In case you didn’t know, the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta is underway on the PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC. Regardless if you were part of the past week’s beta or not, you might be interested in the Black Ops 4 beta changes for week 2, and Treyarch has delivered!

Over on Reddit, the studio posted a lengthy message detailing the Black Ops 4 beta changes that’s being carried over from feedback to the second week of the beta. There are stability changes, UI and lobby tweaks and of course, gameplay balances. Check out the entire changelog below.

BO4 Beta Notes
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Thanks to everyone that tuned into our stream – extra special thanks if you tuned into the part that had audio – you’re keepers.

As we all get pumped up and ready for the start of Week 2 of the Beta, there are a number of updates that we wanted to communicate. For as much as we talk about the value of a beta and the feedback that it provides, we thought you’d be interested to know what sort of changes that feedback has yielded to date and how it will impact a better gameplay experience one week after getting it.

General Fixes

Stability & Performance

• Matchmaking optimization pass.
• Fixes to reduce a number of network disconnects.
• Resolved several hitches that were occurring during gameplay.
• Resolved a number of UI errors that were occurring in the Front End menus.
• Fixed numerous crashes/freezes.
• Fix for scoreboard scores and faction icons sometimes getting flipped during killcams.

Maps

• Performance optimization pass across all maps.
• Addressed several collision bugs across all maps.
• Addressed many gameplay-impacting issues (like bad lines of sight) across all maps.

Features

Lobby Timer

• Reduced “Match Start Timer” to 70 seconds.
  • This timer is longer than usual right now to accommodate map pre-loading in the lobby, which has been added to allow players to spend more time on Create-a-Class customization, Scorestreak selection, and more, rather than spend that time on a static loading screen. We’re aware that there are still cases where this isn’t working as consistently as it should, and we’re working on it.
• Addressed an issue with the lobby timer restarting to the full time if too many players leave.
  • Now, when the lobby timer is below 10 seconds and players leave/join, the timer will only reset to 10 seconds.

Player Feedback

• Reduced the amount of flash on screen at the moment of taking damage.
  • We’ve reduced the darkness and duration of the “damage flash” when players take damage. We are working to find the right balance between making sure players understand every time they take damage and keeping the screen clear for gameplay. This is a continued work in progress.

Movement

• Reduced default jump height.
• Added tuning that scale down jump height on subsequent jumps to prevent bunny hopping.
• Reduced default slide speed.
• Reduced default slide distance.

Spawns

• Adjusted Domination spawn logic to ensure that players spawn more frequently near objective points owned by their team.

Gear

• Body Amor:
  • Fixed a bug where explosive damage was not damaging Body Armor or the player wearing it.
  • Addressed an issue where players wearing Body Armor had no flinch when taking damage.
  • Player wearing Body Armor is now dealt a percentage of damage rather than the Armor blocking full damage.
  • Killing a player with Body Armor now awards an additional +25 score per EKIA.
• COMSEC Device:
  • Further reduced cost to earn Scorestreaks with COMSEC Device for the following:
    • RC-XD
    • UAV
    • Care Package
    • Counter UAV
    • Attack Chopper
    • Strafe Run
    • Strike Team
    • Gunship
• Stim Shot (and standard Heal):
  • For both standard heal and Stim Shot heal, time to full health has been sped up with an increase to the heal cooldown time.
• Equipment Charge:
  • All Equipment will charge faster with this Gear.

Perks

• Dead Silence
  • Increased Dead Silence’s effectiveness versus Acoustic Sensor by reducing the ranges at which Acoustic Sensor can detect a player with Dead Silence.
• Flak Jacket
  • Reduced explosive damage protection.
• Cold Blooded
  • Reduced the delay that AI will take before recognizing a Cold Blooded player by a little over 50% – you’ll need to take cover a bit more quickly when enemy AI are roaming.
• Dexterity
  • Increased weapon hip spread while mantling.
  • Reduced slide duration.
• Ghost
  • Decreased time that you are protected by Ghost after you stop moving.
• Tactical Mask
  • Reduced the amount of resistance to 9-Bang, Concussion, Reactor Core, and Fire.
• Tracker
  • Increased the duration that footsteps remain in the world.

