Cinematic Arias

And so it begins. I started my fifth prestige. For those that read my previous gaming post, I failed miserably at the play-wager-match-before-you-prestige-so-you-can-start-wth-some-cash plan. I wound up playing One In The Chamber on Array (I don’t ever do well on this map) and got my a$$ handed to me.

Still, no worries. I start over again ready to fight my way up the ranks. My first major obstacle: the default classes.

For those scratching their heads but not scared off yet, the Black Ops multiplayer is built around classes, sometimes called loadouts. Normally these customizable classes let you choose 3 perks (each grants you an ability), a primary and secondary weapon, a lethal and tactical grenade and a piece of equipment. You can then have one class for when you want to be a stealthy sniper, another for when you want to run around with an Uzi and murder other players as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, when you’re starting out at level one, regardless if this is your 1st or 15th prestige, you’re stuck using the default classes. Allow me to break these default classes down for you.

SMG

This might be one of the best (definitely the most popular) default classes available. The MP5K submachine gun and ASP pistol make for a great, fast firing pair while the Lightweight (allows you to run faster), Steady Aim (greater accuracy when hip firing) and Marathon (allows you to sprint for a longer amount of time) perks let you run and gun until your twitchy trigger finger’s content.

CQB

If your close quarter battle (CQB) strategy is to 1) toss a Concussion Grenade, 2) race in and spray the room with your Olympia shotgun and 3) quickly reload thanks to Sleight of Hand [cuts reload time in half] or 4) toss a Semtex and run, then this is your loadout. My one complaint is that Hardline (lowers all Killstreak requirements by one kill) seems like an after thought. Certainly Ghost (which prevents you from showing up on the enemy’s radar) or Lightweight (so you can quickly rush into combat, then out of danger) would have better served this build.

Assault

This strikes me as the wonkiest of the default classes. So the M16/ASP combo works just fine, but those Perks. First, as the M16 is a burst fire weapon and it has a moderate rate of fire, why would you ever need Scavenger (allows you to resupply ammo and grenades from fallen enemies)? You’re not going to burn through ammo that fast with this assault rifle. Second, as the M16 is meant to be a medium-long range weapon of precision, why would you ever want Steady Aim. If someone surprises you as you round a corner, you’ll really want your ASP handy; the M16 is not a run & gun assault rifle. Still, sometimes you gotta love Second Chance (instead of dying right away, you fall to the ground and pull out your pistol, giving you a chance to settle the score) and how it can pwn the enemy.

LMG

This might be the second best default class. Flak Jacket (you take less damage from explosives), Hardened (your bullets can better penetrate thin walls and hit an enemy) and Hacker (allows you to detect enemy equipment and explosives) all work nicely to make this machine gunner one tough S.O.B. Adding the M72 LAW just makes him that much more of a force to recon with.

Sniper

This is another “almost got it right” class for me. Ghost and Scout (allows you to hold your breath longer while aiming down a sniper scope, therefore giving you a steadier shot) are great when you’re slinking around the edges of the battlefield looking to pick guys off with your Dragunov, but Ninja? Ninja (your footsteps are 75% quieter) is great for close quarters combat but when you’re off on your own looking for sniping nests, it’s just not that useful.

Unfortunately, none of the default classes grant you attachments for your weapons nor do they give you a piece of equipment (Boo!) .

Luckily, after one game of Headquarters on Discovery I reached level 4, or the rank of Private First Class, which allows me to customize my loadouts. Goodbye to the default classes. Time to start grinding

But enough of that gibberish. Here’s some video of me taking down the enemy with each of the default classes.

Although Modern Warfare 3 comes out in just a few months, and Battlefield 3 even sooner than that, I’m still grinding away at Black Ops. In fact, I’m about to start my 5th prestige and in (dis)honor of this, I’ve decided to do a little blogging about my forthcoming gaming experience.

