Compete to capture Headquarters and then defend it. Respawns are disabled for the team that holds the HQ.
Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6 marks the return of the classic Multiplayer mode Headquarters, otherwise known as HQ. HQ is a mode that ebbs and flows with intensity and strategy. A great mode to support large amounts of XP gain, because of its natural tendencies to focus players into single points on the map as well as the reward of being a survivor on the team that has captured the most current Headquarters point. Move from HQ to HQ and capture them in order to win and remember, teams can squeak a win out even when significantly far behind.
// INTEL CARD
- BO6
Headquarters
// MULTIPLAYER MODES // STANDARD
Crash and clear: Crashing the HQ alongside your team to begin the capture or delay the enemy capture can catch the enemy team by surprise. Unlike most modes in Call of Duty®: Black Ops 6, the objective swings are a little more gradual, especially when respawns are disabled for the defenders only.
Offsite offense/defense: The capture zone for the HQ is the most obvious place for players to be. So, unless you’re capturing the HQ, play just off the site and fire into it. Once the HQ is captured, there’s no need to keep yourself in danger as you defend from the perimeter.
Equipment equalizer: Once the HQ is captured, the defending team can no longer respawn until it is destroyed. It’s easy to get outnumbered because of this, so utilize Prox Alarms, Blast Traps, Sticky Grenades, Thermo Grenades, and more to hold the attackers off while you focus on one opponent at a time.
Mode Details
Team Size: 1-6 Player
Mission Parameters
Similar to modes like Hardpoint, there is a rotating Headquarters that changes locations in a random rotation. Each HQ will be live and able to be captured until one team completes the capture. Once the capture is complete, the team that owns the HQ will be denied respawns until the opposing team destroys it, or the HQ timer runs out.
Match Win Conditions
In Public Matches, the first team to reach 200 points wins the match.
Main XP Gains
Capturing Headquarters.
Disabling Headquarters.
Eliminating enemies.
Key Terms and Definitions
Contested
The state of a zone when players from both teams are in it. When this happens, no capture progress is made.
XvX (e.g. 1v2)
A quick way of saying how many players are alive on both teams. This does not show as a HUD element in Headquarters. Additionally, in Headquarters the team defending the captured HQ can no longer respawn. So, there are many opportunities for lopsided situations.
Cleared Zone
Clearing a zone occurs when you’ve deleted the progress that the enemy team has made on the Headquarters Zone. If you don’t clear the zone progress, the enemy will maintain their progress and be able to continue it when they return.
Topline Tactics
Capture and defend the HQ.
Disable the captured HQ.
Eliminate enemies near the HQ.
Recruit Tactics
Clear the HQ
If your team is defending the HQ and you were successful in fending off any immediate attackers, be sure to hop onto the HQ and clear the enemy’s progress. You will gain some more score for yourself and that could get you to your next Scorestreak.
If you need to step into the zone in order to contest it and buy your team a few more points, sacrificing yourself could be the play.
Check Your Surroundings
Because you can step out of the HQ zone after it has been captured, many players tend to defend it from just offsite. Before you go rushing into the HQ, make sure to do a quick scan or loop to be sure you’ve eliminated the immediate defenders.
Unified Push
Even if it’s just one additional teammate, try not to attack an HQ alone unless you have no other choice. Take up flanks on the HQ to make sure that you can pinch any enemies in the zone and trade if you have to.
The number of points that the team controlling the HQ earns is related to the time the HQ is controlled, one point per second controlled. So, spending an attack or two attempting to eliminate enemies without being able to get progress on the capture is often less efficient than being aggressive as a team.
Advanced Tactics
Counter-Attack with Equipment
Equipment is the number one way to equalize the battlefield when you’re outnumbered. Especially if one of your teammates were eliminated right at the beginning of capture. Using Blast Traps, Spring Mines, Thermo Grenades, and Molotovs to slow the enemy down while you defend another area and score more points can make one Operator standing feel like two or three.
Air Superiority
Air Scorestreaks like the Hellstorm, Watchdog Helo, and Chopper Gunner can be severely effective against players holding one single location on the map. As an attacker on a captured HQ or even as a defender with a Watchdog Helo, controlling the air is extremely important. This also means that anti-air is just as important. Dropping down a SAM Turret or utilizing the Archangel Launcher or Interceptors to claim air superiority from the enemy can turn the tide of a match at any given moment. Or, at the very least, stop a major bleed.
Learn the Locations
Knowing the locations of the Headquarters is a great way to come back from behind in a match. Considering the fact that the team that is disabling a currently activated HQ is alive and kicking while the defending team is likely to be eliminating and waiting respawn, there is an opportunity to take advantage. Leaving one teammate to complete the disable while the others move to the possible next spot, or at least to the area to defend it, can give your team a great advantage in setting up a defensive perimeter and keeping the enemy team off while you have Operators ready to take control.
Headquarters is a classic Call of Duty Multiplayer mode, and it’s here in Black Ops 6 and ready to be enjoyed. Use these tips to make as many HQs yours as you dominate the other team. Do your best to work as a team and dominate the competition, just remember:
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