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just a multiplayer quck start guide
just a multiplayer quck start guide
this is just a little tut i wrote a while ago for games radar and thought i might post here on my favorite forum
Call of Duty: Black Ops has a dizzying number of multiplayer modes and options to explore. Whether this is your first tour of duty or your seventh, our quick start guide will have you power leveling in no time. Since we had access to the game for a limited time, we’re going to focus on how to invest your early COD Point earnings to maximize your return. We’ll also tell you how to unlock Black Ops’ secret co-op Zombie modes. Now put down that noob tube and pay attention!
The hell are “COD Points” anyway?
Call of Duty vets are accustomed to earning XP and leveling up to unlock goodies. Black Ops introduces COD Points, or “CP,” an in-game currency that adds a new dimension to the leveling system. CP are used to purchase weapons, attachments, killstreaks, personalization options and just about everything else in multiplayer. It breaks down like this: leveling up with XP unlocks stuff, but you must purchase it with CP in order to actually use it. Example: the Uzi submachine gun is “unlocked” at level 23, but you must buy it for 2,000 CP to equip it in a custom loadout. Once a weapon has been purchased, attachments are available for additional CP.
As with XP, you receive CP at the end of every multiplayer match. The payout is calculated at 10% of your XP earnings. You also get hefty CP bonuses when you level up. Finally, you can earn CP through Contracts and Wager Matches. The XP/CP system is a little more complex than what you’re used to, but it truly improves the customization experience. Read on for details!
Create-a-class – Level 4
Custom classes are unlocked at Level 4. You won’t have much to spend your CP on until you get here, so just try out the default classes and focus on learning the maps. Once Custom Classes are available, you can start buying weapons, equipment and perks for your personalized loadouts. Early on, your CP will be in short supply so focus on really pimping one or two of your strongest classes. Here are some tips on how to spend your CP in each category.
Perks
One of the big benefits of Custom Classes is the ability to choose your own perks. Everyone will have their own preferences for perks that suit their weapon loadout and style of play. But if you’re keen to pick up XP and CP fast, go for the Hardline perk (slot one) for 2,000 CP. Hardline gets you killstreaks faster, which is especially baller when you have the RC-XD a mere two kills away (see Killstreaks – Level 10).
Equipment
The Claymore is a hefty 5,000 CP, but well worth the investment. They’re a great defense against RC-XD spam and are a lifesaver in team objective games. Don’t overlook the strategic possibilities of Tactical Insertion too, which is a cheaper option at 2,500 CP.
Tactical
The new Nova Gas grenade is like concussion plus smoke, and it does area damage to boot. Nova Gas is bargain at 1,500 CP, and a must-have for your arsenal of destruction.
The reusable Tomahawk costs 2,000 CP and delivers a one-hit kill. If you’re always cursing about being out of grenades, grab one of these and start chopping.
A Note on Weapons and Attachments
As you level up, better weapons become available for purchase with your CP. As soon as you buy a weapon, all its attachments are available to purchase provided you have enough CP. In Secondary Weapons, the Ballistic Knife is unlocked at Level 15. Its silent one-hit kills are vastly more gratifying than any pistol, so buy and equip it ASAP.
Contracts – Level 5
Contracts are another way to earn CP. You can start taking out contracts when you reach Level 5. You buy a contract for a small amount of CP, and are rewarded with a big bonus when you complete the terms. They’re available in three categories, Mercenary, Operations and Specialist. You can have one active contract in each category at a time. Some contracts can be completed multiple times, but have a 24-hour cool-off period before you can buy them again.
To maximize your CP, make sure you always have a few active contracts going. Always Be Closing. When you’re just starting out, grab the low-hanging fruit like Steel Meets Spine (Knife an enemy in the back) to quickly turn 25 CP into 150. Don’t forget to buy the easy ones again when the 24-hour waiting period expires! Some of the more difficult contracts will also give you an XP bonus. For example, you can buy the Shotgun Shock contract (Get 2 kills in one life with the Masterkey attachment) for 100 CP. You have 40 minutes of game time to complete it, and it earns you 400 CP plus 400 XP!
As you level up, more demanding Contracts become available in all three categories. And even better, after launch Treyarch will periodically add brand new contracts to the mix to keep things interesting.
Killstreaks – Level 10
OK, now it’s on. Once you unlock killstreaks at Level 10, they’re all available to purchase. Buy and equip the RC-XD killstreak (1,600 CP) first thing. Other killstreaks are your discretion, but at the start of your Black Ops multiplayer career you’ll get the most mileage from the RC-XD. Plus, it’s hella fun to drive! One word of warning: you’re completely vulnerable while piloting the RC-XD, so make sure to hide well before deploying!
