New Black Ops 3 Gameplay Details – No More Panic Knifing, New ADS Mechanics, Pick-10 Returns, New Scorestreaks, & More

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New gameplay details are pouring out that paint a better picture of the type of Call of Duty game Treyarch studios is making with Black Ops 3, revealed to audiences just two days ago.

As a major disclaimer, Treyarch Design Director David Vonderhaar stresses that, being this early in production, most, if not all of the information that has been gathered thus far is not final. “We are pre-pre Alpha,” he said on Twitter, “so nothing is final and all of this is subject to change as we dial it all in and lock it all down.”

With that out of the way, let’s take a look at some of the latest details.

According to those who’ve had hands-on time with the game, Black Ops 3’s Create-A-Class once again adopts the Pick-10 system that gained much popularity in Black Ops 2. It returns in more-or-less the same fashion, but with a few alterations.

As before, players will be able to use Wildcards to stock up on Perks — six in total, if they so desire — or make extra room to equip up to four grenades — two lethal and two tactical. The option to equip two primary weapons is also still there with Wildcards like Overkill.

What differs in Black Ops 3 is the way attachments are organized. For starters, weapon optics are now counted in their own separate slot. Furthermore, utilizing Wildcards, secondary weapons can equip up to two attachments in addition to an optic, while primary weapons can equip up to five attachments in addition to an optic.

Weapons Variants you create through the Gunsmith feature, including your attachments, camo patterns, and paint jobs, can be named and loaded into Pick-10 as its own unique weapon that can’t be altered in your loadout. Advanced Warfare’s Supply Drops won’t appear in Black Ops 3.

Unlike Advanced Warfare, Scorestreaks will remain in their own menu separate from the Pick-10 options.

According to previewers, Black Ops 3’s perk and attachment list is still under development, but YouTuber Drift0r talked about a new attachment called High Caliber that increases your weapon’s headshot damage. According to TmarTn, Perks like Dead Silence and Awareness will also return in the Perk 3 slot, though that is subject to change.

UPDATE: 1 Vonderhaar has confirmed that Flak Jacket will be in the game as it appeared in Black ops 2. He noted that Scavenger is also in while Toughness is out. As for the amount of flinch players experience when getting shot in Black ops 3, “it’s ‘about’ 1/2 the amount between having Toughness and not (BO2),” he says. “Subject to change.”

Melee attacks have seen a pretty major overhaul and “panic knifing,” as the Call of Duty community knows it, will no longer play a role in combat. Instead, upon pressing the melee button or key, your soldier will attack with the butt of his or her weapon, dealing damage but not outright killing the opponent. At least two are required for a kill, though the attacks do have a slight knock-back and stun effect. That said, players can still deliberately pull out their knife as a secondary weapon to score a one-hit kill.

According to Drift0r, C4 has also been reworked to be more powerful, but can only be detonated once the charge has landed on a surface. It can no longer be detonated mid-throw.

Drift0r also describes a new Aim Down Sights mechanic with long-range scopes that makes aiming with sniper rifles or other long-range weapons feel noticeably easier. Sensitivity has allegedly been scaled more appropriately to make zooming in more useful. To counter, powerful Sniper Rifles will be balanced accordingly, though it’s not exactly clear how.

UPDATE 2: Here’s Vonderhaar with some clarification on this subject:

@Drift0r It’s nuanced so unless you feel it … it’s hard to explain. Here is my best 2 Tweet attempt. — David Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 28, 2015

@Drift0r Scoped in sensitivity and by extension “the drag” has traditionally been fixed regardless of the weapon or attachment. + — David Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 28, 2015

@Drift0r This is now independent and tunable at lower level, giving us a more finesse over how it feels to be scoped in. + — David Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 28, 2015

@Drift0r This is important when vertical and horizontal sensitivity are independent, thrust jumping, and because scopes are not overlays. — David Vonderhaar (@DavidVonderhaar) April 28, 2015

YouTuber chaosxsilencer was able to confirm that gibbing and gore are a part of Black Ops 3 multiplayer in addition to co-op campaign and likely Zombies. He also described new Scorestreaks like the Hover RC Car (HC-XD) that can climb vertical surfaces, the “Flaming Wrecking Ball,” the Stealth Wraith (Stealth Chopper), the GI Unit that can patrol or defend and area, and the Mothership (a three-man Chopper Gunner). Like the attachments and perks, these are also subject to change.

We’ve still more to learn, so keep your sights on our dedicated Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 page for upcoming news.