With its near-endless combinations, the Pick 10 system allows for a high level of customization that can adapt to your personal loadout preferences. As you move up the ranks, more equipment will become available for you to add to your loadout (check out our post on Leveling Up here). Don’t want a Secondary weapon? Don’t equip one. Want one perk? 5 perks? Go for it. 

Honing your loadout to best suit your playstyle, the game modes you love – or both – takes some experimentation. As you get more comfortable with Call of Duty®: Black Ops 4, you’ll learn your tendencies and find yourself gravitating towards specific weapons. Some people like the accuracy of a semi-auto weapon, others prefer a fast-firing SMG or assault rifle – ultimately, we’ll leave it to you to sort out which weapon suits you best. First, watch this video to help you get a running start. Then, read on for a deeper dive into what each category of gear helps you bring to the fight.

Primary Weapons

Assault Rifles – Assault rifles provide a good entry-point because they are suited for a variety of engagements and ranges, proving useful in any mode and on any map.

Submachine Guns – Fast-firing and lightweight, submachine guns (SMGs) fit perfectly in the hands of a run-n-gun playstyle. They’re not ideal for a long-range battle, but in skilled hands, they’ll tear through the opposition in medium-to-short-range fights.

Tactical Rifles – A strong, quick trigger finger is a requirement for success with this class. Tac Rifles boast excellent range, accuracy and damage at the expense of full-auto firing. If you think you’ve got good aim, this class of rifle should suit you well at medium-to-longer ranges.

Light Machine Guns – This class packs heavy fire that sees little falloff at any range. LMGs possess the ability to dish out suppressing fire that keeps the enemy diving for cover and taking strong damage. With their larger magazines, you’ll be taking out multiple enemies before the need for a reload. Their weight and reload time may slow you down a tad, but the upside here is clear.

Sniper Rifles – Make your shots count with these long-range specialist weapon class. Hold your breath to steady your aim and these weapons take out most enemies in a single-shot. Success with this class requires patience and practice, but the reward Is enemies never getting within 50 yards of you before they meet the end of your scope.

Secondary Weapons

Pistols & Shotguns – When there’s no time to reload – or when you’ve got a long-range primary weapon in a short-range scenario – you’ll want to consider having a powerful pistol at the ready. They’re a great close-range alternative to have in your back pocket when you find yourself in a tight spot. And, if you want to take out foes in a quick blast or two, shotguns deliver as much power up-close as you’ll ever need.

Launchers – Enemy scorestreaks can ruin your match, so pack a launcher. Lock-onto those aerial streaks with a launcher and make them disappear.

Melee – Ensure your close-range game is as efficient as possible when you carry a melee weapon. You'll take care of any enemy within reach in a single strike.

Perks

Perks come in three categories. If you use a wildcard – more on those later – you can equip two perks in the same category if you like. And, like many loadout choices you make, the right perks for you largely depend on your playstyle, followed by the map and the mode you’re playing. Here’s a quick rundown of what kind of perk each perk gives you.

Perk 1 – These are the perks that help you deal with equipment and scorestreaks. Flak Jacket protects you from explosives and fire. Engineer shows enemy equipment and scorestreaks, locks on to vehicles faster with launchers and re-rolls and booby traps Care Packages. Tactical Mask increases your resistance to various equipment, The Tempest and Counter-UAV. Or, if you just want to scavenge ammo from fallen foes, roll with Scavenger.

Perk 2 – Athleticism and resourcefulness are the themes of this perk category. You have the option for faster movement and protection from falling damage with Lightweight. Skulker allows for faster movement while crouched or prone. Gung-Ho lets you fire weapons, reload and use Equipment while sprinting and you’ll recover from sprint faster. For faster mantling, climbing, sliding and weapon swapping as well as increased weapon accuracy when jumping or mantling simply equip Dexterity. And, Cold Blooded makes you resistant to enemy abilities, Equipment and Scorestreak targeting.

Perk 3 – The intelligence category of perk provides a tactical boost of some sort. Move quietly and increased resistance to Acoustic Sensor comes from Dead Silence. Team Link allows you to see teammates through walls and increases your personal and your teammates’ Fog of War reveal radius. Ghost makes you undetectable to enemy UAVs in most cases and reduces reveal time on enemy Sensor Darts & Vision Pulse. Want to track the digital imprint of enemy footsteps? Then, Tracker’s the perk for you.

Gear

Gear works passively to help you do the things you already do a bit easier. Want your equipment and specialist weapons to recharge faster? Strap on an Equipment Charge. Heal faster and more often, all while maintaining control of your weapon with the Stim Shot. Need help getting to those scorestreaks a little faster? Earn them quicker with the COMSEC Device. Amplify the audio of enemy movements and trigger mini-map indicators with the Acoustic Sensor. Or, just protect yourself from initial bullet damage with some Body Armor.

Equipment

All of the things we’ve mentioned so far count as one of your 10 ‘picks’. And, that goes for all equipment with one exception: Special Issue Equipment. Special Issue Equipment is a selection that does not count against your Pick 10, but what you are able to select depends on which specialist you choose. Each specialist has their own equipment that charges throughout the match, like Ruin’s Grapple Gun, Nomad’s Mesh Mine and Seraph’s Tac-Deploy. Want non-specific Specialist Equipment? Trade one of your Pick 10 allocations for one of five choices.

The Trophy System destroys lethals, tacticals, and explosives in a 10-meter radius – perfect for holding a Hardpoint. Frag grenades? Well, you pull the pin and within a short amount of time they explode. Molotovs explode on impact and spread flames over a small area for serious fire damage. The retrievable Combat Axe deals instant kills when thrown accurately at enemies. And, Concussion disorients and slows movement.

As you can tell, you’ve got quite a lot to pick from – so, approaching your loadout should start with some basics. First, have an understanding of what each item does and, second, ask yourself, ‘Will I use this thing?’ If the answer is yes, then strap it into your loadout and give it a go. It could very well be your new favorite item.

Now, you’ve got the knowledge. Get into a match and immerse yourself in the world of Black Ops 4.