Challenges
As in previous Calls of Duty games, Challenges are earned by achieving milestones, such as “Capture 20 objectives in Headquarters” or “Get 15 headshots with pistols.” Other challenges are focused on gameplay, for example the Action Hero challenge tasks you with killing 5 enemies within 3 seconds of diving prone. The full list of challenges is daunting, as pretty much every aspect of multiplayer has a Challenge associated with it. You’ll achieve many of the early ones without even trying – they just happen in the background and occasionally pop up to shower you with XP. Challenges only give XP as a reward, no CP. But they do help you level up faster, which in turn earns you CP bonuses.
Putting it all together
When you’re just getting started, Wager Matches aren’t likely to do you much good so we’ll talk about those in a minute. You’ll only have enough CP for Ante Up, so the stakes will be too low to matter. Instead, focus on power leveling in regular multiplayer matches – you can easily get to Level 10 (killstreaks unlocked!) in a couple hours. Then you can start really maxing your XP and CP rewards by using your perks, killstreaks, contracts and equipment in combination with each other. Here’s a system that worked really well for me. Buy the RC-XD killstreak and the Hardline perk. Hardline means you need one less kill for your killstreak rewards, so you’ll get an RC-XD every two kills. Buy the Nova Gas tactical grenade and equip that too. Now you’re ready to earn some CP!
Buy the Experimental Device contract (Earn an RC-XD killstreak) and the Demolition Wrath contract (Get 10 kills in one round of Demolition). You should be able to cash in both of these contracts in one round of Demolition. Hardline makes it easy to get the RC-XD, and in Demolition the enemy tends to cluster around objectives. From a safe distance, drive the RC-XD to the objective and detonate it in someone’s face. You may even get multiple kills, but note that kills earned with killstreaks do not count toward another killstreak. If your opponents are taking out your RC-XDs, use Nova Gas or a Smoke grenade so they won’t see it coming. As an added bonus, your teammates will be able to take advantage of the chaos you’re creating to better take or hold the objective.
Next, using the same Hardline/RC-XD/Nova Gas combo and take out the Domination Massacre contract (18 kills in one match of Domination) and the Blood for Cash (Earn 2 killstreak rewards) contract. Play a round of Domination using the same system to rack up kills and complete both contracts at once.
There are certainly other combinations of perks, killstreaks, contracts and equipment that play nice together. Looking for and cashing in on these synergies adds a fun twist to multiplayer in Black Ops. Once your Custom Classes are rocking, you’ll be in a position to earn loads of excess CP for gambling in Wager Matches or spending on the more cosmetic options like gun camos, heart-shaped reticles and face paints.
Wager Matches
In Wager Matches, you ante up to get into a match and the top three finishers win CP. No XP is awarded to anyone in Wager Matches. There are four Wager Match types, and no custom classes or weapons are allowed. Each plays very differently, and you’ll likely prefer one strongly over the others. The great thing is that they’re diverse enough that you’re bound to enjoy at least one of them.
Sharpshooter
Everyone has the same weapon, which changes randomly every 45 seconds. As you rack up consecutive kills, you earn perks that last until you’re killed. Sharpshooter matches reward adaptability, since you never know what’s coming next.
Gun Game
Win by getting a kill with each of the 20 weapons in the game. Everyone starts with the pistol and works their way through the preset list of weapons (inevitably stalling at whatever weapon they suck most at.) Getting killed with a melee attack sets you back one weapon.
Sticks and Stones
Crossbows, Ballistic Knives and Tomahawks only. Plays like Free-for-All, but hitting someone with a Tomahawk bankrupts them of points. The Tomahawks make this game wildly unpredictable; a couple of well-placed Tomahawks in the closing moments of the match can instantly rearrange the leaderboard. You’ll either love it or hate it.
One in the Chamber
You have a pistol with one bullet, a knife, and three lives. When you kill someone, you get an extra bullet. Play it stealthy and don’t take any chances to get ahead in this mode. Far and away the most hardcore of the Wager Matches, and another divisive “love it or hate it” scenario.
The Wager Match arena is set up like a casino, segregated by how much you want to risk. Ante Up is like nickel slots: low buy-in and equally trivial rewards, so you can relax and have a goofabout with your buddies. For Weekend Warrior matches, buy in is 1,000 CP per match, but rewards are scaled up relatively. Finally, the High Roller area has an insanely high buy-in at 10,000 CP. As if that weren’t nerve-racking enough, the match type is selected randomly.
