The Biggest Things You Need to Know About Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Over the last few weeks, the official Call of Duty Blog has dropped a ton of incredible intel in the lead-up to the launch of Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Today we’re going to package this up for you into one easy-to-digest piece that hits on many of the important features you need to know when jumping in. Consider this your round-up of the biggest new features to look forward to once Black Ops 6 launches on October 25, 2024 – those who have pre-ordered can start pre-loading today!

Launch Maps for Multiplayer

At launch there will be 12 brand-new Core 6v6 maps in addition to four compact Strike maps . All these maps are a mix of small to medium-sized, designed to feed into the signature Multiplayer experience that Black Ops 6 provides. That means awesome set pieces, plenty of cover opportunities, and competitive gunfights that have been designed to not only accommodate a variety of ways to approach Multiplayer, but also the new Omnimovement system that will let you chain combat maneuvers together. Sliding, sprinting, and diving, all with a full 360 degrees range of motion, will give you the tools to be a full-blown action hero.

The Core (6v6) maps will include Babylon, Derelict, Lowtown, Payback, Protocol, Red Card, Rewind, Scud, Skyline, Subsonic, Vault, and Vorkuta. And the Strike Maps (2v2/6v6) will be Gala, Pit, Stakeout, and Warhead.

A few of the ones that stand out to us include Red Card, which takes place in the lobby of a soccer stadium; Subsonic, where firefights will take place in a large aircraft hangar; and Warhead which features an abandoned area where the contents feature a would-be-built Nuketown sliding into the sand. You can get a detailed breakdown on each of the maps mentioned above here on the official Call of Duty Blog.

Prestige and Life After 55

Progression for Black Ops 6 Multiplayer and Zombies is clearcut: climb the ranks from Private I (Level 1) all the way up to Commander (Level 55) by earning match XP by accomplishing a variety of objectives in-match. Everything from defeating enemies, assisting your teammates, or holding objectives will count towards improving your level.

Returning for Black Ops 6 Multiplayer and Zombies at launch will be the Classic Prestige system (and later to Call of Duty: Warzone with Season 1). This Progression system will reward your dedication and time with some impressive and unique rewards.

Once you hit Level 55, you’ll be given the option to choose to build your Prestige rank, which kicks off a new progression tree that lets you earn unique rewards. Once you’re committed, you’ll climb through 10 levels of Prestige, each inspired by a title from Call of Duty history.

For example, the first Prestige rank is inspired by Call of Duty: World at War, earning you unique animated icons, loading screens, and weapon blueprints that call back to that classic title. Once you get through all 10 Levels of Prestige, you’ll graduate to Prestige Master, with 1,000 Levels to climb through, also with additional rewards.

Choosing to Prestige will effectively restart your leveling journey, setting you at Level 1, Prestige 1. As you level up and re-unlock the Level rewards, you also unlock the Prestige rewards as well. Operators and Emotes do not need to be unlocked again, and you won’t lose any weapon levels, challenge progression, weapon builds or customizations — those remain permanently unlocked.

The Black Ops 6 Prestige Progression System is supported across Multiplayer, Zombies, and Call of Duty: Warzone, but free-to-play players will receive fewer Prestige rewards compared to those who own Black Ops 6. If you decide to buy Black Ops 6 while climbing the Prestige ladder in Call of Duty: Warzone, any previous, premium-only rewards will be granted instantly.

In summary, here’s the Levels you can climb across the entirety of Black Ops 6:

• Player Levels: 55
• Prestige 1-10 (55 levels per Prestige = 550)
• Prestige Mastery: 1,000
• Total Levels: 1,605

You can get a full, detailed breakdown on how Prestige will work and more information about the various leveling rewards here on the official Call of Duty Blog.

