Black Ops 6 Zombies Update Reverted

Summary

Treyarch reversed a controversial change to Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's Zombies Directed Mode after player feedback highlighted its negative impact. This update also includes bug fixes for the Citadelle des Morts Zombies map and significant buffs to the Shadow Rift Ammo Mod. Further bug fixes and adjustments are planned for the Black Ops 6 Season 2 update on January 28th.

Following community feedback, Treyarch reversed its decision on a recent change to the Zombies Directed Mode in the latest Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 update. This update also features improvements to the Citadelle des Morts map and the Shadow Rift Ammo Mod, enhancing the overall player experience.

The January 3rd Black Ops 6 update introduced Directed Mode to the Citadelle des Morts map, significantly altering its gameplay. The update increased the time between rounds and delayed zombie spawns after five looped rounds on round 15 of Directed Mode. This change proved unpopular, hindering kill farming and camo challenge completion. Concerns arose about potential further changes, including XP and reward limitations. However, Treyarch responded to community concerns following the January 3rd update.

The January 9th patch notes confirmed the reversal of the Directed Mode spawn delay change. Treyarch acknowledged the change negatively impacted the fun and rewarding nature of Zombies, reverting the delay to approximately 20 seconds after five looped rounds. Additional fixes addressed glitches and bugs in Citadelle des Morts Directed Mode, ensuring smoother quest progression. Fixes also addressed visual effects glitches and crashes related to the Void Sheath Augment for Aether Shroud.

The update also introduced four significant buffs to the Shadow Rift Ammo Mod: Normal enemy and special enemy activation rates increased to 20% and 7%, respectively. Elite enemy activation rate with the Big Game Augment increased to 7%, and the cooldown rate was reduced by 25%, significantly boosting its effectiveness.

The patch notes confirmed the January 28th launch of Black Ops 6 Season 2, promising further bug fixes and changes in an accompanying update. Players still have time to complete the Citadelle des Morts main quest and earn rewards before Season 1 Reloaded concludes.

Call of Duty Black Ops 6 January 9 Update Patch Notes

GLOBAL

Characters:

• Resolved an issue where Maya’s “Joyride” Operator Skin was invisible beyond 70 meters.

UI:

• Addressed visual issues within the Events tab.

Audio:

• Fixed an issue preventing audio playback for in-game Event milestone banners.

MULTIPLAYER

Modes:

• Red Light, Green Light: Increased XP awarded from match bonuses.

Stability:

• Implemented various stability fixes.

ZOMBIES

The team is dedicated to creating a fun and rewarding Zombies experience, but acknowledges that not every initial implementation is perfect. Some bug fixes and exploits may be deprioritized due to more pressing issues, or delayed for future updates. The recent changes to Big Game for Shadow Rift, the Shock Charge speedrun step in Terminus, and Directed Mode spawn delays are prime examples.

To address player feedback, the Directed Mode changes have been reverted, Shadow Rift has received four buffs, and a fix for the Terminus Shock Charge speedrun tactic is scheduled (requiring further testing). The Directed Mode and Shadow Rift changes are live; the speedrun fix will be included in a later update.

Fixes for visual effects issues in Citadelle des Morts and crashes related to using a sword with Aether Shroud and the Void Sheath Augment are now live.

Maps:

• Citadelle des Morts:
  • Resolved a crash issue occurring when using the Void Sheath Augment for Aether Shroud with Elemental Swords.
  • Addressed issues causing visual effects to stop playing.
  • Directed Mode:
    • Corrected guidance issues arising from player disconnection with a stamp.
    • Resolved guidance inaccuracies with each new stamp spawn.
    • Fixed an issue where picking up Solais after a stamp spawn prevented quest progression.

Modes:

• Directed Mode: Removed the extended time between rounds and the zombie spawn delay after five looped rounds at the round cap.

Ammo Mods:

• Shadow Rift:
  • Activation Rates:
    • Normal enemy activation rate increased from 15% to 20%.
    • Special enemy activation rate increased from 5% to 7%.
    • Elite enemy activation rate (with Big Game Augment) increased from 5% to 7%.
  • Cooldown Timer: Decreased cooldown by 25%.

The Big Game Augment for Shadow Rift was not intended to one-shot Elites, but due to player feedback regarding the impact of recent changes, four buffs have been added to increase activation frequency and maintain its power, including a 25% cooldown reduction.

LTM Highlights / Adjustments:

• Dead Light, Green Light:
  • Added Liberty Falls to the map selection.
  • Increased the round cap to 20 before Exfil.

The initial launch of Dead Light, Green Light featured a single map and a 10-round cap to provide an accessible experience. Based on player feedback indicating it was too easy, Liberty Falls has been added and the round cap increased to 20. Further round cap adjustments will be considered based on community response.

Stability:

• Various stability fixes.

Some bugs, seemingly resolved in testing, may persist in the live game. This can lead to inaccuracies in patch notes. Fixes for the Vermin double-attack bug and the Terminus speedrun issue will be included in the Season 02 update on January 28th.