Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is taking a page from playbooks of the Overwatch and Tom Clancy’s Rainbow Six Siege in doubling down on its playable multiplayer characters. Dubbed Specialists, you may recognize some of these warriors from Black Ops 3, but in this new multiplayer-focused game, they matter a lot more.
Multiplayer in Black Ops 4 has seen its main mode player counts drop to 5 vs. 5 and this time every player must choose a different specialist, basically locking into a role for that round of gameplay. There will be 10 specialists in total when Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 launches in October, and nine of them were showcased in the Black Ops 4 multiplayer trailer. At the community reveal event in LA last week however, where we got to go hands-on with the PC and PlayStation 4 versions of the game, costumes and details for all 10 were revealed.
Below is art, costume pieces, and details on abilities and equipment for the eight playable specialists of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, and we’ll have to wait and see on the remaining two. Note: attackers and defenders in all modes have access to the same specialists (unlike in Rainbow Six Siege where attack and defense have different selections).
“We actually dropped it down to 5v5… we feel like that’s the best. It makes the specialists really matter. It makes your team [composition] matter more and more because it’s not just a ton of people in there.” - Treyarch senior producer Yale Miller on Black Ops 4 multiplayer.
Ajax (Breacher)
Ajax is a tank, barreling his way through enemy strongholds and providing mobile cover to his team as they breach and clear through the battle space.
- Equipment: 9-bang - Tactical grenade that flashes and stuns. Can be cooked to detonate multiple times. Ability: Ballistic Shield - Durable transforming defensive shield with a built-in machine pistol.
Battery (Demo Expert)
High-explosive munitions are key to clearing out enemy entrenchments, and explosive destruction is Battery’s specialty.
- Equipment: Cluster Grenade - A grenade that sticks to surfaces and releases several smaller grenades. Ability: War Machine - Grenade launcher that fires bouncing grenades which detonate after a short time or by hitting an enemy directly.
Crash (Healer)
In a critical push, Crash provides his team the additional strength and combat resources needed to overwhelm the enemy.
- Equipment: Assault Pack - Deploys ammo magazines that provide bonus score for taking down enemies. Available to everyone on the team. Ability: Tak-5 - Heals, boosts max health, and removes wounds for the user and up to four targeted allies. Works through walls.
Firebreak (Area Denial)
Firebreak is a room-clearing powerhouse, establishing a perimeter of area denial by harnessing the power of fire.
- Equipment: Reactor Core - Emits a damaging radiation field that wounds enemies, reducing their maximum health for a period of time. Ability: Purifier - Flamethrower that shoots a steady gout of flame, scorching enemies in close range.
Recon (Intel Operator)
Recon’s command of situational awareness makes him an indispensable member of any unit as he provides critical intel on the movements of the enemy.
- Equipment: Sensor Dart - Sensor equipment that reveals enemies within its proximity on the minimap. Visible to everyone on the team. Ability: Vision Pulse - Pulse the surrounding area to reveal enemies for a period of time. Visible to everyone on the team.
Next Page: Black Ops 4’s Ruin, Seraph, Torque, Nomad, and Prophet Specialists
Ruin (Rusher)
Every squad needs a rusher to push forward and deal the initial blow with overwhelming force, and ruin is the tip of the spear.
- Equipment: Grapple Gun - Quickly move to elevations and other locations. Ability: Grav Slam - A short, aggressive leap that delivers a lethal blast in radius around the point of impact.
Seraph (Tactician)
A disciplined and merciless warrior, Seraph commands strategic control of the map, directing her team to victory.
- Equipment: Tac-Deploy - Deployable beacon that allows your teammates to re-deploy to the surrounding area. Ability: Annihilator - Massive high caliber revolver that fires devastating rounds with increased bullet penetration.
Torque (Defender)
With a gift for improvised destruction, Torque defensively controls the flow of combat by securing chokepoints and positions.
- Equipment: Razor Wire - Place razor wire to damage and slow enemies that attempt to cross it. Ability: Barricade - Deploy reinforced cover protection while securing objectives. Built in microwave field slows and damages enemies. Owner can deactivate cover at will.
Not playable at Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Community Reveal event.
Nomad (Trapper)
Relying on his survivalist training, Nomad has mastered the art of the ambush as his primary tool for outsmarting his foes.
Prophet (Disrupter)
Representing the cutting edge of combat weaponry, Prophet uses technology to disrupt opponents’ tactics and prevent them from closing in.
Even in the limited two hours we had to play the PC and PS4 versions of Black Ops 4 multiplayer, there were obvious must-picks which raises the question of how balance the operators really are. Recon and Ruin, for instance, are always chosen while some specialists may be more situational. The game is clearly trying to emulate Rainbow Six Siege while attempting to keep that Call of Duty feel which is a challenging and odd balance to go for in a fast-paced respawn-heavy shooter where there are also point streak awards and long cool-down for abilities. The core gameplay still comes down to moving and shooting faster and better than the opposition, though the forced focus on specialists makes for intriguing esports gameplay.
