Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War/Warzone Season 3 brings new maps and weapons

By Joseph Yaden Published June 14, 2021

Activision detailed what to expect from Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War/Warzone Season 3, giving the community a road map featuring plans for a hefty amount of content. The next season begins on April 22, 2021.

Most notably, Cold War players will get new multiplayer maps and modes, along with additional Zombies offerings, while Warzone is getting a map update and new weapons.

call-of-duty-black-ops-cold-war-and-warzone-season-3-roadmap-revealed — Image used with permission by copyright holder

Now that Cold War and Warzone have unified progression systems, players will be able to participate in the Hunt for Adler limited-time event across both games, offering ways to earn rewards like Calling Cards and more. Season 3 will also introduce a new battle pass, with 100 more tiers of items to unlock.

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Cold War is gaining four new multiplayer maps. Yamantau and Diesel will be available as soon as the season starts, while Standoff and Duga will launch later on. Duga will also be a new Outbreak region within the Zombies mode and that will be playable at the beginning of Season 3.

As for Warzone, the biggest change will come to its map. Though Activation hasn’t officially confirmed the details, rumors indicate that Verdansk is getting an ’80s overhaul to match the style of Cold War (while remaining in the Modern Warfare engine). On day one, the community will gain access to the PPSH-41 SMG (which first debuted in 2008’s World at War), as well as the Swiss K31 sniper rifle, while Ballistic Knife, CARV.2, AMP63, and Baseball Bat will come later on.

There’s a substantial amount of content planned for the forthcoming season, so be sure to check out Activision’s full post for all the details.

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Former Digital Trends Contributor

Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…

Gaming

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Zombies: tips and tricks for beginners

A bunch of characters standing around with guns getting attacked by flying giant bugs in Call of Duty's zombies mode

After the backlash surrounding the Zombies mode in Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 has returned to the round-based roots we all know and love. Well, the structure might be familiar, but this mode has more than its fair share of new tricks that will see you getting swarmed in seconds if you can't learn to adapt. If you're familiar with how Call of Duty handles its Zombies mode, you will know that there's a lot more you need to know besides just shooting zombies if you want to make it to the later rounds. If you want to survive as long as possible, we have the key tips and tricks to withstand the zombie horde in Black Ops 6.
The basics still apply

There are a few tips from past Zombies games that will serve you well here in Black Ops 6 that are worth a quick reminder. Starting off with the need to conserve ammo in the early game. Zombies are weakest in the first handful of rounds, but ammo is incredibly scarce. You can't count on getting more when you need it, so save as much as possible and try to melee as many zombies as possible. Only shoot if you get swarmed, need to save a teammate, or when a boss or elite shows up.

Gaming

The best Wildcards in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

Kill Order gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

The concept of a Wildcard might sound like a risky endeavor in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, but this part of your loadout isn't random at all. We haven't seen this system since Cold War, and even those who remember it from that game will need to learn all the new cards there are in Black Ops 6. You can only equip a single Wildcard on your loadout, but they are powerful enough to completely redefine your playstyle. So far, there are only six to unlock while grinding through the levels with your friends, but picking just one is still a tough choice, especially if you want to use a permanent unlock on one after hitting Prestige. We've ranked all the Wildcards in Black Ops 6 so you can always have the winning hand.
All Black Ops 6 Wildcards, ranked

