The first major Call of Duty Black Ops 4 multiplayer update is now live on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, introducing a variety of tweaks and balance changes for the game's multiplayer modes.

　　The update includes changes to weapons, Specialists, map spawns, scorestreaks, Perks, Gear, and Game Modes. Changes have also been made to Blackout, with improved audio and Armor behavior, six new Specialist character missions and more.

　　Today's Call of Duty Black Ops 4 update is also going live for the PC version soon. It will include additional PC-specific changes and improvements.

　　Multiplayer

　　Playlist Updates

　　Featured Playlists

　　“Gun Game” playlist added to Featured Playlist (no parties allowed).

　　“Mercenary Deathmatch Moshpit” playlist added to the Featured Category (TDM and Kill Confirmed, no parties allowed).

　　“Chaos Domination” playlist to Featured Category (3-second captures, 150-point rounds, 6v6).

　　Hardcore TDM / Hardcore Kill Confirmed

　　Player count increased to 6v6.

　　2 Specialist limit per team.

　　Assault Rifles

　　We’re dialing back some previous buffs to Assault Rifles to help close the gap in effectiveness between ARs and SMGs, allowing SMGs to be more effective at firing on the move.

　　Slight reduction to ADS move speed for all Assault Rifles.

　　Slight reduction to ADS-in transition speed for all Assault Rifles.

　　ICR-7

　　Reduced headshot damage.

　　Slight reduction to reload speed.

　　VAPR-XKG

　　Reduced close-range headshot damage.

　　Damage now falls off sooner.

　　High Caliber: Reduced headshot multiplier, eliminating the possibility of a 3-hit kill.

　　Submachine Guns

　　Mobility is the primary strength of SMGs, speeding across the map to engage or disengage quickly. Some of the close-range SMGs were performing quite well, while others struggled to compete with the rest of the category. This week’s balancing pass levels the playing field between SMGs.

　　MX9

　　Extended all damage ranges.

　　High Caliber: Reduced headshot multiplier, eliminating the possibility of a 4-hit kill.

　　Cordite

　　Extended all damage ranges.

　　Belt-Feed Operator Mod: Increased overheat rate.

　　GKS

　　Quad Shot Operator Mod: Slight time increase in between bursts.

　　Saug 9mm

　　Dual Wield Operator Mod: Reduced hip-fire accuracy.

　　Tactical Rifles

　　We’ve buffed the ABR to be more competitive with the other Tactical Rifles, while stepping down its Operator Mod to keep it from becoming a crutch Attachment. The Swordfish received some Attachment adjustments, as well.

　　ABR 223

　　Extended maximum damage range.

　　Repeater Operator Mod: Now takes longer to accelerate fire rate.

　　Stock: Slight reduction in movement speed bonus.

　　Laser Sight & Laser Sight II: Improved hip-fire accuracy.

　　Swordfish

　　High Caliber: Reduced headshot multiplier, eliminating the possibility of a 3-hit kill.

　　Penta Burst Operator Mod: Reduced extra granted clip-size.

　　Sniper Rifles

　　The other Sniper Rifles needed help to fight King Paladin. We’re giving these rifles reduced idle sway and upping their damage to help finish off wounded targets more consistently.

　　Removed turn sway when aiming down sights on all Sniper Rifles to better ensure the weapon reticle stays centered when turning.

　　Paladin HB50

　　High Caliber II: Hitting the lower torso on a full Tak-5-boosted enemy will no longer be a 1-hit kill.

　　FMJ II: Improved damage against Scorestreaks.

　　Stabilizer II: Player can now hold breath sooner after the previous hold breath.

　　Outlaw

　　Improved base damage from 110 to 130.

　　Reduced idle sway.

　　Increased base movement speed.

　　Stock: Slight increase in ADS movement speed bonus.

　　SDM

　　Increased clip size from 10 to 12.

　　Reduced idle sway.

