The total checklist of Black Ops 6 launch weapons has been revealed, and it’s a reduction to see that considered one of Name of Responsibility’s most controversial weapons has been deserted.
Though every CoD multiplayer is dealt with by considered one of three important studios, the weapons on provide all the time fall into fairly related classes. You’ll be able to anticipate versatile Assault Rifles for mid-range, SMGs to stand up shut and private, and highly effective snipers to choose off enemies from afar.
However one other weapon has develop into a staple of the sequence, a lot to the group’s chagrin – the Riot Defend. This controversial major takes the gun out of your loadout and replaces it with a big protect that may block incoming bullets and, in the best fingers, make the person extremely robust to kill.
Fortunately, with Black Ops 6, Treyarch have continued their pattern of leaving the Riot Defend by the wayside. On October 18, they revealed the slender lineup of launch weapons and it was nowhere to be seen.
ActivisionThis doesn’t come as an enormous shock, on condition that the Riot Defend has solely featured in considered one of Treyarch’s video games (Black Ops 2), however it’s nonetheless a breath of contemporary air after having to take care of nook campers and turtles for the final three years.
I’ve all the time felt that these shields are at odds with what makes Name of Responsibility particular, and battling them in Vanguard, MW2, and MW3 has performed little to vary my thoughts. Not solely do they gradual the tempo of matches all the way down to a crawl should you come up towards a talented participant, however there’s one thing deeply unsatisfying about being killed by one.
Sure, arising towards an impenetrable protect does power you to vary your strategy, as you might want to both use an explosive or outmaneuver them to disclose a weak spot. However in a sequence the place snappy gunplay and twitch reflexes have all the time been king, these strolling blockades reward sitting in corners and catching enemies off guard as a substitute of accuracy.
There are additionally those that put a Riot Defend on their again to cowl them from behind, generally known as “turtling,” which cranks the frustration up even additional. Gamers will usually use Overkill to run one other major weapon whereas their rear is protected, eradicating any sense of risk-reward and punishing the enemy for flanking.
I’m not alone both, as just about each Name of Responsibility to characteristic Riot Shields has been greeted with floods of social media posts calling for them to be eliminated or nerfed. A lot in order that when the information broke that they wouldn’t return in Black Ops 6, gamers have been dancing within the digital streets.
“No riot protect in CoD this yr for the primary time in three video games. God is nice,” mentioned one X submit, whereas one other participant posted: “I hope Riot Shields stays gone for the remainder of BO6’s life cycle. We’ve been placing up with this BS for 3 years straight.”
In fact, there are additionally gamers who’re disenchanted to see the Riot Defend go, as many argue that utilizing it successfully is a nice artwork and requires simply as a lot ability as every other gun. Whereas I perceive it have to be irritating to see your go-to choose eliminated, contemplating that Black Ops 6 options extra mobility than ever earlier than, I dread to assume how they’d dominate lobbies when paired with omnimovement.
It’s value holding in thoughts that there’s all the time an opportunity that the Riot Defend might make a comeback as a post-launch weapon, as new additions will likely be launched with every seasonal replace. Nonetheless, given Treyarch’s tendency to disregard them in earlier titles, it doesn’t look too promising.
Though there’ll all the time be defenders on the market, Treyarch eradicating Riot Shields can solely be a great factor for the circulation of matches. There’s all the time room so as to add them as a part of one-off occasions or limited-time modes, Black Ops 6’s core multiplayer is specializing in pure ability — and it’s going to be all the higher for it.