The Zombies mode ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6has enjoyed a lot of success since the title launched, with many fans seeing it as a rightful return to form for what is one of the franchise’s most iconic and enjoyable gameplay experiences. Despite the general positivity that exists around this new iteration of Zombies, there have been many areas of improvement that fans have identified since launch, and Treyarch has done a pretty commendable job at addressing these gameplay shortcomings.
With the recent launch ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6’s Season One Reloaded event and the addition of Zombies' Citadelle des Mort map, many of these commonly identified gameplay issues have been rectified by Treyarch, with the in-game feel ofBlack OpsZombies now being the best it has ever been. Although recent issues have arisen outside of the in-game experience ofBlack Ops 6Zombies, there is now only one real gameplay-related issue that could easily be improved. Despite the range of in-game quests and weapon upgrade paths thatBO6Zombies now features, many of them seem far too simple and quick to complete, and futureBO6Zombies maps should really lean into the added complexity and rewarding feel of past Zombies experiences.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Needs To Pack More of a Punch Into its Quests
The Zombies mode ofCall of Duty: Black Ops 6owes a lot of success to its classic round-based mapswith a dedicated cast of characters, with this playing well into the title’s wider respect for the traditions ofBlack Opsas a sub-franchise. With that being said, the mode did suffer quite a bit from a range of highly-reported gameplay issues that dampened its overall enjoyability, especially at higher rounds, although Treyarch has already taken clear steps to address these criticisms.
December 5 was an exciting day for fans ofBlack Ops 6Zombies, not only because this saw the anticipatedlaunch of the Citadelle des Morts map, but it also marked the introduction of some sweeping gameplay changes that increased the balancing and overall quality of life for the mode. For example, this recent update finally nerfed the extremely high spawn rates of imposing Mangler enemies at higher rounds, capping how many of them can be active at once up until round 100.
This update also crucially expedited the special Parasite and Vermin rounds inBlack Ops 6Zombies, with these pesky enemies now spawning much faster and leading to quicker and sharper special rounds. While Zombies has recently come under fire for an alleged AI-related dispute that has seen long-timevoice actor Julie Nathanson part with theCoDfranchise, the gameplay of the mode is now enjoyable all around, apart from one key area.
Black Ops 6 Zombies' Directed Mode Means it Can Afford To Make its Quests Harder
Citadelle des Morts has continued the trend of manyBlack Ops 6Zombies questlines being brief and simplistic, particularly within the upgrade quests for the majority ofthe map’s Bastard Sword Wonder Weapons. Many of these upgrade quests can be completed in minutes, being a stark contrast to the complex yet rewarding quests that were tied to past weapons like the elemental Bows ofBlack Ops 3’s Der Eisendrache map.
A lot of the excitement that surrounded the most popular maps inCoDZombies history was founded on the difficulty of its Easter egg quests and the greater satisfaction that came from completing them, andBlack Ops 6already has the necessary mechanics in place to repeat this for its future maps.Black Ops 6has introduced a Directed Mode feature to Zombieswhich provides a guided experience for a given map’s main quest, with Easter egg steps even being capped at certain rounds to create a more casual experience.
Going forward, Treyarch should keep any faster and more simplistic Easter egg steps contained to Directed Mode, with base gameplay instead offering much more intricate steps, perhaps with greater rewards. Treyarch has identified and remedied many of the most glaring issues thatBlack Ops 6Zombies faced, and more complex quests going forward might be the final step to perfecting the mode’s gameplay.
