Are you actively playing Call of Duty: Black Ops 4? If you are, no doubt you’ve been killed countless times by Specialist abilities that range from your usual grenade, to the more annoying seeker drone that electrifies you for a good few seconds.
These Specialists, while add identity to the game, has become a problem due to the constant spam of abilities, ultimates and scorestreaks littering the game. In Black Ops 3, Specialists could choose and use one “ultimate” ability and that was it. In Black Ops 4, these same ultimates seem to recharge faster, and are now accompanied by an ability, thus adding to the chaos to each match.
It’s no wonder now that the community on Reddit, and even Call of Duty YouTubers, are voicing out on how overwhelming Specialist abilities are, and how most deaths come from these abilities instead of, y’know, actual guns.
While some have voiced out for a “classic” (read: no Specialist) playlist, maybe that’s not even needed at all. If Treyarch can fine tune how some Specialist abilities work, this new classic playlist might not even be needed at all. Heck, even people from the community have doled out suggestions on how the Specialists can be balanced better.
Why We Won’t See Specialist-Free Playlists and Modes
So, are we getting a Specialist-free mode anytime soon? I really doubt it and here’s why: Rolling out such a mode is an admission by Treyarch that they goofed up in terms of balancing.
Think of it this way: if no one plays the Specialist-free mode, then Treyarch can just kill it and call it a day. But what if it proves to be too popular? What if the core game modes and playlists suffer since more people want to play the classic style of Call of Duty? Not only will Treyarch fracture their own player base, but again, it’ll make the studio look bad since it will clearly show that they’ve lost touch with their player base.
It’s a lose-lose scenario for Treyarch, though one that would be accepted warmly by the community.
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What Can We Do With Specialist Spam?
If you’re suffering from Black Ops 4 Specialist spam sickness, then I’m afraid there’s no actual cure, but just a band aid or two for now. Use the Engineer perk so you can at least see all the crap flying about and whatnot. With the perk equipped, you’ll be able to see the spawn beacon wherever it is, Torque’s barricade, even the seeker drone. That said, you’ll still fall victim to these things but at least you’ll be able to avoid some of them.
Another way to not be abused by much is the Tac Mask perk. With this, you’ll have better resistance to Ajax’s 9-bang flashbang, Firebreak’s Reactor Core and more. Again, these won’t make you invulnerable to these skills, but it’ll at least make them a tad more manageable.
One more thing that can help is allocating a point in your create-a-class setup for a Hellion Rocket. I find that these are indispensable since you can use them to take out Torque’s barricades and barb wires, UAVs, RC XD, Nomad’s dog, and more. Yes, I hate the Black Ops 4 Specialist spam as much as anyone and I do everything I can to make sure it’s mitigated on my end.
Well, there you have it. Are you experiencing Black Ops 4 Specialist spam sickness? How do you think this can be cured? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.