The Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War Open Beta has arrived! And with the Beta comes a full array of Multiplayer modes. From VIP Escort to Combined Arms, there’s plenty to explore as you engage in Treyarch’s signature combat and participate in deniable operations across the globe.

With less than a month remaining until the game’s November 13^th worldwide launch, this is the perfect chance to hone your skills. To get you started, here’s a breakdown of all the various game modes available during the Beta including strategies for securing the win:

Under the Fireteam banner is Dirty Bomb, a dynamic objective game mode that tasks Fireteams at collecting and depositing uranium into “Dirty Bombs” that can wipe out parts of the map from play due to expanding radiation zones. Using all available tools at their disposal, including loadouts and vehicles, Fireteams must eliminate the opposition and detonate these bombs in order to win the match for their entire team. Earn score by eliminating enemies, depositing uranium, and detonating bombs. The Fireteam that can reach the score limit first will achieve victory.

Strategies

With a new mode comes a host of new tactical planning and strategies. Check out the Treyarch Blog for more details on Fireteam: Dirty Bomb.

VIP Escort

The Basics

In this all-new Multiplayer mode, one random player on the escorting side is designated as the VIP each round. The escorting team wins if the VIP successfully makes it to one of two exfil sites, or if the opposing team is wiped out. The escorting team loses if the VIP is eliminated or if the two-and-a-half-minute timer runs to zero before escaping.

Scorestreaks are disabled. Players use their normal loadout except for the VIP, who is equipped with a pistol, two smoke grenades, two frags, a Field Mic Field Upgrade, and a Spy Plane.

There are up to six players per team, with no respawns in the round. When players are taken out, they go into a downed state. Teammates can revive them if the enemy team doesn’t finish the job in time.

The first team to win four rounds wins the match.

Strategies

If there’s ever a mode that teaches you the value of sticking with your teammates, this is it. On the escorting side, it’s vital that the VIP’s teammates lead the attack. Equipped with only a pistol, the VIP has the disadvantage in combat, so stay close to your team and lay low when the fighting breaks out if you’re designated as the VIP. Maybe toss a grenade to try and land a kill for your team. If you see the opportunity to rush an exfil site, pop a smoke grenade to cover your tracks and start sprinting.

Since this is a Black Ops game, you can always try your hand at some mind games by drawing fire or popping a smoke grenade at one exfil site while your VIP makes their way to the other site. Creative tactics are crucial to success in this game mode.

On the opposing team, you can rush in with everyone to try and wipe out the VIP, or leave a defender or two behind to watch over the exfil sites. This may be the sounder strategy, as a savvy VIP can slip past defenses and rush to an exfil site while both teams are embroiled in a heated skirmish.

Combined Arms: Assault

The Basics

A classic game of tug-of-war. Combined Arms: Assault supports teams of up to 12v12 and tasks each team with capturing every objective on the map. The match begins with one neutral objective in the middle of the map. The first team to capture it will then activate the next available zone, further back in the enemy’s base.

Get kills and capture zones to build momentum, which in turn reduces the amount of time needed to capture the next zone. If time runs out in a draw, overtime begins, in which the first team to capture a single neutral zone wins the game.

Strategies

Get on that point! Unlike Domination where all zones are up for capture, Combined Arms: Assault activates just one zone at a time, concentrating the fighting to a single location.

Strength in numbers is key to success in Combined Arms: Assault, as it has unique majority rules when both teams are inside of the zone. If your team has the numbers advantage, you will still capture the zone, albeit at a slower rate. Unlike Domination, an Assault zone can only be contested when there are an equal number of players from each time inside of the zone.

Use your grenades liberally and be on the watch for the grenade indicator as the opposing team responds in kind. The most important thing is that your team actively jumps on the point whenever the opportunity arises. If you’ve got a good number of teammates taking up the task, find a position outside the immediate fighting and flank the enemy from the perimeter.

Combined Arms: Domination

The Basics

Domination on a large scale. This 12v12 game mode pits players on large maps with access to vehicles like Tanks, Snowmobiles, Wakerunners and Gunboats depending on the map.

Instead of fighting over three zones, Combined Arms: Domination can feature several more capture points, depending on the map size. There is no halftime, and the first team to accumulate 400 points wins. Players respawn immediately after death.

Strategies

Because of the large map sizes in Combined Arms: Domination, strategy and positioning are just as important as gun skill. Success relies on knowing when it’s time to move up and engage in the fight, and when it’s time to hold your position and fend off incoming attackers.

Consider limiting your focus to capturing just three or four zones and defending them, instead of racing all over the map in an attempt to cap every objective. Though with the larger map sizes, the strategy becomes a bit less predictable, as players can hop on vehicles and steal zones from behind the enemy line.

Communicate with your team, plan your route of attack — or get into a defensive position — and build up those points.

Team Deathmatch

The Basics

Two teams battle each other in an elimination-based challenge. The first team to acquire the target number of kills wins the match.

A standard game of Team Deathmatch has a time limit of 10 minutes. Players respawn immediately after death, so you can get right back into the fight.

There is no overtime here. If both teams have the same score when the timer runs out, the game ends in a draw.

