Activision has released its next major expansion in the Operation Grand Heist Black Ops 4 update series.
Some of this new content is only available on PS4 for the time being and should go live on Xbox One and PC next week.
A big part of today’s update on PS4 is the Shamrock & Awe Event, while there is also a range of changes to look out for in Multiplayer, Blackout, Zombies, and the World League Hub.
The Shamrock & Awe Event will be live throughout March, bringing free seasonal content to Multiplayer, Blackout, and Zombies.
This includes new game modes, limited-time thematic updates, and “some unexpected surprises.”
Here’s a rundown of what is available to unlock today and throughout March in Shamrock and Awe:
- Free Personalization Items
- Visit the Black Market during the special event to receive your free St. Patrick’s Day Gesture & Calling Card.
- Multiplayer: St. Patrick’s Stockpile
- In this seasonal twist on Fracture from Black Ops 3, kill enemies to collect their shamrocks and deposit them at the nearest pot of gold to score points for your team.
- Blackout: Spring Map Update + New Surprises
- Spring has arrived in Blackout, bringing with it all-new lighting, a whole lot of greenery, and some… colourful hidden treasures. Follow the rainbow!
- Zombies: Green-Eyed Zombies + Seasonal Easter Egg
- May the luck of the Irish be with you against the green-eyed zombies that await in Classic Chaos story maps! Rumour has it they’re hiding a special new Easter Egg to discover at the end of the rainbow…
The official patch notes are huge and include a massive list of changes and bugfixes which are available to download now.
Multiplayer gets a huge update this week, including our new Stockpile mode, a stormy new variant of the Contraband map for all players, Scorestreak tuning for friendly fire modes, new improvements to League Play, and more.
Here’s what coming to Multiplayer in this week’s new update:
- Stockpile (PS4)
- Black Ops 3’s fan-favorite Fracture game mode returns with a new twist in Stockpile, debuting today on PS4! Collect and bank enemy tags, deposit them point to score points for your team, and rack up the most points for the win.
- Contraband Hurricane
- The warming springtime weather has swept a tropical storm across the island map of Contraband, free for all players starting this week.
- Scorestreak Tuning
- The Thresher will no longer damage friendly players in modes with Friendly Fire enabled, and the Dart will no longer count toward team kill punishment in modes with Friendly Fire enabled.
- Casino Hardpoint & Custom Game Fixes
- Casino will now be available in Hardpoint and Custom Game playlists for Black Ops Pass holders.
- Prestige Master Level 999 Fix
- For those MP die-hards who’ve already reached Level 1000 Prestige Master but haven’t seen their rank update past Level 999, a fix is live for you with today’s update.
Later in Operation Grand Heist, we’re also introducing our new Barebones game mode featuring classic gameplay rules and no Specialists. Infected, Capture the Flag, and Prop Hunt are also planned for later in the Operation, along with even more gameplay improvements and tuning updates.
Thanks to everyone in the competitive community for the incredible reception of League Play – the numbers are in, and we’re blown away. Since launching League Play in Black Ops 4 on all platforms, we’ve seen an exponential increase in player participation compared to Black Ops 2’s League Play, making it our 2nd-most popular Multiplayer playlist behind Team Deathmatch as of last week!
League Play has constantly evolved behind the scenes since launching just a few weeks ago, thanks in large part to direct player feedback. Today, we’re excited to announce a new round of improvements kicking off today to make League Play even more competitive and rewarding:
- Match Quit Penalty
- When a player quits with 4 or more players on their team, that player will now receive a new penalty to their Ladder Points in addition to the standard match loss deduction, as quitting a match will also count as a loss. This is the first phase of penalties that we’re implementing for quitters in League Play, with another round of refinements planned for our next major update.
- Daily Bonus Rollover
- We’ve heard your feedback on the Daily Bonus system – namely, that the initial version was most advantageous to players who could get in enough matches each day to earn the maximum number of bonus points. To improve this, now your remaining Daily Bonus point pool will roll over day-to-day until the end of each League Play Event, allowing all players to max out their bonus points at their own pace. The Daily Bonus has also been reduced from 200 to 100 to better balance its impact on the overall Ladder.
