This week, the Black Ops III Featured Playlist serves up Double XP in Hardpoint. Teams of 4-6 face off to hold a single, rotating objective, aptly called “The Hill.” The Hill rotates between 3 different locations and stays still for 60 seconds. A team gains 1 point for every uncontested second they hold the rotating objective. Matches are won when a team reaches 250 points or by the team with the most points after 5 minutes of gameplay. Before you head out to The Hill, here’s some tips to make the “hike” a little bit easier…

Rotation & Timing 

If your team can watch the timer (on the top left on your HUD) and learn the rotations, you will know when The Hill moves and where it moves. When that movement happens, there are a few things that you can do to take the advantage. If you’re a slayer, when the objective moves, consider unleashing your Scorestreaks and Specialist weapons – the other team will be moving and will likely be exposed. If you can defend and hold locations, get there BEFORE it moves. The location will be uncontested when you arrive first and you can score easy points for your team. If you excel at long range shots, find spots with good vantage points where you can pick off anyone who tries to enter. No matter what you are good at work as a team to rotate effectively and you’ll be that much closer to 250. 

Hide, Look and Listen

Consider using Ghost, Blast Suppressor, Blind Eye, Hard Wired, and Dead Silence to flank and neutralize your enemy while going undetected. The strategy of making noise to draw out enemies might prove difficult since the purpose of Hardpoint is to hold a location – not really to get kills.  Most likely, the opposing team will either be at the objective or flanking it, but being able to pinpoint exact positions should make getting kills a little easier. Perks to consider: Sixth Sense, Awareness and Tracker, along with UAV and H.A.T.R. Scorestreaks – they all give insight on enemy locations. Whether you are holding down The Hill, watching entry points, or out slaying, knowing where the other team is always helps.

Defending The Hill 

To help with holding your position, consider using a Trophy System to prevent death from lethals or tacticals, or equip Shock Charges to stun enemies at entry points. Trip Mines and Claymores can give you immediate kills when opponents attempt to sneak in, so choose which ones work the best for you. When using your lethals/tacticals don’t forget that the location will rotate after 60 seconds, so think about how you want to manage your inventory – consider notusing everything at once. Holding the objective is the only way to gain points, so in this game defense really matters.

Specialist to fit your Specialty

The type of Specialist you should use really depends on what you do best. If you plan on clearing and taking The Hill, Specialist Abilities to consider are Battery’s Kinetic Armor and Ruin’s Gravity Spikes, or power weapons like Firebreak’s Purifier or Reaper’s Scythe. If you are slayer, roaming for enemies, consider Seraph’s Annihilator or Outrider’s Sparrow. For defensive players, consider Nomad’s Hive to protect entry ways or Outrider’s Vison Pulse to know where your enemies are for the necessary edge to secure the win for the team.

Our latest Featured Playlist, Double XP Hardpoint runs from now until October 20 at 10AM PDT. The Hill is waiting, so get climbing.