Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 November 4 Patch Notes Detail One Of Its Beefiest Updates So Far

Treyarch and Raven Software have published yet another Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 update, this time targeting a few of the game’s more annoying elements, such as the flashbang screen effect, the Recon Combat Specialty, and the spawn system.

The November 4 update is only the developer’s latest patch seeking to iron out the experience. Although players quickly took to this year’s Call of Duty when its release date arrived a few weeks back, many have made it clear that there are more than a few kinks left to deal with. Today’s update is one of the beefiest yet, as it tackles common issues and more while promising to provide even more specific fixes in the future.

One tool that players of every skill level can’t seem to stand is the flashbang, which has been called out for the lengthy affect it has on players’ screens. On smaller maps like Nuketown, of which there are a few of in Black Ops 6, the flashbang leaves Operators unable to see their screen for long portions of each match. Post update, players will notice that the duration of the effect has been reduced by 20%. Whether it calms complaints remains to be seen, but it’s clear Treyarch is at least listening.

Other common talking points the team sought to address with today’s patch include the spawn system and Recon Combat Specialty. The former is often a point of contention in any Call of Duty entry, so it should be nice to hear that spawn logic has been tuned across “several” Multiplayer maps in Black Ops 6.

“Spawn tuning will be an ongoing process of taking in data, reviewing gameplay and making measured adjustments in the live environment,” a developer note says. “Our number one goal is to always provide the safest spawn that we can across all maps and game modes.”

Recon, meanwhile, has left many concerned thanks to its ability to allow players to see through walls for a short time after respawning. The Perk combination bonus has now had its duration reduced from 2 seconds to 1.5, with Treyarch promising to reduce it even further ahead of Season 1.

These are the highlights for those looking for a less frustrating Multiplayer experience, but a number of weapon balance adjustments found their way into the November 4 Black Ops 6 update, too. Assault rifles like the XM4 and Model L received nerfs to their long-range damage, while more than a few SMGs had their range buffed. Most of the new Black Ops 6 patch focuses on tweaking Multiplayer, but Zombies players will notice that GobbleGum names should now properly update when players switch between tier tabs.

Today’s update follows a November 1 patch that squashed a number of bugs and exploits across the Multiplayer and Zombies modes. Although today’s fix fleshes out the experience even more, the team will surely polish the FPS further in the coming days and weeks.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launched October 25 and will begin its first season of content on November 14. For more on, you can read our reviews for the Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies modes. We gave Multiplayer an 8/10, saying, “Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 plays it safe but is otherwise exactly what Call of Duty multiplayer should be: fast, fun, and a little on the ridiculous side.”

For everything else revealed in today’s patch, you can see the list of all the changes below. Specific weapon adjustments can be found on the patch notes page here, and make sure to check out ranking of the best guns as well would Black Ops 6 Zombies Guide.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 November 4, 2024 Patch Notes

GLOBAL

Stability

• Improved stability when interacting with the Message of the Day.
• Improved stability when sending voice communications.

Progression

• Completion display will now properly appear when completing Prestige Challenges in both Multiplayer and Zombies.

Operators

• Addressed an issue where Bailey wasn’t holding an intended Pistol in the Operator selection menu.

MULTIPLAYER

Maps

• Nuketown
  • Nuketown is now available in Private Matches.

Modes

• Addressed an issue where players were spawned in when joining a session in progress instead of spectating before selecting a Loadout. Yes, we saw ourselves in a Killcam before selecting a Loadout too.
• Improved stability in Infected game mode.

Spawns

• General spawn logic tuning across several maps for improved spawning.

Spawn tuning will be an ongoing process of taking in data, reviewing gameplay and making measured adjustments in the live environment. Our number one goal is to always provide the safest spawn that we can across all maps and game modes.

Loadouts

• Addressed an issue where players would automatically equip their previously used Loadout when joining matches already in progress.
• Addressed an issue where Players would die at initial spawn when selecting their Loadout.

Weapons

It’s been awesome seeing players discover and share their favorite weapon builds during the first week of launch. Every day we monitor both player feedback and game data to keep tabs on how the weapon meta is evolving and prepare for a comprehensive tuning pass in Season 01.

We have seen the discussions about the relative balance of Assault Rifles and Submachine Guns, and we are making some early, general changes to adjust their effective ranges. For ARs, we are pulling in minimum damage ranges and lessening the impact of headshots at close range. SMGs are receiving damage range increases to improve their mid-range effectiveness.

Shotguns

Last week, we fixed an issue with shotgun Slugs, but we are still working on an additional issue causing this attachment to perform better in hip fire than intended. Slugs are meant to offer an alternate playstyle for shotguns that trades close quarters effectiveness for improved range and precision. We are removing the ability for Slugs to one-hit kill to the body for now and will be revisiting the overall tuning of this attachment in an upcoming update.

• Marine SP
  • Slug attachment Max Damage reduced from 106 to 92.
• ASG-89
  • Slug attachment Max Damage reduced from 106 to 92.

Perks

• Recon Combat Specialty
  • Reduced duration that enemies are highlighted after respawning to 1.5 seconds from 2 seconds. An additional reduction will be coming before Season 01.
  • Resolved an issue that allowed players to activate Recon Combat Specialty by changing Loadouts.
• Dispatcher
  • Increased Dispatcher Perk score cost for UAV from 500 to 550.
  • Increased Dispatcher Perk score cost for Counter UAV from 550 to 600.

As we head into Season 1, we are continuing to observe data and feedback for Perks and Combat Specialties in Multiplayer. Currently, Enforcer is the most popular Combat Specialty with Recon in second place. It’s not just about the data though, as your feedback is a critical part of how we approach tuning of the live game. With that said, we are making some spot adjustments today as we as we continue to take a holistic look at our Perks and Combat Specialties moving forward.

Equipment

• Flashbang
  • Reduced Flashbang Tactical screen effect duration by 20%.

Scorestreaks

• Increased health of UAV and Counter UAV (rockets to destroy remain unchanged).
• Increased initial explosion radius of Napalm Strike.
• Reduced the initial entry delay of the LDBR.
• Increased the fly-in speed of the Strategic Bomber.
• Reduced score cost for Interceptors from 1250 to 1150.

Movement Updates

• Adjusted stance change cooldowns to reduce effectiveness of repeated prone to stand movement (enough snaking).

XP Earn Rates

• Adjusted Player XP and Weapon XP earn rates for most modes to ensure that players are being rewarded for their match performance as expected wherever they play. These changes include:
  • Increased Weapon XP earn rates for most modes
  • Increased Player XP earn rates for the following modes:
    • Team Deathmatch
    • Control
    • Search & Destroy
    • Gunfight
  • Slight decrease to Player XP and Weapon XP earned in Face Off modes

Challenges

• Addressed an issue where players were able to complete the Nuke Challenge while dying.

UI

• Appropriate Perks will now display when viewing the featured player during Best Play.

Known Issues

• Gunsmith
  • We are investigating an issue where any equipped Optic attachment is removed when when entering the Gunsmith in Main Menus.
    • Players will not notice this issue if entering Gunsmith during a match.
    • Players can equip Optic attachments, but will need to re-equip them anytime they enter Gunsmith in a Main Menu to adjust attachments or customizations.
      • In cases where an Optic is locked and equipped via a Blueprint, players will need to reapply the Blueprint to obtain the Optic.

ZOMBIES

• UI
  • GobbleGum names will now properly update when switching between tier tabs.

Michael Cripe is a freelance contributor with IGN. He started writing in the industry in 2017 and is best known for his work at outlets such as The Pitch, The Escapist, OnlySP, and Gameranx.

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