Gearing Up and Confirming Loadouts

Black Ops 6 has reworked the Weapon Gunsmith to make it more approachable, giving you the option to choose from a variety of weapon attachments to help you design a weapon that is well suited to your style of play. If helpful, you can always lean on the Default Loadouts when you start in Black Ops 6 Multiplayer – these are meticulously designed pre-builds for a specific style of play. It gives you solid ground to work from before you reach Player Level 4, when Custom Loadouts will become available. Then, as you continue your leveling journey, additional items will become unlocked to use in your Loadouts like Tacticals, Lethals, and Field Upgrades.

At launch, you can expect Black Ops 6 to offer 33 different armaments, including 12 weapons new to Call of Duty. As you put together your Loadouts, consider the different types of weaponry available to you and how they unlock.

• Primary Weapons: These are your hard hitters and most-used weapon in Multiplayer combat encounters. This is also your widest selection of armaments to pick from and customize. They include Assault Rifles, SMGs, Shotguns, LMGs, Marksman Rifles, and Sniper Rifles.
• Secondary Weapons: This is your fallback weapon, typically used in emergency situations (e.g. you run out of ammo for your Primary Weapon). Experienced Operators tend to select one that compliments their Primary weapon. Choose from Pistols and Launchers.
• Melee Weapons: Your close quarters weapon is typically tied to the Melee button press on your controller or keyboard — tap for a gun butt attack and hold to bring out your Melee weapon. Choose from a Knife or Baseball Bat

Weapons in Black Ops 6 have a specific set of criteria to unlock, which is tied into your overall Player Progression — gain XP, level up, and unlock weapons. Note that one weapon from each type or class is always immediately available, and the rest are unlocked as you level up. Get a full breakdown on all the available weapons here on the official Call of Duty Blog.

Global Weapon Builds

There are two major game modes for Black Ops 6 beyond the Campaign: Multiplayer and Round-Based  Zombies. In addition, you have Call of Duty: Warzone as a standalone experience. Previously, you had to create custom weapon builds for each scenario. Now with Black Ops 6, you can use what’s known as Global Weapon Builds, which let you utilize a customized weapon across all three game modes, saving you time to get you playing as quickly as possible.

For example, as outlined in the official Call of Duty Blog, suppose you want to create an AMES 85 Variant. In the Loadout Menu for Multiplayer, Round-Based Zombies or Warzone, follow these steps:

• Select the weapon and go to “+ Create New Build.”
• Choose the Base Weapon (or any Blueprints you’ve collected), as the basis of your build.
• In Gunsmith, add Attachments, Cosmetics, and test the weapon out in the Firing Range.
• Return to the Custom Loadout screen and select “Build Options”.
• Rename your weapon.
• Now, when you access the Loadout Menus, the weapon, along with the Attachments, Cosmetics, and name, appears.
• All builds are saved within the menu of the individual weapon type.

Perk System

When customizing your Operator, you can choose from three abilities to bring into each Multiplayer match, bringing unique Combat Specialties to swap through to make your ideal Operator. And with the addition of the Wildcard feature, you can tap into this customization even further.

For Slots 1 through 3, you can select any of the available Perks; one Perk per slot – these activate immediately at the start of a match. You might notice that each Perk has a specific color associated with it. This denotes the specific Combat Specialty the Perk offers when grouped within the same color. The three colors are Red (Enforcer), Blue (Recon), and Green (Strategist). If you choose three Perks of the same color, you’ll be able to pick an additional Specialty for your Operator.

Now, if you equip the Perk Greed Wildcard, you can choose a fourth Perk. This opens a special fourth slot that can house any Specialty (you have the choice of any of the 21 available Perks). This also counts towards obtaining your Combat Specialty, allowing for tactical placement and choice across all four slots. Zombies Perks, however, are entirely different, and those available at launch are covered in the Launch Comms Zombies Blog.

Here’s a breakdown of the Perks and their effect on your weaponry.

• Gung-Ho (Enforcer) reduces movement penalties when reloading and allows reloading while Tactical Sprinting.
• Dexterity (Enforcer) reduces weapon motion while jumping, sliding, and diving.
• Scavenger (Enforcer) allows ammo resupply from downed enemies.
• Bruiser (Enforcer) enables Melee kills to replenish health and earn extra score.
• Tracker (Recon) enables auto-pinging enemies when you ADS.
• Cold-Blooded (Recon) prevents thermal optics from targeting you.
• Fast Hands (Strategist) allows you to swap weapons faster.

