Black Ops 6’ And Warzone Season 5 Starts And What To Expect

W.M.D. was first introduced in the original Black Ops game. It’s reimagined here as a luxury Italian car manufacturer in Avalon. The snow from the original map is gone. Now clouds hang above the Autofiorno plant, though the layout should be familiar to long-time fans of the Black Ops franchise.

I think it’s worth noting that both the last two maps take place in Avalon, the location for the much-rumored upcoming Warzone big map. Is this an indication that Avalon will make its debut alongside Black Ops 7 at the end of the year? As much as I do enjoy Verdansk, I’m ready for another new Warzone map.

The mid-season update will include one more map:

Jackpot (6v6, Medium-Sized)

Jackpot is inspired by the Black Ops 4 map “Casino” and takes place in the Casino Luttazzi. It combines elements of that map with the High Rollers mission from the Black Ops 6 campaign, reworking both the layout and the aesthetic of the original map.

New modes and playlists coming to Season 5 include:

• Aim High (Launch) – This mode takes place across other modes like TDM, Domination, Hardpoint and Kill Confirmed. Headshots are instant kills, while body armor makes it harder to take down enemies with body shots. This is a great mode if you want to practice your headshots and earn those camos before Black Ops 7 arrives later this year.
• Snipers Only (In-Season) – This playlist is pretty much what it sounds like. Snipers only, no secondary weapons, field upgrades, scorestreaks or melee weapons. You do still get perks, though.
• Cranked Moshpit (In-Season) – When playing Cranked, you have to get kills before a timer runs down or you explode. Cranked Demolition arrives with the Mid-Season update.
• Ransack (Mid-Season) – We haven’t seen this mode in awhile. You basically have to collect gold bars and then bank them to score points. Getting eliminated spills your loot for enemies to collect. It’s a cool tradeoff between trying to bank gold and stop enemies from banking theirs. A good offensive/defensive strategy is required.
• Blueprint Gunfight (Mid-Season) – 2v2 Gunfight but with better guns, basically. Play across the Strike maps with a partner with forced loadouts, only the guns aren’t basic like in the vanilla version of this mode.

Multiplayer is also getting the new Combat Bow Scorestreak. It fires single-shot, explosive-tipped arrows that deal incendiary damage.

Season 5 Trailer

Other updates to multiplayer include a new season of Ranked Mode with all-new rewards including weapon camos and a Jackal PDW SMG blueprint, calling cards, decals and more.

Zombies Season 5 Update

The Reckoning Zombies map lands at launch for Season 5, with a guided mode releasing at the mid-season update. The new map takes place in crumbling towers near Liberty Falls. The new Elite Enemy, Uber Klaus, joins the fray. The giant mecha-zombie should provide a tough new challenge for players.

Uber Klaus is joined by other smaller robots (Kommando Klaus) that appear after mysterious red mist descends on players.

Players will also be able to get their hands on the new Wonder Weapon Gorgofex that combines fungal, floral and insectile traits that deal damage and gravity-defying disruption.

Grief Mode comes to Reckoning in-season. Two teams of 4 face off against one another and the zombies. This type of PvPvE content is exactly what brings me to modes like Zombies. I’m not a huge co-op gamer, but once you add in a competitive element I’m all-in. A Cranked mode also comes to Zombies in-season as well as plenty of other content.

Warzone Season 5 Update

Something big is happening in Verdansk. The Stadium POI has opened up, allowing players to once again access the interior and field. Only now . . . it sounds like a superweapon might be buried beneath. According to the Call Of Duty blog, “The extent of the threat remains unclear, though a weapon capable of large-scale destruction is expected to be unearthed within the vicinity.”

Could this be a hint that Verdansk is about to be destroyed to pave the way for the new Avalon map? That seems increasingly likely.

A number of big changes and additions and modes are coming to Warzone in Season 5:

New Contract – Satellite Hijack (In-Season, Week One)

This is a special multi-stage contract that can only be accessed via the Stadium. This means it’s going to be insanely hot. While info on what can be obtained by completing the contract is redacted, we know that it’s a permanent unlock in your Gunsmith – either a weapon or weapon attachment of some sort.

Stadium Resurgence LTM – 36 players (In-Season, Week Two)

As you can see in this image, the Stadium is open but not all the way. A big hole has been blown in the roof, rather than the fully opened Stadium from the days of Verdansk past. The special LTM brings Resurgence to just this POI, which should make for fast and intense matches. There are a total of 7 circles.

Deadline LTM (Mid-Season)

This is a fun twist on the battle royale mode. Basically, players respawn just like Resurgence mode. As long as one of your teammates is alive, you’ll come back. The twist? At the end of each circle, the team with the lowest point total is eliminated. You can earn points by getting eliminations, completing contracts, looting supplies and spending cash at Buy Stations. Points are reset completely with each new circle, so you’ll never be able to rely on early gains. This mode includes both real human players and AI Bots.

Ranked Battle Royale and Resurgence (Launch Window)

Ranked is back for Season 5 on both Verdanks and Rebirth Island. New rewards including stickers, camos, Blueprints and more are available as you climb the ranks from Bronze to Top 250 (or get stuck at Platinum or Diamond like me).

Solos Update

Both Solos and Casual Solos will be available starting in Season 5 as well, along with Casual Quads and Casual Resurgence Quads. Normal Solos, however, will only be available in North America and Europe.

New Weapons And Updates Across Multiplayer And Warzone

Several new weapons are coming to MP and Warzone, all of which are free and unlocked either in the Battle Pass as free unlock tiers or through events.

PML 5.56 LMG (Launch)

A full-auto light machine gun with a fast rate of fire and high lethality offset by low mobility and hefty recoil. Apparently this LMG has a higher damage rate than most in its class, more comparable to ARs, but with slow reload and lots of recoil. This is unlocked in the Battle Pass.

ABR A1 Assault Rifle (Launch)