If you’re new to first person shooters at all, then jumping into Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 multiplayer games can be pretty daunting. You’re playing against people that have been playing these games for years, so they have experience and understand concepts that you probably don’t.
Even if you’ve been playing for a little while and you just need to brush up on some winning concepts, then this article may help you out.
This article is not written for advanced players, so please don’t blast me in comments that this stuff is useless. We’ve all been new at one point, and that is what this article is intended for. If you have more tips to add though, please feel free to post them in the comments.
Black Ops 2 Multiplayer Tips
Here are some general tips to help you survive, and possibly help you win those individual battles to get you on your way to dominating games in the future.
1. Use Combat Training
Combat Training is back in Black Ops 2, and it’s still a legit way to get some good practice without being annihilated by hardcore players. Combat Training brings in AI players, and lets you battle it out on any map you choose. You can play with your real friends as well in this mode if you need to practice some tactics.
The main thing that I like about Combat Training is that it can help you get familiar with maps, weapons, and equipment with a lot less stress. Also the AI players aren’t entirely stupid, and they use tactics that many decent players might use as well.
2. Become Familiar With Maps
Map knowledge is one of the most important things to have in any first person shooter game. You’ll notice over time that you perform your best in maps that you know the best, and that you enjoy playing.
Most maps have choke points, hot spots, good cover spots, all of which take time and experience to figure out. Knowing the map and knowing where the best spots are will change your success rate dramatically, no matter which game type you play on.
3. Use COD TV
To help you become more familiar with maps, COD TV is one of the best tools to do this. COD TV is essentially a version of the Theater from Black Ops 1 and has copies of your games over the past few days. Not only can you see hot spots (places where the majority of people die on the map), but you can also view the game from the perspective of other people you played with.
Want to see how that unstoppable guy played, what weapons he used, and where he hid out to kill you so many times? Pull up the Theater and watch from their perspective. You’ll quickly pick up on better tactics, locations, and equipment you may not have noticed on your own.
4. Find a Comfortable Class
Black Ops 2 has a lot of class options, with a lot of perks and weapons to choose from. Use this to your benefit to figure out what class suits you best.
If you like sneaking around the map more than running and gunning, then you’ll probably want perks like Blind Eye and Cold Blooded, maybe with a suppressor on your weapon. The point here is, keep playing with options until you find something that you enjoy, don’t just use Hardline and Engineering because you saw ten other guys using it.
5. Use Your Equipment
It’s easy to get caught up in the moment and forget about your equipment, but don’t make this mistake. You have a lot of tools, so use them to your advantage.
Some equipment is better on different game modes as well. For example, I love using the Bouncing Betty and Shock Charges on Domination games since there are places to defend, but I’ll probably switch up to Semtex and Concussion Grenades for Team Deathmatch games.
6. Always Be Moving
One of the biggest blunders new players make when attacking someone is to stop, aim down sites, then start shooting when they’re standing still. This can generally spell death against more experienced players. Get used to moving while aiming. The Stock attachment can help with this quite a bit, as well as smaller weapons like SMG’s, which allow you to move faster when aiming down sites.
7. Check That Radar
Your radar can be vital, so get used to glancing up there as much as you can without completely focusing on it. A quick glance can mean the difference between you getting the drop on someone, and them getting the drop on you. If you know someone is coming around a corner and you’re already aimed down your sites, your chances of killing them just improved tremendously.
8. Try to Keep Cover
You’ll notice that the better players rarely run out in the open. If you have to run in the open, you had better run fast. If there’s an alternate route to where you need to go that has more cover, take it instead. Running out in the open is just asking for death.
9. Think Like a Good Player
If you were a good player guarding a domination point or a flag, would you sit out in the open, or would you instead guard from an open window in a nearby building? Thinking this way, you’ll start to analyze your surroundings and possibly turn the tables on your would be attackers.
10. Don’t Be Expected
War games are a lot of patterns and guessing. When you die, it’s a natural instinct to run back there and get revenge, but I would bet money that he’s waiting for you there with guns ready. I can’t count how many times I’ve killed someone with this method, and probably died this way as well.
Don’t be expected.. let them think you’re coming that way, and come in a different way, or swollow your pride and just run away and get revenge later when he’s not expecting it.
11. Watch The Kill Cams
Some people skip the kill cams, but I like to watch them sometimes. What better way to see where a camper is hiding, or what he killed you with then to watch it from his perspective? I have been able to get a lot of tips this way, whether it’s an attachment, a certain weapon, or hiding spot that I didn’t think about before.
12. Play Your Favorite Game Type
This one might seem like a no-brainer, but it’s true. Some new gamers just stick with Team Deathmatch because it’s simple, but it may not be their shining point.
Personally, Domination is my favorite game type, so that’s where I spend most of my time. Play around with the different game types, and figure out what you like the best.
13. Customize to Your Favorite Gametype
Your favorite custom class might work well in Domination, but not so much in Team Deathmatch. Customize your classes to the game types you use most. I have several custom classes that are almost identical, but with one perk different, or different grenades or equipment, etc. Remember, just because you have five custom classes doesn’t mean they all have to be widely different.
14. Always Check Those Corners
Just like you see in the movies, always expect someone to be ready to kill you right around every corner. If you’re coming around a corner, aim down your sites and take it slowly, because there could very well be an enemy around the corner already waiting on you.
15. Choose Scorestreaks You Can Achieve
When you first start playing, you probably won’t get a lot of scorestreaks, so why not set your rewards lower so you can achieve them? It’s a lot more worthwhile to set attainable rewards than to set them high and only get them every once in a while. Once you get better and are able to get higher scorestreaks, then set them higher.
16. Talk to Your Team
You don’t have to talk a lot, but even just a “sniper in the building by A” may help the rest of your team a little bit. Don’t be annoying, don’t talk too much or complain, but keep your team informed about what’s going on. Good team coordination can sway a match incredibly.
17. Lay Low
If you’re a beginner, then lay low and take it slow. Follow your team mates and see where they hang out. Sure, you won’t have the top kills, but you won’t have the top deaths either. Trust me, your teammates will appreciate you a lot more if you have 5 kills and 5 deaths than 5 kills and 20 deaths.
18. Practice, Practice, Practice
More than anything, you just need to play a lot. Remember that a lot of Black Ops 2 players have probably been playing for a long time, and hardcore CoD players don’t play many other games, so they have a lot of experience. Watch them, learn from them, be patient, and keep practicing.
