Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 is quickly approaching, but the current active game of the franchise - Black Ops 6 - still has a few months of life left in it. With the new game not dropping until November 14, it can be safely assumed that Black Ops 6 will get one more season following Season 5’s completion, with its content being similarly easy to predict. Players can expect 2-3 more multiplayer maps, some LTMs, an Operator or two (potentially hyping up Black Ops 7’s 2035 setting), and a handful of weapons. Considering Black Ops’ history, there is a good deal of pressure for Black Ops 6’s swan song to feature two specific weapons: the crossbow and ballistic knife.
Both of these weapons were introduced in the original Black Ops, with the former being a key part of that title’s marketing. The original crossbow fired explosive bolts, ensuring that anyone stuck with one of its arrows would detonate seconds later and could injure other enemies in the area. As for the Ballistic Knife, it was a fun way to give melee players new options, with players able to combine the launchable blade with tomahawks to give themselves a few chances at a fancy play. Both items were also integral to the popular Call of Duty party game Sticks and Stones. These fun gimmick weapons have been a staple of every Black Ops game, but there’s only going to be one more chance to bring them to BO6, which is quite surprising.
When Pack-a-Punched in BO1 Zombies, the Crossbow’s explosive arrows would attract the undead hordes, basically working like mini Monkey Bombs.
Black Ops’ Crossbow and Ballistic Knife Are a Key Part of Its Legacy
Behind only the RC-XD killstreak and maybe the Death Machine, the Ballistic Knife and Crossbow are some of the most iconic pieces of gear from the Black Ops subseries. When thinking of the franchise, they funky Cold War-era gadgets are some of the very first things that come to mind, with only the Reznov twist and CoD Zombies likely to be thought of before Black Ops’ unique gear. Though the Ballistic Knife has always functioned the same, albeit with many different visual designs, the crossbow has undergone numerous iterations—though any of the following variants would be great to see within BO6.
- Crossbow - Black Ops 1 (explosive)
- Crossbow - Black Ops 2 (explosive)
- NX ShadowClaw - Black Ops 3 (non-explosive, dual wield)
- Reaver C86 - Black Ops 4 (explosive)
- R1 Shadowhunter - Black Ops Cold War (non-explosive, missed arrows can be picked up)
With Black Ops 6 doing such a great job of honoring the franchise’s legacy with content like its Prestige Rewards, it’s odd that it’s waited so long to add these two classic killing tools. If they do not come in Season 6, then for the first time in a decade and a half, a Black Ops game will be going without some of its most memorable weapons. Naturally, without them, Sticks and Stones wouldn’t be able to make the cut either, which would be doubly disappointing for fans of Treyarch’s Party Games.
Is Warzone to Blame for Black Ops 6’s Gimmick Weapon Omissions?
While many fans of the Call of Duty franchise are quick to blame Warzone for everything, regardless of whether it is or isn’t at fault, it’s hard to tell if the battle royale title has had any impact on these two BO6 omissions. Black Ops Cold War brought the Ballistic Knife and Crossbow to Warzone years ago, but all the Black Ops Cold War weapons were removed with the launch of Warzone 2 alongside Modern Warfare 2. As such, there would technically be a free slot for at least the Ballistic Knife in Warzone, though the Crossbow is a harder sell since there is an MW3 version of the weapon in the game already. Perhaps Treyarch's version could stand out by being rapid fire and dual wield like the NX ShadowClaw, but regardless, this could certainly be why the Crossbow hasn't been added yet. There's also something else to consider.
Many battle royale players hate one-shot kill weapons, as they’re regularly complained about if they even come close to reaching the Call of Duty: Warzone meta. Sure, hitting a Ballistic Knife shot certainly requires more skill than wielding previous broken Warzone guns like the DMR 14, but not everyone finds the sudden outcomes of the trickshots fair or fun, so Activision and Call of Duty’s developers may just be aiming to avoid these complaints. After all, every weapon that releases for a modern Call of Duty also comes to Warzone, so balancing for both experiences always has to be considered. Two-shot kills would make these weapons unfun to use, so it’s hard to imagine them pleasing everyone in a BR setting no matter how they're handled. Regardless, it would be a shame if they never came to Black Ops 6 itself, as the Crossbow and Ballistic Knife are integral to achieving the classic Black Ops feel.
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OpenCritic Reviews
- Top Critic Avg: 83 /100 Critics Rec: 91%
- Released
- October 25, 2024
- ESRB
- Mature 17+ // Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Suggestive Themes, Strong Language, Use of Drugs
- Developer(s)
- Treyarch, Raven Software
- Publisher(s)
- Activision
WHERE TO PLAY
- Engine
- IW 9.0
- Genre(s)
- FPS