Strictly for the hardcore
Does it all sound a bit fluffy to you? Then you’ll enjoy the inclusion of Barebones and Hardcore modes. This is the serious side of multiplayer, the polar opposite of the more frivolous (gimmicky?) Wager Matches. Barebones removes all perks, killstreaks, attachments, equipment and contracts from play. Hardcore removes most of the HUD, increases bullet damage, and turns friendly fire on. If you’re playing Barebones and Hardcore, you’re probably not too worried about saving up to buy all the frou-frou shit you can’t use anyway. Still, you do earn both XP and CP in these modes.
Combat Training
In the Combat Training mode, you can practice with friends to hone your skills in Free-for-all and Team Deathmatch games. You can play against bots of adjustable difficulty on any of the 14 multiplayer maps. Jump in if you need some practice, but be warned: Combat Training has its own separate-but-equal leveling system, so you won’t be able to carry over unlocks or purchases to public matches.
Datasplode
In your Combat Record, you’ll find a wealth of data about your multiplayer performance. Charts and graphs track your career while heat maps glow with your kills and deaths. It’s all right there in the game, no need to create an account or visit an external website. You can even track your Wager earnings and losses to see if your degenerate gambling addiction is paying off or costing you big time.
ZOMG ZOMBIES!!
Zombies won’t help you level up or earn you CP, but they are a hell of a lot of fun in their own right. You can play Kino Der Toten (“Cinema of the Dead,”) a continuation of the storyline started in the World at War DLC, upon beating the single player campaign. Or there are two unlockable zombie games: “Five” and “Dead Ops Arcade.”
Dead Ops Arcade is unlockable at any time from the main menu of the game. Alternate pulling the left and right triggers (ADS and fire) quickly until you break free from the interrogation chair. You can now walk around the room. Find the interactive computer terminal at the back of the torture chamber and enter “DOA” to unlock Dead Ops Arcade, a wacky 4-player Smash TV-style game in which you blast your way through hordes of zombies and rabid monkeys.
“Five,” known colloquially as “Pentagon Zombies,” is unlocked upon beating the campaign. JFK, Nixon, Castro, and Robert McNamara face off against unrelenting waves of the undead in the innermost sanctum of the Pentagon. A LOL riot which should not be missed.
In closing
With these tips and tactics, you should have all your Zombies unlocked and be well on your way to your first Prestige. We were quite impressed with the breadth and depth of Black Ops multiplayer offering and think you will be too.
Call of Duty: Black Ops has a dizzying number of multiplayer modes and options to explore. Whether this is your first tour of duty or your seventh, our quick start guide will have you power leveling in no time. Since we had access to the game for a limited time, we’re going to focus on how to invest your early COD Point earnings to maximize your return. We’ll also tell you how to unlock Black Ops’ secret co-op Zombie modes. Now put down that noob tube and pay attention!
The hell are “COD Points” anyway?
Call of Duty vets are accustomed to earning XP and leveling up to unlock goodies. Black Ops introduces COD Points, or “CP,” an in-game currency that adds a new dimension to the leveling system. CP are used to purchase weapons, attachments, killstreaks, personalization options and just about everything else in multiplayer. It breaks down like this: leveling up with XP unlocks stuff, but you must purchase it with CP in order to actually use it. Example: the Uzi submachine gun is “unlocked” at level 23, but you must buy it for 2,000 CP to equip it in a custom loadout. Once a weapon has been purchased, attachments are available for additional CP.
As with XP, you receive CP at the end of every multiplayer match. The payout is calculated at 10% of your XP earnings. You also get hefty CP bonuses when you level up. Finally, you can earn CP through Contracts and Wager Matches. The XP/CP system is a little more complex than what you’re used to, but it truly improves the customization experience. Read on for details!
Create-a-class – Level 4
Custom classes are unlocked at Level 4. You won’t have much to spend your CP on until you get here, so just try out the default classes and focus on learning the maps. Once Custom Classes are available, you can start buying weapons, equipment and perks for your personalized loadouts. Early on, your CP will be in short supply so focus on really pimping one or two of your strongest classes. Here are some tips on how to spend your CP in each category.
Perks
One of the big benefits of Custom Classes is the ability to choose your own perks. Everyone will have their own preferences for perks that suit their weapon loadout and style of play. But if you’re keen to pick up XP and CP fast, go for the Hardline perk (slot one) for 2,000 CP. Hardline gets you killstreaks faster, which is especially baller when you have the RC-XD a mere two kills away (see Killstreaks – Level 10).
Equipment
The Claymore is a hefty 5,000 CP, but well worth the investment. They’re a great defense against RC-XD spam and are a lifesaver in team objective games. Don’t overlook the strategic possibilities of Tactical Insertion too, which is a cheaper option at 2,500 CP.
