What we know
A Google search for “Call of Duty: Black Ops” returns about 7,830,000 search results. So where, in 7.8 million pages, do you find solid, reliable facts on what we know about the game so far?
The team here has compiled a one-stop source for current, reliable information including confirmed facts and potential rumors. Stay tuned to this page, as we will be consistently updating as the Black Ops information continues to surface.
Single player
Missions
To date we have 4 campaign missions confirmed:
Payback - Mission will feature a player-controlled helicopter, a Hind.
Slaughterhouse – Set in Hue City, Vietnam during the Tet Offensive. Mission highlights include a SPAS-12 shotgun with Dragonsbreath Ammo (see our SPAS-12 summary), out of control rappelling scene from a Huey helicopter, SOG soldiers asserting their authority via commandeering friendly radio to call in air support. This campaign map was taken from multiplayer, as opposed to the traditional opposite.
Victor Charlie – Set in Vietnam, the mission begins on the Huong River in a downed helicopter. Victor Charlie most likely references the Viet Cong, the main opposing force in this mission. Mission highlights include an M202 Rocket Launcher, underground tunnels and the return of Sgt. Reznov from World At War.
WMD - Set in the Ural Mountains, in 1968. Mission highlights include flying in an SR-71 Blackbird recon plane, rappelling through a window set in the side of the mountain and a Military Crossbow with explosive bolts.
Characters
Here is a list of playable and non-playable characters that we know of so far:
Jason Hudson – Playable Character, voiced by Ed Harris
Mason – Playable Character
Thomas – Playable Character (as the pilot of the SR-71 Blackbird in WMD)
Frank Woods (The character with the bandana, seen in the trailers)
Swift
Weaver
Brooks
Harris
Sgt. Viktor Reznov (previously seen in World at War), voiced by Gary Oldman
Locations
Black Ops will send players to many spots across the globe, confirmed locations so far include:
Vietnam
Laos
Cuba
The Ural Mountains in Russia
South America
Factions
These factions may or may not make an appearance in Multiplayer. This information is based off of the Campaign mode.
The friendly MP factions/teams that we know of so far include:
The Studies and Observations Group (SOG)
The First Cavalry Division of the US Army
The enemy MP factions/teams that we know of so far include:
The Viet Cong (VC)
The North Vietnamese Army
The Soviet Union Armed Forces
Multiplayer
So far the general theme of development for Treyarch has been change. They are dedicated to bringing gamers a new and fresh Call of Duty experience, while retaining the time-honored gameplay that Call of Duty fans expect. Treyarch lifted the lid on their Black Ops info, and plenty of information has poured forth.
Multiplayer Features
PC will support dedicated servers.
Treyarch has updated Create a Class into version 2.0, more customization options for character perks/weapons and possibly appearance.
True Barebones playlist with no weapon attachments, perks, killstreak rewards, etc.
There will be a Theater mode, allowing players to record their matches, edit them and share them with friends via an upload service and in-lobby film viewing.
Auto-aim may be toggled on or off.
Vehicles will return, though not as we saw them in World at War. In part, this includes the 11-killstreak reward Gunship, which puts you in the pilot’s seat of an attack helicopter.
Region filter for matchmaking will return.
Customizable killstreak rewards will return. The highest killstreak reward being for 11 kills.
Downloadable content for Call of Duty will first be available on XBOX 360 as it has been with Modern Warfare 2. This is part of a contract that ends in 2012.
Treyarch’s MP team is twice the size of the team that worked on World at War.
There will be a security team in place, post-launch, to help battle hackers, modders and cheaters. There will also be a reporting option, in-lobby, to report rule-breakers.
There are no maps in MP taken directly from the SP campaign, in fact the SP campaign map for the mission “Slaughterhouse” was taken from MP.
Killstreak Rewards
•3 kills – Spy Plane – Shows enemies on the mini-map. Can be shot down.
•3 kills – RC-XD (remote bomb) – Remote Control car strapped with explosives.
•4 kills – Counter Spy Plane – Temporarily disables enemy nini-map.
•4 kills – SAM Turret – Airdrop a placeable SAM turret to destroy enemy aircraft.
•5 kills – Care Package – Airdrop a random killstreak or ammo crate.
•5 kills – Napalm Strike – Aircraft which covers an area in Nepalm.