Equipment

• We’d like to see the balance of gunplay vs Equipment tilt a little further to the gunplay side, so we are increasing Equipment cooldown rates across the board. This will make each Equipment use more impactful, while also leading to less “Equipment Spam.”
• Combat Axe: Lowered cooldown.
• All other Equipment cooldowns are longer across the board.
• Frag Grenade: Increased inner and outer damage to match Cluster Grenade damage.
• 9-Bang:
  • Increased stun radius.
  • Decreased fire delay.
• Tac Deploy:
  • Reduced the positive influence on the Tac Deploy. This will allow players spawning on the Tac Deploy to have a better chance at spawning in safer conditions when possible.
  • Reduced the time that a Tac Deploy is active to 25 seconds.
  • The Tac Deploy will now have a maximum cap of 10 spawns. Once 10 players have used the Tac Deploy, it will self-destruct.
• Reactor Core: Increased damage distance.

Specialists

• Ajax – Despite his potentially game-changing Ballistic Shield, Ajax has been underperforming in gameplay. To help him out, we further increased his movement speed while using Ballistic Shield, in both standard and Fortify (ADS) modes. This should provide an overall smoother experience and relieve some frustrations of feeling too sluggish.
• Ruin – Players are flocking to Ruin thanks to his extreme mobility and Best-Play worthy Grav Slams. We’ve bumped up his Grav Slam cooldown to help focus usage and make sure everyone has a nice day.
• Firebreak – Reactor Core can be very hit or miss Equipment, causing big plays or sometimes ending in a fruitless death. We’re bumping up its damage to provide more consistency and help Firebreak hold his ground. His Purifier also has a bit more fuel to keep those heartwarming flames firing longer.
• Torque – Torque can definitely be a thorn in his enemy’s side. However, he’s still not up to snuff with the other Specialists. To make him the true master of his domain, we increased the duration of his Barricade and improved damage on its microwave field. This should make Torque more effective at blocking routes, providing cover, and getting kills.
• Prophet – Prophet’s Tempest needed a bit more oomph to bring it up to the level of our other Specialist Weapons. To start with, we’re decreasing its cooldown so players can earn it faster. In addition, we’ve made its ADS move speed slightly faster to help players line up those shots.
• Nomad – One man’s best friend is another’s worst enemy, and it turns out that Nomad’s dog, Juneau, is a force to be reckoned with. We’ve slowed down her sprint speed, and she’ll now play with boots… paws on the ground like the rest of us. These changes should also prevent her from launching into an aerial assault when running up a sloped surface. We’ll miss the memes.

Scorestreaks

• Scorestreak progress is no longer resetting between Domination rounds.
• Lightning Strike:
  • Explosive damage and radius increased.
  • Tablet will now sweep for enemy positions in the Fog of War when first used.
• Hellstorm:
  • Cluster bomb lock-on radius increased.
• Sentry:
  • Health increased.
  • Can be placed while sprinting.
• Strafe Run:
  • Pathing
  • Cost reduced.
• Strike Team:
  • Default cost increased.
  • Weapon accuracy increased.
  • Behavior updates to seek out enemies more quickly.
  • Increased health per squad member.
• Gunship: cost reduced.
• Mantis:
  • Health increased.
  • Damage increased.
  • Move speed increased.
  • Behavioral changes to seek out enemies more quickly.
• Attack Helicopter: behavioral changes to seek out enemies more quickly.

