Show a casual COD player—or even someone who’s never played COD—the Juggernog machine, and they’ll likely say, “That’s that thing from Zombies, isn’t it?”. The perk system is one of several examples of Zombies taking standard gameplay components from Call of Duty and making them cool. Perk-a-Colas, as they are fondly known, debuted in the mode’s second map, Veruckt, mixing valuable buffs with the slick style of a branded soft drink.
Players could buy up to four perks at a time to increase their chances of surviving against the undead hordes. As new maps released, the pool of perks increased, but players were still always capped at four perks max. The only way to change your loadout was to down and buy different perks. Solo players were slightly disadvantaged, as they could only purchase three Quick Revives. Wasting a precious revive wasn’t worth it.
Infinite Warfare Zombies, Infinity Ward’s attempt at the mode, increased the perk limit to five while letting players remove perks to change their loadout on the fly. It was the first time players could legitimately acquire more than four perks outside of Easter Eggs or GobbleGum, and the perk removal feature encouraged build-crafting without leaving the game. I liked this change but didn’t think it made much of a difference in the grand scheme of things. There were still quite a few perks you considered a “waste” and wouldn’t look twice at.
Black Ops 4 was the first time Treyarch had experimented with its perk system. The standard four-perk limit remained, but players had to lock in their perk choices in the pre-match lobby. It was an ambitious change, but ultimately, it was too radical a departure for Zombies. It felt more suited to something like Destiny than Call of Duty Zombies.
The omission of fan favourite perks like Juggernog and Speed Cola attempted to remove “crutch” perks that players would use every game; this did nothing but elevate new perks to crutch status. Treyarch buffed player health on launch weekend, and soon after, Speed Cola returned as a passive ability for any player who had purchased all four perks. These perks were simply too important to remove from the game.
Treyarch listened to community feedback and returned to the traditional perk system in Cold War. However, in a twist, the perk limit was removed entirely, resulting in a new level of freedom for players. The struggle to decide on only four perks was gone, resulting in fringe perks like Death Perception or Tombstone Soda finally getting attention instead of gathering dust.
With freedom came sacrifice. While the change had positive effects, the strategy behind selecting perks was gone. Choosing which order to buy your perks isn’t as engaging as tactically deciding which perks you need when adhering to a perk limit. Traditionally, one of the best rewards for completing a main quest was the player receiving all perks. Many players would head into a boss fight fully perked up in Cold War, which dampened the buzz of completing a quest slightly.
The biggest problem wasn’t the perk limit, though. It was the Wunderfizz: the ease of access to the machine and the ability to choose any perk on demand meant you could load yourself up with perks much faster. The Wunderfizz made Cold War’s round-based gameplay too predictable as players often lean towards the most efficient path to success. Spamming the Wunderfizz was a frequently used strategy after downing. Previously, when you downed and lost your perks, you’d need to navigate the map carefully to repurchase them. In Cold War, you’d be home and dry if you made it to the Wunderfizz. It removed a lot of tension.
As much as no one wants to spin and get a rubbish weapon or perk, it’s part of Zombies. Getting the perk you desire after 3 or 4 spins is much more satisfying than selecting it directly from a menu with no need for a Plan B. When Treyarch throw in elements of randomness, players need to think on their feet more, which enhances the replayability of Zombies.
So, the question is, what will the perk system look like in Black Ops 6? Should Treyarch revert to the original system, stick with no perk limit, or do something completely different? Removing the limit in Cold War was a good change, but players should have to put some work in to access unlimited perk slots.
Therefore, I’d like to see the return of the four-perk limit, but only at the beginning of a match. It would prevent players from becoming overpowered too early and force decision-making in a map’s starting moments. It could also lead to more exciting gameplay moments later, increasing the number of perks a player can obtain via in-game progression.
There are a lot of different ways Treyarch could go about this: the limit could increase every ten rounds, players could complete small quests or objectives, or it could be as simple as an optional point sink: if you throw in 50,000 points, you unlock an additional perk slot. A point sink would give players another variable to consider when managing their points, increasing decision-making opportunities. It would also let purists stick with a four-perk limit for the entire game if they chose to do so.
Alternatively, Treyarch could bring back previous secrets like dig spots and empty perk bottles. These were always worth the time investment, and the random element meant that sometimes, you’d get lucky. Speaking of random and returning to the previously mentioned Wunderfizz, I hope it reverts to its original mystery box-like form. If players can still buy specific perks from it, there should be a much higher cost than purchasing the perk from the standard machine or the perks should be locked behind an objective or secret. The perk machines need to be a higher priority than the Wunderfizz.
I should also mention Gobblegum. While we don’t know which (if any) specific gums will return, there’s a good chance that perk-related gums will appear in BO6 eventually. In Black Ops 3, I always enjoyed using Unquenchable and working my way up to having more perks. It required a lot of points and effort to do so, which made it feel earned. You had to have enough points (or luck) to spin for the Gobblegum; then you had to buy the perk (potentially spinning the Wunderfizz too, which cost additional points). The gradual build-up was immensely satisfying, and I’d be happy doing it via Gobblegum again.
There’s a chance that Treyarch revisits the Aetherium Upgrade system from Cold War. Some perks ended up overpowered with five tiers of upgrades, so rather than boosting the perks themselves, maybe Treyarch will look to implement upgrades of a different kind, such as increasing the perk limit. As much as I bang on about the needfor lots of in-game progression, having long-term progression outside of matches is also beneficial for the longevity of Zombies. It encourages players to grind and keep playing maps well after discovering every secret and completing every quest.
All in all, the perk limit debate is another hot topic that surrounds modern Zombies. The four-perk limit was successful for a long time because it was simple and forced players to make decisions. But Zombies has become a much bigger mode since we first spawned on Veruckt and used the perk-a-cola machines for the first time. There are areas where Treyarch could develop the perk system to be more engaging than simply choosing between a four-perk limit or allowing unlimited perks. That said, as long as we don’t have any transformative changes out of left field (like Black Ops 4), the perk system in BO6 should satisfy and drive us to push deeper into the rounds than ever before.