Black Ops 2

It was confirmed today by PC Gamer Magazine that Black Ops 2 will be getting dedicated servers. That only left people wondering if these dedicated servers would be ranked (game statistics get sent back to a central database so you can see stats and rank up, etc) or unranked.

Treyarch’s Call of Duty games have supported ranked dedicated servers with the last few installments, so it was hoped that this would also be the case with Black Ops 2. That turned out to be true when Treyarch’s @Pcdev confirmed in a Tweet moments ago that there would indeed be ranked server support for Black Ops 2.

Call of Duty’s Create-a-Class system and the way that you’ve build your loadouts in the previous five CoD games is getting a radical overhaul for Black Ops 2 with a new ‘point allocation system’ that is said to be in place

The idea behind this is that you can use the new system to set up classes that aren’t restricted to a primary, secondary, equipment and three Perks like you’ve traditionally had to in previous games.

For example, you could use all your points toward starting out with 2 primary weapons kitted out with attachments, which would use most of your points and only have 1 Perk. Or, on the other end of the scale, you could allocate no points to weapons and start out with just a knife, kill someone, and pick up their gun (should you choose). The points you haven’t used on any weapons / attachments / equipment would allow you to use them toward lots of Perks. Of course you can still create classes with a mixture of weapons, attachments, equipment and Perks, should you wish.

Put simply, the Black Ops 2 point allocation system replaces the primary / secondary / equipment slot system. Guns, attachments, equipment and Perks are now ‘bought’ with points. Allocate less points to weapons, attachments and equipment, you can get more Perks. Allocate more points to weapons, attachments and equipment, you get less Perks. This system gives people more freedom to set up classes more favorable to their particular way of playing the game.

A new, re-imagined version of Black Ops’ most popular map, the tiny ‘Nuketown’, is making its way to Black Ops 2. Nuketown 2025, as it’s called, will initially be available to people who pre-order Black Ops 2 from select outlets (no confirmed list of outlets yet) according to posters that have started appearing in stores.

Q. How soon can I pre-order Call of Duty®: Black Ops II to get the Nuketown 2025 map?

A. Fans who pre-order Call of Duty: Black Ops II now will get the Nuketown 2025 downloadable bonus map when Call of Duty: Black Ops II releases this November 13th. If you already pre-ordered the game then you’re all set, and you will be able to download the bonus map when Call of Duty: Black Ops II launches.

Q. Where will the pre-order program be available?

A. It will be available through most retailers worldwide.

Q: How do I make sure I can get Nuketown 2025?

A. Nuketown 2025 will be available to any customer who pre-orders their copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops II at participating retailers worldwide. Pre-ordering will secure you a launch unit of Call of Duty: Black Ops II that will include the Nuketown 2025 downloadable bonus map.

Q. When will Nuketown 2025 become available to me?

A. The Nuketown 2025 map will be available for download when Call of Duty: Black Ops II releases worldwide on November 13, 2012.

Q. Will it be available on all platforms?

A. Yes, it is a multiplatform pre-order program. Pre-orders will also be accepted through Steam. Simply follow the instructions to download through your console or PC.

Q. Is Nuketown 2025 locked on the disc?

A. No. Nuketown 2025 is a download.

Q. What if I have already pre-ordered Call of Duty: Black Ops II?

A. No need to worry. Those who have already pre-ordered will be able to purchase a launch unit of Call of Duty: Black Ops II that will include the Nuketown 2025 downloadable bonus map

Treyarch gave more details on Call of Duty: Black Ops 2?s multiplayer, revealing that in an attempt to simplify the franchise’s levelling system, players will now be able to climb through the ranks of 55 standard character levels and ten prestige ranks.

Every level up will earn one unlock token. Although there are over 100 items to be unlocked, they’re gated by level, and players won’t be able to get them all. Instead, you’ll choose from a range of options available at your current level, selecting those which best suit your playstyle at the time; to see everything, you’ll need multiple prestige levels.

Unlockable items include bonuses like score streaks and wildcards as well as weapons and equipment.

Black Ops 2 will not utilise CoD points, but medals make a return; players will score extra XP for certain feats, which are repeatable"

"Black Ops 2?s multiplayer will utilise a new system of score streaks in place of the more familiar killstreaks of previous Call of Duty games, with some terrific rewards available to high-scoring players.
As detailed behind closed doors at gamescom, score streaks allow players to rack up bonuses for completing objectives and activities as well as making kills. While kills will add to a player’s score streak meter, securing objectives, capturing flags, defending team mates with turrets and heat shields, and earning assist points will raise the meter significantly faster.