Weapons

• SMG: GKS
  • ADS recoil reduced for increased ADS accuracy.
  • Hip-fire spread reduced for increased Hip-fire accuracy.
  • Improved high damage range.
  • Improved Ammo Pool.
• SMG: Cordite
  • Increased weapon recoil.
  • Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained.
• SMG: Spitfire
  • Increased weapon recoil.
  • Reduced Ammo pool.
  • Fast Mags: Improved and standardized reload speeds.
  • Extended Mags: Improved Bullet gained.
• SMG: MX9
  • Increased weapon recoil.
• AR: ICR-7
  • Improved ADS IN speed.
  • Improved movement speed while ADS.
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS.
• AR: Rampart 17
  • Improved ADS IN speed
  • Improved movement speed while ADS
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS
• AR: MADDOX RFB
  • Improved ADS IN speed.
  • Improved movement speed while ADS.
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS.
  • Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS.
• AR: KN-47
  • Improved ADS IN speed.
  • Increased high damage range.
  • Improved movement speed while ADS.
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS.
  • Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS.
• AR: VAPR-XKG
  • Improved ADS IN speed.
  • Added a higher damage short range.
  • Improved movement speed while ADS.
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS.
  • Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while ADS.
  • Bayonet: Slightly reduced range
• LMG: Titan
  • Improved hip-fire accuracy
  • Improved movement speed while ADS
  • Improved movement speed while firing in ADS
  • Stock Attachment: Improved movement speed while firing in ADS
• Shotgun: Mog 12
  • Slightly increased 1 hit kill range.
• Shotgun: SG12
  • Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained.
• Launcher: Hellion Salvo
  • Improved ADS IN speed.
  • Improved Raise Time.
  • Improved Drop Time.
• TR: ABR 223
  • Extended Mags: Improved bullets gained.
• Sniper: Koshka.
  • Quickdraw: Slowed ADS IN time.
  • Quickdraw2: Slowed ADS In time.
  • Speed Center: Increased Precision Aim Crosshairs size.
• Sniper: Paladin HB50
  • Fix for left arm taking less damage than the right arm.

Thank you for all of your feedback – please keep it coming!

Treyarch

If you’re playing on PC, you can check out the PC beta requirements right here. Stay tuned to MP1st to hear what we thought of the beta.

While quite a number of PlayStation 4 gamers managed to get their hands on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s beta last week, Xbox One and PC players were left waiting for this weekend to come around before being able to experience it themselves.

Those who missed out have something to look forward to tomorrow, then. Treyarch has announced that the studio is doing a Black Ops 4 beta recap livestream tomorrow which will feature Co-Studio Head Dan Bunting, Expert Game Designer Tony Flame, and Game Designer Matt Scronce. The livestream will be featured on Treyarch’s Facebook page, YouTube channel and Twitch channel.

Ready up for this weekend’s #BO4Beta action: tomorrow at 12 PM/PDT, we will host a livestream to re-cap Week 1 and look forward to Week 2. #BlackOps4 pic.twitter.com/aHx7DFLxmH

— Treyarch Studios (@Treyarch) August 8, 2018

If you want to see the complete changes Treyarch has made to the beta since it started, you can check ’em out here. The PC requirements have also been revealed, though it should be noted that these are the requirements for the beta and not the full game.

The Black Ops 4 beta is set to commence this August 10 at 11 a.m. PT, though don’t be surprised if Treyarch flips the switch early.

In case you’ve been living under a rock the past week, or just not a console fan, then you might not have known that this year’s Call of Duty game, Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, has started its private beta on the PlayStation 4.

While PS4 owners might have had a week’s start due to the platform’s marketing deal with Activision, Xbox One and PC players will get to join in the fun starting this Friday, August 10! For PC players, the private beta isn’t that private as anyone with a Battle,net account can gain access, though it’s a day later on August 11 (10 a.m. PT). You can sign up for a free Battle.net account right here.

Additionally, the Black Ops 4 PC beta requirements have also been revealed! Note that these are BETA requirements only and as such, there’s a chance the final version of the game on PC will have a different table of requirements. Got that? Good.

Minimum:
OS: Windows 7 64-Bit or later
CPU: Intel Core i5 2500k or AMD equivalent
RAM: 8GB RAM
HDD: 25GB HD space
Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 660 2 GB / GTX 1050 2GB or AMD Radeon HD 7850
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

Recommended:
OS: Windows 10 64 Bit
CPU: Intel Core i7 4770k or AMD equivalent
RAM: 12GB RAM
HDD: 25GB HD space
Video: Nvidia GeForce GTX 970 / GTX 1060 6GB or AMD Radeon R9 390 / AMD RX 580
DirectX: Version 11.0 compatible video card or equivalent
Network: Broadband Internet connection
Sound Card: DirectX Compatible

For exclusive Black Ops 4 PC info, you can follow @TreyarchPC on Twitter.

