The latest entry into the Call of Duty series is aiming to change things up in ways that are different from previous iterations of the legendary online shooter. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 recently had their early access online beta across multiple platforms, allowing players to get a preview of what’s to come. Those that preordered the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6, or managed to get online through Xbox Game Pass, were treated to a selection of maps and game types for online multiplayer. Luckily, cross-platform matchmaking between consoles and PC will keep an overabundance of players online to square up with. Although it’s just a fraction of what will be in the final game, the Black Ops 6 beta had enough new features to explore, showcasing how this new Call of Duty game will feel a bit different from what you may have played in previous years.
The beta for Black Ops 6 included four maps, as well as four multiplayer game types to jump into, with more being added after the first weekend the beta is live. Diving into games of Domination, Team Death Match, Hardpoint, and Kill Order can be both chaotic and fun. However, the maps will definitely take players some time to explore and figure out the best ways to approach each game type. The Skyline and Derelict maps are smaller areas that still have enough space to hide and roam around, with many spots to hide and stalk enemy players during objective-based matches. Scud and Rewind are a bit larger, with a lot of open space to see into the distance and spot enemy teams, allowing for multiple styles of play to flourish.
But unlike previous Call of Duty games where you’re limited in mobility when approaching each of these maps, Black Ops 6 is giving players more tools to move round. The new Omnimovement feature lets players sprint in all directions, not just forward, as well as maneuver in ways previously impossible in past Call of Duty games. You can now dive or slide on the ground in various directions when sprinting, allowing you to switch your focus easier when traversing the environment. Backwards and side diving might look a bit awkward at first, but it becomes an invaluable tool in tense situations when you want to get an extra edge against incoming enemy fire.
You can keep the momentum going if you’re sprinting through an area to pressure the other team, or simply get to an objective really quickly, without being forced to stop. You’re not forced to halt your sprint if you suddenly need to change directions, which is a major tweak that will significantly impact how people traverse maps. You will still need to slow down when aiming down the sight of your weapon, but hip firing can still be done while sprinting to the side, which in turn can lead to a dive or slide when you want to. Many will draw parallels to some classic first-person shooters with how it looks, but it works out real nicely in the middle of a match and tensions are high.
But an even better addition is how you can now aim in any direction from nearly any position on the ground with 360-degree movement. In previous Call of Duty titles, you were usually locked into one kind of position when prone, limiting what you can do and how you could aim down your sight. If you ever complained about how stiff things can feel when you’re hiding out during a match, you won’t have to worry as much anymore. Black Ops 6 changes this by letting players switch up their aim to almost any angle, even when you’re lying flat on the ground.
This really shifts how players can approach camping areas and how they can defend themselves when facing a nearby enemy. You’ll be able to easily look behind you and switch back to a traditional prone when you need to, giving more breathing room to protect all sides. Unfortunately, there are still some limitations on where you can position yourself on the maps and how you can take a spot to camp out. It’s not an all-encompassing answer to every situation you might find yourself in, but it’s still a very significant change that many Call of Duty players will find very interesting.
How about the guns in Black Ops 6, are they any good? There are around 16 weapons to unlock and wield in the Black Ops 6 beta, with everything being unlocked for use once you reach level 20 in online multiplayer. As the beta goes on to its second weekend, the maximum level you can reach will increase to Level 30, opening up a few more guns to use. Like usual, every gun has multiple attachments that you can unlock by using the weapons often and scoring kills with them. Most weapons at the start will definitely take time to get enough kills to unlock new sights and attachments, but things get a lot better as you play more. Popular choices for load outs online include the XM4 assault rifle, the Jackal PDW submachine gun, and SWAT 5.56 marksman rifle. Each one of them are very accurate, powerful weapons that get even better with various attachments that you unlock.
An increasingly popular addition to Black Ops 6 that is sure to draw attention online is the ability to take enemy players as meat shield hostages. If you sneak up to an enemy and grab them from behind, you can hold onto them for protection against incoming fire, as well as execute them. Holding onto a player also lets you talk to them via proximity chat, which can lead to all sorts of hilarity and awkwardness. The feature has already sparked a barrage of trolling and over-the-top moments online, with players being as ridiculous as possible when grabbing onto a player.
Although Treyarch has encouraged players to “be nice” to each other, the harsh truth is that this ability opens the floodgates to all sorts of craziness. Luckily, you can turn off proximity chat from the settings before a match, so you don’t have to engage with or hear anything that other players might say if you’re grabbed, but you also can’t talk to them in return with the setting off. There’s definitely a give & take aspect to the meat shield feature, but at least there are options for any player that doesn’t feel like hearing nonsense or weird stuff from others online.
For those that jump into the beta, you can still tinker with customizable player ID cards and even equip emotes to use at the post-match screen. The top three players are displayed for the winning team, who can then use their equipped emotes at will before things transition to the results screen. Some of the emotes are goofy and fun, including a b-boy emote that channels your inner dance battle persona.
In the beta there’s only a handful of them to use, but more might be added in the second weekend, as well as others coming in the full game’s release. This also goes for the operator skins you can use online, which have a variety of characters to choose from based on the Black Ops 6 campaign. Around four operators are locked to those who ordered the Vault Edition of Black Ops 6, as well as extra effects for their weapons. You can unlock a few more operator skins by playing in the beta and reaching Level 20 online, as well as more tags and calling cards for your player profile. However, player level progression will not carry over to the full release, only the items that you unlock during the two weekends the beta is live.
Anyone that already have a set perspective about Call of Duty as a whole won’t change their views based on what’s in the Black Ops 6 beta. But there are definitely changes in this new entry of the series that will mix things up for players who wanted the game to feel refreshed in some way. The Black Ops 6 beta runs online from August 30th to September 4th for the first weekend, with more content being added during the second weekend from September 6th to September 9th. If you were thinking if it’s worth taking a quick peek at the latest Call of Duty, rest assured you’ll enjoy what the game is offering. Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is releasing in full on October 25th for PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, and PC. The game will also be available on Xbox Game Pass on day 1 of its release.
