Although it is the new battle royal mode, blackout, that's making waves. At its core, Blackout uses the same basic formula as other royal battle games, like PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds and Fortnite, but Black Ops 4 implements some unique mechanics to differentiate itself from the competition.
One of the more notable additions is the inclusion of perks. Perks do have a long-standing history in the game of Duty, but the mechanic has not been seen before. In Blackout, you'll find everything you need, and like it all the time. However, just as long-range weapons have more value at the start of a royal battle and shorter-range weapons at the end, each game is best suited for different stages of the game.
In this guide, we break all of Blackout's perks into three categories: early-game, mid-game, and end-game. If you're new to Call of Duty, or just struggling to figure it out, this guide should help.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is available for Xbox One, PS4, and PC. In our review, GameSpot reviews editor Kallie Plagge awarded the game an 8/10, describing Blackout as a mesh of both "multiplayer and Zombies for a take on the royal battle genre that stands on its own."
Call Of Duty: Black Ops Video Review – Big Changes
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Early-Game
In the beginning of any royal battle, there is not much risk. You might be an enemy before you've found a weapon yourself, but it's not too bad. You can just be right up again. So if you do not have a chance to save it, do not waste it. Instead, look for and use the initial scramble for weapons, armor, and health.
Looter: Reveals nearby loot and stashes, which is great for arming yourself if you have not found a weapon.
Engineer: What does it mean to get to high-level loot areas before other players.
Brawler: Increases melee damage and gain 50 health for each melee attack landed, which is really only ideal if you happen to be unlucky enough to find a single weapon.
Black Ops 4: Blackout Fortnite Vs: Battle Royale – Which Is Best? | versus
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Mid-Game
The mid-game is the slowest portion of any royal battle. You are here to stay, but your biggest concern is staying ahead of the encroaching danger zone. At this point, you and everyone else still need to be at least one weapon, so you have to be careful when entering buildings. When trying to survive until the end two circles, you will be able to rely on both sides of the danger zone and enemy players.
Outlander: Take a closer look at the danger zone and avoid it.
Squad Link: Teammates become visible through walls, so you can easily find your friends if they're suddenly ambushed while you're all looting.
Paranoia: Creates an audio cue for when you're being targeted by an enemy, which is more valuable than the end-game. You'll be better off in the mid-game.
Awareness: Makes enemy footsteps louder, which is helpful for you if you're in a building while you're waiting for the end-game.
Dead Silence: Silences your movements when running and opening stashes, which, like Awareness, is ideal for making you look at a house without fear of ambush.
skulker: Moving while crouched and prone, which you will be doing a lot of in the mid-game to avoid snipers, is made faster.
Iron Lungs: Gives you steady you while scoped and allows you to breathe underwater for longer periods of time. The trainer makes you a better sniper – which is ideal for mid-game – and the latter helps you escape an enemy player or an approaching danger zone by swimming underwater.
Was It Smart For Call Of Duty: Black Ops 4TB Drop Single Player? – Steam Punks
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End-Game
The remaining five perks are best saved for the final two circles in Blackout. At this point, there should be more than 20 players and everyone will be very close together. It's a constant firefight, and you'll have to have a couple of hits.
With that in mind, you'll want to focus on this point. Blindly running around will not help, but closing the gap on your enemy and dealing with quick, powerful damage is key. Grenades come into play a lot more in the end-game, so even if you're not the target, you'll have to contend with flashbangs and splash damage. You always want to be able to see your enemy so you know when to heal and when to fight back.
Consumer: Health and consumable items activate 50% faster, so you can both heal yourself and your teammates more quickly.
Medic: Health items and team revives replenish more healthy and activate faster, which helps you to improve your health.
Mobility: You move and switch weapons more quickly, while also being able to fire, use items, and reload while sprinting. You also do not take any fall damage. Being able to run, gun down an enemy, and quickly reloads the end of Blackout.
Reinforced: Reduces explosion and fire damage, the effects of razor wire, flasbangs, and grenades grenades, which is helpful for both dealing with enemy grenades as well as any bad throws on you or your teammates' share.
Stimulating: Increases health cap by 100, which increases your likelihood of surviving more powerful weapons and nearby grenades.