Wildcard Notes: Equip the following to affect the use of your weaponry in a variety of different ways:

• Overkill allows you to equip any non-melee weapon in Primary and Secondary slots.
• Gunfighter allows you to receive three extra Attachment points for your Primary Weapon.

You can get a detailed breakdown on each of these Perks here on the official Call of Duty Blog.

Round-Based Zombies Prep

With two round-based Zombies map experiences at launch, and a third map coming in Season 1 (arriving before the end of 2024), the time has come to fully prepare for tackling the terrors of Terminus and Liberty Falls. From the old coal mining tunnels to the structures originally built to be part of a shuttered CIA Blacksite, to the more recent evidence of heinous biological experiments led by the nefarious Project Janus group, there’s a wealth of discoveries to be made.

The Zombies Loadout

Compared to Multiplayer, the Loadouts for Zombies is set up a little differently. The Zombies Loadout is comprised of the following: Weapon (Primary or Secondary), Melee Weapon, Field Upgrade, Tactical, Lethal, and GobbleGum Pack.

Though they share the same name, Zombies Field Upgrades are distinct from those in Multiplayer, but they share the same cooldown and recharge mechanism. Here, the Field Upgrades are powerful devices that offer a chargeable elemental ability, followed by a cooldown when the Field Upgrade recharges – you can charge them faster by eliminating enemies instead of waiting for time to pass. Tactical Equipment comprises limited-per-life items that range from intel-gathering sensors to healing or disorientation devices, designed to offer a non-lethal advantage in combat. Lethal Equipment, on the other hand, is made up of limited-per-life items that harm enemies, usually via an explosion.

GobbleGum Packs

During a match, you access these via a special confectionary machine that holds GobbleGum in your pack and spits one out randomly once you interact with it. GobbleGums come in a variety of rarities: Rare, Epic, Legendary, Ultra, and Whimsical. These single-use power-ups are kept in packs of five within your Loadout and can be brought into each match based on which ones you’ve collected. Check out the official Call of Duty Blog to see a complete list of GobbleGums and which ones you can earn while progressing through Zombies.

Choosing Augments

Once you research and unlock individual Augments, they can be chosen before the start of a match for each individual power-up (Perk, Ammo Mod, or Field Upgrade). There are over 100 confirmed Augments available to unlock and equip at the game’s launch, divided as follows:

• Perk-a-Colas: Eight, each with six Augments
• Ammo Mods: Five, each with six Augments
• Field Upgrades: Five, each with six Augments

Each power-up has two available Augment slots; one for a Major, and one for a Minor Augment. A Major Augment offers a substantial advantage to the behavior of the item, usually during use; a Minor Augment offers a limited advantage. If you’ve researched the Augments related to a power-up, you can swap between the three Major Augments, and three Minor Augments, between matches.

As you learn the different effects of each Augment, and how they stack and affect other upgrades across the game, you’ll discover how useful they can be in battle is obvious, allowing you to customize your Augments for your style of play, whether solo or squad based.

Play in the Cloud

As we revealed a week ago here on Xbox Wire, Game Pass Ultimate members will be able to enjoy Call of Duty in more places than ever before, including on their Consoles, PCs, and more via Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta). Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III, and Call of Duty: Warzone will all be playable via the cloud starting on October 25, 2024. For more information on how to play these games via Xbox Cloud Gaming (Beta), please read here.

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We hope this preview of the many new and exciting features for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 helps you start on the right foot for launch. Make sure you check out the official Call of Duty Blog for even more intel, including detailed breakdowns on all the maps available for launch. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is currently available for pre-order on the Microsoft Store and will launch October 25, 2024, for Xbox One, Xbox Series X|S, Windows PC, Steam, Battle.net and will be available day one with Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass.

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