With that quote, Activision kicked off the gameplay reveal trailer for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. The company highlighted an all-new campaign in the Gulf War era and divulged twelve new 6v6 maps and four new 2v2 maps at launch.
The game will also showcase several other small mechanics. For example, many fans are excited about Activision’s addition of the omnimovement system. Players can now sprint and dive in any direction. This new dynamic movement will be a great addition and staple to the series. Still, any major changes will immensely affect those who play the game competitively.
OU’s Call of Duty Team finished 16th out of over 250 programs in the College Call of Duty League last year. The new gameplay mechanics and meta changes are crucial to master quickly, especially for a competitive team hoping to improve its ranking.
“The movement is pretty new so everyone is still getting used to it,” said Tate Rains (T8). “I think when everyone gets used to the movement, it’s [going to] have a big skill gap. The last two games we played haven’t had that.”
Kendon Sitton (Kensei) from the team also referenced how the groundwork showcased in the beta has shown it’ll most likely be better than Modern Warfare 3, Modern Warfare 2, and Call of Duty: Vanguard.
“They did a very good job implementing that into the game. It feels very smooth. Going back to MW3 [Modern Warfare 3] after the beta felt like I was moving in sand,” Sitton said.
Omnimovement is received well by the greater COD community and OU Esports. Fans who were not convinced that added movement mechanics were necessary because of how the series handled jet packs in Black Ops III and Infinite Warfare found it surprisingly balanced.
Having gameplay mechanics that feel natural is essential. Any company that makes a game wants its audience to enjoy the gameplay and play it long-term, and movement is half the battle. But what about gun mechanics?
The beta featured several new weapons, such as the Ames 85 and the Jackal, both SMGS. When people played, it was clear the guns needed some necessary tweaking, as most players were running around with the Jackal.
“The worst part, I think (of the beta) was the weapon balancing. Some guns were way overpowered,” said Lakin Zamorano (ZaMo), the Dev lead and captain of the OU Call of Duty team.
Rains, known for being an SMG player on the team, also saw a clear issue with the balancing. He was interviewed separately and gave a similar answer. “The worst part is the guns. Good Lord. It’s broken,” Rains said.
While the competitive community has the universal feeling of something not being fine-tuned, Activision will likely work on balancing the gunplay before the official release on October 25th.
Surprisingly, the reception from the online COD community mentioned the maps more than the gunplay online. Gamers were not all on board for these smaller maps that were showcased. Our team felt differently.
“As far as [how] map pools [go] in the competitive scene… It’s been pretty bad. I think there is potential this year. I mean, some of the maps are definitely smaller, but there [will] be a lot more at launch. A lot of them look a lot more competitive and not so grueling to play,” said ZaMo.
With so many new additions, the Esports team will have to make many adjustments to be prepared for competition. OU’s team is feeling good regardless, mentioning the benefits this iteration could provide.
“I think it’s going to be really beneficial for faster-paced players. It’s going to cause so much chaos in the match,” said Rains. “I think we’re going to have a pretty good year.
The team is confident in their abilities and hopes to improve their ranking and win the tournaments they’ll compete in.
Zamorano agreed, saying, “The faster pacing will be great for us. I have two amazing submachine gun players [who] play at a very fast pace, and it’s honestly hard to keep up with them sometimes. So putting them [in] a game where I just have to lock stuff down, stay in the back, and let them run free will be great for our team. I’m excited to see how they perform and how active they’re going to be on the map.”
OU’s Call of Duty Team is currently conducting its “2024 University of Oklahoma Call of Duty Challenge” to raise funds for its league dues. 100% of the funds collected will be exclusively used for the team, which is trying to compete in more in-person events.
The team will also be hosting a 12-hour marathon on October 26, 2024, for fundraising. This stream will include special guests, and they will also have their traditional pay-for-punishment system that will bring some exciting elements to the event. With every donation, the team will be closer to having to do some sort of punishment! It’ll add some fun tension to every donation goal they reach. This will be the first stream of the annual fundraising events. You can support the streams through the team’s eTeamSponsor page and on the OU Esports Twitch channel.
