To get into a Multiplayer match, you must first select your preferred Playlist among those available. Once you’re in the Black Ops 6 Multiplayer menu, select Find a Match in the lower left-hand corner of your screen. From there you’ll be able to choose a Playlist. Here’s a little more info into what exactly you’ll be seeing when you select Find a Match:

First time playing Call of Duty? Or perhaps it’s been a while, and you need a refresher. When selecting Find a Match, pick the Training Course. Learn the basics of movement and Omnimovement in combination with combat skills on the Protocol Training Course.

Playlists

Featured Playlists may include a Moshpit of default modes (i.e., a collection of handpicked modes) or may even play around with the standard ruleset. You may see your standard maps and modes, however there may be a Face Off Playlist that features the Strike maps in current rotation, but with the Face Off variant.

Game Modes

Battle amongst the ruins of an ancient city, climbing on its crumbled columns and crawling underneath the ancient ruins. There’s plenty of verticality to make use of here, so stay limber as you circle the central altar and seek out the best ground. Back out to the chapel or depot for more concealed views or get heated and rush the middle.

Derelict

(Core 6v6)

Deep in the Bulgarian mountains, the Rogue Black Ops Safehouse is under attack. Breach this cliffside mansion getaway, explore various oak paneled chambers and the operations room in the main residence. Payback is equipped with various elevations, windows, and many strategic angles throughout the mansion.

Protocol

(Core 6v6)

Located off the shore, the Protocol Training Course doubles as a teaching ground and an island citadel fortified for war. The brick buildings include barracks, an armory, and an underground communications monitoring center, and the aged architecture built into this rocky outcrop provides a playground for Rogue Black Ops and Crimson one to go to their own skirmishes with each other.

Red Card

(Core 6v6)

Compete from the main entrance of this stadium to the stands of an international soccer pitch. Race through the lobby and view the memorabilia upstairs near the best seats in the house. Outside, explore the promenade and fan festival stands, or swing back into the lobby or parking garage.

Rewind

(Core 6v6)

Visit the Liberty Shopping Plaza right on the edge of Liberty Falls, West Virginia and wreak havoc through the strip mall. This 6v6 map has a unique layout, as two outer lanes are connected by multiple routes through and around the shops, a video store in the middle housing several major objectives.

Scud

(Core 6v6)

Take in breathtaking views of the surrounding countryside from the rooftop of a luxury resort featuring an exquisite penthouse with access to a lounge, kitchen, gym, and pool. Descend into the panic room to cross under the map or fight in the open around the victims of a recent hit job.

Subsonic

(Core 6v6)

Fight in and around a small bomber team training facility. While one aircraft sits safely in the central hangar, another lies in flames by the runway next to a crater and an overturned truck. Follow the line of destruction down the perimeter or move inside to avoid threats from overhead.

Vault

(Core 6v6)

No expense has been spared on this large, lush desert set within a rugged desert landscape. Monuments, murals, sculptures, and a trophy room adorn the central palace, featuring an opulent atrium and, more importantly, open access to the vault. Combat around this compound is expected to be fierce.

Vorkuta

(Core 6v6)

A large storm is inbound and about to hit the Vorkuta mining facility that was once a Soviet labor camp. Both teams visit a place of Mason’s history to battle over key tactical positions. Covered with old machinery and exterior/interior transitions, both teams must stay on their toes if they wish to become victorious.

Strike Maps (2v2/6v6)

Gala

(Strike Map 2v2/6v6)

Explore the aftermath of an annual fundraising event in Washington, D.C. Get up on stage or kick back in the lounge. Along the sides, move through a makeshift bar, coatroom, and campaign stand. Every move counts on this tiny map, so get out there and punch the winning ticket. 

Pit

(Strike Map 2v2/6v6)

Burrow into a small subsection of an underground mining tunnel and collide in the central cave. A ventilation shaft casts some natural light over the cave, the mine tracks within circling back to the narrow tunnels. Climb up the ladders to reach an overhead vantage point or weave between the mine carts for ground floor cover.

Stakeout

(Strike Map 2v2/6v6)

A stakeout in the Mediterranean region of Avalon has been compromised as Operators breach the small apartment, battling through the living room, kitchen, bedrooms, and spilling out onto the balcony. Leftover surveillance equipment marks the progress of the conducted intel-gathering, a smashed-out wall giving the former agents easy access to their gear.

Warhead

(Strike Map 2v2/6v6)

Welcome to the Nuketown neighborhood! Positioned within bombing distance of one of the facsimile desert test sites, this set of dwellings has been reclaimed by the desert sands. Watch the debris scattered all over the maps, as enemies will use everything from the upturned sign to building wreckage to the bus for tactical cover across this fast-paced map.

For a deep dive on everything Loadout related, visit our Weapons and Loadouts guide.

Primary Weapon

Your Primary Weapon is your main damage dealer. Your weapon choice largely determines your specific role within combat; do you engage from far off with a Sniper Rifle, lead the team with an SMG, or opt for a versatile playstyle using an Assault Rifle?

There are six Primary Weapon categories: Assault Rifles, Submachine Guns, Light Machineguns, Designated Marksman Rifles, Sniper Rifles, and Shotguns.

Secondary Weapon

Your Secondary Weapon is your backup or utility damage dealer. Need to fight in close-quarters and you’re stuck with a Sniper Rifle? Out of ammo and need a reload? Swap to your Pistol. Enemy aerial streaks pestering the skies? Hit them with a Launcher.