Score streaks unlock bonuses such as being able to call in the RX-XD, UAV (unmanned aerial vehicle), VTOL Warship, Lodestar and X9 Unit.

The Guardian, seen in an early trailer, is another score streak reward option. This Humvee-powered unit exists in the real world, and is good for play modes with objectives, as it has strong crowd control thanks to the ability to microwave enemies.

Another example is the AGR, a small tank unit. For the first time, players can summon an AGR by throwing a smoke canister, and have it break out of its air-dropped crate independently, saving a mad dash across the map to activate the bonus. Players can control the mech by holding X or let it wreak destruction on its own.

The Hellstorm Missile is yet another reward. Piloted from the ground, the missile can be smacked into troops on the ground or burst in mid air like a cluster bomb.

Then there’s the Escort Drone; this is an odd little beast that shouts intel at the player, including updates on your score streaks, and rampages across the battlefield making kills.

Although these sound like pretty badass bonuses, Treyarch is certain that players with correct counter-loadouts will be able to take them down; EMP grenades, for example, will drop tech fast

Black Ops 2′s multiplayer introduces a new League Play system for the first time in Call of Duty history, meaning matchmaking can place players in games with people on the same skill level. As players compete in ‘placement matches’, their skill level is being determined through various means and when it’s time to jump into League Play, it puts them into one of seven leagues with players of a roughly equal skill level.

When players start to beat the competition in their league / division on a regular basis, they get promoted up to the next league. The system also monitors how players behave and punishes those who quit matches too often and early. This means that players who are deliberately trying to get placed in a league beneath their skill level won’t be in for a good time.

Each of the leagues in Black Ops 2′s multiplayer gets its own custom icon / emblem. Here are all seven of Black Ops 2′s league emblems:

Treyarch is firmly shoving Black Ops 2 into the eSports scene with the addition of two brand-new features never before seen in a Call of Duty game. Black Ops 2 players will be able to livestream games directly to the web and shoutcast (commentate) over them, all straight from within the game on all platforms!

In addition to the games two teams (or three in the new Multi Team Deathmatch game mode), there’s an option for one player to join a third, spectator team – the shoutcaster. Once the match starts, the shoutcaster can use the CODcast interface to follow players of either team, or watch the match from an overhead map that shows the location of all players while shoutcasting about what’s going on with the standard headset mic. There’s even a picture-in-picture mode.

Black Ops 2 livestreams can be started from the CODcast menu at any time, sending the stream to a web browser for anyone on a PC, Mac, or mobile device to watch. Players can shoutcast games live as they are taking place or add commentary to games saved in Black Ops 2′s new and improved Theater mode.

To prevent cheating, broadcast matches are delayed by 15 seconds.

This is a great new feature for Call of Duty that’s sure to get a lot of use. You only need to go to sites like Twitch.tv to see how popular livestreaming video games has become. Now that it’ll be available for anyone to do straight from within Black Ops 2, with nothing to set up other than enabling it in-game, it’s about to get much more popular.

Treyarch studio head Mark Lamia took to the stage to talk us through Black Ops 2′s overhauled create-a-class system, which the developer dubbed internally as ‘Pick 10′.

Why ‘Pick 10′? Because you are free to choose any ten items from a Black Ops 2 arsenal of over 100 separate pieces of kit, rewards, modifiers and perks. You can choose anything – even sacrifice your primary weapon in favour of another perk if you wish.

Fancy three perks and three score streak rewards in your class? That’ll be six of you ten points. Want a shotgun with reduced recoil and a sight? That’ll be three points. It’s entirely up to you how you tailor your load-out.

You can even spend one of your ten points on a ‘Wildcard’ – a modifer that allows you to bent the ten point rule slightly, such as taking a third attachment for your gun, or a second perk from one of the three perk tiers.

Another Wildcard lets you set your weapon’s fire mode, so you can turn your fully automatic Type 25 rifle into a burst or single shot if you fancy some more control. It’s a massive system with a hue number of possibilities.

Bets of all this doesn’t let people break the rules, because your ten points are spend quicker than you realise. You can then swap items in and out to get some of your allowance back, and to really hone your custom class.

You can’t unlock everything in one playthrough either. Each time you level up by gaining experience, you get one unlock token and a choice of seven new pieces of kit. You can only pick one. The only way to get everything is to Prestige.

