# Call of Duty: Black Ops **URL:** \ **Category:** The Game Room\ **Created:** [November 8, 2010, 3:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909 "2010-11-08T15:44:25Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 27
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/522 "2011-06-20T17:54:52Z")
> [@bump](#): > > I think some are terrific, but others are horrendous. Based on having watched the map pack trailers, I think they’re in the mindset that there’s a lot more coordinated team play than there is, at least on Xbox live. > > That, and some of their maps are such that the smart play isn’t to move, but to sit tight and wait for someone to come by. Kowloon is the best example of that, but Berlin Wall is another one where it ends up being like Boy Scout camp- everyone’s camping. I can’t stand unccordinated play anymore, so these maps work well for me. Berlin Wall is interesting to me because of the movement and because you have to make a concerted effort to capture another point. You can’t just run through B to get to C if you spawn at A, mostly because B is almost always heavily contested. That means you have to do some movement around the outskirts, and even then, there’s enough room on the sides to have some cover and make it past sniper fire, if you’re going for C. Running and gunning is bad business. We had someone in our group last night was flipping spawns, which worked out because we’re pretty good at identifying that crap now, but it’s still not optimal. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/523 "2011-06-20T18:15:05Z")
> [@diku](#): > > Nothing really. Gives you an extra custom slot every two prestiges. It just depends on whether or not you want to keep playing for XP and do the challenges and stuff again. If not, don’t worry about it. Since I already have five classes to customize and can change them between games, I fail to see why I need five more. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 7:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/524 "2011-06-20T19:17:44Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > But what exactly does prestige do? It starts you back at level one again, with no guns or attachments or Pro perks unlocked. You get to go back and earn them all again and hit the button again at level 50 if you so want. You get a new icon next to your name every time you do, though. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 8:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/525 "2011-06-20T20:06:52Z")
Has anyone had any luck using care packages as bait? What about decoy grenades? ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 20, 2011, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/526 "2011-06-20T21:38:14Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Has anyone had any luck using care packages as bait? What about decoy grenades? I’ve never had luck with decoy grenades. I only use Claymores except when I’m trying to get Hacker Pro, when I use Jammer just long enough to get the achievement. The care package trap works only if your teammates are on the other side of the map and you have a good place to hide, because you’ll either die or one of your teammates will bogart the care package. For all the “team” aspects in Team Deathmatch, it’s still full of individuals not averse to getting a few more points at your expense. ---
**Author:** ![Randy\_Seltzer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/ee7513/32.png) [@Randy\_Seltzer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Randy_Seltzer)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/527 "2011-06-21T01:16:36Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > My default answer is yes. Is there a reason I shouldn’t? My #1 reason I’ll never prestige again: earning marathon pro again. Capture the flag is an absolutely insufferable gametype and it’s required for marathon pro. If not for that requirement, I think it might be fun to work my way through the ranks again. It’s certainly one way to force yourself out of your comfort zone. But I can’t stand not having marathon pro when I run-and-gun, so it’s out of the question. > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Since I already have five classes to customize and can change them between games, I fail to see why I need five more. You might need only one more, like I did. Prestiging once gets you one more slot (for a total of six). It also gives you access to the prestige leaderboards (which currently does squat). And it used to give you access to the prestige game modes (which were awesome, but have been removed). So now the best reason to prestige once is to get that sixth class. My five classes are basic assault; all out run-and-gun; flak jacket; anti-air / anti-camper; and sniper. And I like to have an extra class to play with. Without that sixth class, I’d have to mess around with one of my standard classes whenever I was hankering for an experiment, and that’s a pain in the butt. The only other cool thing unlocked by prestiging is the gold camo, but you have to prestige eleven freaking times to get it. Which is so not-worth-it that the mind boggles. > [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > Has anyone had any luck using care packages as bait? What about decoy grenades? I’ve had plenty of luck using hacked care packages as bait. Almost always good for a double kill, and supremely satisfying at that. Decoy grenades are tougher. I only use them on my sniping class, and I rarely snipe. There are two reasonable ways (that I know of) to use them. One is the way I use them, on a sniping class. You set up in your sniping point and toss one down in the open area below. Enemy comes to investigate and you get him. It works well enough that I give up my concussion grenades for them when I snipe. I get maybe one kill like this every third sniping game. The other way is a run-and-gun class where you use them in conjunction with a silenced SMG to flank your opponents. I’ve never done this, since I need my concussion grenades on my run-and-gun classes to take out claymores and stun campers. I could see this being put to good use in certain situations, but such situations are too rare for me to consider trying it. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 1:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/528 "2011-06-21T13:44:28Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > For all the “team” aspects in Team Deathmatch, it’s still full of individuals not averse to getting a few more points at your expense. And yet I can never get them to take my package when I’m trying to get the sharing challenge for hardline. ---
**Author:** ![Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e36b37/32.png) [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Airman_Doors_USAF)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/529 "2011-06-21T14:01:28Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > And yet I can never get them to take my package when I’m trying to get the sharing challenge for hardline. If you WANT them to take it (and you don’t have a headset to tell them to take it), throw it into your spawn area and run away. You may lose one or two to the enemy over time, but you’re more likely to have a teammate take it if it sits there for a while. A friend showed me a good way to trap people with care packages: throw the smoke grenade in a building. The care package will land on top and be inaccessible. People will come and spend time looking for it for a while (until they realize it’s a trap), and so are easy marks. And all it costs you is a care package that was probably ammo anyway. ---
**Author:** ![Staggerlee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/staggerlee/32/3134_2.png) [@Staggerlee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Staggerlee)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 2:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/530 "2011-06-21T14:06:11Z")
> [@Airman\_Doors\_USAF](#): > > So, on a different subject: does anybody here like zombies? I don’t. Part of it is that I don’t know the maps, though that is easily remedied simply by playing them, but the other part is that it’s such an absurd game mode. Play until you die. That’s it. No advancement, no tracking, nothing. The allure of the multiplayer is that you always have something to work towards. I love the zombies, and recently bought that Escalation DLC for £11, purely for the new zombies level. It does seem futile knowing you can’t possibly win, but I enjoy giving the undead a run for their money. And there’s a pleasure I get from desperately wading through zombie flesh just to revive a fellow player in the nick of time. **deadfred77** on the PSN if anyone fancies. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 4:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/531 "2011-06-21T16:54:55Z")
I got tired of zombies once I’d seen the entire theatre and realized that surviving longer didn’t really add anything. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 21, 2011, 5:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/532 "2011-06-21T17:12:37Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I got tired of zombies once I’d seen the entire theatre and realized that surviving longer didn’t really add anything. My wife likes to shoot zombies. If it weren’t for that, I wouldn’t even touch that game mode. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 11:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/533 "2011-06-22T11:50:14Z")
What do you all consider a good score per minute? ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 12:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/534 "2011-06-22T12:14:16Z")
And why was the China Lake ruined for this game? The whole point of the pump action launcher was that it was faster then reloading an under barrell attachment. And they won’t even let you take a full load, reducing it from four rounds to two. I understand that they didn’t want it to be too powerful, but they went too far the other way. I’ve gotten the Grim Reaper on occassion, but not the Death Machine. Is there some reason it never appears, or just the luck of the draw for me? ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/535 "2011-06-22T14:51:27Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > And why was the China Lake ruined for this game? The whole point of the pump action launcher was that it was faster then reloading an under barrell attachment. And they won’t even let you take a full load, reducing it from four rounds to two. I understand that they didn’t want it to be too powerful, but they went too far the other way. > > I’ve gotten the Grim Reaper on occassion, but not the Death Machine. Is there some reason it never appears, or just the luck of the draw for me? Nobody really even uses the China Lake. I believe the Grim Reaper/Death Machine is random, as to which one you get. ---
