Black Ops Cold War Dec 16 patch: Zed 398 & invisibility glitch fixes

On December 16, Treyarch released yet another update for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War, this one being the first one since Season 1 originally went live. This patch makes a number of different fixes and adjustments, including fixes for the PC-exclusive Zed 398 error, Warzone invisibility glitch, and more.

Earlier in the day, Treyarch released a brand-new update for Black Ops Cold War, the first one since Season 1 went live. This wasn’t unusual, but there were no accompanying patch notes, leaving fans confused.

The only thing we did know was that a major PC error was fixed, as well as some PS5 stuttering problems, but that’s hardly the whole story. Now, we finally have an answer and luckily there’s been a lot. Adjustments were made to a bunch of aspects in the game, including Nuketown spawns, changes to Prop Hunt, and more. Here’s everything you need to know about the December 16, 2020 update.

December 16 update biggest changes

Easily the biggest fix is that of the Zed 398 Swift Clover error, which was exclusively affecting PC players. According to many who were attempting to log in on that platform, they ended up getting locked out of Season 1 maps, which must have been…annoying to say the least, especially on the first day of the new content.

Beyond that, however, it’s more of a standard update. On the Multiplayer side of things, a number of different crashes have been fixed, including those associated with scorestreaks, voicelines, and more.

• Read More: Best XM4 loadout in Warzone for Black Ops Cold War Season 1

Nuketown 84’s spawn logic has also been fixed in both the original version and the holiday version. What that exactly means is unclear, however, it more than likely means that players won’t have to deal with spawning so close to enemies.

Prop Hunt also got some tweaks, as Props will no longer have health regeneration. The developers also removed the Steel Chair from the rotation on Checkmate, giving the understandable reasoning of “Steel Chair OP.”

Like always with Black Ops Cold War, Zombies also got some love. The biggest change here is that instability during the Plaguehound rounds has been improved, after a number of crashes were associated with the round since the Season 1 update.

• Read More: All Black Ops Cold War weapon buffs & nerfs in Season 1 update

Warzone also got a slight tweak with the removal of the new Attack Helicopter. This was done in order to help stop an invisibility exploit that’s been affecting the game. The developers are currently working on a more permanent fix.

All in all, it seems like yet another major update for the game. Given Treyarch’s consistency on this matter, it should be only a matter of time before a new one is released.

Treyarch’s official notes follow:

• Resolved “Zed 398 Swift Clover” error that temporarily prevented PC players from loading into Season One maps at the start of the season.
• Resolved an issue with occasional hitching during gameplay on PS5.

Stability

• Scorestreaks
  • Fixed a rare crash related to the Sentry Turret.
  • Fixed a rare crash related to the Spy Plane.
• Field Upgrades
  • Fixed a rare crash related to the SAM Turret.
• General
  • Fixed a crash related to Woods voiceover audio.
  • Fixed a crash related to Score Events.

Maps

• Nuketown ’84 / Nuketown ’84 Holiday
  • Adjusted spawn logic.
• Raid
  • Addressed an issue where players could capture the first Hardpoint zone outside of the intended boundary.

Modes

• Prop Hunt
  • Disabled automatic health regen for Props.
  • Removed the Steel Chair from the Prop list on Checkmate. Steel Chair OP.
• Combined Arms: Assault
  • 20 seconds will now be added to the game clock when a zone is captured to reduce the frequency of a game ending in a Draw due to lack of time when transitioning to a new zone.

Challenges

• “Behind Cover” Weapon Camo Challenge
  • Increased the distance check.
  • Removed the requirement for the victim to face a certain direction.

Stability

• Addressed an issue that could cause instability during Plaguehound rounds.
• Added various stability fixes.

Die Maschine

• Addressed a rare issue that could cause interact prompts to incorrectly appear around the map.

UI

• Improved breadcrumb (green dot) user experience when unlocking attachments.
• Addressed an issue that could cause long wait times going into the After Action Report.

Vehicles

• Temporarily removed the Attack Helicopter from Verdansk and Rebirth Island maps to resolve an issue that could cause players to appear invisible.