(Like I’ve said in previous posts, I’m looking for material that’ll help me generate blog updates and this one seemed like a no-brainer. Gaming is grinding, writing is grinding, so why not you-got-your-chocolate-in-my-peanut-butter-wait-you-got-your-peanut-butter-in-my-chocolate these two?)

But before I say “adieu” to my current prestige, how about something for the statswhores out there.

My current win/loss ratio = 0.45

My current kill/death ratio (KDR) = 0.63

Analysis: I’m not a great player.

My favorite weapon/most kills: AK74u

Yeah, that sounds right. I build one of my favorite loadouts around this gun (but that’s for a different post) and it’s no surprise I racked up 2247 kills with 12.55% accuracy (trust me, that’s good for me).

[If you're a real gaming nerd, you'll know these videos I'm about to post. If not, please check out XboxAhoy's incomplete set (damn you, Call of Duty Elite) of Black Ops weapon guides. If you're not a gamer, these videos are part "History Channel", part "pro tips for gamers". They're very well made so they're worth a click. Here's the AK74u video.]

My most accurate weapon & best KDR (meaning I killed a bunch of guys with this gun but rarely got killed by it): L96A1

Okay, that’s just weird because I don’t consider myself a sniper. I don’t understand how I have a 0.78 KDR with 52.1% accuracy with this weapon.  It’s always one of the last guns I purchase and I only bring it out when I need to complete a headshot challenge or I’m trying to pro Scout. But maybe that’s why these stats are so unusually high.

Worst KDR = 0.18 (meaning I got killed, A LOT, by this gun but hardly killed anyone with it): RPK

Really? I guess I make good machine gun fodder.

Worst accuracy = 8.35%: M60

Now this doesn’t surprise me because every time I equip this gun I just hold down the trigger and hope to hit something.

Note to self, avoid the Light Machine Guns (LMG)

And with that bit of knowledge and reflection, I’m ready to start my 5th prestige. In case you’re wondering what’s a “prestige”, it means I say “adios” to all my former achievements and I start over from square one. I have to unlock all my guns, perks and ranks all over again.

That means “hello” to the default classes, most of which don’t work for me. I’ll probably run the SMG or LMG loadouts (guess I already forgot my “note to myself”) until I reach Private First Class and unlock the Create-A-Class .

I only have one goal this prestige: to pro all my perks before it’s time to prestige once again (I’m not gonna prestige again). I also have a very deliberate plan for purchasing perks, weapons and gear but I’ll be sharing that in future posts.  Lastly, I might try that play-wager-match-just-before-you-prestige glitch to see if I can start off with a little extra cash in my virtual pocket.

But for now, let’s remember some of my former glories before I hit the big, bright & shiny “reset” button.

As if one video game post weren’t enough…

Okay, let me put this right out there: I’m terrible at Black Ops. It’s a good day when my K:D ratio hovers around 0.50, which is very frustrating. This isn’t helped by the fact that everyone I get matched against is on their 15th prestige, can absorb a clip and a half of bullets yet can kill me from across the map with a single shot from their Famas. What worse, all my online buddies love to play Team Deathmatch. I hate TDM (where I usually end up 3:28). I’m not only better with objective games, I just find them more fun.

Anyway, I was ready to retire the game when I saw something I’d never seen before: Mercenary Moshpit. Knowing nothing about it, I gave it a shot. It’s freakin’ awesome. It’s a randomized objective game with randomized teams. One game it’s Search & Destroy with a 14 year-old Rambo, the next it’s Headquarters against him.

Goddamn you Black Ops, you sucked me back in.

If you play a lot of Black Ops (like moi) then you’re always looking for the perfect loadout. According to IGN, here’s what the pros use.

Honestly, I would of thought Ghost would have been up there; it always seems that everyone on the other team is running Ghost. Me, I favor Hardline-Sleight of Hand-Hacker or Scavenger-Warlord-Second Chance.

What about you?