Operation Grand Heist's new 1.16 update delivers the latest chapter in the Zombies Chaos story with “Ancient Evil”, the debut of Barebones in MP, Outrider’s Sparrow and Zero’s EMP Disruptor in Blackout, new weapon tuning across all modes, and much more! Let’s take a look at some of the biggest additions to the game in this update:

“Ancient Evil” Map + New Perk, Elixirs, and Talismans in Zombies on PS4

The Black Ops 4 Zombies saga continues with “Ancient Evil” on PS4, packed with new enemies, weapons, traps, Easter Eggs, and unexpected surprises. Players will take on the undead hordes and mythological creatures in the depths of ancient Delphi as Scarlett, Diego, Bruno, and Shaw in the final episode of the Chaos story in our current Zombies season. The famed Oracle of Delphi holds the key to freeing Scarlett’s father, Alistair Rhodes, and uncovering the true power of the Prima Materia... but at what cost?

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In addition to “Ancient Evil”, we’ve also added a new Perk called “Zombshell” on PS4 with this update, which grants a chance for basic zombies to explode when killed, leaving behind a contamination field that slows enemies and increases damage dealt to them. Players with the modifier will also become invisible to zombies while standing in the contamination field and gain increased weapon reload speeds, perfect for getting out of sticky situations and thinning the horde for your team.

And we didn’t stop there. Five new Elixirs and two new Talismans are also now available on PS4 with today’s update, including:

• New Elixirs
  • Suit Up (Epic)
  • Dividend Yield (Legendary)
  • Talkin’ Bout Regeneration (Rare)
  • Bullet Boost (Common)
  • Quacknarok (Classic Whimsical)
• New Talismans
  • Glowing Phylactery (Epic)
  • Battered Dragon Scale (Legendary)

Check out the patch notes below for the full details on what each of the new Elixirs and Talismans brings to the table. We’re big fans of Quacknarok.

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Finally, yesterday’s Studio Livestream viewers witnessed the world premiere of the new “High Priest of Chaos” backstory vignette and the debut of the in-game cinematic intro video for “Ancient Evil”. Missed the livestream? We got you. Watch the full VOD here and “High Priest of Chaos” here.

Weapon Tuning Updates in Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies

This update delivers a new round of weapon tuning across Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies, with changes adapted for each mode and select console-only updates to certain SMGs. While many of these tuning updates apply to ADS speeds and extended damage ranges, there’s one change our sniper community will be happy to hear about: the Paladin HB50’s magazine size has increased from 5 to 6. No need for Extended Mags!

Hit up the patch notes below to see which weapons have been updated across all modes and let us know what you think in the comments. While we believe the current weapon meta is our most balanced in a Black Ops game to date, we’re always testing the next potential round of tuning for future updates to ensure every weapon is competitive and fun to master.

Speaking of weapons, we’ve also added a free Weapon Crate that guarantees a MKII Signature Weapon granting +25% extra XP per kill, plus two free Reserves items. Visit the Black Market on PS4 to claim yours before jumping into your next match!

Barebones Now Live in MP on PS4

Barebones has arrived! You asked for the option to jump into a more old-school MP experience, and we’ve been working behind the scenes to design a mode that captures the spirit of Black Ops II while staying true to Black Ops 4’s core mechanics. We think you’re going to love the end result, launching today on PS4 in both Core and Hardcore variants.

Barebones in Black Ops 4 features 6v6 TDM and Domination with no Specialist Weapons, Special Issue Equipment, Gear, or Operator Mods allowed. Equipment is now single-use with no cooldowns and comes fully charged on each respawn, and Spawn Select is disabled for faster respawns. You’ll still be able to manually heal and slide, but your choice of Specialist is just for show here, so be sure to set up your classes accordingly! Check out Barebones today in the Featured category and let us know what you think.

Sparrow, EMP Disruptor, Vehicle Improvements + More in Blackout

Blackout gets several new additions in this week’s update, including the debut of Outrider’s Sparrow in Supply Stashes, the arrival of Zero’s EMP Disruptor for more opportunities to disable enemy vehicles and Equipment, the reveal of the new Home Wrecker melee weapon in Contraband Stashes, and more.

