How An Old COD Veteran Like Me Keeps Up With The New Talent

I’ve been playing Call of Duty since 2004 – Finest Hour was where it began for me. In 2009, I started playing Call of Duty multiplayer, falling head over heels in love with Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and swearing up and down that I was the next best COD player in the world. Since then, I’ve at least dabbled in every Call of Duty game ever made.

It’s a different landscape now. There is no space for the casual gamer in Call of Duty, and Black Ops 6 can be punishing at times for someone with creaky thumbs and reflexes akin to that of a geriatric sloth.

With that being said, this is how I, a ‘Call of Duty veteran’, try desperately to keep up with the new blood flooding what was once my favourite shooter franchise.

Set It Up Right

For starters, I play on a PC that gives me the best visual advantage possible, and my frame rate is often unparalleled. It’s like a comfort blanket – if I have the FPS soaring, I feel like I’m microseconds ahead of the competition, and in a reflex shooter like Call of Duty, that could mean the difference between a win and a loss.

It doesn’t end there, though.

I use a bog-standard Dualshock 4 controller, equipped with a set of Kontrol Freeks for added accuracy (I swear it works), but I have spent years honing a twist to my controller layout. I use Bumper Jumper Tactical, which means I can try my best to use the age-old tactics of ‘jumpshotting’ and ‘dropshotting’ without needing one of those newfangled Scuf controllers that all the kids have.

It’s a game-changer, and I think I must have been using Bumper Jumper Tactical for at least five years straight in Call of Duty.

I’ve got the option to use my PowerA OPS V3 with all the bells and whistles, but I’m just so used to the Dualshock 4.

If I ever try to use a keyboard and mouse (which isn’t often), I try to rely on some of the best esports equipment I can lay my hands on, like the Logitech G915 TKL.

From there, having a solid headset is also one of the most important plays in Call of Duty. If your setup is lacking a headset, you’re not going to be good at Call of Duty, whether you’re a grizzled veteran or a complete newcomer. To that end, I make use of an Astro A50 Gen 5 which helps my aging ears pinpoint the pounding footsteps of an approaching enemy with relative ease.

Internet, too. If you’re relying on old-school copper wire broadband, you’re at a disadvantage. Old folks like us might not need super-fast internet for much else, but for gaining an edge in Call of Duty, it’s a must.

Top Tips For Getting Good at Black Ops 6

Not everyone can be good at Call of Duty, that’s just the bare truth of it. For every cracked player, there are nine bang average gamers, and I fall into that latter camp. Fortunately, there are a few things that you can do to boost your Black Ops 6 skillset.

Learn the Maps

Practice makes perfect, and only looping the same maps over and again will result in you knowing routes, grenade spots, and rotations for objectives.

Find Your Mode

If you don’t like Search and Destroy, don’t play Search and Destroy. It might be one of the best game modes in Black Ops 6 for XP, but it’ll grind you down to a nub. I tend to rely on Kill Confirmed with the Strategist specialist to maximise XP gains.

Get the Gear

Watch videos online and study pro players on social media to pick up the best weapon builds. Everyone claims to have the best build, but they’re mostly the same with one or two tweaks here and there.

Optimise Your Settings

From the Bumper Jumper Tactical tip to the ‘Enhanced Audio’ sound profile, there are many things you can do to secure the best settings in Black Ops 6. Take a little time to trawl through the menu and find what works best for you.

Here’s a tip for Black Ops 6: Turn off Omnimovement. If you’re on a controller, you can switch off diving, and it honestly makes such a refreshing change not needing to worry about leaping all over the map accidentally.

Accept Imperfection

Like I said, not everyone can get good at Call of Duty. You’ll be devastated by SBMM and wannabe pro players before long, so it pays to sometimes accept that a) you’re almost past it, and b) everyone is just better at Call of Duty these days. And spoiler alert: almost everyone good at the game is 10 – 20 years younger than you.

Through sheer tenacity, settings that I’ve gotten used to over many years, and a desire to keep up with what’s trending, I stay somewhat ahead in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. I float around a 1.45 KD ratio, which isn’t bad for someone with my casual skillset, but I do painfully miss the old days.

I’ve gone from topping the charts to occupying a familiar spot at the bottom of the table. That’s what time does to you, folks.

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