If it wasn’t clear, it should be now: Treyarch is listening to the community more than ever. Despite a short turnaround from reveal to launch, Treyarch has acknowledged and addressed much of the feedback for Black Ops 6’s release. Yesterday’s blog post delivered valuable information about Zombies, including a deep dive look at the augment system, Gobblegums, and the response to various community gripes from the Call of Duty NEXT reveal.
Treyarch confirmed that the Liberty Falls environment was still a work in progress at the time of its first reveal. The town’s look, feel, and sounds will all have increased “creepiness” at launch compared to the COD NEXT build.
From the assets provided, the map looks gloomier, with the addition of Dark Aether storms swirling purple. I’m glad it’s still fairly bright, as I like the contrast between the light of day and the darkness of Terminus. As a big fan of daytime horror, I was hoping for a little more sun, but this works too!
I still think there was a considerable overreaction to the Liberty Falls portion of COD NEXT. I didn’t like the reveal format (more on that later), but the map delivered exactly what Treyarch promised: a small West Virginian town amid a zombie outbreak. Many Zombies fans seem to be allergic to daylight. Oh well.
It’s worth noting that Treyarch prepared the Black Ops 6 build we saw at COD NEXT specifically for the event. It wasn’t a case of transferring the previous day’s build onto an SSD, adding one line of code that says “Hide Easter Eggs,” taking it to Washington and letting everyone go wild. It doesn’t work like that.
Consumers shouldn’t be expected to know the ins and outs of game development, but if we want to hear from Treyarch throughout the development of a game, there has to be a basic level of understanding or, at the very least, respect for the human beings working on the game.
It’s also disingenuous to present Liberty Falls as a map purely for camo grinding. Treyarch clearly stated that Liberty Falls is more of a traditional survival map: The Giant to Terminus’ Shadows of Evil. I’ve yet to see an argument that wins me over about why this is a bad thing. Sometimes, I just want to turn my brain off and shoot Zombies! The map also has a main quest, huge story implications, and a unique wonder weapon in the Jet Gun. There’s nothing barebones about it.
Treyarch stated it hasn’t shown off further visual elements of the map because they are tied to the quest. Many theorise that we’ll see Liberty Falls succumb to further Dark Aether corruption, and while that doesn’t confirm it, it certainly adds smoke to the fire.
I don’t think you can fully judge a map until you play it—especially when the footage you’ve seen is of an early build of a map still in development. If you cast your mind back to Black Ops 4, many influencers had tempered expectations after playing Ancient Evil at an early access event. Only after launch, when we discovered the full scale of the map, did it become the fan favourite it is today.
I’m not suggesting this means there’s another area of Liberty Falls we haven’t seen yet (though that would be lovely!). I’m pointing out that until we get our hands on Black Ops 6, there’s no point in writing the map off or crowning it a classic.
Even at that, engaging with a map’s strengths and flaws is much more interesting than picking a side. Every Zombies map has things that work and things that don’t. Well, except for that map. You know the one.
Just a Quick Heads Up
We also learned of improvements to the HUD. These changes look great. The return of character portraits and the tight perk layout are small things that make a big difference. I firmly believe in readability over style, so I wasn’t too upset about the original HUD reveal, but that doesn’t mean I’m not excited by an extra bit of flair.
We didn’t see it in action, but I hope that popping a Gobblegum feels less like it did during the Terminus reveal. From the early footage, it was too close to calling in a kill streak for my liking.
Additional confirmation that we can turn off UI elements like medals, score feed, and weapon information is news many were waiting to hear. I’m looking forward to tinkering with the HUD to get it to a place where I’m satisfied. I found the medals helpful in Cold War when grinding for camos, but having the option to turn them off to reduce visual clutter during the first completion of a main quest is a relief.
The Augmentation system is one of my most anticipated Black Ops 6 Zombies features. It combines traditional Perk-a-Colas with the controversial perk system of Black Ops 4 and the tier upgrades of Cold War, creating an additional layer of depth for players to customise their loadout.
In theory, Black Ops 4’s perk system was a good idea, but more work was needed to flesh it out. Locking in your perk decisions pre-match removed a lot of freedom and choice when playing. Similarly, Cold War’s tier upgrades were fun to unlock, but after the grind, there was nothing to do, and our operators were too powerful.
The augmentation system addresses both issues while delivering a traditional perk system. Augments are bonus abilities, so while you might go into a match and think, “I wish I had selected such-and-such augment”, you aren’t missing out on something as vital as a perk.
Each item has a pool of six augments: three major and three minor. You can only equip one of each level, meaning the system is far more balanced than Cold War’s tier upgrades. It’s also a clever way to reintroduce elements of previous perks like Dying Wish, Time Slip and PHD Slider without bringing back the perk.
