After entering my third Prestige level and well over a day’s worth of playtime, I think I have a firm grasp on Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s multiplayer. Most of my impressions from the beta still rang true:
- I was still pleased by the mixture of mobility options and “the time to kill”
- The SMG class’s viability was more prolific than I initially gave credit for
- Silenced weapons remained in check
- UAV spam also remained in check
Death to the Kill Death Ratio, Please
It’s unfortunate that Treyarch continued to highlight a general kill death ratio. I’m okay with surfacing this information on a per mode basis but they shouldn’t have an aggregate average. It continues to hurt objective modes where people care more about their ratios than the scoring the win.
I’m not going to lie and say that I don’t check how I’m doing but I am not fixated to it. I want to win.
Group or Bust?
Playing Domination with a full group of like minded individuals is a revelation. It’s just as powerful as playing Battlefield with a competent squad. You have players who know which angles to cover and will push for control points. I’m playing with GAF players and while most games fall our way, the most exhilarating games are when we’re going up against another group.
Conversely, when I’m playing by myself, I would turn and flee if I saw a six man group in the lobby of a Domination match. If it was team deathmatch, I wouldn’t mind it but an objective game is a different beast.
A Good Selection of Maps
I’m pleased by the map selection; there’s no standout one way or the other for me. Some argue the three lane design of the maps make it too simple but setups like this make it easier to learn maps balance them for objective modes like Domination.
I used to play Ground War religiously in other Call of Duty titles but the combination of the movement system and the map sizes, most of the Black Ops III maps don’t accommodate the larger player account well. And while I appreciate them adding another game mode to the rotation, playing Safeguard in Ground War is just a clusterfuck.
I would like Treyarch to revamp the map voting system though. I love Combine but not enough to play it twice in a row. Why are we given the opportunity to even vote on the same map twice in a row is a head scratcher.
What keeps Black Ops III’s selection of maps from achieving greater heights is the lack of variety in environments. Where are the lower visibility maps like Downpour or Bloc of Call of Duty 4? I’m glad they’ve made different classes of weapons viable but let’s entice more different classes with different visibility conditions.
The Best In Years
I keep expecting me to drop Call of Duty: Black Ops III’s multiplayer out of a combination of boredom and frustration but it hasn’t yet. I still play with my bro and/or GAF members on a regular basis. I have my bad nights and good nights but in the end, I keep coming back and that’s telling. Treyarch is doing something right with Black Ops III multiplayer. I may not be able to articulate it as well as I hoped but simply put: I’m having a blast.
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