If you haven’t played the cross-play beta access of Black Ops Cold War yet, this is your last chance to play it for free. 

We are heading into the final beta access weekend where all platforms can duke it out. New game modes and maps will also be introduced in this final weekend.

If you played in the last beta access weekend, Treyarch balanced things to give the game a more optimized gameplay. One notable thing that changed is the slide mechanic and Duster stock. Players were relying heavily on slides making the game feel like Apex Legends. Treyarch shortened the slides, now making it easier to engage enemies in the open.

See the full patch notes below for a more detailed explanation

GAMEPLAY UPDATES

In response to player feedback and game data from last weekend’s PS4 Beta, we’ve made a new round of gameplay updates and tuning changes to movement, weapons, attachments, and more.

For our PC players joining us this weekend, there’s also a list of known issues and workarounds to be aware of.

Movement

Reduced the speed of the initial slide impulse and slightly shortened slide duration.

During the PS4 Beta, we found players over-relying on sliding to traverse ground quickly or engage in close quarters, making it difficult to target players in the open. 

Our goal is for sliding to function as a smooth transition to cover, escape, or transition to a crouching stance. This weekend’s changes result in a snappier slide that better fit our goals for the mechanic. 

Significantly reduced slide speed with the Duster Stock attachment equipped.

In Weekend 1, the Duster Stock attachment accounted for massive slide speed increases that didn’t fit into our more grounded combat loop. With this new change, Duster Stock now offers a modest improvement in slide speed that is more balanced with other attachment offerings.

Weapons

Milano 821

Reduced damage falloff range.

This update causes the 4-hit kill range to turn to 5 hits at 12.8 meters, down from 19.2 meters during the PS4 Beta.

AK-47

Slightly reduced recoil.

We’d like to see the AK-47 remain a top contender for assault rifle picks, and it was barely edged out by the XM4 and Krig 6 in the PS4 Beta. By reducing its recoil, we’re giving AK-47 users a better opportunity to compete.

M16

Increased time between bursts from .216s to .233s.

This weapon’s high lethality and well-rounded attributes allowed it to over-perform even outside of its intended role during the PS4 Beta. This change keeps the M16’s power and accuracy while requiring more precision.

Type 63

Reduced recoil.

Our new recoil system tuning made this weapon a bit too difficult to hit multiple shots on target. We’ve toned down the recoil to make it more effective as the precision weapon it was meant to be.

RPD

Slightly reduced hip fire spread.

While the RPD can be effective at long range, we’ve improved its close-range reliability compared to the PS4 Beta.

Gallo SA12

Adjusted medium-range damage to require three hits to kill instead of two at mid-range.

This was an extremely effective secondary throughout the PS4 Beta. With this tuning update, it will still take two hits to eliminate an enemy within a short range, just not quite as far out.

Attachments

Agency Suppressor

Reduced some recoil bonuses.

This attachment came with too many strengths without enough tradeoffs during the PS4 Beta, particularly with how much it reduced recoil. This update reduces some of those bonuses while still making them notably beneficial.

Field Upgrades

Field Mic

Reduced the range at the Field Mic can detect players who are crouching, ADS walking, or moving but not sprinting.

During the PS4 Beta, this Field Upgrade did not incentivize counter-play as much as we were planning for. The Field Mic will now be less effective at detecting footstep noise from players who move more slowly.

Equipment

Frag Grenade

Reduced the damage on the outer half of the Frag Grenade’s splash damage radius.

While we expect Frag Grenade usage to drop significantly in the Crossplay Open Beta as more Wildcard and lethal options open up, we also agree with the feedback that frags resulted in kills a little too often.

Known PC Issues and Workarounds

Mouse Wheel Input Delay defaults at 0, which is lower than intended.

Workaround: The player can adjust the value for the mouse wheel delay input in Settings. Recommended default value is 80.

When many audio devices are available, it is not possible to view or select the last one from the drop-down list.

Workaround: These audio devices can be selected using the keyboard.

Some players on AMD GPUs may experience frequent packet burst spikes during gameplay. 

Workaround: Lowering the Graphics Settings can alleviate the severity of this issue.

Source: Treyarch

Xbox and PC pre-order early access starts Oct. 15

Open Beta access for all platforms starts Oct. 17