INTRODUCTION – Back in black, again
When entering the world of Black Ops III, there are some things you should be aware of to ensure a fun and/ or challenging experience:
- Select the right difficulty level – While you can't set the players in multiplayer mode to noob, you can adjust the difficulty of the campaign to suit your skill level. Comfortable with hardened? Take it up a notch to Veteran mode. Or even to the new difficulty addition, realistic. Choosing the right level to play at will seriously enhance your enjoyment of the game, giving real challenge to series veterans, while easing in newcomers on lower difficulties.
- Weapon balance – Always make sure you have a mix of weapons that are effective at any range. Ensure that you have a weapon that is effective at short and/ or mid range, with a second weapon that works at long range. This way no matter what the situation is, you will be able to deal with it without being at a massive disadvantage. Oh, you brought along a shotgun (short range) and SMG (short – mid range) to a sniper battle? Sucks to be you. Ah, you brought along an assault rifle (short – mid range) and a sniper rifle to a sniper battle? Looks like you're ready to go and bring the thunder. In general the effective ranges for each base weapon class are: Assault rifle (close – mid, with some being capable of long range), SMG (close – mid), LMG (mid), Sniper rifles (long – although quickscoping experts can use them from any range) and Shotguns (short).
- Boom, head-shot – While this may sound obvious, trite and repetitive, hitting an enemy in the head is the most effective way of killing them (this isn't Halo with enemies who have weak points on their backs), this is true in all gameplay modes: Campaign, multiplayer and zombies. So make sure you line up those high speed cranial insertions like your life depended on it, because on higher difficulties it probably will. As an added note: some specialists have abilities in multiplayer that deflect bullets shot at their bodies, making head-shots or explosive damage the only effective way of killing them.
- Use your squad mates – Unlike you, your squadmates are immortal (they can be temporarily downed but never killed). Take advantage of this whenever you can by letting them lead the way, or only moving forward enough so that they trigger the next forward move. Good use of this mechanic will go far to keeping you alive on the higher difficulties where you can't engage the enemies as openly as you can in easier difficulties. They act as distractions, meatshields and occasional damage dealers all in one, so make sure you get as much out of them as possible.
- Grenades and other explosives – On higher difficulties you may need to force enemies out from behind cover or take out an incoming group all at once. Using your grenades for this should become second nature after playing for a while. Especially when they don't even know you are there. A well placed grenade can mean the difference between five angry men shooting at you from behind cover and one and a half extremely injured men still wondering where their legs went and what all that noise was.
