Battlefield 6's weapon progression and battle pass feel a bit too grindy, so let's turn our attention to Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 instead. It will be released on November 14th, and the developers have made many optimizations based on the previous beta.

These optimizations cover a wide range of aspects, including core game mechanics, the skill system, and UI. So, what problems do these optimizations in Black Ops 7 solve? Are they enough to make it competitive with the current Battlefield 6?

Core Game Mechanics Changes

Dexterity

In the beta, Dexterity perk was essential because it unlocked the ability to aim while performing highly mobile actions like Slide, Dive, or Wall Jump. Without it, you couldn't aim down sights during these actions.

The developers decided to make this feature built-in as the default setting, and Players don't need to equip any skills to aim while moving. However, Dexterity perk wasn't removed; it was redesigned. Its new effect is to allow players to perform the above actions more efficiently, specifically through increased speed and potentially improved accuracy.

Footstep Volume

In Beta, footsteps were too quiet, allowing enemies to dash right behind players without being heard, even without Ninja perk, leading to many unfair matches.

The developers announced a slight increase in footstep volume. They explicitly stated that the adjustment aims to balance the game, ensuring Ninja perk is not a necessity but rather an option.

Slide

The distance and speed of the slide were still too powerful in Beta, and the developers will slightly reduce them. However, the exact reduction and its impact on gameplay feel still require testing.

Mantle Speeds

Climbing obstacles was extremely slow, clashing with the game's fast pace. The developers stated they will comprehensively improve climbing speed.

Perk System Adjustments

The peks system has undergone structural adjustments. Given the overall power balance, some perk slots will be changed, and certain skills will be merged.

Slot Changes

• Tac Sprinter: Moved from Slot 3 to Slot 1
• Gearhead: Moved from Slot 2 to Slot 1
• Scavenger: Moved from Slot 1 to Slot 2
• Tactical Mask: Moved from Slot 1 to Slot 2
• Dexterity: Moved from Slot 1 to Slot 3
• Looper: Moved from Slot 2 to Slot 3
• Cold-blooded: Moved from Slot 1 to Slot 3

The biggest beneficiary of this change is Cold-blooded, which now allows players to use a Wild Card and equip Ghost, Ninja, and Cold-blooded simultaneously for a full stealth loadout.

Perk Combinations

Call of Duty BO6 had many perks that were too niche, making players feel they were like half-perks. Players wouldn't give up a perk in the same slot that provides consistent benefits for a perk that only works occasionally, so the developers decided to merge the effects of some perks.

Specific merge plan:

• Gearhead absorbed Quartermaster's effect.
• Assassin absorbed Vendetta's effect.
• Close Shave absorbed Bruiser's effect.
• Tracker absorbed Hunter's Instinct's effect.

Engineer absorbed Shadow's effect. Now it can not only see enemy equipment but also won't trigger enemy equipment that requires manual detonation.

Aim Assist Adjustments

Based on Beta data, input devices have different advantages at different engagement distances:

• Close quarters engagements: Controller players have a slightly higher win rate.
• Longer range engagements: Keyboard and mouse players have a slightly higher win rate.

The developers may weaken the close-range aim assist strength and strengthen the long-range aim assist strength to narrow the gap.

The developers are researching requiring players to push the right stick to perform aiming actions to activate Rotational Aim Assist. Currently, the mechanism allows players to simply move the left stick to move the character, and the system automatically assists in aiming and tracking enemies. If this change is added at launch, it will significantly raise the skill barrier for controller use.

Matchmaking And Lobby

The official announcement states that the system used in Beta's public matchmaking list will be adopted, based on connection quality and regional latency, rather than strict skill-based matchmaking. Persistent Lobbies will also return by default. Lobbies will not be disbanded after a match, allowing players to continue playing with the same group of players or seek revenge.

Leveling And Progress

The official announcement confirms that weapon upgrade speeds in the full version will be faster than in Beta and Black Ops 6. When combined with CoD Black Ops 7 redeem codes, weapon upgrade speeds will reach unprecedented levels. While COD Bo7 will have 10 Prestiges, and each weapon will have its own Prestiges level, resulting in a long upgrade path.

The final Mastery Camo unlocking method is simplified. Once you get Master Camo on one of the 30 weapons, the final Mastery Camo will be automatically unlocked for all 30 weapons, eliminating the need to complete individual challenges for each gun.

Additionally, Overclock earn rates will be more stable, regardless of equipment, battlefield upgrades, or consecutive score rewards. The official announcement also confirmed the existence of Secret Camos and Dark Ops Challenges, but the unlocking method is kept secret.

User Interface

Call of Duty: Bo7 introduces a new global HUD theme system, allowing players to uniformly customize the interface appearance for Multiplayer, Zombies, and Co-op Campaign modes. Players can also freely toggle the minimap and other HUD elements.

