Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 marked when the franchise joined in on the battle royale hype train along with Fortnite and Apex Legends. There’s been a constant wave of new characters, weapons, and even another map for the mode. It’s clear Activision is putting all of its weight behind this new experience, but it can always be better. The roster of weapons is good, but it lacks a lot of the Call of Duty staples that fans would love to see back. Especially since Blackout can cover the entire history of the franchise with its characters and map design.
When you’re looking at the available arsenal, several things stand out. The first big problem as of now is that there are not nearly enough shotguns. While it’s true that any battle royale game is more suited towards long range rifles and snipers, it’d be nice to have the option in some close quarters areas of the map. There also aren’t really any insane pickups at higher rarity, especially compared to other entries in the growing genre. If you’re going to add new maps, you could design a new arsenal around a different style of play, forcing players to adapt to new sets of weapons and opportunities.
Perhaps Activision and Treyarch are saving some of the more iconic firearms for future releases. It’s still not clear if Blackout will survive into the next Call of Duty release. If not, it may be treated like the franchise’s myriad multiplayer modes. A true step forward would be to combine each release into a single launcher à la The Master Chief Collection. Admittedly, it did take a while for 343 and Microsoft to work out the kinks. Still, a central hub for Call of Duty that features multiple styles of play from across the years? That could keep layers engaged in an increasingly competitive shooter market.
Blackout Weapons
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Black Ops 4 weapons that we NEED in Blackout
For Call of Duty fans, Blackout has been a surprisingly fully featured entry into the battle royale space. It's got a good arsenal, franchise staples like Zombies and perks, and a refined feeling. However, it doesn't have ALL the guns you'd want. Here are a few missing staples that should be added ASAP. -
Bal 27
A bullpup assault rifle from Advanced Warfare, the Bal-27 is the workhorse of the Atlas Corporation. Complete with an underslung grenade launcher, it can spit out bullets with the rest of them at a close to midrange. Most AW players never found a reason to switch past the default, so let's bring it back into the fold. -
M16
A gaming staple beyond just Call of Duty, the M16 has appeared in just about every shooter franchise with realistic weapons. An old school choice, it's one of the most recognizable firearms around and has a host of upgrades and add-ons to make it stand out from the pack. -
M.2187
An upgrade of an old favorite from Modern Warfare, this small shotgun packs a punch, especially when you're wielding Akimbo. Blackout, in general, is lacking in the shotgun department, so adding a version of one of the signature close range weapons in the series seems like a good start. -
Reaver
Or, if you want a shotgun with a bit more punch, why not equip the Reaver? It has good range, great stopping power, and cool variants to pick from. Why not add the Machete version as a legendary drop? Blowing up opponents with the slice of a blade sure sounds fun. -
SPAS 12
If you're a player who can't stand to have Infinite Warfare representation in Black Ops, lets circle back to a shotgun that we can all agree on. The SPAS-12 is another legendary firearm that's been all over the place, and it seems like the perfect way to round out the shotgun selection. -
UMP45
A submachine gun generally seen in the Modern Warfare games, the UMP45 is an older weapon, although Infinite Warfare gave it the futuristic MacTav-45 variant. Whichever varient we go with, it's a no-brainer. This is a favorite among players of any subseries and would be a welcome addition to Blackout. -
Ballistic Knife
One of the thing that sets Fornite apart from other battle royale games is their constantly shifting game modes. There are plenty of rule variants that keep things engaging, and adding in the Ballistic Knife as an option opens Call of Duty up to the same options. All blade shooting, all the time. -
Storm PSR
A candidate for a rare drop, the Piercing Shot Rifle (also known as the Metal Storm) is a powerful sniper rifle from Black Ops 2. Its claim to fame is its experimental scope that allows you to see through walls as you fire. Root out your enemy's hiding spots with this sleek death machine. -
M2 Flamethrower
Call of Duty has the opportunity to be the first battle royale to implement a flamethrower into its arsenal. Why would they want to do that, you might ask? Flamethrowers are cool. You don't need more reason than that to add in this World at War relic. Camping will never be the same again. -
Gravity Vortex Gun
Fortnite had the sword from Infinity Blade, so Call of Duty needs a stupid powerful weapon that the developers can regret putting in as well. Why not the Gravity Vortex Gun, a futuristic cannon that shoots black holes onto the battlefield? Sensibility in weapon selection is overrated.
