Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War recently saw the conclusion of its multiplayer beta, and fans have already begun picking apart data from the game ahead of its release. In turn, major discoveries regarding the Black Ops Cold War servers have been made by a network analyst named Battle(non)sense — and the findings could prove troublesome for CoD fans.
Though Battle(non)sense’s data is taken purely from the Black Ops Cold War beta, and as such is subject to change, the information will likely stay consistent upon the game’s launch due to it only being a few weeks out. Still, fans may want to start hoping for some changes soon, as the findings do not show the Black Ops Cold War servers in the best light.
While the Black Ops Cold War beta saw major improvements during the trial period’s runtime, fans believe there are still things that need to change before (and likely after) launch. One adjustment that will take some work has to do with the netcode, as Battle(non)sense points out that not all CoD matches are using dedicated servers. For example, 6v6 modes use a mix of player to player connection and dedicated servers. Larger modes, on the other hand, purely use non-P2P connection.
While CoD has a history of inconsistent dedicated servers, and it can be frustrating to see 6v6 modes using P2P servers, it should at least be seen as a positive that large-scale modes like Fireteam Dirty Bomb and Combined Arms feature purely dedicated servers. The issue, however, is that these dedicated servers are heavily damaged by low tick rates of 20 hertz. While the 6v6 matches sometimes use the much-maligned P2P servers, they at least run at 50hz.
Battle(non)sense points out that DICE’s popular Battlefield series has not only used dedicated servers since 2015, but also runs at 60hz despite having destruction, vehicles, and far larger player counts than the Black Ops Cold War modes. The incredibly low tick rate of the large-scale Black Ops Cold War modes could explain why some players feel like the game is unresponsive, with the 20hz servers leading to moments like players dying after already turning a corner and getting behind cover.
Battle(non)sense’s video on the topic is both interesting and troubling, and hopefully, the latest CoD game sees netcode improvements soon. With Black Ops Cold War already having a cheater problem on top of the game’s netcode, Treyarch and Activision have a lot of work to do going forward.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War will be available November 12 on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.