To prevent players from relying on the Outlander + Consumer Perk combo to out-heal the competition in the final circle instead of joining the fight, Collapse damage now escalates the longer you’re in it, especially during the final circle of the match. If you want the victory, you’ll have to earn it.

We’ve also added co-pilot support for the helicopter and cargo truck, and for players who find the sun’s glare more than a little distracting during gunfights in the new springtime Blackout map, we’ve reduced the glare intensity when looking toward the sun.

New Ranks and Ricochet Friendly Fire Added to League Play

League Play gets even bigger this week with new heights to achieve at Ranks 21-30. We’re also introducing Skill Divisions to League Play in an upcoming update, which will place players into new skill-based Divisions with a path for the absolute best players to reach Master Division. Weekly League Play Events and bonus pools that span the entirety of each event are also planned for the near future.

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Last but not least, we’ve added a new Ricochet Friendly Fire system to League Play and Hardcore modes to combat intentional teamkilling. Ricochet Friendly Fire is now enabled for the first 15 seconds of a match or round, and after 3 teamkills, any subsequent damage dealt to a teammate will reflect back to the attacker. Further Ricochet teamkills will incur an escalating respawn delay penalty, and they’ll be removed from the match after 3 Ricochets. In Search and Destroy, damaging a teammate who is planting or defusing a bomb will also ricochet damage back to the attacking teammate.

Nobody likes a griefer, and now they’ll have to PTFO or GTFO.

Read on below for today’s updates:

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• General
  • Free Weapon Crate with guaranteed MKII Signature Weapon now available in the Black Market (PS4).
  • Weapon tuning pass in Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies.
  • Reactive Camos now available on all guns (Gold camo no longer required).
  • Reduced potential max amount of flinch while not aiming down sights.
  • Fixes and improvements for Theater, Paintshop, and IU issues.
  • Stability and bug fixes in Multiplayer, World League Hub, and Zombies.
• Multiplayer
  • Barebones game modes now live in Core and Hardcore (PS4).
  • Ricochet Friendly Fire rules added to all Hardcore modes.
  • XP rewards increased for several medal events.
  • Increased score for collecting an enemy dog tag in Kill Confirmed to 100.
  • Gameplay improvements for various Specialists, Care Package, and Tactical Mask.
• Zombies
  • “Ancient Evil” now live for Black Ops Pass holders (PS4).
  • New Perk available: Zombshell (PS4).
  • New Elixirs available: Suit Up, Dividend Yield, Talkin’ Bout Regeneration, Bullet Boost, and Quacknarok (PS4).
  • New Talismans available: Glowing Phylactery and Battered Dragon Scale (PS4).
• Blackout
  • Sparrow and EMP Disruptor added.
  • Escalating Collapse damage added to counter out-healing others in the final circle.
  • Added co-pilot support for the helicopter and the cargo truck.
  • Reduced glare in the Blackout map when looking toward the sun.
  • Home Wrecker melee weapon now available in Contraband Stashes (PS4).
• World League Hub
  • Added ranks 21-30.
  • Ricochet Friendly Fire rules added for all League Play matches.
  • UI and Create-a-Class improvements.

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The following updates are live on PS4, with other platforms to follow:

MULTIPLAYER

• Game Modes
  • Barebones
    • Barebones added as Featured Playlist on PS4.
    • 6v6 with no Specialist Weapons, Special Issue Equipment, Gear, or Operator Mods allowed.
    • Equipment is now single-use with no cooldowns. Equipment is fully charged on each respawn.
    • Spawn Select disabled.
    • Both playlists include Team Deathmatch and Domination.
    • Core and Hardcore playlists available in Featured category.