•6 kills – Sentry Gun – Airdrop a placeable Sentry Gun.
•6 kills – Mortar Team – Target three locations to bombard with Mortar Strikes.
•7 kills – Attack Helicopter – Call in support helicopter.
•7 kills – Valkyrie Rockets – Launcher with remote controlled rockets.
•8 kills – Blackbird – Shows both enemy position and direction on the mini-map. Cannot be shot down.
•8 kills – Rolling Thunder – Carpet bombing airstrike.
•9 kills – Chopper Gunner – Be the gunner of an attack helicopter.
•11 kills – Attack Dogs – Attack Dogs can hunt the enemy down.
•11 – Gunship – Pilot an attack helicopter
Perks
Perks are set up in 3 tiers, as they were in Modern Warfare 2. Tier 1 perks will affect the way that your character appears in competitive MP matches. For example, selecting the perk Ghost will outfit your character with a ghillie suit.
Tier 1 Perks
Lightweight – Move Faster;
Lightweight Pro – Faster ADS When Sprinting
Scavenger – Pick up ammo from fallen enemies
Scavenger pro – Replenish lethal, grenades
Ghost – Undetectable by the Spy Plane and the Blackbird
Ghost Pro – …No red crosshair or name when targeted
Flak Jacket – Reduces explosive damage
Flak Jacket Pro – Currently Unknown
Hardline – Killstreaks require 1 less kill;
Harline Pro – Currently Unknown
Tier 2 Perks
Hardened – Bullets penetrate better
Hardened Pro – Currently Unknown
Scout – Hold breath longer
Scout Pro – Currently Unknown
Steady Aim – Increased hip-fire accuracy
Steady Aim pro – Currently Unknown
Sleight Of Hand – Faster reloads
Sleight Of Hand Pro – Faster ADS
Warlord – Equip two attachments to your primary weapon.
Warlord Pro – 2 attachments on primary and secondary weapons
Tier 3 Perks
Marathon – Longer sprint
Marathon Pro – No falling damage
Ninja – Silent movement
Ninja Pro – Move through Motion Sensors and Camera Spikes undetected
Second Chance – Pull out your pistol before dying
Second Chance Pro – Use equipment as well as pistol
Hacker – Ability to detect enemy equipment and explosives
Hacker Pro – Booby trap enemy Care Packages and turn enemy killstreaks and equipment friendly
Tactical Mask – Reduces the effect of flash and concussion grenades.
Tactical Mask Pro – Currently Unknown
Bonus Experience Points
Payback – kill the enemy who just killed you
Buzzkill – end an enemies killstreak
One Shot, One Kill – kill an enemy with one shot, presumably using a sniper rifle
Skewer – kill an enemy with the Ballistic Knife
Back Stabber – stab an enemy in the back
First Blood – get the first kill of a round
Humiliated! – Bankrupt a player in Wager Match
Customization
Callsigns – there will be an in-game callsign editor to create custom emblems, and you will also have the option of stamping that image on your firearm and etching your clan tag into it, as well.
Reticle – you will be able to completely customize your weapons reticle with the following options.
-Dot
-Semi-Circle
-Lines With Dot
-Circle
-Smiley Face
-Arrows Horizontal
-Arrows Vertical
-Arrows With Dot
-Bones
-Burst
-Circle Within A Circle
-Circle
-Circle Outline
-Circle Outline With Dot
-Circle With Crosshairs
-Circle With Outer Lines
-Circle with Inner Lines
-Circle With Arrows
-Circle With Triangles
-Outer Crosshairs
-Small Crosshairs
-Large Crosshairs
-Crosshairs
-Crosshairs With Dot
-Diamond
-Diamond Outline
-Heart
-Radiation
-Skull
-Square
-Square Outline
-Square With Crosshairs
-Star
-Three Dots
-Treyarch
-Triangle
-Outer triangles
-X
-X With Dot
-Ying Yang
You may also choose between red, green, blue, purple, teal, yellow and orange for your reticle’s color.
Playlists
This is a tentative list of playlists to be featured in Black Ops, and may be subject to change before the launch date of November 9th.