　　Koshka

　　Improved Damage from 120 to 140.

　　Stock: Slight increase in ADS movement speed bonus.

　　Light Machine Guns

　　Some in the community have discovered that the Titan and VKM 750 are extremely effective weapons! We’re toning them down before everyone jumps on the bandwagon. While they’ll still be scary to face off against, players will now have a more reasonable chance to defend themselves against these LMGs.

　　Titan

　　Reduced headshot damage.

　　Reduced hip-fire accuracy.

　　Stock: Reduced ADS movement speed bonus.

　　VKM 750

　　Reduced movement speed while firing.

　　Reduced damage slightly.

　　Fat Barrel Operator Mod: Reduced bullet tracer size.

　　Hades

　　Cross Bar Operator Mod: Reduced movement speed and accuracy.

　　Steady Grip: Improved recoil mitigation.

　　Pistols

　　Slight reduction to ADS-in transition speed for all Pistols.

　　RK 7 Garrison

　　Slight increase to the time between bursts.

　　Slight reduction to reload speed.

　　Shotguns

　　This weapon class is close to where we want it, with only a couple of specific Attachments performing better than intended. Shotguns in Black Ops 4 play a different role than in past Call of Duty titles, and those who have practiced cat-and-mouse gameplay can be highly effective with them.

　　MOG 12

　　Choked Barrel: 1-hit-kill range reduced.

　　Dragon’s Breath Operator Mod: Resolved an issue where the Dragon’s Breath occasionally triggered incorrect visual and sound FX on targets.

　　SG12

　　Strobe Light Operator Mod: Addressed an issue with the Strobe Light where it would remain on after death.

　　Live update coming soon to reduce the range at which the Strobe Light interferes with enemy aim.

　　Attachments (All Weapons)

　　Grip II

　　Reduced ADS flinch mitigation.

　　Suppressor

　　Reduced damage falloff ranges.

　　Holographic Sight Optic

　　Reduced ADS recoil.

　　Dual Zoom Optic

　　Reduced ADS recoil.

　　Recon Optic

　　Reduced ADS recoil.

　　ELO Optic

　　Slightly increased ADS recoil.

　　Specialists

　　Ajax

　　We’re providing more strategic options to counteract Ballistic Shield, and to help ensure the Shield isn’t activated too often in the same game.

　　Explosives now apply partial damage to the front of a deployed Ballistic Shield user.

　　Ballistic Shield now takes longer to earn.

　　Nomad

　　We want to encourage Nomad to work more closely with his K9-Unit to maximize effectiveness.

　　Reduced K9-Unit health by 10%.

　　Crash

　　While we’re happy that our Support Specialist is so popular, he was a bit too effective as a Scorestreak farmer.

　　Reduced “Teammate Used Pack” score event from +50 to +25.

　　Firebreak

　　Purifier has been restored to its former glory.

　　Increased Purifier flame damage to be a guaranteed eventual kill against a player who doesn’t have Tactical Mask equipped.

　　Recon

　　Intelligence wins wars, and Recon is living proof. We have intelligence that Recon’s intelligence is too good, so we’re re-classifying some of his sources.

　　Reduced Sensor Dart duration.

　　Resolved an issue where voiceover would incorrectly state that the player’s Sensor Dart was destroyed.

　　Torque

　　Many in the community have embraced Torque with inventive playstyles, though he’s still struggling on a broader scale. We bolstered the effectiveness of his Barricade to ensure he stays relevant in team compositions.

　　Increased earn rate for Barricade.

　　Increased hit points for Barricade.

　　Addressed an issue that prevented TAACOM from telling the player that their Barricade was taking damage.

　　Prophet

　　Prophet’s Tempest needed an upgrade to stand a chance of competing with the rest of the Specialists.

　　Greatly increased Tempest projectile speed.

　　Slightly increased Tempest chain distance.

　　Resolved an issue where being hit by an explosive charge would disable the Tempest charge, preventing further arcing.