With such a large mixture of augments, players will experiment with different playstyles. While there will be a meta, I think there are so many potential combinations that we won’t see everyone running around with identical loadouts. It’s less about forcing players into a specific role and more about giving them the tools to create their own —I’m a big fan of that.
Unfortunately, no augment allows automatic armour plating (a feature many of us hoped would return from Cold War). However, several armour-related augments will be worth testing out. Turtle Shell, which essentially transforms the armour system into the beloved Zombie Shield from Black Ops 2, 3, and 4, is bound to be a favourite.
I’m willing to see if I can find a build that makes manual plating less intrusive than it was in Modern Warfare Zombies. However, if players still ask for auto-plating post-launch, I hope Treyarch considers implementing an augment, perk, or system change to address this. I envision having to spam Y every two seconds in the high rounds, which is tedious rather than challenging and one of several reasons why MWZ’s difficulty got old quickly.
Questions surrounding armour plating aside, my only concern is that there was no mention of changes to the Wunderfizz. Again, I’ll see how it feels at launch, but I’m still of the opinion that there needs to be something in place to prevent spam-buying perks at the machine.
I’m pleased with the starting lineup of GobbleGum. There are old classics, newcomers and a few twists on previous ideas. There’s no doubt that the gums in the Ultra tier are extremely powerful, but I think there’s a good balance of “useful, but not game-breaking” gums throughout the rarities. A good example is Soda Fountain, which is now a one-time use compared to its Black Ops 3 namesake.
Between Augments, Gobblegum, Camos, Intel and the traditional Prestige system, there are so many avenues for players to grind in Black Ops 6. This isn’t important at launch, but once you’ve learned a map inside and out, experiencing everything to discover, it’s nice to have additional goals to keep you engaged with the mode.
It’s no surprise that Gobblegum will be available in the store, but I hope they’ll be limited to bundles. As a Zombies player, I’m glad they can be earned entirely through gameplay, and if you do decide to spend money, you know exactly what you’re getting in return. As a gambling addict, though, I’ll admit I’m a little sad to see the Factory go. What can I say? I love the thrill.
I hope Whimsical GobbleGums get more attention this year. There’s potential for them to be more than just a quick goof like they’ve been in the past. They could become modifiers that change the gameplay in fun ways. Bring back Disorderly Combat, but make it change your weapon each round. Have one where zombies are super fast but do lower damage or one where the next round is a guaranteed Christmas Hellhound round. The possibilities are endless!
Next Time I’ll Close My Eyes
Whether it’s my old-school Zombies instincts or just the way I am, I like not knowing everything about a new Zombies experience going into it. The massive blog posts are a buzz and full of information, but I skip past things like the in-depth location guides. Zombies was built on secrecy, but modern Call of Duty is at odds with it. Keeping players informed over every little detail is excellent for other modes, but Zombies should always have a slight buffer. Part of the joy of a new map is discovering the location for yourself, after all.
I enjoy reading the deep dives, patch notes and posts about upcoming features and content, but some things are better left to the imagination. I’m not sure we’d have experienced the same meltdown over Liberty Falls at Call of Duty Next had we just received an extended trailer, a poster and a map logo at the event. Key art and lore teasers sell me on a map more than knowing precisely how to navigate it before I’ve even played it.
I’d much rather see behind-the-scenes information or developer insight after the fact. Give us the lowdown on the map the week before Directed Mode launches to draw in new players, and include some tidbits from the developers who worked on it for the Zombies faithful.
Then again, they already have my money. Maybe that specific marketing piece isn’t for me! Treyarch knows there is a delegation of hardcore Zombies players, but it has to cast a wider net when promoting a new premium title.
It must be a tough spot to be in. How do you market Zombies at a live event like Call of Duty NEXT without showing too much? The simple solution is you don’t! If only it were that easy. As long as the event does good business for Call of Duty, it will continue to exist. I’m not the biggest fan of it–there are better ways to market Zombies–but it is what it is. Launch comes and washes it all away.
It’s nice to see Treyarch is taking feedback seriously so close to launch. It bodes well for the rest of Black Ops 6. With another round-based map launching before the end of the year, it feels like a feast after famine! I am intrigued by how much support we will see for Zombies this year. I’m keeping my expectations in check and assuming four round-based maps, some new GobbleGums and augments, and not much else, but I’d love Treyarch to surprise us all.
Black Ops 6 Zombies looks like an assertive successor to Cold War Zombies. With added influence from past Zombies entries like Black Ops 3 and a steadier development period, it feels like a real chance for the Zombies Team at Treyarch to come out swinging and deliver an unforgettable year of the undead. I’m ready to dive in, ignore the discourse as best I can, and enjoy the game. It’s Black Ops season.