Alongside the arrival of Season 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War has received a massive update full of significant changes to the game. Unlike Season 1’s update, however, Treyarch has made sure to provide the most detailed patch notes possible, covering all the extra features and noteworthy adjustments as opposed to leaving things up for players to discover themselves. While most players may be focused on the new maps, modes, and weapons of Season 2, the changes to the game itself are worthy of some attention.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans should notice a new menu as soon as they load up the game, with new operator Naga being shown on the main screen. Once entering multiplayer or Zombies, players will see their Operators trekking through a jungle as opposed to standing inside a cargo plane, fitting with the theme of Season 2. With the camera following the Operators and a special screen saver mode added for idle players, these menus are much more visually appealing than their counterparts. A fresh menu screen is just the tip of the iceberg, however, as several other noteworthy changes are seen in Season 2.
Multiplayer Map Reworks
While plenty of fans will surely be jumping into the Apocalypse 24/7 playlist to try out Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s latest 6v6 map, the game’s original lineup of maps has been altered based on fan feedback. Several noticeable adjustments have been made, starting with the Moscow map. Two large chunks of the map’s spawn areas have been removed, cut from the playable space to prevent spawn trapping while also letting players have a shorter path back to the objective. Crossroads Strike also received changes, with shadows removed from certain areas to increase visibility and the final Hardpoint position changed.
The desert-based Satellite map has seen the frustrating plane spot removed, something that should make objective modes more enjoyable on the map. With players previously able to shoot through a gap in cover that gave them a great sightline while also making them incredibly hard to see, this change is an important one. Not to be outdone, however, the Cartel map’s big change has seen the bushes of the central area trimmed down. With players that hide inside them normally being impossible to see, adjusting the size of the bushes should make the map better to play on as one of the biggest issues fans had with its design has been removed.
With Miami Strike arriving later in the Season and seeing the least popular map in the game getting some big changes to its size and setting, it seems like fans can expect Treyarch to continue refining the game’s map lineup.
Scorestreak Pricing Adjustments
While the return of the Death Machine scorestreak as part of Season 2 is certainly exciting, some of the original scorestreaks have been adjusted as well. The Counter Spy Plane has seen a slight increase in price, being upped to 1400 points. Its cooldown time has also been increased to 90 seconds, a decision that should see players having to shoot down Counter Spy Planes a bit less often. The defensive streak Air Patrol has seen its score decreased, moving from 2700 points to 2400. While this streak will likely remain niche, those that like to counter enemy helicopters and VTOLs should be happy with the change.
Speaking of Attack Helicopters, the popular scorestreak is getting its cost dropped to 4500 points. Intriguingly, this was the original cost for the helicopter, meaning that Treyarch’s data must have shown that the attempted increase to 5000 points was not working out. The final change to scorestreaks in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Season 2 is to the VTOL Escort, one of the most powerful streaks in the game. From now on, players will be able to obtain their VTOLs at 6500 points, a noticeable decrease from the previous cost of 7000. As such, players should expect to see the controllable fighter jets in the air a bit more often this season.
Quality of Life Changes, League Play, And Prestige Updates
A significant change has been made to the Combat Record, with players now able to see their stats regarding the hits landed on certain body parts. Players will also be able to easily see the damage multipliers for each area on an enemy’s body, a unique feature that makes the Shot Tracker a better way to judge accuracy. The in-game bundles for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War have also seen a change, as players can now easily see which packs they own via the Bundle Locker feature. Players can also Quick Equip items from these bundles and the Battle Pass, a major quality-of-life improvement that speeds up the customization process.
As for League Play, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans will be seeing a few key changes — with one of the biggest being to the scorestreak system. League Play fans will see a system just like the one the older Black Ops titles had as opposed to the controversial new setup, a move that should please old school players. Scorestreak progress will now reset to 0 after death, something that many players would probably be happy to see in regular multiplayer as well. Further, only the Cruise Missile and Artillery streaks will be legal inside League Play, with both having their costs decreased to fit the classic scorestreak system.
Players can also progress through four new prestige levels, as prestiges 8-11 have officially been added to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Reaching each prestige level will unlock an extra tier of Prestige Shop goodies, and players that reach season level 50 will get access to an exclusive SMG blueprint. A new batch of Seasonal Challenges has been added for Zombies and Multiplayer as well.
Dead Ops Arcade Playlists And Music Player Additions
While Dead Ops Arcade 3 remains a niche game, those that love the fun side offering have been given a brand new playlist to enjoy. In the normal version of Dead Ops Arcade, players can pick up a special drop that lets them enter first person mode, playing the game for a brief period of time in the classic Call of Duty perspective. With the drop being useful, fun, and exciting for fans of traditional Zombies, Treyarch has made a separate playlist available where players are always in first person. Alongside a permanent first person playlist, the Advanced Solo Start playlist now grants players more boosts and nukes. They can choose their fates as well, something that should make the mode easier — and give trophy hunters a better chance of completing the game.
Finally, the music player has been updated, giving players access to a selection of tracks from Call of Duty: Black Ops 2. The hidden Firebase Z song “Lost” has been added as well, meaning that players who have activated it once in Firebase Z will then be able to listen to Samantha sing at any time using the menu’s music player. With a special Zombies Outbreak event going on in Call of Duty: Warzone and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, now seems like the perfect time to listen to the track. While players may still find some hidden changes within multiplayer or Zombies throughout Season 2, these are the biggest ones thus far.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.