Black Ops 4 changed a lot this time around and perhaps the biggest of those changes is the inclusion of Blackout. Blackout is COD’s answer to the battle royale craze sweeping the world and it has a lot of details and tricks that you must take advantage of in order to earn that coveted number one spot, earning you the win and the merits that come with it. Here is our in-depth guide on how to win Black Ops 4 Blackout.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Look Out Below
Where you choose to land in your first moments of Blackout is crucial and can make or break your survival. As with any Battle Royale game, you want to land and loot up as fast as possible, either avoiding enemies or taking them out before they get a chance to finish you off. This dynamic can be tricky to balance and comes down to how comfortable you are with the gunplay and mechanics of the game.
It really boils down to two different places to land: popular named locations like Nuketown, Asylum, Construction Site, etc or non-named locations (smaller sets of buildings or structures away from the bigger places). There are pros and cons to landing at each different type of location. Landing at a named location will generally get you a lot of loot and guns fast but will force you into a firefight much quicker, potentially leading to you getting killed and your matched ending before it truly began.
If you are new to Blackout, you generally want to stay away from big named locations and want to fall in the smaller areas, away from players. This enables you to live longer and get your bearings on how the mode works but you won’t find as good of loot. Each is a bit of a double edged sword.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Zombies
You read right, Blackout has zombies. You will be familiar with COD’s version of the undead if you have ever played one of the many zombies modes in existence. Well, the idea is very similar here.
Bright blue beams across the map reveal where zombies will spawn with the coveted mystery crate. Like the zombies modes, the mystery crate will give you a surprise weapon as well as gear, attachments, and other rare loot. More often than not you will land yourself some level 3 armor and a gold gun (a fully stocked rare weapon). However, it can be a bit difficult and incredibly risky to unlock the mystery box, especially on solos.
In order to unlock the box, you have to kill every zombie surrounding it. Unfortunately, the zombies are far more powerful than your level 1 undead in the separate mode. You cannot just melee them and take them out silently. You absolutely must use your gun to mow down the ghouls and that not only gives away your location but uses your precious ammo. Well placed headshots are crucial while moving and being aware of your surroundings.
Once all zombies are defeated, the iconic mystery box music will chime and you will be able to grab that hard earned gear. Another tactic can be utilized here but is generally frowned upon so use at your own risk: camping. If you get to a zombie infested area and hear or see another player fending off the horde, you can sit and wait for them to either be killed or succeed and then take them out yourself. Doing so forces the enemy player to do all the work while you reap the rewards. Kind of a morally bad move? Sure. But, this is Blackout and all is fair game.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Armor Up
This part is pretty simple. Armor is everything. You absolutely will not live without armor. Blackout breaks their armor into 3 tiers: level 1, level 2, and level 3. Level 3 is the only armor that will protect your head and is the most rare of all three. Generally, level 3 armor can only be obtained from mystery boxes and supply drops.
Much like other BR games out there, armor will increase your overall protection and must be destroyed before enemy players can do damage to your basic health bar. Make finding armor your utmost priority when you land.
Fun fact: if you happen to have a rocket launcher and see a supply plane overhead, lock-on and fire to destroy that aircraft. Doing so will drop the supply crate early for your ripe plundering.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Build Your Arsenal
Blackout features weapons across almost every iteration of the Black Ops franchise. Even the more zany firearms like the ray gun from previous zombies modes. Perfecting your arsenal and attachments is crucial to winning the match.
You can carry two weapons at any time and almost all of them can be fitted with various attachments around the map. Early match, pick up whatever you can get. Speed is everything in the first minutes and you can always upgrade later. As the player count drops, you want to start building out your late game arsenal. How you equip your character will vary depending on your play style but in this guide we recommend a solid load-out that will work for most players.
Generally, you want to have one close/medium range weapon and one long range. If you find a sniper late game, grab it. Equipping a sniper with a sniper scope will work wonders for you as you inch ever closer to the top ten. Having a medium range weapon with a 2x or 3x scope for your closer encounters as your second gun is wonderful, especially one with high damage or rate of fire. Of course you want to practice trial and error in order to see what combo works best for you. Also, do not forget to detach your attachments.
Moving into late game, you will likely swap to a better gun depending on the situation. You might have collected some pretty great attachments that will most likely be compatible with that new gun. Be sure to select ‘Detach’ when accessing your inventory to drop a weapon. Doing so will remove all of the attachments from the currently selected weapon so that you can quickly place them on your new weapon and get back into the action.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Perk-aholic
Much like in the multiplayer modes, perks are vital in Blackout. Featuring a slew of different perks to choose from, each one can help you in a unique way based on your play style and where you are in the game. Combine them with equipment and you can get one heck of an advantage on the enemy.
For example, using Dead Silence will enable you to move around and open stashes silently and can be used by stealth-forward players who want the jump on their unsuspecting victim. If you use this with Skulker, you become a stealth ninja. This specific combination is fantastic for the final 5 as players tend to stay in one spot and wait. You can easily and quickly move around them and pick them off.
Perks can be used while moving but have a limited duration so be sure to keep an eye on the progress circle at the bottom of your screen. The best perks to utilize in Blackout are Dead Silence, Skulker, Looter, Consumer, and Awareness. Using these alone or together will give you a huge competitive advantage.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Don’t Forget That Equipment
One of the worst things that you can do is ignore or forget about your equipment slot. With items like the grapple gun that allow you to reach otherwise impossible places or the trophy system which can shield your helicopter, equipment can be utilized in many creative ways.
Have a recon car and a sensor dart? Throw the dart onto the car, drive it out into suspicious locations, and watch your map light up with players that are camping and hunkering down. Are you in the top 5 and you just found a great sniping spot that will cover the entirety of the final circle? Perfect! Toss some razor wire across the entryway into your spot, get comfy, and rest easy knowing nobody will get the sneak on you.
There are a plethora of equipment to choose from and each one is beneficial in it’s own way. Do not forget to use them.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Staying Alive, Staying Alive!
A huge difference between Blackout and other BR games is the ability to heal while running. Doing so allows for a whole new level of strategy and ensures matches remain fast-paced and action oriented.
Blackout has 3 different healing items:
- First Aid: The most common that is stackable and heals 25 HP
- Med Kit: Medium occurrence, heals for 50 health, is stackable.
- Trauma Kit: Rare, heals to full health plus 50 extra HP points giving you 200 health, not stackable.
Stocking up on first aid kits is absolutely necessary. If you have a lot of healing items, you can strategically stay just outside of circle late game and pick off unaware players. They literally won’t see what hit ‘em.
How to Win Black Ops 4 Blackout: Final Countdown
Blackout’s final moments can be a tense, anxiety-ridden experience and any sound can make you jump. Getting to the top 5 means that you either played really defensively, taking advantage of cover and buildings to hide and survive or that you are experienced with the guns and mowed down anyone in your way. Regardless of how you got here, it is now anyone’s game as both techniques can either boost or hinder you. Our best advice for those final moments: hold back.
Find a great place with cover that has good sights on the surrounding area. Get cozy here, whip out your sniper or medium-range weapon, and listen. Gunshots, footsteps, everything will give your opponents away this close giving you the opportunity to strike. Do not rush out guns blazing. You will be seen and you will be finished. You are here to win and you will do whatever it takes.
These are some techniques that have worked immensely well for us, earning us that win or, at the very least, getting us in the top tier for those extra merits. Battle royale as a genre is unique because no two players or matches are the same. That being said, the absolute best advice we can give is keep playing. You will get better with experience, learning the systems, learning the map, and figuring out what play style works for you. However you choose to win, this guide is sure to help pave the way.