PS4, Xbox One and PC players will be able to participate in the beta once again when Treyarch opens the servers up this August 10 at 10 a.m. PT. Don’t forget to check back once the beta’s over to read our official verdict on what we’ve played so far.

Well, the first week of the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta has come and gone, and with it, a ton of feedback from players. Treyarch has acknowledged the complaints, suggestions and overall feedback, and has offered us a glimpse of what to expect next week when the beta commences and starts for Xbox One and PC.

Before you dive in to the “Day 3 Beta Update,” check out the Day 1 and Day 2 Beta Update posts.

Day 1 – Beta Recap
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Day 2 – Beta Update
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Got the info above? Good. Now, here’s the Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 beta update feedback and what’s set to come next week.

Day 3 – Beta Update
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To all of you in the Call of Duty Black Ops community, you’ve played the living hell out of this game over the weekend, and you’ve provided an incredible amount feedback – the entire team at Treyarch sends its thanks. These last few days have put a spotlight on what it means to be a part of this community, and it’s an amazing opportunity that wouldn’t happen without you.

Alright, enough mushy stuff. Let’s get on with the updates – while you were enjoying your morning chai lattes, we were rolling out a new live update with the following changes:

• Added Kill Confirmed to Chaos TDM and set it as the Featured Playlist.

• Fixed several spawn issues that were discovered in Domination thanks to your help.

• Added functionality to lock the Specialist select mid-match in Search & Destroy to prevent players from dying when switching Specialists during a round in progress.

• Made numerous stability fixes and performance improvements.

Next week, we have a lot more in store, including new content and a title update that addresses many larger-scale issues, along with additional tuning based on what we’re seeing with performance of content. Here is a preview of what’s to come in the upcoming title update:

• Scorestreaks

  • We’ve made a big pass at tuning the effectiveness of Scorestreaks that are underperforming. This includes: expanding the Hellstorm cluster lock-on radius, increasing the damage per shell of the Lighting Strike, upping the health of the Sentry turret, increasing the Strike Team’s weapon accuracy, improving the Strafe Run’s plane pathing and increasing the Attack Chopper’s targeting capabilities.

• Movement

  • As promised, we’ve also made some modifications to locomotion, namely to reduce the amount of bunny hopping + sliding combo moves. We realize how important locomotion is to the feel of the game, so this is always a delicate balancing act and we’re taking it slow, starting with: reducing the global jump height by 5 units; slowing down very slightly the acceleration on sliding; and jumping multiple times in a row will now scale down jump height with each subsequent jump.

• Maps/Modes

  • A pass at performance optimizations has been made across all maps in the Beta for improved framerate.

  • Made a pass at global spawn improvements in various maps and modes.

  • Updated Hardpoint locations and rotation on Seaside.

• Specialist Weaponry/Equipment

  • We’ve made some tuning adjustments including reducing overall effectiveness of the K9 Unit while fixing some of its more *ahem* egregious pathing issues.

• Armor

  • Because we know this is a hot topic, we’re going to address it separately with a dedicated thread. We did say that we wanted to leave this alone until more content is unlocked, and we’ve had more time to crunch the data from all of the content in the game. For now, we are making some early tweaks which we’ll discuss in a later post.

Just because Week 1 is coming to a close doesn’t mean we’re shutting things down. . . we’ll be back with a second week of Beta action starting this Friday (PS4/XB1/PC), which will feature a few new items that you’ll want to jump in to see. We probably shouldn’t reference the new map that you saw in the beta trailer, secret new mode that has been kept under tight wraps, new XP events, and/or new level caps that you’ll see next week, so we definitely won’t do that.

Thanks again for all of your feedback, enjoy what’s left of Week 1, and we look forward to seeing you in a few days for the start of Week 2.

Cheers!

Treyarch

Stay tuned to our complete Black Ops 4 beta impressions once we’ve had enough of the multiplayer shooter. Don’t forget to check back this coming Friday to see the beta up and running again to see what changes Treyarch has made to the game.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 will hit the PS4, Xbox One and PC this October 12, 2018.