Announced much later than mostCall of Dutytitles,Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold WarisTreyarch’snewest entry in the belovedBlack Opsseries. Taking place after the originalBlack Ops, this game is set to be a return to form for the series asCall of Duty: Modern Warfarewas for theModern Warfareseries.
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Unsurprisingly, many parallels between both games have been drawn. WhileModern Warfareis one of the most successfulCall of Dutytitles of all time, some of the decisions the reboot made were questionable at best. With Treyarch planning on doing something rather similar toBlack Ops Cold War, now is the perfect time to look at what it needs to surpassModern Warfare.
10Replayable Single-Player Campaign
After the immense backlash fromBlack Ops 4not having a campaign, Treyarch seems to be upping the ante by introducing a single-player campaign that has multiple endings and a customizable player protagonist.
These are great steps towards making a fun campaign that’s replayable. Replayability is key to making aCall of Dutycampaign that lasts past the game’s shelf life. Bringing back customizable loadouts similar toBlack Ops 2’scampaign would go even further with making this campaign more enjoyableand memorablethanModern Warfare’soffering.
9Prestige Ranks
Innearly everyCall of Dutygame, players could choose to prestige once they hit the level cap in multiplayer. This would reset a player’s unlocks and loadouts in exchange for a unique emblem next to their name and, in some titles, prestige tokens or unique camos.
Modern Warfareremoved this system altogether. Once players reach the “soft” level cap of 55, they can continue to accrue experience until they reach level 155. If a player is past level 55 at the end of a season, it gets reset back to level 55. It’s a strange system that lacks the visual flair and long-term grind prestige ranks provided.
8Smaller File Size
It isn’t uncommon to hear of players purchasing hard drives for the sole purpose of installingModern Warfareon them. Even after recent size reductions,Call of Duty: Modern Warfareis a monstrous 200GB partly due to the game installingCall of Duty: Warzoneas well.
Players that don’t ownModern WarfarebutplayWarzonedon’t fair much better, needing to reserve 100GB of space to play it. The size of this game is astronomical and nearly unrivaled this console generation. It would help if players could installBlack Ops Cold Warwithout having to sacrifice so much hard drive space.
7A Great Zombies Map
Treyarch’sZombiesmode is a major highlight with each of their titles. The mode’s great mix of short and mid-term goals keep players engaged for hundreds of hours on end. That said, the coveted mode hasn’t always launched in the best state.
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BlackOps 2’sTranzit was a colossal failure due to its overambition.Black Ops 3’sShadows of Evil was controversial at launch although highly praised by the community now.Black Ops 4’smajor changes to Perk-A-Colas and overall game-flow turned some players away from the mode. Needless to say, the Zombies community has never been so divided on what the mode should be. Whomever Treyarch decides to appease to inCold War, they need to knock it out of the park with this iteration.
6Better Audio
Audio improvements might sound incongruent with the rest of the suggestions on this list, but a large reason why camping is so prevalent inModern Warfareis due to how loud footsteps are. Sprinting can be heard across most 6v6 or 10v10 maps and charging through doors is as loud as an explosion.
This can be viewed as a design decision byInfinity Wardto keep matches slower, but the issue is that footsteps, gunfire, generally any noise is incredibly inconsistent. Certain conditions make enemy footsteps near inaudible while ally footsteps can be heard from across a map. To keep multiplayer matches more consistent and to helpencourage aggressive gunfights, Treyarch should go back to how audio has been handled in pastCall of Dutytitles. At least Dead Silence is a perk inBlack Ops Cold Warand not a Field Upgrade.
5Wager Matches
Wager Matches were unique game modes inCall of Duty: Black Opsthat allowed players to wager in-game currency named COD Points—not to be confused with the real-money currency the more modern games use—and compete in strange yet intense game modes.
One in the Chamber, Sticks and Stones, and Gun Game are just a few examples of the creative game types that were tied with Wager Matches. The gambling aspect of Wager Matches could be left behind if it ever returned, but the game types themselves left for a unique experience that no otherCall of Dutymultiplayer mode can provide.
4Map Voting System
OlderCall of Dutytitles allowed every player in a given lobby to vote for one of three maps they wished to play on. Whichever map received the most votes would be queued for the next match. This did result in players voting for the same few maps in each game, however, resulting in Infinity Ward removing the feature outright inCall of Duty: Modern Warfare.
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Removing map voting has resulted in players outright leaving matches instead of vetoing or voting for a preferred map. Having a great selection of maps in the first place makes this feature less needed, but not every map in aCall of Dutygame is going to be a fan-favorite. At least incorporating a lobby veto system in the nextCall of Dutywould go a long way to fighting players that leave mid-game because of the map or mode.
3Return Of The Gunsmith
Instead of having multiple variants of the same weapon inModern Warfare, Infinity Ward instead introduced the Gunsmith. This system allows players to morph weapons to suit their playstyle by changing virtually any part of the gun.
It allowed for a much larger roster of potential weapons than mostCall of Dutygames release with. Bringing this system forward inBlack Ops Cold Warwould be a large boon to the game’s customization.
2Better Multiplayer Maps
Simply put,Modern Warfare’smultiplayer maps have too many power positions that allow campers toreign in killstreaks with little risk. Maps build around 10v10 gunfights and large sightlines are the main reasons why players dislikeModern Warfare’smap selection.
While making every map a three-lane shooting gallery wouldn’t be much better, a balance between large maps and small, intense maps is key to making a fan-favoriteCall of Dutygame. Fortunately, Treyarch has a good track record with makingsolid yet varied multiplayer maps.
1No Skill-Based Matchmaking
Skill-based matchmaking (SBMM for short) is a system that matches players together based on skill level. A player’s skill level is comprised of their kill-death ratio, win rate, and a variety of other unknown factors. This system is meant to keep the bestModern Warfareplayers from fighting newer, less experienced players.
The issue with SBMM is that it eliminates casual matches. Players are always matched against players on par with their own skills, meaning they musttry their hardestevery game to win. Victory is paradoxically punished by pitting players against even stronger opponents until they eventually lose, preventing win streaks while promoting a more toxic atmosphere. Having a matchmaking system where it favors internet connections between players instead of skill level would be a night-and-day difference for most of theCall of Dutyfanbase.
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