　　Spawns

　　Team Deathmatch

　　Tuned spawn logic around how enemies impact where the game chooses to respawn the player.

　　Spawn adjustments made for Slums, Summit, Militia, and Firing Range.

　　Domination

　　Spawn adjustments made for Icebreaker, Contraband, Hacienda, Payload, Gridlock, Slums, Summit, Militia, Jungle, and Firing Range.

　　Hardpoint

　　Tuned spawn logic tuning around how the active Hardpoint affects nearby spawns. This should provide more predictable spawns when battling over an active Hardpoint.

　　Additional global spawn adjustments to improve the ability for a player to anchor a location for their team’s respawns relative to an active Hardpoint.

　　Spawn adjustments made for Frequency and Seaside.

　　Free For All

　　Spawn adjustments made for Slums, Summit, Militia, and Firing Range.

　　Control

　　Spawn adjustments made for Slums, Summit, Militia, and Firing Range.

　　Gear

　　Stim Shot

　　Increased time to fully heal the player.

　　Armor

　　Resolved an issue where Armor protected from more damage than intended when hitting areas of the body that have damage multipliers, such as the head or upper chest. This primarily affects weapons with chest modifiers, such as Sniper Rifles or weapons with High Caliber II.

　　Acoustic Sensor

　　Reduced the range at which sprinting enemies are detected.

　　Perks

　　Dead Silence

　　Reduced player movement volume and distance that players equipped with Dead Silence can be heard by enemies. The intention for Dead Silence is not to be completely silent, but also not to allow enemies to hear your movement from longer distances.

　　Engineer

　　Extraction helicopter in Heist will no longer be highlighted by the Engineer Perk.

　　Scorestreaks

　　Mantis

　　Resolved an issue where the Mantis could be destroyed by touching the Out-Of-Bounds area of a map.

　　Dart

　　Increased explosion radius and damage.

　　Players can now use a second Dart when earning two Dart Scorestreaks.

　　Strike Team

　　Prevented Strike Team kills from contributing towards owner's kills without dying medals.

　　Gameplay

　　Reduced ranges required for Longshot Medals for Assault Rifles, Tactical Rifles, Submachine guns, and Light Machine Guns.

　　Resolved an issue where the “Hard Stop” Challenge could reset before reaching 300.

　　Resolved an issue where the “Marksman Mastery” Challenge would not give 10,000 XP upon completion.

　　Resolved an issue where destroying friendly Scorestreaks would award score.

　　Players can no longer crouch or go prone while performing a Gesture.

　　Game Modes

　　Increased XP earn rate in Heist.

　　Increased amount of XP earned per kill in Free For All.

　　Resolved an issue where Hardcore wins were not counted toward Challenges.

　　Resolved an issue in Free For All where Recon players could receive Vision Pulse assist score.

　　Silent Plant option in Custom Games should now make planting and defusing bombs completely silent.

　　Maps

　　Icebreaker

　　Adjusted cover pieces to discourage players from spawn-camping.

　　Added cover to the lower respawn side.

　　Slums

　　Adjusted cover pieces to discourage players from spawn-camping.

　　Miscellaneous

　　Several map fixes to address exploits that allowed players to leave the intended play space.

　　Theater

　　Theater files recorded before this update will no longer be viewable due to significant architectural changes to the system. As noted in our previous major update, we will make every effort to keep instances of incompatibility to a minimum.

　　Added a watermark in the HUD that only displays when in Theater mode.

　　Why this change? We often see players posting videos recorded from Theater as a demonstration of “poor hit detection” or other issues that appear to be incorrect. While Theater represents what happened in a match in a general sense, it does not reflect with 100% accuracy all of the details as they were experienced live. Live recorded gameplay footage is the more accurate method for reporting behavior in the game that is not performing as expected. With this change, we can better identify Theater clips when reviewing community videos and therefore filter them out for the more accurate live recorded clips.

