Black Ops Cold War beta update nerfs sliding & Milano: full patch notes

The October 15 Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War patch introduces the crossplay open beta with a series of changes and adjustments to sliding and weapons, as well as some new maps, modes, and guns.

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Call of Duty enthusiasts will be thrilled to find out that Treyarch and Raven Software’s October 15 update explicitly addresses the sliding mechanics (particularly with the Duster Stock equipped) and the Milano 821 SMG. 

Both issues were considered problematic and broken by the competitive community especially, so they’re obvious highlights within a large patch — even amongst a variety of new weapons, adjustments, maps, and modes. 

If you don’t care about sliding though, you will be excited to find out that two new maps, Ruka and Alpine, are entering the fray alongside three modes that are new to the beta: Hardpoint, Control, and Fireteam: Dirty Bomb. 

As explained in the October 15 patch notes, the two new maps and three new modes are accompanied by a series of other additions. For weapons, the newest “tools of the trade” are the LW3 Tundra sniper rifle, QBZ-83 assault rifle, RPD light machine gun, RPG-7 launcher, Magnum pistol, and more.

• Read more: New Black Ops Cold War trailer reveals possible look at next Warzone map

Among perks, the newcomers are Cold Blooded, Flak Jacket, Quartermaster, and Ninja. For scorestreaks, Napalm Strike, Air Patrol, and Chopper Gunner have all been added. For wildcards, Gunfighter and Perk Greed become available. And, finally, there is new equipment (Molotov, Decoy Grenade, Semtex) and a new field upgrade (Jammer) to play around with.

All of these additions can be used at different levels of progression, with the open beta’s level cap opening up until 40 by October 17.

Black Ops Cold War Beta Weekend 2 patch notes

Movement

• Reduced the speed of the initial slide impulse and slightly shortened slide duration.
  • During the PS4 Beta, we found players over-relying on sliding to traverse ground quickly or engage in close quarters, making it difficult to target players in the open. Our goal is for sliding to function as a smooth transition to cover, escape, or transition to a crouching stance. This weekend’s changes result in a snappier slide that better fit our goals for the mechanic. 
• Significantly reduced slide speed with the Duster Stock attachment equipped.
  • In Weekend 1, the Duster Stock attachment accounted for massive slide speed increases that didn’t fit into our more grounded combat loop. With this new change, Duster Stock now offers a modest improvement in slide speed that is more balanced with other attachment offerings.

Weapons

• Milano 821
  • Reduced damage falloff range.
    • This update causes the 4-hit kill range to turn to 5 hits at 12.8 meters, down from 19.2 meters during the PS4 Beta.
• AK-47
  • Slightly reduced recoil.
    • We’d like to see the AK-47 remain a top contender for assault rifle picks, and it was barely edged out by the XM4 and Krig 6 in the PS4 Beta. By reducing its recoil, we’re giving AK-47 users a better opportunity to compete.
• M16
  • Increased time between bursts from .216s to .233s.
    • This weapon’s high lethality and well-rounded attributes allowed it to over-perform even outside of its intended role during the PS4 Beta. This change keeps the M16’s power and accuracy while requiring more precision.
• Type 63
  • Reduced recoil.
    • Our new recoil system tuning made this weapon a bit too difficult to hit multiple shots on target. We’ve toned down the recoil to make it more effective as the precision weapon it was meant to be.
• RPD
  • Slightly reduced hipfire spread.
    • While the RPD can be effective at long range, we’ve improved its close-range reliability compared to the PS4 Beta.
• Gallo SA12
  • Adjusted medium-range damage to require three hits to kill instead of two at mid-range.
    • This was an extremely effective secondary throughout the PS4 Beta. With this tuning update, it will still take two hits to eliminate an enemy within a short range, just not quite as far out.

Attachments

• Agency Suppressor
  • Reduced some recoil bonuses.
    • This attachment came with too many strengths without enough tradeoffs during the PS4 Beta, particularly with how much it reduced recoil. This update reduces some of those bonuses while still making them notably beneficial.

Field Upgrades

• Field Mic
  • Reduced the range at the Field Mic can detect players who are crouching, ADS walking, or moving but not sprinting.
    • During the PS4 Beta, this Field Upgrade did not incentivize counter-play as much as we were planning for. The Field Mic will now be less effective at detecting footstep noise from players who move more slowly.

Equipment

• Frag Grenade
  • Reduced the damage on the outer half of the Frag Grenade’s splash damage radius.
    • While we expect Frag Grenade usage to drop significantly in the Crossplay Open Beta as more Wildcard and lethal options open up, we also agree with the feedback that frags resulted in kills a little too often.

Known PC Issues and Workarounds

• Mouse Wheel Input Delay defaults at 0, which is lower than intended.
  • Workaround: The player can adjust the value for the mouse wheel delay input in Settings. Recommended default value is 80.
• When many audio devices are available, it is not possible to view or select the last one from the drop-down list.
  • Workaround: These audio devices can be selected using the keyboard.
• Some players on AMD GPUs may experience frequent packet burst spikes during gameplay. 
  • Workaround: Lowering the Graphics Settings can alleviate the severity of this issue.

As for some of the other changes, a new Combined Arms Moshpit playlist has been added alongside the more intriguing mode additions: Hardpoint, Control, and Fireteam: Dirty Bomb. The newest map, Ruka, is focused specifically on Fireteam, as a sandbox-style map that accommodates the mode’s 10-team, 40-player mayhem.

• Read more: New Black Ops Cold War trailer reveals possible look at next Warzone map

Hardpoint will be playable on Cartel, Miami, Satellite, and Moscow this weekend, with a visual indicator added to show your team where the next hill will be. Further, Control will debut on October 17 and will be playable on Cartel, Miami, and Moscow.

As for the other newest map, Alpine, it is sure to be a snowy, mountainside experience with both long sightlines and close-quarters combat. And it’s a reminder of Call of Duty’s mantra: Stay frosty.