So, here is a complete rundown of every ‘Pick 10′ item in the Black Ops 2 build we played. This isn’t everything the game has to offer, but it’s a decent-sized wedge.

Guns

Assault rifles

Type 25
M8A1
SA-58
SIG556
SCAR-H
AN-94
SMR
Shotguns

M1216
Saiga-12
R-870 MCS
LMG

LSAT
QBB LSW
Mk 48
Sniper Rifles

DSR 50
SVU-AS
Ballista
SMG

MP7
Chicom CQB
PDW-57
Skorpio EVO III
MSMC
Specials

Assault Shield (Metal riot shield that can be planted into the ground as makeshift cover)
Secondary

Launchers

FHJ-18 AA (Vehicle lock-on, two rockets)
RPG
SMAW
Pistols

KAP-40
Tac-45
Executioner
B23R
Lethal Slot

Grenade
Semtex
Combat axe
Claymore
C4
Bouncing Betty
Attachments

Reflex sight
ACOG sight
Target Finder (Paints red squares around hostiles)
Hybrid Optic
Suppressor
Fast Mag
Fore Grip
Laser Sight
Adjustable Stock
Quickdraw
Millimetre Scanner
Grenade Launcher
Select Fire Mode
FMJ Rounds
Extended Clip
Tactical slot

Black Hat PDA (Get close to enemy equipment and point this data pad at it to hack it and turn it against enemies. Takes ages to hack though!)
Smoke grenade
Sensor grenade
Flashbang
Concussion grenade
Shock charge (a throwable stick that emits an electric shock across a surface, rooting targets to the spot)
Tactical Insertion
Wildcards (Bend the rules of the ‘Pick 10′ system slightly)

Perk 1 Greed (Lets you choose a second perk from tier 1)
Perk 2 Greed
Perk 3 Greed
Primary Gunfighter
Secondary Gunfighter
Overkill
Danger Close
Tactician
Perks (Note: Perks can no longer go pro)

Tier 1

Ghost (Now only hides you from UAVs when you are moving)
Lightweight
Flak Jacket
Blind Eye
Hardline
Lightweight
Tier 2

Cold Blooded
Hard Wired
Scavenger
Toughness
Fast Hands
Tier 3

Dead Silence
Engineer
Tactical Mask
Extreme Conditioning
Awareness
Dexterity

Today saw the opening day of Gamescom and the first day of the Black Ops 2 multiplayer livestream. If you didn’t catch the hour-long multiplayer showcase – including interviews with the devs – the video for day 1 has been made available on Youtube for you to view at your leisure. We will also update this post with videos for the next three days of the livestream.

You’ll also be able to watch the stream live at CallofDuty.com, Xbox.com, Facebook.com/codblackops as well as Twitch.tv/treyarch for the next three days (Thursday 16th – Saturday 18th) starting at 5pm GMT.

15:15 – Skip directly to the live stream
18:32 – Treyarch Studio Head Mark Lamia introduces Black Ops 2 Multiplayer
23:16 – Mike “Hastro” Rufail talks eSports and introduces the pro players featured on the live stream
26:10 – Game 1 (Team Deathmatch on Cargo)
20:44 – David Vonderhaar and Mike “Hastro” Rufail go in-depth on the new features in Black Ops 2 Multiplayer
42:34 – Game 2 (Multi-Team Team Death Match on Turbine)
1:03:02 – Game 3 (Hardpoint on Cargo)
1:11:37 – Game 4 (Domination on Aftermath)

When the original Call of Duty: Black Ops was released back in 2010, Treyarch made quickscoping virtually impossible by adding tons of sway to sniper rifles for the first second or two after scoping in. Eventually the developer gave in to the community and lessened this effect drastically, making quickscoping possible. This begs the question: Will you be able to quickscope in Black Ops 2?

Among the first Black Ops 2 multiplayer gameplay videos to make it to the Internet (other than the Gamescom livestream videos), the 10-minute video embedded below is the first showing someone who looks like they know what they are doing quickscoping for a full game. Obviously, people are going to have to get used to the new weapons and their mechanics – sniper rifles have no auto-aim for the first second or so in Black Ops 2 – before they start pulling off quickscoping streaks, but this guy has moderate success.

The video features a game of ‘Hardpoint’, a new King-of-the-Hill-type game mode for Black Ops 2, on a map called Yemen. The player is using the Ballista sniper rifle with the FMJ attachment. His Perks are Lightweight, Fast Hands, Extreme Conditioning and Dexterity.