**Author:** ![My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/f14d63/32.png) [@My\_Darn\_Snake\_Legs](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/My_Darn_Snake_Legs)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 2:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/536 "2011-06-22T14:58:04Z")
Yeah, the Death Machine is a random. I get it every once in a while, but I always trade it out with Hardline Pro if I can. I almost never get any good use out of it. I’m pissed about the China Lake, too. I loved the Thumper from MW2, and I used it all the time. The China Lake is just a piece of crap, and it’s the last piece of crap you get in that category. Weak sauce. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 4:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/537 "2011-06-22T16:22:09Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > And why was the China Lake ruined for this game? The whole point of the pump action launcher was that it was faster then reloading an under barrell attachment. And they won’t even let you take a full load, reducing it from four rounds to two. I understand that they didn’t want it to be too powerful, but they went too far the other way. They were probably gunshy from the sheer magnitude of the noob tubing on MW2. If you’re unfamiliar, you got the Thumper (M79 40mm Grenade launcher), and a few rounds. If you had Scavenger, you could get more rounds (and claymores), which meant that it was a viable tactic to just roll with the grenade launcher and whatever that perk that made your explosions bigger was, and just roll around lobbing grenades roughly toward people, without any skill whatsoever. People would basically shell the spawns, and just indiscriminately blast shit with the grenade launcher because there was effectively unlimited ammo if you had Scavenger on. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/538 "2011-06-22T17:24:19Z")
I was hoping to use scavenger just to keep the China lake going. But they specifically banned launchers from being resupplied by scavenger. So I guess they really were scared of the CL becoming portable artillery. I wonder what might happen if a team were to use CLs in conjunction and lay down a barrage on an objective. What’s the most embarrassing thing to happen to you? I have a lot to choose from, but I think the dumbest was when I hopped down from a sniping position only to find out I was three stories up and died when I hit the ground. I don’t count blowing myself up with the RCXD since I didn’t know how to operate it at first. And I don’t count falling off the Summit since I was in a firefight and backed up off the walkway. ---
**Author:** ![Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/e480ec/32.png) [@Least\_Original\_User\_Name\_Ever](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Least_Original_User_Name_Ever)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/539 "2011-06-22T18:15:18Z")
> [@bump](#): > > They were probably gunshy from the sheer magnitude of the noob tubing on MW2. > > If you’re unfamiliar, you got the Thumper (M79 40mm Grenade launcher), and a few rounds. If you had Scavenger, you could get more rounds (and claymores), which meant that it was a viable tactic to just roll with the grenade launcher and whatever that perk that made your explosions bigger was, and just roll around lobbing grenades roughly toward people, without any skill whatsoever. People would basically shell the spawns, and just indiscriminately blast shit with the grenade launcher because there was effectively unlimited ammo if you had Scavenger on. Scavenger and One Man Army. The other perk was Danger Close, the ones that made the explosions larger and more lethal. ---
**Author:** ![bump](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/7c8e57/32.png) [@bump](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bump)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/540 "2011-06-22T18:21:43Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > I was hoping to use scavenger just to keep the China lake going. But they specifically banned launchers from being resupplied by scavenger. So I guess they really were scared of the CL becoming portable artillery. I wonder what might happen if a team were to use CLs in conjunction and lay down a barrage on an objective. > > What’s the most embarrassing thing to happen to you? I have a lot to choose from, but I think the dumbest was when I hopped down from a sniping position only to find out I was three stories up and died when I hit the ground. I don’t count blowing myself up with the RCXD since I didn’t know how to operate it at first. And I don’t count falling off the Summit since I was in a firefight and backed up off the walkway. I actually kind of like the way that the China Lake works- 2 shots and that’s it until you respawn. It means that generally people will use it for what you use grenade launchers for- getting people behind cover, in rooms, etc… and people won’t use it as a substitute for being able to aim your primary weapon, as was so often the case in MW2. I think the most embarrasing thing I ever did on there was to try and throw a grenade into a room, and accidentally bean my teammate who ran in front of me in the head, killing him, and then have the same grenade blow up and kill me, after it bounced back off his noggin. It was a perfect storm of wretchedness. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 22, 2011, 6:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909/541 "2011-06-22T18:29:14Z")
Ah yes, the joy of grenades. I’ve flashbanged myself many times. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909.md?page=26) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/call-of-duty-black-ops/559909.md?page=28)