ZOMBIES

• Maps
  • Ancient Evil
    • New “Ancient Evil” map added for Black Ops Pass holders.
• New Perk
  • Zombshell
    • Basic zombies have a chance to explode when killed, leaving behind a contamination field that slows enemies and increases damage dealt to them.
    • Modifier: Players with the modifier are ignored by zombies while standing in the contamination field. Weapon reload speed is increased.
• New Elixirs
  • Suit Up (Epic)
    • Player and nearby teammates get full Armor, which lasts until destroyed.
    • Instant activation.
  • Dividend Yield (Legendary)
    • Some of the points earned create additional bonus points for all players.
    • Instant activation. Lasts 5 minutes.
  • Talkin’ Bout Regeneration (Rare)
    • The player’s health constantly regenerates while moving.
    • Instant activation. Lasts 4 minutes.
  • Bullet Boost (Common)
    • Applies or re-rolls an alternate ammo type to the player’s current weapon (if supported). Weapon damage is not affected.
    • Instant activation.
  • Quacknarok (Classic Whimsical)
    • Zombies now wear a duck float with hilarious results.
    • Instant activation. Lasts 5 minutes.
  • NOTE: Quacknarok is a durable Elixir rather than a consumable Elixir.
• New Talismans
  • Glowing Phylactery (Epic)
    • Start the match with an extra self-revive.
  • Battered Dragon Scale (Legendary)
    • Activating your Special Weapon gives increased armor, which lasts until destroyed.
• Stability
  • Resolved an issue that rarely caused instability when signing out and back in on PS4 during a game.

BLACKOUT

• Contraband Stashes
  • Home Wrecker melee weapon now available in Contraband Stashes.

GENERAL

• Stability
  • Fixed a crash related to signing in and out of accounts on PS4.
  • Addressed an issue where players could get in a stuck state after switching accounts on the title screen.

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The following updates are live on PS4 and Xbox One, with PC to follow:

MULTIPLAYER

Weapon Tuning

• Submachine Guns
  • Cordite
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
    • Extended 5-shot range from 2.5 meters 4 meters. [Console only]
  • Daemon 3XB
    • Extended 6-shot range from 8 meters to 11.5 meters.
  • MX9
    • Increased ADS-out speed.
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • Spitfire
    • Extended 6-shot range from 7 meters to 7.5 meters. [Console only]
  • Saug 9mm
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • Switchblade X9
    • Increased magazine size from 26 to 30.
    • Players now spawn with 3 extra magazines instead of 2.
• Assault Rifles
  • KN-57
    • Extended 4-shot range from 16 meters to 17 meters.
    • Extended 5-shot range from 46 meters to 57 meters.
• Tactical Rifles
  • ABR 223
    • Increased ADS-in speed.
    • Ammo increased from 30 to 36.
    • Extended 4-shot range from 32 meters to 38 meters.
• Sniper Rifles
  • Paladin HB50
    • Increased magazine size from 5 to 6.
    • Reduced reload speed.
  • SDM
    • Increased fire rate.
• Pistols
  • RK 7 Garrison
    • Increased damage. Now takes 1 less bullet to kill at all ranges.
  • Mozu
    • Extended 3-shot range from 19 meters to 24 meters.
    • Extended 4-shot range from 25 meters to 32 meters.
    • Extended 5-shot range from 32 meters to 38 meters.
  • Strife
    • Increased fire rate.

Friendly Fire

• New Friendly Fire system added to all World League and Hardcore game modes:
  • Ricochet Friendly Fire is now enabled for the first 15 seconds of a match or round.
  • After the first 15 seconds, the first 3 teamkills will be true friendly fire, where the victim will take full damage.
  • After the first 3 teamkills, any subsequent damage dealt to a teammate will ricochet back to the attacker instead of damaging the teammate.
  • Once transitioned to the Ricochet system, further Ricochet teamkills will incur an escalating respawn delay penalty.
  • The player will then be allowed 3 Ricochet teamkills before being removed from the match.
  • Damaging a teammate who is planting or defusing a bomb will ricochet damage back to the attacking teammate in World League.

XP

• Increased XP earned for all Scorestreak kills to 100 XP.
• Increased XP awarded for killing the K9-Unit to 100 XP.
• Increased XP awarded for Ice Pick Shutdown to 100 XP.
• Increased XP awarded for destroying an RC-XD to 100 XP.
• Increased XP awarded for killing a Swat Team unit to 250 XP.
• Increased XP for the Forward Position Medal to 250 XP.