Core
Team Deathmatch
Mercenary Team Deathmatch
Free-For-All
Domination
Sabotage
Headquarters
Capture The Flag
Search & Destroy
Team Tactical
HardCore
Team Deathmatch
Headquarters
Search & Destroy
Free-For-All
BareBones
Pure
Classic
Team Tactical
Wager Match
One in the Chamber
Gun Game
Sharpshooter
Sticks and Stones
Note: Wager Matches are matches that let players gamble their CoD Points against one another. The top 3 players at the end of the round are “in the money” and will receive CoD Points. When you choose Wager Match, you will be entered into a Free for All in one of four random game modes. Those modes include:
One in the Chamber – every player starts off with a pistol, one bullet, a knife and 3 lives. If you kill an enemy, you receive one bullet. If you shoot and miss, you lose your bullet and have only your knife to defend yourself.
Gun Game – this is a game mode taken from the community, in which players must obtain kills in 20 tiers of weaponry. When you get a kill, you are advanced to the next tier and must use a new weapon. If you die, you do not start over on tier 1. If you knife someone, you drop them down one tier. First player to finish all tiers wins.
Sharpshooter – players all start with the same weapon and after a set interval of time, the weapons cycle and you are given a new one. Everyone is always using the same weapon. This game mode rewards players who are efficient with every weapon class.
Sticks and Stones – in this mode, players are given a Crossbow, Tomahawk and Ballistic Knife. If you hit someone with the Tomahawk, they are bankrupted of their points for that round.
Weapons/Equipment
Here is all that we know of weapons so far. Not necessarily in Campaign or Multiplayer, it is combined from the Campaign footage and the Multiplayer footage.
Confirmed Weapons
Assault Rifles
AK-47 or other member of the AK family
Steyr AUG A1
Heckler and Koch G11
M16A1
CAR-15 Commando
FAMAS G2 (Fully automatic – part of the Felin combat system)
M14
Enfield
FN FAL
Galil
Sub Machine Guns
M11 (MAC11)
MP5K Prototype
AK74-U
Uzi
PM63
MPL
Spectre
Light Machine Guns
M60
RPK
Sniper / Bolt Action Rifles
Member of the Carcano series of bolt action rifles
Dragunov
L96A1
WA2000
Handguns
M1911
Python – .357 Magnum Snub Nosed Revolver
ASP
CZ75
Launchers
China Lake Model (pump-action grenade launcher)
M202 “Grim Reaper”
RPG-7
Flamethrower
Strela
M72 LAW
Shotguns
SPAS-12 Shotgun (with explosive “Dragon’s Breath” incendiary ammunition)
Ithica 37
Olympia/Double Barrel
KS-23
Misc
Crossbow (with explosive bolts, confirmed for MP)
Flashlight (held similar to tactical knife in Modern Warfare 2)
Machete
Ballistic Knife (Blade is spring-loaded into hilt, able to be ejected with lethal force, possibly as melee as well)
Weapon Attachments
Red-Dot Sight
Flash Suppressor
Bipod (may or may not be functionable)
Adjustable sniper rifle scope
Akimbo (?) – it appears that during the Prestige Edition trailer a player is using two handguns or sub-machine guns, one in each hand.
Equipment
C4
Claymore
Camera Spike (displays video in upper left hand corner, replaces mini-map)
Motion Detector
Radar Scrambler
Lethal
Tomahawk
Frag Grenade
Semtex
Tactical
Willy Pete / Smoke Grenade
Decoy – fires to attract attention and creates blips on enemy radar
Nova Gas
Flashbang
Concussion
Maps
Summit – snow mountain base
Launch – map with rocket being launched, seen in teaser trailer
Cracked – secluded town in shambles
Radiation – abandoned power station
Misc Gameplay
Sprint to Prone Dive – players may now transition from sprinting to laying prone via a dive, rather than crouching and then laying prone.
Updated HUD – no graphic for ammunition left in weapon, rather a number displayed – compass included – equipment in use highlighted in green? – mini-map divided into cells i.e. d3, d4, c3, c4.
CoD Points (CP) – Treyarch have implemented a new currency system that works in conjunction with the traditional leveling system. When you gain a new level and unlock a new weapon, you will be given the allocated amount of CP needed to purchase that weapon. The choice is yours, however, if you do not want that particular weapon, you can choose to upgrade an existing weapon, instead. CP can be spent on Killstreak Rewards, Reticles, Attachments, Camo’s and other aspects of customization.
Thanks to User Ukgamezone for helping us with this post