There are two Secondary Weapon categories: Pistols and Launchers.

Melee

In Black Ops 6, there are two options when performing a melee attack on your opponent. You can either tap the melee button and hit your opponent with the end of your currently held weapon, or you can hold the melee button and pull out your dedicated melee weapon. This way you can run around with your melee weapon out at all times, just be sure to hit the switch weapons button in order to put it away and get back to fighting at range.

Weapon Leveling and Gunsmith

You will earn Weapon XP for landing eliminations and completing other tasks while wielding your weapon. Leveling up your weapons will unlock new modification slots and attachments to equip within those slots. The more you play with a weapon, the more customization options you’ll unlock.

Tactical Equipment

Tactical Equipment fulfills a variety of roles, from intel-gathering and healing to disorientation, misdirection, and more.

Lethal Equipment

Select from an array of grenades, throwing weapons, stationary explosives, and more.

Field Upgrade

Powerful utility items and abilities that refresh on a cooldown of various lengths depending on the chosen item.

Perks

The Perks section of your Loadout is really how you make things special. In a way, Perks are what make your Loadout a class more than just another member of the team. Everyone plays a role, some may play the same or similar role, but a role, nonetheless. Your role can be crafted however you’d like it to be. Go in, guns blazing and favoring the Enforcer (red) Combat Specialty Perks. Focus on the objectives and do whatever it takes to get the most points for your team by using any of the Strategist (green) Combat Specialty Perks. Or gather info while slaying your enemies from the shadows with any of the Recon (blue) Specialty Perks.

By no means is there a requirement to use Perks of the same Combat Specialty in all your Loadouts. While they will provide unique in-game bonuses, you may have your own ideas on what the perfect combo is for your playstyle.

Wildcards

Wildcards round out your Loadouts and are rule breakers. If you want some more firepower, think about taking the Overkill Wildcard that allows you to put any weapon into your Primary and Secondary slots. This means you can take a Sniper Rifle and Assault Rifle or even two Pistols if that’s what you want. For players who want to really kit out their weapon, the Gunfighter Wildcard lets you take up to 8 Attachments instead of the standard 5.

Scorestreaks

Scorestreaks are powerful rewards earned for playing well within a single life. You can take three Scorestreaks into a match, each requiring a certain number of scores to earn. Everything you do in a match will award score, whether it’s racking up eliminations, taking out enemy Scorestreaks or capturing objectives. Black Ops 6 is designed in a way to make it viable to equip any combination of three Scorestreaks. Each one has a different Score requirement, so choose wisely. Highly powerful Scorestreaks are great if you plan on going on a long streak but won’t do much good if you’re the type of player that is always willing to throw their Operator into the fire to take a few bullets for the team.

Navigation: Minimap, Tac Map, and Compass

Allies

In team-based modes, your allies appear as blue dots with an attached arrow indicating the direction they are facing. When firing their weapon, two lines will appear to the sides of the arrow.

Enemies

Enemy players who fire unsilenced weapons will briefly appear on the Minimap and Tac Map as red dots and circles. Additionally enemy players will appear as a red direction indicator to show that they’re too far for your minimap to register their exact location. Use this to your advantage to pinpoint their location and get into an advantageous position.

Objectives

In objective-based modes, the objective locations are indicated on the Minimap and Tac Map. Objectives that have not been captured by any team appear in a neutral color, while enemy-controlled objectives appear as red and friendly controlled objectives appear as blue.

Scoreboard and Weapon Stats

When bringing up your Tac Map, you also have the option of checking the Scoreboard and Match Stats.

Scoreboard

The Scoreboard displays the names of all allies and enemies, and it ranks players in order of performance based on earned Score in the match. Different game modes will also display other stats here, such as total Eliminations and Captures.

Weapon Stats

Check the Stats tab to view your in-match stats in real time, displaying performance numbers for your current weapons.

Compass

The Compass that wraps around the minimap offers another means of orienting your position in the environment. Use the displayed cardinal directions to confirm which way you’re facing in the map. The name of the location you’re currently positioned in is displayed there as well, which is a useful reference when calling out specific areas.

1. Hit up the Training Course. New to Call of Duty? Or maybe you just need a refresher. Head to the Training Course to get a rundown on the basics of movement and combat on the Protocol Multiplayer map.
2. The right Loadout for the job. Can’t seem to get past the enemy lines? Maybe it’s time to take a different approach. Consider making a variety of Custom Loadouts for various scenarios, and switch between them as needed depending on the current match flow. If you just need to make a quick tweak, you can even edit your Loadouts midmatch
3. Breadth and depth. It pays to try out all of the game modes available in Multiplayer. Not only are you likely to find a new favorite mode, but the different kinds of challenges they present will make you a better overall player. Once you’ve gotten a taste of everything, start drilling into a handful of them to perfect your tactics.
4. Bring your friends. The more the merrier and having someone you can rely on to watch your back is just an added benefit. Your communication will be tighter, too, improving your map awareness as you share your combined intel to find the best path forward.
5. Get back in there. It’s all about practice. The more you play, the better you’ll get and the more you’ll start to recognize the biggest threats and opportunities in the match. Keep experimenting with your Loadouts, stay cool, and redeploy for the next one.