Game Modes

• Kill Confirmed
  • Increased score for collecting an enemy dog tag in Kill Confirmed to 100.
• Search and Destroy
  • Addressed an issue where spectating in Search and Destroy could cause team colors to display incorrectly on the scoreboard.
• Heist
  • Addressed an issue where the end of the round pips could be on the wrong team.

Specialists

• Nomad
  • Added pathing and spawning improvements for Nomad’s K9-Unit.
  • K9-Unit now properly takes damage from Razor Wire.
• Outrider
  • Players hit by a fully-charged Sparrow shot will now properly hear the impact sound of the bolt.

Perks

• Tactical Mask
  • Players with Tactical Mask who have been downed by an enemy Tempest no longer chain to teammates after the Tempest status effect wears off.

Scorestreaks

• Care Package
  • Addressed an issue where being killed while claiming a Care Package could cause issues with controllable Scorestreaks.
  • Addressed an issue where the Care Package would not drop from the helicopter if a player called it in along the water in Madagascar.

Custom Games

• Addressed an issue where the Bonus Maps tab was not appearing in Offline Local Games.
• Fixed a crash in Custom Games related to turning the Specialist Draft off.

WORLD LEAGUE HUB

• New Ranks
  • Added Ranks 21-30 to League Play.
• UI
  • Players will now get a notification that they’ve received a Calling Card when they reach ranks that award them.
  • Rank up animations will now start at the player’s current rank instead of their final rank.
  • Players in the Top 5 will be labeled as “Top 5” instead of “Top 10” in their League Play Event results screen.
• Create-a-Class
  • Addressed an issue with restricted items appearing in Custom Classes.
  • Addressed an issue where restricted Scorestreaks could appear as selected.

BLACKOUT

Weapon Tuning

• Submachine Guns
  • Cordite
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • MX9
    • Increased ADS-out speed.
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • Saug 9mm
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • Switchblade X9
    • Increased magazine size from 26 to 30.
• Sniper Rifles
  • SDM
    • Increased fire rate.
• Pistols
  • RK 7 Garrison
    • Increased damage. Now takes 1 less bullet to kill at all ranges.
  • Strife
    • Increased fire rate.

Map

• Reduced glare intensity when looking toward the sun in the Blackout map.

Weapons

• Outrider’s Sparrow can now be found in Supply Stashes.

Equipment

• Zero’s EMP Disruptor grenade can now be found in the Blackout map.

Vehicles

• Added co-pilot support for the helicopter and the cargo truck.
• Made improvements to Muscle Car collision to fix instances where a Muscle Car driver was unable to kill enemies.

Customization

• Addressed an issue with various camos not appearing properly on the MX9 Tactical.

Stability

• Fixed a rare crash that could occur when swapping and equipping an item.

Miscellaneous

• Re-enabled the ability to hold the Use button continuously to use multiple Armor Plates and activate Perks without needing to release the input.
• Removed blur from the Victory Screen.
• Addressed instances where characters’ lobby animations could become corrupted.
• Addressed an issue that prevented mode-specific loading screen tips from being properly displayed.
• Addressed an issue where users could find Seraph’s Annihilator inside of a Supply Stash.

ZOMBIES

Weapon Tuning

• Submachine Guns
  • Cordite
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • MX9
    • Increased ADS-out speed.
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
  • Saug 9mm
    • Increased sprint recovery speed.
• Tactical Rifles
  • ABR 223
    • Increased ADS-in speed.
• Sniper Rifles
  • Paladin HB50
    • Reduced reload speed.
  • SDM
    • Increased fire rate.
• Pistols
  • Strife
    • Increased fire rate.