Tactical
The new Nova Gas grenade is like concussion plus smoke, and it does area damage to boot. Nova Gas is bargain at 1,500 CP, and a must-have for your arsenal of destruction.
The reusable Tomahawk costs 2,000 CP and delivers a one-hit kill. If you’re always cursing about being out of grenades, grab one of these and start chopping.
A Note on Weapons and Attachments
As you level up, better weapons become available for purchase with your CP. As soon as you buy a weapon, all its attachments are available to purchase provided you have enough CP. In Secondary Weapons, the Ballistic Knife is unlocked at Level 15. Its silent one-hit kills are vastly more gratifying than any pistol, so buy and equip it ASAP.
Contracts – Level 5
Contracts are another way to earn CP. You can start taking out contracts when you reach Level 5. You buy a contract for a small amount of CP, and are rewarded with a big bonus when you complete the terms. They’re available in three categories, Mercenary, Operations and Specialist. You can have one active contract in each category at a time. Some contracts can be completed multiple times, but have a 24-hour cool-off period before you can buy them again.
To maximize your CP, make sure you always have a few active contracts going. Always Be Closing. When you’re just starting out, grab the low-hanging fruit like Steel Meets Spine (Knife an enemy in the back) to quickly turn 25 CP into 150. Don’t forget to buy the easy ones again when the 24-hour waiting period expires! Some of the more difficult contracts will also give you an XP bonus. For example, you can buy the Shotgun Shock contract (Get 2 kills in one life with the Masterkey attachment) for 100 CP. You have 40 minutes of game time to complete it, and it earns you 400 CP plus 400 XP!
As you level up, more demanding Contracts become available in all three categories. And even better, after launch Treyarch will periodically add brand new contracts to the mix to keep things interesting.
Killstreaks – Level 10
OK, now it’s on. Once you unlock killstreaks at Level 10, they’re all available to purchase. Buy and equip the RC-XD killstreak (1,600 CP) first thing. Other killstreaks are your discretion, but at the start of your Black Ops multiplayer career you’ll get the most mileage from the RC-XD. Plus, it’s hella fun to drive! One word of warning: you’re completely vulnerable while piloting the RC-XD, so make sure to hide well before deploying!
Challenges
As in previous Calls of Duty games, Challenges are earned by achieving milestones, such as “Capture 20 objectives in Headquarters” or “Get 15 headshots with pistols.” Other challenges are focused on gameplay, for example the Action Hero challenge tasks you with killing 5 enemies within 3 seconds of diving prone. The full list of challenges is daunting, as pretty much every aspect of multiplayer has a Challenge associated with it. You’ll achieve many of the early ones without even trying – they just happen in the background and occasionally pop up to shower you with XP. Challenges only give XP as a reward, no CP. But they do help you level up faster, which in turn earns you CP bonuses.
Putting it all together
When you’re just getting started, Wager Matches aren’t likely to do you much good so we’ll talk about those in a minute. You’ll only have enough CP for Ante Up, so the stakes will be too low to matter. Instead, focus on power leveling in regular multiplayer matches – you can easily get to Level 10 (killstreaks unlocked!) in a couple hours. Then you can start really maxing your XP and CP rewards by using your perks, killstreaks, contracts and equipment in combination with each other. Here’s a system that worked really well for me. Buy the RC-XD killstreak and the Hardline perk. Hardline means you need one less kill for your killstreak rewards, so you’ll get an RC-XD every two kills. Buy the Nova Gas tactical grenade and equip that too. Now you’re ready to earn some CP!
Buy the Experimental Device contract (Earn an RC-XD killstreak) and the Demolition Wrath contract (Get 10 kills in one round of Demolition). You should be able to cash in both of these contracts in one round of Demolition. Hardline makes it easy to get the RC-XD, and in Demolition the enemy tends to cluster around objectives. From a safe distance, drive the RC-XD to the objective and detonate it in someone’s face. You may even get multiple kills, but note that kills earned with killstreaks do not count toward another killstreak. If your opponents are taking out your RC-XDs, use Nova Gas or a Smoke grenade so they won’t see it coming. As an added bonus, your teammates will be able to take advantage of the chaos you’re creating to better take or hold the objective.
Next, using the same Hardline/RC-XD/Nova Gas combo and take out the Domination Massacre contract (18 kills in one match of Domination) and the Blood for Cash (Earn 2 killstreak rewards) contract. Play a round of Domination using the same system to rack up kills and complete both contracts at once.