　　Audio

　　Resolved issues that caused footsteps to sound muffled when they shouldn’t be.

　　Blackout

　　Playlists

　　100-Player Solos added to Featured playlist.

　　Maximum player count set to 88 for Duos and Quads.

　　Audio

　　Tweaked settings to ensure friendly teammates’ footsteps are now quieter than enemy footsteps.

　　Adjusted footsteps for all Armor types in first-person and third-person to give better directionality and distance information.

　　Resolved an issue that occasionally caused footsteps to be silent.

　　Resolved issues that caused footsteps to become muffled when they shouldn’t be.

　　Armor

　　Armor now allows more damage to pass through to areas of the body that have damage multipliers, such as the head or upper chest. For example, headshots now do more damage against Level 3 Armor.

　　Character Missions

　　Unlocked remaining Specialist Character Missions (Battery, Firebreak, Nomad, Prophet, Ruin, Seraph)

　　“Item Found” Notifications

　　To tag an item for your teammate, approach the Item and select the bottom center command on your Command Wheel. This will display the Item in text on your team’s HUD and highlight the item in the world for your team.

　　Increased the brightness of Items when a teammate tags them as “Item Found” via the Command Wheel.

　　Increased duration that Items tagged using “Item Found” are displayed in the world to your team.

　　Calling Cards and Challenges

　　Resolved an issue where completing Dark Ops Challenges would not unlock their associated Calling Card.

　　Resolved an issue where certain Challenges rewarded the same Calling Card.

　　UI

　　Resolved an issue where the Altimeter could disappear during Infiltration.

　　Resolved an issue where incorrect Inventory items could be shown while spectating another player.

　　Miscellaneous

　　Resolved an issue that allowed players to shoot through certain rocks.

　　Improved visual quality of the grass.

　　Resolved an issue where the After Action Report would show double damage when in Squads.

　　Resolved an issue where Echelon Ranking wasn’t showing properly at Max Rank.

　　Zombies

　　Gameplay

　　Increased XP earn rate for Hardcore and Realistic difficulties.

　　Blood of the Dead

　　Addressed an issue where the New Industries portal ghost remained visible from the start of the step.

　　Fixed lever animation on the Power House ghoul in the Main Easter Egg Quest.

　　IX

　　Resolved an issue where players could be tossed outside the intended play space of the Boss Battle Arena.

　　Resolved an issue where earning Mule Kick could take away all player weapons and money.

　　Miscellaneous

　　Resolved an issue preventing players from applying their Clan Tag or using the Kill Counter after weapon Prestige.

　　Resolved an issue where the SG12 lost all attachments when Pack-A-Punched.

　　Fixed multiple exploit spots in the maps.

　　Fixed several stability issues associated with entering and exiting the Alchemy Lab at specific times.

　　Earning additional Perks will now be displayed on the player’s HUD.

　　Resolved issues with Prestige Master not functioning correctly.

　　Resolved several issues with Custom Mutation options not working correctly.

　　Resolved an issue where the wrong Camo could be displayed on a weapon.

　　Resolved an issue where players were not getting revived when the DG-5 Power Plant ability had been enabled.

　　Resolved several instances of Anywhere But Here not working when activated on a moving platform, like the gondola in Blood of the Dead.

　　Fixed an exploit where players could keep their Special Weapon out indefinitely.

　　General

　　Social

　　Players can now invite players who are online, but not in the game, to their in-game party.

　　Miscellaneous

　　Resolved an issue where particular weapon Camos would overlap weapon Optics.

　　Resolved multiple issues with Paintjobs not showing up in-game.

　　Resolved an issue where your Gun Rack would show up when inspecting other players.

　　Resolved an issue where Emblems for other players would appear in lower resolution than expected in the Social menu.

　　General stability fixes and performance improvements across Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies.

　　Call of Duty Black Ops 4 is now out on PC, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in all regions.