Global

• High-Round Stability
  • Fixed a rare crash that could occur when displaying certain text strings, particularly during high-round matches.
• Perks
  • Closed a Mule Kick exploit that allowed players to acquire more than one Wonder Weapon on several maps.
  • Improved the clarity of the description for the Stamin-Up Perk.
• Special Weapons
  • Addressed an issue that sometimes caused the XP bar to display an inaccurate value while charging up a weapon.
• Armory
  • Addressed an issue causing the Cordite Zero G Mastercraft menu to display incorrect visual stage information for the weapon.
• Create-A-Class
  • Addressed an issue that prevented the model preview from updating appropriately when switching between tabs in the Talisman and Elixir Menus.
• Lobby
  • Addressed an issue that prevented the Solo button from functioning until the selection was unselected and back to the button after backing out of a match.
• UI
  • Addressed an issue that caused the self-revive prompt to remain visible in the Options menu.
  • Addressed an issue that sometimes prevented a player’s name from being displayed properly while reviving.
  • Addressed an issue where Prestige Master icons remained locked after reaching the appropriate level.
• Host Migration
  • Addressed an issue that would rarely cause host migration to fail, resulting in the match ending.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented being able to join an applicable game in progress after the match had migrated hosts.
  • Addressed an issue that caused Perk icons on the HUD granted by the Perk Up Elixir to disappear after migrating hosts.
  • Addressed a rare issue that caused certain lights to turn off after migrating hosts.

Custom Games

• Stability
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when acquiring a Perk reward with all Perks disabled.
• Custom Rules
  • Addressed issues that caused several custom rules for the Enhanced AI category to function incorrectly.
  • Addressed an issue that caused the Headshots Only custom rule for basic zombies to apply to all enemy types.
  • Added better descriptions that detail which enemy types are affected by option groups in the Enemies Menu.

Miscellaneous

• Gauntlets
  • Addressed an issue that prevented rewards from being granted when players disconnected before the end of the match.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented weapons with the Kill Counter or Clan Tag attached from counting as a weapon without attachments on “Hellcatraz”.
  • Addressed an issue that rarely prevented Pack-A-Punch sound FX from playing while upgrading a weapon on “Hellcatraz”.
  • Added a HUD indicator to inform users that they cannot fire while aiming down sights with the Brazen Bull during the “Shoot From The Hip” round on “Veni, Vidi, Zombie!”
• Rush
  • Addressed an issue that caused zombies to stop spawning during the third defense location if the user was downed before the timer ran out.
• Blood of the Dead
  • Closed multiple exploits in locations that could be exploited to avoid danger from zombies.
  • Addressed an issue that caused visual FX on the Warden’s Key to stop appearing when switching targets.
  • Addressed an issue that caused loss of functionality when spawning a Spoon while the Ragnarok DG-5 was equipped.
  • Addressed an issue that caused certain boards to become unrepairable.
• Dead of the Night
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when hitting a Bat with the Ethereal Razor equipped.
• Voyage of Despair
  • Addressed an issue that prevented progression of the Portal Pass side quest when using alternate ammo types during the vent step.
  • Addressed an issue that prevented progression of the Skeleton Rider side quest if the Shields Up Elixir had been used.
• Tutorial
  • Rearranged columns on the scoreboard for consistency compared to other game modes.

GENERAL

• Flinch
  • Reduced the maximum amount of flinch a player can exhibit while not aiming down sights.
• Reactive Camos
  • Reactive Camos are now available on all guns, not only on those with Gold camo unlocked.
  • Reactive Camo starts wrapped on all guns.
  • Any weapon can be used to complete the unwrap requirement.
• Theater
  • Fixed a crash that could occur when skipping through playback of Blackout matches.
  • Fixed various crashes related to playing back Zombie Gauntlet footage.
  • Addressed an issue where facial animations could stop during playback and rewind.
  • HUD elements should no longer appear when playing back Hardcore Blackout footage.
• Mesh Mines
  • Increased the height of the Mesh Mine trace in Multiplayer and Blackout for more consistent detonations.
• Paintshop
  • Addressed an issue where the scroll indicators were cut off if the player had more than 10 paintjobs.
• UI
  • Addressed an issue in the Social menu where player Emblems and ranks weren’t displaying correctly.

-Treyarch

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