Top 5 Things Black Ops 6 (BO6) Needs To Fix Before Launch

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 is looking like one of the most complete experiences in recent memory. From the jam-packed Multiplayer to the full-fledged Zombies mode, fans are in for a fantastic time. However, before then, there are some major flaws with BO6 that Treyarch should fix.

1. Connection Issues

The beta weekends for BO6 were mainly about getting the Multiplayer experience into the hands of the community. However, they were also about gathering feedback and data so that Treyarch could make adjustments for the launch and beyond. One major issue that the developers should be trying to rectify immediately based on player feedback is the rough connection.

From packet bursting to stutters to lag spikes to high latency, there was no shortage of connection problems during the BO6 beta. Regardless of your system or internet speeds, you likely saw some form of lag or the dreaded packet burst icon on your screen. While a Call of Duty title will never have perfect connection, Treyarch needs to figure out why so many players had such a difficult time maintaining a stable connection to the servers in BO6. If not, players won’t get to enjoy all the shiny new features the game has to offer.

2. Map Spawns

Speaking of gathering data from the beta, we sincerely hope that Treyarch got plenty of data regarding spawns in BO6. During the first weekend of the beta, the spawns on every map were absolutely abysmal. You couldn’t walk ten feet after spawning without seeing an enemy, regardless of the map or game mode. While this is to be expected on the Strike maps, that should rarely be the case on a 6v6 map such as Skyline or Derelict.

The second weekend of the beta saw improved spawns after Treyarch was able to gather data. However, the spawns across the board still weren’t great, especially in Hardpoint. Too many times, I would spawn directly near a Hardpoint an enemy was occupying or an enemy would spawn behind me when our team had full control of that side of the map. We won’t even mention the spawns on Babylon, which need some serious work. Hopefully, since that map was only available during the second weekend, Treyarch got enough data to make changes for launch.

3. PC Optimization

If you played the BO6 beta on PC, you likely experienced fewer frames than you are used to on other Call of Duty titles. For some reason, it appears as though BO6 is massively unoptimized for PC, regardless of what hardware you have in your rig. Personally, I’m used to a consistent 300 fps on MW3 using low-medium settings, but in BO6, I could barely crack 200 on most maps.

Related: Is Black Ops 6 Vault Edition Worth It?

It seemed like whatever graphics settings you used or changed, they wouldn’t make a difference in your overall fps. This could either be a bug or a sign of unoptimization. In any case, there needs to be some changes made to how BO6 runs on PC, especially for systems that just meet the recommended requirements.

4. Weapon Balance

I know, I know, talking about weapon balance before a game has even been released yet can be seen as premature. However, putting aside the Jackal PDW and all of its dominance, I feel the weapon categories outside of SMGs could use more love. The three assault rifles we got to use in the BO6 beta didn’t feel as smooth to use as the SMGs, even at longer ranges, and the snipers were extremely difficult to operate. The lone shotgun we had access to also felt underpowered and clunky.

While I certainly don’t want Treyarch to go overboard with the weapon balancing, I think some adjustments could be made to entice players to use something besides an SMG. Given the smaller map direction the developers are going for, giving the longer-range weapons faster mobility or slightly improved accuracy will make them a more viable option.

Of course, we haven’t seen the full weapon slate in BO6, so this isn’t a major issue yet. If the beta is anything to go by, though, your lobbies are going to be filled with dominant SMGs unless Treyarch makes some balancing changes.

5. Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM)

If you follow the Call of Duty franchise at all, you had to know this was coming. Skill-based matchmaking has been talked about to death over the past several years, so there’s little point in harping on it. For posterity’s sake, though, I’ll mention that the SBMM in the beta felt cranked up to a new level. While this likely has to do with the fact that only a limited number of players took part in the beta, lobbies still felt “sweatier” than usual.

Activision has made it clear that a majority of the player base benefits from SBMM. However, this doesn’t mean the developers can’t institute some ways for players to relive the glory days in public matches. Making lobbies no longer disband would be a huge win for the community, for example. Also, perhaps a playlist that features no SBMM, which Activision has theorized in the past, could work for a limited time.

There’s no way Activision is getting rid of SBMM, but providing some ways for players to look slightly past it would be extremely welcome.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 launches on Oct. 25 for PC, PlayStation 4+5, and Xbox One/Series X|S.