The ‘80s Action Heroes event launched in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War last week, in conjunction with the Season 3 Reloaded update. The month-long event features numerous tie-ins with the Die Hard and Rambo franchises, including new Operators and modes. The second of these modes, Die Hardpoint, is now available to play.
Black Ops Cold War Season 3 – Die Hardpoint
The first new game mode of the ’80s Action Heroes event was Power Grab, which launched at the start of the event. Now, the second new mode is available too; a variant of the classic Hardpoint game type called “Die Hardpoint”. Like Power Grab, this is a limited-time mode which will only be available during the ’80s Action Heroes event.
In essence, Die Hardpoint mixes the core format of Hardpoint with aspects of the Cranked game mode. (Plus some of the explosive aesthetics which define this ongoing event.) Both teams must compete to be the first to reach 200 points by capturing and holding a Hardpoint. This objective site moves between locations as the match progresses, forcing teams to relocate and fight in new areas. In typical Hardpoint, each change of location occurs after 60 seconds. In Die Hardpoint, that timer is halved to 30 seconds. However, this is just the start of several major changes to the formula.
Every time you capture the Hardpoint or eliminate an enemy player, a Cranked timer starts on your HUD. Once this happens, if you don’t score a kill within 30 seconds, you’ll explode! Scoring a kill only adds 15 seconds to the timer, and the timer itself can never extend beyond 30 seconds. The only way to avoid an explosive demise is to stay on the Hardpoint; the timer will be paused as long as you stay within the Hardpoint area.
Once the Cranked timer starts, kills won’t just extend the time you have left. They will also earn you up to five buffs. Each buff is different, starting with a speed increase, then an increase to ADS speed, weapon handling speed, slide speed, and then finally an increase to the size of the explosion when your timer hits zero.