Strategies

Don’t let its simple nature fool you. Team Deathmatch is all about the fundamentals: movement and gun skill. It’s a great mode for trying out new weapons and loadout strategies, and it’s a good way to learn the maps too.

While your main objective is to get kills, it can feel like a hollow victory if you rack up a lot of deaths in the process. If you’re a new player, don’t worry too much about it, but try not to feed the enemy too many kills. Play smart, read the battle, and avoid preventable deaths.

Map knowledge and awareness of your surroundings are key. As you play more matches and become familiar with the maps and game mechanics, you’ll see your performance improve.

Domination

The Basics

Two teams compete for control of three locations on the map marked with lettered waypoints: A, B, and C.

Teams capture the objectives (A, B, and C) by standing near them for a short period of time. Once captured, you’ll earn one point every few seconds which is multiplied by the number of objectives you’ve captured. Players respawn immediately after death.

Halftime occurs after one team gains 100 points. The teams then switch sides on the map and the first team to earn 200 points wins the match.

Strategies

Domination is great practice for map control and role-switching between attacking and defending. The most reliable strategy is to capture two objectives and defend them. Going for all three stretches your team thin and can result in a change in enemy respawn patterns.

It pays to cap objectives with your teammates, as each additional player on the objective increases the speed of capture. If an ally is close to capturing the point, it’s often worth risking your life to jump in there with them before the enemy can respond.

In Black Ops Cold War, Domination zones are larger and shaped to their natural surroundings to encourage more engagements in and around the objectives. While this can give your team an advantage, the same applies to your enemies as well.

Domination zones can be contested, meaning that when at least one player from each team is on the point at the same time, neither team can secure the capture until the enemy is removed. This will often happen when someone throws a smoke grenade on an objective. If you’re on a contested point, get aggressive and clear the enemy off so you can capture and start earning more points for your team.

Hardpoint

The Basics

Two teams compete for control of a rotating objective area called the Hardpoint or “hill”. Players must remain inside the Hardpoint to earn points over time. A standard game of Hardpoint lasts five minutes.

Each Hardpoint lasts for one minute before rotating to the next designated position. Players respawn shortly after death.

The first team to reach 250 points wins, or the team with the higher score when the timer runs out wins.

Strategies

In Hardpoint, positioning is everything. It only takes one teammate on the hill to earn points, so just rushing in isn’t always the best tactic. If your team has it, consider whether a flanking position would be more helpful, away from the Hardpoint, covering lanes where the enemy might attack.

Always pay attention to the Hardpoint timer. If less than 10 seconds remain, consider moving toward the next point ahead of time. This rotation order is consistent from match to match, so you’ll learn where each successive point lies over time. To help you learn those rotations a bit quicker, you will see the next Hardpoint marked with a waypoint in the world when there are 10 seconds remaining on the active Hardpoint. Remember that points cannot be earned while the Hardpoint is contested. If that happens, get aggressive and flush the enemy out.

Control

The Basics

A competitive favorite returning from Black Ops 4, Control tasks players with capturing or defending two stationary objectives or points on the map.

Each round lasts one and a half minutes and each team of six is given 30 lives and once a team’s lives have been depleted, each player has a single life to live to the fullest. The attacking team earns additional time after capturing one of the objectives. Unlike Domination or Hardpoint, only the attacking team can capture the objective, and once they do, it disappears from the map.

The attacking team wins the round if they capture both points successfully. The defending team wins if they successfully defend at least one objective and the clock runs out. Either team can also win by depleting all 30 of their opponents’ collective lives.

The first team to win three rounds wins the match.

Strategies

Control offers a perfect balance between careful play and all-out gunfights. Because each team has 30 lives, you’ll have a bit more freedom to try out risky plays, though you should always keep an eye on the life count. If your team’s numbers dip below the enemy’s, it’s may be worthwhile to slow down and play every life for maximum kills. If you’re leading in lives, consider pushing forward and playing more aggressively.

Remember that you’ll extend the game clock if you capture one of the objectives as the attacking team, so it can be best to focus your efforts on a single objective at a time. Of course, there’s always room for bending the rules: if the enemy is completely engaged at one point, try slipping away and capturing the other one.

As the defending team, there are two viable strategies: spread out between both points and adjust as necessary or focus your defense at the objective that has the clearest visibility, lanes, and chokepoints. However, if the attackers capture one objective, turn all your efforts to the other and hold your ground to eliminate their collective lives and defend the point.

Secure Your Copy and Stay Connected

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War launches on November 13^th. Pre-order your copy now on the game’s official website and follow Treyarch’s Blog for more Black Ops Cold War announcements and content. Follow @Call of Duty and @Treyarch on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for additional information.

Follow @CallofDuty and @Treyarch on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook for additional information. 

Pre-orders at participating retailers are available now, or at CallofDuty.com.

Execute the mission.

*Actual platform availability and launch date(s) of MP Beta subject to change. See www.callofduty.com/beta for more details.  Minimum Open Beta duration is 2 days. Limited time only, while Early Access Beta Codes last, at participating retailers. Internet connection required. Online multiplayer subscription may be required.

For more information on Call of Duty®: Black Ops Cold War, check out: www.callofduty.com, www.youtube.com/callofduty and follow @Treyarch, @RavenSoftware, and @CallofDuty on Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook. 

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