The UI can now display up to three camouflage challenges and three name card challenges simultaneously. It also inherits the Last Used feature from Black Ops 6, displaying the next camouflage challenge for the currently used weapon.

The developers are currently working on comprehensive optimizations for CoD BO7. While it cannot be guaranteed to be the best FPS game, current information suggests it will be better than Black Ops 6.

If you've had a general overview of all the new content in New World Season 10, you'll know that most of the new playable modes are PvE and best completed in a team. But have you considered the possibility of tackling them solo?

Season 10 adds new PvE modes, including Catacombs and Isle of Night raid. The raid retains the 10-player group system and is extremely difficult, it's best not to enter solo. However, Catacombs completely allows you to try solo play.

Theoretically, a three-person team is the best composition for exploring Catacombs - DPS, tank, and healer, perfect. But the game doesn't actually force you to always stay with your teammates.

So if you have the time and are willing to challenge yourself, you can try leaving the group and exploring Catacombs dungeon solo, following our upcoming guide, and see if you can successfully bring back the rewards!

Catacombs Mode Mechanics Overview

This mode has a 30-minute time limit. During this time, you need to enter the corresponding dungeon and continuously kill enemies to unlock the boss. Defeating the boss will advance you to the next level, and this process repeats until the time runs out.

Increased levels not only mean facing more dangerous enemies and bosses, but also granting you more rare rewards upon victory.

The boss's room is marked with a skull icon on the dungeon mini-map. You need to thoroughly explore other rooms to find levers to open the door to the boss battle.

Each run of Catacombs features several bosses, but their combat mechanics are not entirely original to Season 10; rather, they are designed based on all the boss battles in the game so far.

To successfully collect all the rewards from the dungeon, at least one person in the party must leave alive. This means that if you're exploring solo, you must survive to the end. Alternatively, you can choose to retreat before the timer expires to avoid additional losses.

How To Explore Catacombs Solo?

You'll need to make various preparations to solo successfully, such as upgrading your character's gear, mastering additional tips based on the inherent mechanics, and more. We'll introduce the specifics below.

Memorize All Map Layouts

Each time you explore a Catacombs dungeon, you'll face a completely new map, but this "new" only applies compared with the previous exploration; the total number of maps isn't infinite.

If you explore with a team, you can split up when encountering unfamiliar dungeon layouts, reducing the probability of encountering unknown dangers and finding the boss faster.

However, if you go alone, exploring unfamiliar areas will consume more time. Therefore, it's best to play a few times in a team or check relevant guides to familiarize yourself with all Catacombs dungeon maps, saving time and getting straight to the boss fight.

Ideally Obtain All Buffs

In addition to various enemies and boss rooms, there are rooms within the dungeon where you can obtain additional combat buffs: Idol of Ascension and Aspects.

Defeating enemies yields an item called Splintered Souls, which can be used to exchange for damage and maximum health boosts when entering rooms with Idol of Ascension.

Aspect rooms feature multiple statues offering various buffs. At a party, everyone should prioritize the best buffs for their playstyle. However, if exploring solo, you can choose based on your character's strengths and weaknesses.

Leave Bosses For Later

Since the difficulty of subsequent levels increases with each boss defeated, it's recommended not to rush to kill them after unlocking them. Prioritize defeating weaker bosses to avoid failing early on due to overly difficult regular levels.

Once you've acquired sufficient buffs through exploring the rooms, you can focus on clearing bosses!

It's important to note that since dungeon layouts change each time, and a boss's difficulty depends not only on its level but also on whether you possess attributes that counter it, there's no absolute priority ranking for boss challenges.

Possible bosses in the dungeon include:

• Snorok Ice Fist
• Grundgul The Regent
• Soul Eater
• Neishatun
• Kurok
• Hadish Azar, Keeper of Flame
• Nereid
• Fulgoris

Crafting Suitable Build

Since Catacombs is a PvE mode, craft builds should prioritize improving PvE attributes in skills, gear, and perks.

In solo mode, without support, your build needs to achieve a balance between damage output, defense, and self-healing. A deficiency in any one area will hinder exploration.

Since each boss is different, we recommend using a general solo Catacombs build crafting approach, then combined with different skills and armor to target specific damage outputs or switch to more flexible/stable movement methods.

Don't Be Fixated On Solo Play

The solo playstyle we describe assumes all party members are split up, as the system will force team matching. While you can explore the entire Catacombs solo, if you encounter danger after running out of respawns, it's best to call for your teammates immediately.

Summary

In general, completing Catacombs solo is entirely feasible, but it's not the most efficient way to obtain rewards.

The best dungeon clearing strategy is to first split up and eliminate enough regular enemies to collect a large amount of Splintered Souls, then regroup to defeat the boss with additional buffs. This will increase everyone's survival rate.

That concludes our introduction. If you are confident in your abilities, please follow our suggestions and start experiencing solo Catacombs exploration now!