"We're making sure that we have an experience for every single type of player we can imagine." He calls Bootcamp a "great place to get a handle on" Call of Duty multiplayer, because the bots "don't yell at you or call you names." "We can dial up or down the difficulty of these bots," Vonderhaar says, to help players improve their multiplayer skills.
Bootcamp matches are six-on-six battles, with each team comprised of three humans and three AI-controlled bots.
It too has been rolled into the core game experience, offering full multiplayer progression up to level 10 in Bootcamp mode, one of three Combat Training gametypes.
"I'm totally fine if someone thinks they can do a better job than us."īack to school with Bootcamp and Bot StompĬombat Training, the offline mode designed to acclimate players to online multiplayer by matching them against bots, also returns. New custom game rules let players "put on the game designer hat," says Vonderhaar. Want some raw, straightforward Call of Duty? Change it to "Pick Three." For a more chaotic experience, customize the ruleset to "Pick Seventeen," turning each player into a well-armed super soldier.
Custom game makers can build out default and custom classes - outfitting every player with rocket launchers, for example - add bots, restrict certain items or weapons, and even toy with the "Pick Ten" Create-A-Class rules. Treyarch is also baking in a long list of custom game modes for Black Ops 2 multiplayer, which play with the core and Party game modes. Experience points and ranks acquired in Party games will count toward a player's regular progression. Vonderhaar says Party Mode matches are still "just for fun," but that these gametypes are also part of the core multiplayer system. Featured in Black Ops 2 are Gun Game, One in the Chamber, Sharpshooter, and Sticks and Stones. Wager Matches will return from the original Black Ops. "There's just so much going on, that it's just too big to have one reveal." Team Deathmatch and Kill Confirmed also support multi-team gameplay.
He listed Hardpoint as one of the multiplayer modes that supports (and shines in) multi-team matches, which can see up to six teams battle it out at once. "It's total chaos and super fun," said Treyarch game design director David Vonderhaar. During Hardpoint matches, the game will call out a hotspot for players to sprint to, capture, defend, and then move on to the next. New in Black Ops 2 is Hardpoint, a team-based mode "inspired by traditional king of the hill" gameplay. Kill Confirmed mode, the popular dog tag-grab from Modern Warfare 3, will also return. Treyarch promises a hefty suite of new and returning multiplayer game modes, including well-worn standards like Team Deathmatch, Domination, Capture the Flag, Domination, and Search and Destroy. The laundry list of online features stuff into Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 has expanded even further, with developer Treyarch officially confirming new game modes, multiplayer challenges, theater mode enhancements, and changes to the Prestige system. It's doing it more thoughtfully, making online multiplayer more approachable, more customizable than ever. It's even bringing competitive multiplayer to its popular Zombies spin-off mode.īut the Santa Monica-based developer, once widely regarded as the back-up Call of Duty team, is doing more with multiplayer in Black Ops 2 than anyone else. It's doubling down on eSports and skill-based league play. It's ditching established Create-A-Class rules for multiplayer class customization. Treyarch unveils details on Black Ops 2's custom games, its new approach to Prestige, and an expanded Combat Training modeĭeveloper Treyarch is blowing the bloody doors off Call of Duty: Black Ops 2's multiplayer suite.