Card for completing each set. We’ve also updated the Challenge Tracker at the pause menu to track Operator Mission progress in-game for all those challenge hunters in Multiplayer and Zombies.
This season delivers five free maps for Multiplayer fans, including a selection of brand-new maps and the return of two original Black Ops classics for the first time in over a decade.
Our newest 6v6 map, Echelon, takes place at Teufelsberg (AKA “Devil’s Mountain”) in Germany, where an overrun U.S. listening station sets the stage for Season Five’s narrative. Fans of Gunfight and Face Off 6v6 will head to New Jersey in Showroom, our newest small-scale, high-intensity Multiplayer map set in a department store at The Pines mall. As our third map available the start of the season, the iconic Slums returns for a new generation of players.
Later in the season, we’re upping the ante with not one, but two revivals from the original Black Ops Multiplayer collection: Drive-In will arrive shortly after the start of the season, with Zoo following mid-season. We can’t wait for players to try out all of the latest MP modes, weapons, and Scorestreaks for the first time on these remastered classics, each with its own dedicated 24/7 playlist. Get all the intel on all five maps coming to Season Five at the Call of Duty Blog.
The new Double Agent mode makes its debut in Season Five, where everyone’s a suspect and it’s up to the Operatives and Investigator to eliminate the crafty Double Agents before it’s too late. As you saw in last week’s announcement trailer, communication is key as everyone tries to determine friend from foe in this new social party game. The mode truly really shines when every player in the match is chatting it up on voice comms and creating some chaos.
We’ve never built a mode like this before, and we're excited to deliver an experience that has players asking questions first before shooting. The design team has also had a ton of fun bringing the classic Black Ops theme of deception to Multiplayer, as players can fully lean into the feeling of operating as a spy in the ranks.
We're proud to bring this mode to Black Ops Cold War in close collaboration with Activision Shanghai. It's been a great experience partnering with their team to create this new mode for our fans, and we can’t wait to see what happens when the community gets their hands on it this week.
In addition to public matches, Double Agent will be available in Custom Games for up to 10 friends to play together in private matches. Get up to speed on everything you need to know about this new mode, including tips and tricks straight from the dev team, at the official guide to Double Agent at the Call of Duty blog.
Along with Season Five’s new maps and modes (including series fan-favorite Demolition coming later in the season!), we’re delivering the Flamethrower as our latest Scorestreak weapon in Multiplayer. As always, be sure to set up your Scorestreaks when the season starts to put this baby to the test in your next match. This one’s a classic, and one of our favorite old-school weapons to deploy in 6v6 since the early days of World at War.
Wrapping things up in Multiplayer, League Play map and mode UI will now only be shown once all players for a match have been found and the lobby has been locked in. This update is intended to reduce the time spent looking for a match by preventing "lobby shopping” in League Play.
As we continue development on our next round-based Zombies map in Black Ops Cold War, get ready for new content to enjoy in every pillar of the Zombies experience in Season Five. That starts with a new upgradeable Perk, Field Upgrade, and Support Weapon coming to all round-based maps and Outbreak.
First up: Death Perception. This incredibly useful Perk is all about survivability, awareness, Salvage drop rates, and increased armor damage. Death Perception’s full suite of abilities includes:
Upgrading Death Perception will allow players to become much more aware of the dangers around them (both through walls and behind them), and the added bonus of 20% additional looted Salvage and High-Grade Salvage is an absolute game-changer at any round. At Tier IV, the 25% boost to armor penetration damage can be a lifesaver, and makes any player a force to be reckoned with in Main Quest boss fights and higher rounds.
Just as we’ve done with other Perks in Black Ops Cold War, Death Perception’s final upgrade at Tier V taps into elements of previous classic Perks. Fans of Black Ops II’s Vulture Aid will be pleased to gain the ability to see nearby chests, resources, and item drops outlined through walls after fully upgrading this Perk, which comes in handy when Mimics are disguised as nearby items, or when hidden objects in Outbreak would otherwise be obscured from your line of sight.
Hit up the Der Wunderfizz machine during Season Five to pick up Death Perception (and check out its all-new jingle!) in all round-based maps and in Outbreak. In Season Six, Death Perception’s dedicated Perk machine will debut alongside our tenth and final Perk-a-Cola. What could it be...?
We’re also delivering a brand-new Field Upgrade for Zombies players this season: Tesla Storm. Its abilities include:
Whether you’re playing with friends or doing your own thing, Tesla Storm generates a devastating field of lightning around you, so all enemies will be stunned and damaged in close proximity. Coupled with a 25% movement speed boost at Tier V and the ability to stun and damage Elites at Tier V, this Field Upgrade has the potential to get you out of the stickiest of situations.
And for those who like it hot, the Flamethrower is coming to all round-based maps and Outbreak as a Support Weapon at a lower cost compared to some of the more commonly used Support items in the game so far. Trade in some Salvage and light ‘em up.
In Outbreak, we’re pulling out all the stops with the new Collateral Region, Transport Objective, Tank vehicle, Grapple Gun crafting item, Disciple enemy, new narrative Intel to discover, and two new playlists. This Outbreak-specific incarnation of Collateral has been crafted just for Zombies, with a custom play space bounded by the confines of the Dark Aether, and an eerie sandstorm filling the Algerian Desert skyline.
We’ve heard the feedback from Outbreak players that getting around the Ural Mountains can take a bit too long when you don’t have a vehicle nearby. Enter the Grapple Gun: a new piece of Equipment available at the Crafting Table exclusively in Outbreak to make traversing Regions and completing long-distance Objectives a snap. The new Transport Objective gives players even more content to take on throughout the Regions, and if you’ve ever wanted to take on an Orda in a freakin’ tank... your wish has been granted.