- 12 Custom Classes
- All League Play competitors will now have instant access to all 12 Custom Classes in the World League Hub. This will allow all players to set up a full suite of custom loadouts specifically for League Play rules without first Prestiging multiple times in Multiplayer.
- Top 5 Ladder Rewards
- Players will now earn 4 Gems for finishing in the Top 5 of their Division, with your rank now permanently reflecting your Top 5 finishes with Gold and Silver treatments. This adds another important milestone for players to battle over between Top 10 and 1st Place in each League Play Event.
- New 1st Place Reward
- Players can now earn 5 Gems for finishing in 1st Place in each League Play Event (was previously 4 Gems).
We’ll continue to add more improvements and features to League Play in future updates, including additional ranks– keep your feedback coming, and watch this space for more news.
Blackout gets a new springtime makeover with this update, our hotly-anticipated Hardcore mode, a suite of new features and quality of life improvements, and more! And thanks to the community’s overwhelming support of Hot Pursuit, we’re keeping it in the mix this week while Hardcore takes the Featured Playlist slot.
New Blackout features and content with this week’s update include:
- Spring Seasonal Map Update
- Blackout’s map takes on an entirely new look for spring, including updated lighting, new and improved greenery, and springtime trees in full bloom throughout the map.
- Hardcore Mode (PS4)
- Drop into Blackout with no HUD, armor, vehicles, or zombies in our all-new Hardcore game mode. Watch the skies, as a fleet of choppers will drop flares overhead to inform players of each new circle location. You’ll need to keep your wits about you and rely on your senses if you want to make it out on top!
- Contraband Stashes (PS4)
- Discover Contraband Stashes in Blackout to get access to the latest weapons, including the Rampage auto-shotgun, Switchblade X9 folding SMG, and KAP 45 auto-pistol.
- Muscle Car & SUV in Solos, Duos, and Quads (PS4)
- Our newest land vehicles make their debut in core Blackout playlists with this week’s update. The Muscle Car and SUV bring their own distinct advantages, but their special abilities remain exclusive to Hot Pursuit.
- Operator Weapons and Purifier
- You’ll be able to find and wield a new class of weapons equipped with Operator Mods from Multiplayer in Blackout with this new update, as well as Firebreak’s Purifier… if you’re lucky enough to find it.
- Weapon Inspect
- Weapon Inspect will be available by pressing left on the d-pad. Holding left on the d-pad will still activate the Callouts menu.
- Gestures and Callouts at the Victory Screen
- Players can now activate Gestures and Callouts during the Victory screen, so you can celebrate your #1 spot in style.
- Limited-Time Mode Stats
- With this update, all Limited-Time Modes will now feed stats directly to the new “Limited-Time Modes” filter in the Barracks. Previous Hot Pursuit stats will also populate to this new stat filter.
As we prepare for the launch of our next Zombies experience later this month with “Ancient Evil”, we’re shining the spotlight on the Aether story’s Primis crew in this update with our new “Hellcatraz” Gauntlet! Host migration for public matches also arrives along with fixes for Master Prestige players, plus stability and gameplay improvements for all players.
Here’s what’s in store for Zombies players in our newest update:
- Hellcatraz Gauntlet (PS4)
- Take on 30 rounds of new challenges as the Primis crew in “Hellcatraz”, our most exciting Zombies Gauntlet to date.
- Host Migration
- Public matches will now automatically continue with a new host if the current host drops out mid-game.
- Prestige Master Fixes
- We’re fixing several key issues for Prestige Master players in Zombies with this update, including XP inconsistencies and issues with properly displaying Prestige icons.
- Stability and Gameplay Improvements
- This update also delivers several crash fixes throughout the mode, as well as gameplay improvements across “IX”, “Blood of the Dead”, “Classified”, and “Dead of the Night”.