Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is finally due to launch tomorrow, on the 13th of November. Ahead of the release, Treyarch has released new info about some Black Ops Cold War weapon balance changes which have been made since the Beta event; forewarning players that things will be a little different.
Black Ops Cold War Pre-Launch Weapon Balancing
As part of a general update ahead of the game’s release tomorrow, Treyarch has made a range of Black Ops Cold War weapon balance tweaks. These include specific changes to certain weapon categories, as well as improvements for general mechanics, such as aim assist and ADS. To begin with, however, let’s focus on what will be different with the individual weapon groups:
- Assault Rifles: According to Treyarch, assault rifles have received a general performance ‘tuning’ to be closer to the Beta performance of the Krig 6 and XM4. The AK-47, meanwhile, has had its recoil increased.
- Launchers: The inner damage of launcher rockets has gone up, making them more damaging if players fire at targets more precisely.
- Light Machine Guns: This heavier class of firearms have had a damage boost since the Beta. However, their ADS times have also gone up.
- Melee: Players who sprint with a Knife will now run slightly slower.
- Pistols: Players will find that pistols now have decreased hip-fire accuracy when being used to burst-fire. In addition, the range of burst-fire maximum damage has gone down.
- Shotguns: The fire rate of semi-automatic shotguns has gone down slightly.
- Sniper Rifles: As for sniper rifles, they will now have slightly longer ADS times, while scope glint will appear more regularly. Meanwhile, aim assist has had its own improvements. According to Treyarch, it should now; “feel smoother yet require more skill and precision.”
- Submachine Guns: This category has had a small tweak to reduce their overall effectiveness at long-range. SMGs were dominant throughout much of the Beta, but this change should reduce that dominance.
Beyond the specific weapon group changes, Treyarch has also fine-tuned a range of core weapon mechanics. Aim assist has reportedly had improvements, while ADS should now feel more fluid. ADS sway has also had a few adjustments, as has weapon pushback when firing in ADS. Notably, around half of the attachments available in the game should now perform better. This should hopefully increase their overall viability. As a final bonus, Treyarch has also added the ability to dual-wield pistols to the game.