Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies fans have been waiting patiently for Mauer Der Toten. The first Survival map in five months, the Berlin-focused experience is bringing some much-needed content to the mode. With an exciting new Wonder Weapon shown off alongside some new enemy types and a robotic ally, it seems like the wait will have been worth it. On top of this, the next Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies map is also confirmed to feature a new perk.
None other than Mule Kick will return in Mauer Der Toten, with Treyarch revealing the new look for the classic perk. Alongside a special can design with some Spanish writing and a gun-covered perk machine, Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fans can expect some special abilities for Mule Kick. While Treyarch has not yet confirmed what its upgrade tiers will be, a recent leak about Mule Kick details the five tiers — and some of the benefits are particularly interesting.
The History Of Call of Duty Zombies’ Mule Kick Perk
Mule Kick made its debut in the original Black Ops game, which served as the second iteration of Treyarch’s Zombies mode. Specifically, it was added via the Rezurrection DLC, the first Zombies-only expansion in Call of Duty history. While its first appearance was technically on Moon, Treyarch also included Mule Kick on every Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies map — including the Call of Duty: World at War remasters. As such, the perk made a huge impact on the mode from the get-go, and it featured in the next three entries of the Black Ops series.
Mule Kick’s functionality is straight forward, as it offers players access to a third weapon. While players have always used glitches to hold more guns in Call of Duty, this perk made it an official mechanic. Having a third gun was a big deal in the early Call of Duty Zombies modes, as players could not purchase ammo for box weapons. As such, ammo management was key, something that made an extra light machine gun or Wonder Weapon a huge benefit. That said, Mule Kick has always had a downside.
When players purchase Mule Kick and acquire their third weapon, they are at constant risk of losing access to it. When players go down and lose Mule Kick, the third gun that they acquired will disappear from their inventories after they are revived. This means that players who ended up getting a Ray Gun or another strong weapon could lose it even if they revived themselves, making the perk a bit frustrating to deal with at times. Players would also have to memorize their third weapon, making sure it is the least valuable gun in their lineup just in case something goes wrong.
Fortunately, the last appearance of Mule Kick prior to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War fixed this issue. While Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Zombies did boast a controversial perk system, its modifiers served as the basis for perk tiers in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. Mule Kick’s modifier not only made weapon switching faster, something that helps when holding three guns, but it also let players regain lost weapons. Once the perk was lost, the weapon would be stored, allowing players to get their third gun back as soon as they rebought Mule Kick. With this modifier making Mule Kick much more popular with fans, it would make sense if it carried over to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Version Of Mule Kick
While fans should always take leaks with a grain of salt, the Mule Kick tier leak certainly seems like it could be legitimate. Not only do the tiers make sense with Mule Kick’s abilities, but they are reminiscent of Tombstone and Elemental Pop in the sense that they use aspects of other perks. While fans will learn what Mule Kick can do in just a few days, the leaked perk tiers are as follows.
- Tier 1: As expected, the first perk tier will give players a third weapon. However, it will also add a benefit when crafting equipment. Whenever players go to make one item, they will end up getting two instead. While this will not matter too much for cheap items like frag grenades, those using more expensive equipment pieces like Monkey Bombs and C4 should be happy with this bonus.
- Tier 2: The second tier of Mule Kick sees Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War players getting more ammo refills from killed enemies. Considering that Zombies and mini bosses already drop ammo fairly often, this is probably the least exciting perk tier for Mule Kick. Still, it could be helpful when gunning down the undead hordes in the high rounds.
- Tier 3: Mule Kick’s third tier brings back back a feature from Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s Bandolier Bandit. When players stow a weapon away, it will begin to refill the magazine using ammo from the stock. This means that players will always have a fully loaded weapon when they switch guns, even if they forgot to reload beforehand. Much like Tombstone’s Who’s Who features and Elemental Pop’s Electric Cherry blast, this Bandolier Bandit benefit works just like it did in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4.
- Tier 4: The fourth tier for Mule Kick is particularly neat. Players will have a 25% chance to get back single-use equipment once it had been thrown. This means that, on average, one of every four Monkey Bombs will come right back to a player’s inventory after they hit the ground. This equipment boost could be hugely beneficial for crossing Mauer Der Toten’s subway. When combined with the first tier, it seems like this perk will be a must for those that like to craft gear as much as possible.
- Tier 5: While Mule Kick’s other four tiers are designed around ammo and letting players save more of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies’ salvage, its fifth tier is the same as its Black Ops 4 modifier. Mule Kick fans will be able to get back their third gun if they lose the perk, with another purchase of Mule Kick being all that is required. Unfortunately, the extra weapon swap speed was not mentioned in the leak.
Overall, Mule Kick seems like it will be a fine addition to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Zombies. While it is certainly not as exciting as Double Tap or PhD Flopper, the other two leaked perks, it should prove to be a lot more useful than Tombstone. For those that cannot wait to start using Mule Kick and unlocking these five tiers, July 15 cannot come soon enough. With the map and perk being added for free, all Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War owners can give it a try.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.