There are certainly other combinations of perks, killstreaks, contracts and equipment that play nice together. Looking for and cashing in on these synergies adds a fun twist to multiplayer in Black Ops. Once your Custom Classes are rocking, you’ll be in a position to earn loads of excess CP for gambling in Wager Matches or spending on the more cosmetic options like gun camos, heart-shaped reticles and face paints.
Wager Matches
In Wager Matches, you ante up to get into a match and the top three finishers win CP. No XP is awarded to anyone in Wager Matches. There are four Wager Match types, and no custom classes or weapons are allowed. Each plays very differently, and you’ll likely prefer one strongly over the others. The great thing is that they’re diverse enough that you’re bound to enjoy at least one of them.
Sharpshooter
Everyone has the same weapon, which changes randomly every 45 seconds. As you rack up consecutive kills, you earn perks that last until you’re killed. Sharpshooter matches reward adaptability, since you never know what’s coming next.
Gun Game
Win by getting a kill with each of the 20 weapons in the game. Everyone starts with the pistol and works their way through the preset list of weapons (inevitably stalling at whatever weapon they suck most at.) Getting killed with a melee attack sets you back one weapon.
Sticks and Stones
Crossbows, Ballistic Knives and Tomahawks only. Plays like Free-for-All, but hitting someone with a Tomahawk bankrupts them of points. The Tomahawks make this game wildly unpredictable; a couple of well-placed Tomahawks in the closing moments of the match can instantly rearrange the leaderboard. You’ll either love it or hate it.
One in the Chamber
You have a pistol with one bullet, a knife, and three lives. When you kill someone, you get an extra bullet. Play it stealthy and don’t take any chances to get ahead in this mode. Far and away the most hardcore of the Wager Matches, and another divisive “love it or hate it” scenario.
The Wager Match arena is set up like a casino, segregated by how much you want to risk. Ante Up is like nickel slots: low buy-in and equally trivial rewards, so you can relax and have a goofabout with your buddies. For Weekend Warrior matches, buy in is 1,000 CP per match, but rewards are scaled up relatively. Finally, the High Roller area has an insanely high buy-in at 10,000 CP. As if that weren’t nerve-racking enough, the match type is selected randomly.
Strictly for the hardcore
Does it all sound a bit fluffy to you? Then you’ll enjoy the inclusion of Barebones and Hardcore modes. This is the serious side of multiplayer, the polar opposite of the more frivolous (gimmicky?) Wager Matches. Barebones removes all perks, killstreaks, attachments, equipment and contracts from play. Hardcore removes most of the HUD, increases bullet damage, and turns friendly fire on. If you’re playing Barebones and Hardcore, you’re probably not too worried about saving up to buy all the frou-frou shit you can’t use anyway. Still, you do earn both XP and CP in these modes.
Combat Training
In the Combat Training mode, you can practice with friends to hone your skills in Free-for-all and Team Deathmatch games. You can play against bots of adjustable difficulty on any of the 14 multiplayer maps. Jump in if you need some practice, but be warned: Combat Training has its own separate-but-equal leveling system, so you won’t be able to carry over unlocks or purchases to public matches.
Datasplode
In your Combat Record, you’ll find a wealth of data about your multiplayer performance. Charts and graphs track your career while heat maps glow with your kills and deaths. It’s all right there in the game, no need to create an account or visit an external website. You can even track your Wager earnings and losses to see if your degenerate gambling addiction is paying off or costing you big time.
ZOMG ZOMBIES!!
Zombies won’t help you level up or earn you CP, but they are a hell of a lot of fun in their own right. You can play Kino Der Toten (“Cinema of the Dead,”) a continuation of the storyline started in the World at War DLC, upon beating the single player campaign. Or there are two unlockable zombie games: “Five” and “Dead Ops Arcade.”
Dead Ops Arcade is unlockable at any time from the main menu of the game. Alternate pulling the left and right triggers (ADS and fire) quickly until you break free from the interrogation chair. You can now walk around the room. Find the interactive computer terminal at the back of the torture chamber and enter “DOA” to unlock Dead Ops Arcade, a wacky 4-player Smash TV-style game in which you blast your way through hordes of zombies and rabid monkeys.
“Five,” known colloquially as “Pentagon Zombies,” is unlocked upon beating the campaign. JFK, Nixon, Castro, and Robert McNamara face off against unrelenting waves of the undead in the innermost sanctum of the Pentagon. A LOL riot which should not be missed.
In closing
With these tips and tactics, you should have all your Zombies unlocked and be well on your way to your first Prestige. We were quite impressed with the breadth and depth of Black Ops multiplayer offering and think you will be too.