For those more casual players who just want to drop in for a few rounds and Exfil with their friends, we’ve introduced two playlists for the mode: Endless – which offers the standard Outbreak experience where you can Warp and Exfil from any Region – and the new 3 Region playlist. In the 3 Region playlist, the option to Warp is only available in your first two Regions, and Exfil is your only option in your third Region, so you can drop in, fly out, and stock up on those Aetherium Crystals at your leisure.
Before Season Five begins, Zombies players will be able to get a head start on hunting crucial new narrative Intel in Outbreak, which will continue the Dark Aether story after the events of “Mauer der Toten.” You won’t want to miss a single Intel drop this season, as it all builds up to the events at the start of our next round-based map...
Dead Ops Arcade 3 players can also jump into the new Ikari EggXit bonus map in Season Five: an entirely new area for players to discover in The Wild, loaded with challenging platformer gameplay, hidden rewards, and deadly enemies. Huge shout-outs to the DOA 3 dev team, including Jennifer C. and Leandra D., who created the play space and lighting for this wild new map. As always, a massive thank you to all the fans taking on the Mamaback each season!
On PlayStation, Onslaught players can face the undead and uncover new narrative Intel in the new Echelon map. More Onslaught content is coming later in the season as well, including the new Diminishing Light limited-time mode, along with a new Weapon Blueprint Challenge to take on. As a reminder, Onslaught and its 20+ maps will be available on all platforms later this year.
Zombies players will also have new Operator Missions to take on, as well as new Weapon Unlock Challenges available at the start of Season Five, including the new Cane melee weapon, plus the C58 assault rifle and MG 82 LMG in case you missed out on them in the Season Four Battle Pass.
With the start of Season Five, we’re making some tuning adjustments to several assault rifles, two SMGs, and all Dual Wield pistols. These include the XM4, QBZ-83, FFAR 1, Groza, FARA 83, C58, KSP 45, and LC10. Check out the patch notes below for the full list of tuning details, including commentary from the weapons team on the philosophy behind each adjustment.
See below for all the details on everything coming to Black Ops Cold War when Season Five content launches at 9PM PT on August 12th. For all the latest Warzone updates, be sure to follow @RavenSoftware and @CallofDuty on Twitter – and as always, you can keep track of all the latest game updates at our official Trello page.
Here’s what’s coming this week in Season Five:
Battle Pass
Weapon Unlock Challenges
Features
Operator Missions
Challenges
Prestige Levels and Rewards
Prestige Shop
Barracks
Main Lobby
PC
Weapon Tuning
The XM4 is getting several new adjustments to assist with its handling, as well as a unique attachment. As one of our more popular weapons, the XM4 sees plenty of usage from experts and less experienced players alike, so we’ve made changes to specific attachments to appeal to players of all skill levels. Players may want to experiment with new attachment combinations after this update to find the sweet spot that works for them.
Though the QBZ-83 is a solid performer, it’s been underused compared to the rest of its class. We’ve reduced its recoil to help more players explore this weapon, develop a feel for it, and find success with it in-game.
As the fastest-firing AR, the FFAR 1 should be serviceable in a more aggressive, close-quarters play style. To accomplish this, we’ve given the weapon additional high-damage potential at short range while retaining its original damage values for mid- to long-range combat. Hip fire has also been improved to help with short-range encounters. As a result, several of its Barrel attachments have also been adjusted. These changes allow a skilled player to leverage the FFAR 1’s shorter-range capabilities for a more versatile play style.
With the Groza, handling speed is key. We’ve made visual improvements to help players take better advantage of this weapon’s quick handling, as well as attachment changes to lean into the Groza’s unique personality as a bullpup AR.
Mid- and long-range combat are important factors for the FARA 83. Currently boasting the best range of any AR as well as a fast fire rate, this weapon requires consistency for success. As such, we’ve improved recoil and visibility while firing. While this AR was originally concepted to fill more a marksman-like role on larger maps, it has proven to be reliable in most game modes. Developing a sense for controlled firing will lead to even more success with this weapon.
While the C58 is a powerful weapon in capable hands, some of its handling characteristics initially created a high barrier for proficiency. We’ve addressed this by improving the recoil, feel, and visibility while firing the weapon. The C58 isn’t recommended for close quarters, but with proper ammo management, this weapon can perform much like an LMG with the handling of an AR.
Moving onto SMGs: the KSP 45 has recently overperformed at ranges we feel are better suited for other weapons. We’ve made slight adjustments to its burst fire speed and effective damage range to alter the feel of the weapon just enough that focused players won’t feel much of a difference, but others won’t feel as “lucky” with this weapon.
In the weapon lore of Black Ops Cold War, the LC10 is an SMG created by a sniper rifle manufacturer. Accuracy – specifically at range – is part of its personality. The LC10 also features very little damage drop off to create a very consistent time to kill over a large distance. With the launch of Season Five, we’re making slight adjustments to recoil and range to raise the skill level required for success.
Dual wielding pistols now has a slight movement speed penalty. While not being able to aim down sights is a sizeable trade-off, movement speed has always been a top factor for success with short-range weapons. Lowering the movement speed while dual wielding creates more of a liability regarding range and positioning.
MULTIPLAYER
Maps
Modes
Scorestreaks
Season Challenges
Vehicles
Best Play
Featured Playlists
UI
Perks
Field Upgrades
Support
Outbreak
Round-Based Maps
Dead Ops Arcade 3
Onslaught (PlayStation)
Season Challenges
Blueprints
Featured Playlists
- Treyarch