The twelfth entry in the series, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was released this past November, and quickly became the top-selling console game of 2015. Making a big splash in the eSports circuit, Call of Duty: Black Ops III was featured in the World Gaming Canadian Championships just a few months ago. Brad was lucky enough to be in Toronto for the finals in early March, you’ll want to read his article to see just how awesome the event was.
While I am not quite ready for the World Gaming Canadian Championships, I am here to help with some general tips and strategies to help you improve your gameplay. We’ll also take a look at the DLC that has been released for Call of Duty: Black Ops III, including Eclipse the second epic DLC pack.
Game Details
Platform: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC
Developer: Treyarch, Beenox, and Mercenary Technology
Publisher: Activision
Release Date: November 6, 2015
Genre: First-person shooter
Modes: Single-player, Online multiplayer
ESRB Rating: M (Mature 17+)
Move smart and be aware of your surroundings
Like its predecessor, Call of Duty: Black Ops III adds a lot of new movement capabilities for you to use in competition. You now have unlimited sprint, but that doesn’t mean you should go sprinting around the map into every room, and running on walls haphazardly. The key to success is to use a more traditional approach: stay in cover, stay low, and try to avoid being caught by surprise.
Sprint should only be used to get yourself out of an open space quickly, or to catch up with the action from your spawn point. Be mindful of enemies lying in wait, it’s best to stick to regular walking speed to keep your shooting as accurate as possible. The more jumping and boosting you, the more of a chance you will have showing up on your enemies’ radar.
Use your sprinting, sliding, boosting, and wall running as way to outsmart your enemies and surprise them. Try sliding into close-range situations with a shotgun to make yourself a deadly projectile, and most importantly limit your time out in the open—you’ll go down with just a few hits. Here is a great little tip that has helped me out many of times, if you know that an enemy is around the corner, start aiming down your sights before you move—you’ll have greater accuracy and the chance for a quick kill is vastly improved.
Communicate and listen to your team
It’s tempting to try to do everything by yourself, but learning how to work and communicate with your teammates is important. If you are going to be successful in a match, you are going to have to make important plays like breaking a Hardpoint or capturing an Uplink together with your team. Trying to do this alone will more often than not end up with you being outnumbered.
Staying with your teammates gives you a better chance of staying alive for longer, and you’ll be able to potentially see better players in action, so you can learn from them and grow your skills. Communicating with your team is also important. Every little detail that you can give to your teammates is important, it can turn the tide of a match in your favour.
Conversely, it’s important to listen to your teammates. The more you work together with your team, the more you will get comfortable with them and build a connection. Out of respect for others on your team, you should not use foul language. Keeping your communication clean and direct will go a long way in leading your team to victory.
Know your Specialists
One of, it not, the biggest additions to Call of Duty: Black Ops III are the Specialists, each with their own distinctive abilities, personality, and weapons. Each Specialist has his or her own special abilities, some of which are suited to close-quarters combat, while others have armour or sniping weapons, and some use explosives. You’ll start out with four Specialists, use each one, and get familiar with what they have to offer.
Getting familiar with each Specialist’s abilities, and the maps they are most suited to, will give you an advantage on the battlefield. Play to your Specialist’s abilities, for example, if you are playing on a large map with long sightlines, you’ll want to consider a Specialist with a long-range ability. On the other hand, if you are playing on a tight map, an area-of-effect ability like grenades or a shockwave is better.
The minimap is your friend
One of the most important tools to use not only in a competitive environment, but also in public matches is the minimap. Not only is it useful for giving you the heads up for an upcoming gunfight, but if you can master using the minimap mid-gunfight you’ll have an advantage over your opponent.
Being able to predict when and where your enemy is coming from is essential. Pay attention to the location of your spawn point in relation to your opponents. As you learn the different spawn locations, you can use this information to your team’s advantage. Your opponents will be shocked when you take them out with ease.
Choose the best loadout that’s right for you
Call of Duty: Black Ops III contains tons of perks, guns, and other equipment that can be unlocked through the course of the game. Call of Duty isn’t just about taking out your enemy; it’s about unlocking new weapons and creating custom loadouts. If you stick to the default loadouts of shotguns, assault rifles, and sniper rifles, you’ll miss some great combinations.
Build custom loadouts, experiment with them to find the combinations that helps you out the most, and find the best guns that fit your particular playstyle. You’ll also need to consider how your loadout will help contribute to your team to support their overall playstyle.
One of my favourite assault rifle loads outs includes the Man-o-War, not only is it the most consistent weapon out there, it really shines at medium range. Moreover, the Long Barrel attachment will allow you to pick gunfights with players at long-range. This class does not have a Secondary Weapon or Tactical/Lethal and puts the entire focus on beefing up the Primary Weapon.
DLC
After many years of offering exclusive content on Xbox platforms, the world’s #1 best-selling gaming franchise has moved over to the PlayStation family. After signing an exclusive DLC partnership with Activision this past year, the PlayStation 4 will be getting all four DLC packs first for a limited time before the Xbox One and PC. This past February saw the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s first DLC, Awakening. Be sure to check out Brad’s article that is packed with everything you need to know about Awakening.
April 19 saw the release of Eclipse, the second epic DLC pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops III. Releasing first on the PlayStation 4, Eclipse contains four new multiplayer maps and the next chapter in the origins Zombies storyline. Take a look below at a brief description of the four new maps included with Eclipse, and then check out the video to see them in action. Totally awesome!
- Verge: In this re-imagination of the classic Call of Duty: World at War map, Banzai, Verge drops multiplayer combat into the centre of a distant post-apocalyptic future, where two warring factions are entrenched in constant battle. Take control of the key bridge, fortresses, tunnel systems, and waterfalls as you engage in high-speed action through this medium-sized map.
- Knockout: A mid-sized map that sets the stage for a Kung Fu tournament in a Shaolin Temple. With a sharp contrast between the mid-range engagements of the traditional exterior architecture and the tight close-quarters of an eclectic 1970’s styled interior.
- Spire: Multiplayer combat takes to the sky, in a futuristic sub-orbital airport terminal in the clouds. With multiple levels and open areas that invoke intense, mid-range combat around a clean, high-tech civilian environment. You’ll need to watch your step; one wrong move could send you plummeting back through the stratosphere.
- Rift: Head to the core of a harsh futuristic military complex, set high above an active caldera. Rift funnels and forces tight, intense engagements, where the only way through is forward. You will have to utilize the unique core movement opportunities to outsmart and outplay enemies, as they traverse the suspended rail system.
The next highly anticipated Zombies experience: Zetsubou No Shima is included with Eclipse. Where the popular Origins characters continue on their mission to stop the zombie apocalypse. Zetsubou No Shima features a foliage rich island map, including new terrifying zombie enemies, a variety of innovative transport mechanics, more devastating traps and classic Zombies side quests that you will love.
The biggest Call of Duty game yet
Call of Duty: Black Ops III is the most feature packed Call of Duty game to date. For a more detailed look at the game, check out my review and you’ll see everything the game has to offer. Now that we have gone over some general tips and strategies, you’ll be better prepared on the battlefield.
Don’t forget, if you plan to download Eclipse or any other Call of Duty: Black Ops III DLC, you’ll need some pre-paid cards and Best Buy Canada has got you covered.
PlayStation Network
Xbox Live
If you have any tips or strategies of your own to share, let me know in the comments section below.