There is a level of personal preference in which Wildcard you will find better than others, but in most cases, the ones we've ranked as the best will help every player gain an edge in online matches. Here's our ranking of each Wildcard from best to worst, along with what level you unlock them at.
Perk Greed - Level 54
The last Wildcard you unlock is easily the most powerful. Perk Greed lets you unlock a fourth Perk to your loadout instead of being limited to three, which can borderline break the game if you choose the right set of Perks. It is also the most versatile of the Wildcards since it gives you the most options to play with instead of a specific bonus you may not find useful. It can also more easily unlock the special bonus buff you get for equipping three Perks from the same category.
Gunfighter - Level 33
Right in the middle of the unlock list, Gunfighter is one Wildcard you could easily make a case for over Perk Greed in some situations. This one increases your attachment points for your primary weapon by three. If you're rocking a top-tier weapon already, this Wildcard can let you tweak its stats even higher. We rank it second because it only applies to one weapon and thus is a bit more limiting.
Overkill - Level 24
For such an early Wildcard, Overkill is quite a powerful choice. This card lets you equip any weapon (except melee weapons) in your Primary and Secondary slots instead of the ones typically reserved for each. That means you can build a loadout with two Primary weapons and be far more versatile on the battlefield. Instead of having to trade off range, damage, rate of fire, mobility, or any other aspect of your game, you can cover almost all your bases by picking two Primary weapons that cover each other's weaknesses.
Prepper - Level 45
Field upgrades are powerful, don't get us wrong, but having two instead of one isn't always that much of a game-changer. It's a bit less useful than Gunfighter only because field upgrades are more situational and require more attention to use to their full potential. If that's you, then this is a great choice.
Danger Close - Level 38
Who doesn't want another grenade, Molotov, or combat axe? Is getting a second Lethal worth the Wildcard slot, though? Not in our opinion. Most of the time, Lethals are used in desperation or as a way to deny enemy movement for a time, and even then, they are risky because of how vulnerable you are while using them.
Tactical Expert - Level 15
The first Wildcard you get is better than nothing, but only just. It's exactly like Danger Close, only you can hold two Tacticals instead of Lethals. This is, by nature, a little worse since Tacticals don't have the ability to kill an enemy (unless you get super lucky and you directly hit an enemy with one who is on low HP). You can get some use out of them, but you're better off upgrading as soon as you have another option.

Gaming

The best Perk-A-Colas in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6

A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

We're ranking these Perk-A-Colas based on their base bonuses, not any additional effects you can get if you Augment them, from best to worst.
Jugger-Nog
You can never go wrong with the classic Jugger-Nog. Increasing your health by 100 is useful for the entire duration of a Zombies mode, but especially in the early rounds. Going down is at best a major setback and at worst a cascade into defeat. This extra health allows you to get out of a bad situation that would otherwise end your run.
Quick Revive
This Perk has two components, with the less useful one being the ability to revive teammates 50% faster. Ideally, that shouldn't be needed but is nice. However, what makes it rank so high is the 50% shorter delay on health regen. Your health will come back over time in Zombies but at a dreadful pace. Starting to heal faster means less time running and kiting zombies around and more time in the action helping the team.
Speed Cola
The best early guns for Zombies mode have a large magazine, fast reload, or both. Running out of ammo at the wrong time and not being able to get more rounds in the chamber fast enough has ended many a run, but Speed Cola is the solution. It will speed up your reloads and armor plating by 30%. That's not a massive number, but fast enough to make the difference.
Stamin-Up
These zombies aren't the shambling types. They will chase you down like sprinters, and some of the monstrous ones can outpace you even at full tilt. Stamin-Up sounds like it would let you run for longer, but actually just lets you run faster since you have no limit on sprint in Black Ops 6. Positioning is everything in Zombies so being able to get where you need to be faster is never a bad thing, especially if it's a downed teammate bleeding out.
Deadshot Daiquiri
Every zombie has a weak spot, which is most often the head. Deadshot Daiquiri makes a critical hit hurt even more than normal, plus increases your auto-aim on those weak points when you aim down sights (ADS). That second part shouldn't factor much if you've got good aim, which is why this is only a decent Perk-A-Cola.
PhD Flopper
Not being able to hurt yourself is situationally useful, and the ability to cause an explosion by diving is a risky move. Yes, it's cool, but you don't want to be lying prone surrounded by zombies. This is a cool gimmick, but save yourself the Essence and skip it.
Elemental Pop
When Elemental Pop works, it's great. The problem with it is that you can't rely on it. It gives a small chance on every shot you take to add a random ammo mod effect, which is cool but impractical. If you have spare Essence on you, sure, it won't hurt you to have, but it isn't something that will turn the tide for you or your team.
Melee Macchiato
Finally, Melee Macchiato bottoms out the list. It is fine in the early game when the hordes are small and you're better off meleeing enemies since it will smack enemies away with each hit, but quickly drops off in usefulness. When the zombies get too strong and too numerous, you will need a lot more than a strong punch to deal with them and end up forgetting you even have it.