Last weekend the Alpha for CoD: Black Ops Cold War was held for all PS4 players. Besides praise, there was also a lot of criticism, especially regarding the skill-based matchmaking. What, why, and how you can find out here.
From Friday to Sunday all owners of a PS4 were able to try out the multiplayer alpha of the upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. The new CoD part will be released on November 13 and will have a beta phase before that, where Xbox and PC gamers can also test the multiplayer. You can find everything about the beta here:
Today we want to take a look at how the BOCW Alpha has arrived in the community. All in all, it can be said from the start that the votes are overall quite positive but as usual criticism always makes it to the top. In this article, we will focus on the points that need to be changed before the beta or at the latest before the release:
Players Do Not Want SBMM
One of the biggest points of criticism that has been coming up with every new Call of Duty for some time now is SBMM or skill-based matchmaking. With SBMM the game tries to match players with approximately the same skill level based on several parameters. This is to protect casual players from being thrown into lobbies with professionals or very good players, where they will be completely destroyed and lose the desire to play. That's actually a good thing, right? Definitely for us as rather mediocre players but the criticism comes especially from better players and even Call of Duty League pros like Scump.
SBMM does not belong in Call of Duty. There should be a ranked playlist for people to sweat in. I'm not trying to play Scuf wielding game fuel chugging demons with szn in their psn on Miami TDM. Also, to the noobies that are gonna cry about this tweet, hold this choppy gunny.
— OpTic Scump (@scump) September 19, 2020
For these players, SBMM means that they have to play against other professionals in every game and therefore have no way to play a few relaxing rounds. They, therefore, suggest removing SBMM completely from the normal playlists and to introduce a ranked mode with this system instead.
This would not solve the problem in our opinion, as Modern Warzone explains:
Adding a ranked mode to Call of Duty will NOT solve the SBMM issue. As with every game with a ranked mode, players will still go to the casual playlist and pub stomp if they're allowed to. Ranked needs to have a REAL incentive to continue to climb the ranks, or it dead.
— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) September 19, 2020
Let's face it, professionals or content creators would still play 90% of the time in the normal lobbies, because it's more fun and looks better if you are the best player in every match without trying too hard and knock everyone else down.
SBMM will most likely remain a part of BOCW as well because as developer Martin Donlon announced on Twitter, it has always been part of CoD.
They all had SBMM. https://t.co/POpRwO0qXR
— Martin Donlon (@wickerwaka) September 19, 2020
Furthermore, it has already been confirmed that the SBMM can still be fine-tuned and the whole thing might get changed again by the time the beta is released.
Ninja Perk Should Be Buffed
The Ninja Perk used to work in such a way that it made all movement sounds much quieter. In BOCW, however, it seems to only affect the sprint. Normal walking or even crawling is still audible for everyone. If the devs expect players to actually pick the perk it'll definitely need a buff.
The Throwing Speed of Grenades Must Be Increased
As usual, there are again two types of grenades in BOCW, tactical and lethal. Tactical grenades, such as glare or smoke grenades can be thrown very quickly in BOCW, whereas the deadly ones, such as frag grenades, have an extremely long throwing animation. This was very frustrating for many players during the Alpha because when throwing a grenade you were defenseless for a relatively long time. We hope that the team will fix this before the beta.
Sniper Rifles Are Too Strong
Snipers were incredibly strong in the Alpha. This was especially due to the fact that there was no flinch at all. If you aimed with a sniper rifle and got shot during that, you didn't flinch, but could calmly continue hitting headshots. Paired up with the extremely fast quick-scope animation, this made the sniper rifles very frustrating for anyone who didn't use them. It has been confirmed that the sniper rifles have been made extra strong for the Alpha and will be changed again for the Beta.
Ok let's talk Sniping in Cold War.Crossplay is coming, but we knew it wouldn't be in Alpha. We buffed Snipers to evaluate their performance in this Alpha specifically. Sniper Rifles WILL have balance changes for the upcoming Beta based on our analytics data this weekend.
— Tony Flame (@Tony_Flame) September 18, 2020
Lighting Must Be Improved
Many players complained that it is difficult or impossible to see opposing players in many places. Some areas of the maps are so dark that the Operator simply merges with the background and almost nothing can be seen. This problem could be solved in two ways: Either you can illuminate the corresponding areas of the maps a bit better or you can give the character models a clearly recognizable outline or lighter colors.
In a shooter as fast as Call of Duty, enemy character models should definitely be recognizable, otherwise, you could quickly get a camper problem again.
Gun Sounds and Animations Are Not Realistic
This problem was already noticed in the first trailers for multiplayer. Modern Warfare has incredibly realistic and outstanding weapon sounds. In comparison, the weapons in BOCW are way too quiet and simply not authentic. Since this has always been the case in the Black Ops series it probably won't be changed.
The weapon animations look similar. Here, too, Modern Warfare has set extremely high standards, compared to which BOCW simply cannot keep up. The level of detail of the weapons, the reloading animations, and the moving parts on each weapon are much simpler in BOCW.
Did you play the Alpha? What did you find negative? Share your opinion on our Facebook page!
All other Call of Duty news and updates, such as our guide to the FR 5.56 in Warzone, can be found on EarlyGame.
