Welcome to Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War. With its recent release and an influx of new players, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the many systems, game modes, and mechanics this title offers. Whether you’re a franchise veteran looking to catch up or completely new to Call of Duty, this beginner’s guide will help you ease into the Cold War experience and understand the game’s structure, from multiplayer and zombies to class setups and scorestreaks. Let’s break it all down, starting from the very basics.

Navigating the Main Menu

When you launch Cold War, you’ll be greeted with five main tabs: Campaign, Multiplayer, Warzone, Zombies, and Store. Let’s quickly unpack what each of them offers:

• Campaign: The traditional single-player story mode, offering a cinematic and narrative-driven experience.
• Warzone: While listed in the menu, this is not a new mode for Cold War. Selecting it will launch Modern Warfare’sWarzone, updated with new weapon integrations.
• Store: As expected, this is where you can purchase cosmetics, bundles, and promotional items.

But for the majority of players, especially those seeking long-term engagement, the real focus lies in Multiplayer and Zombies. Let’s dive deeper into those two pillars.

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Multiplayer: Modes, Loadouts, and Scorestreaks

Game Modes Explained

Once you enter multiplayer, you’ll find a wide selection of game modes. While some, like Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed, and Domination are familiar to most, others are newer or less known:

• VIP Escort: A 6v6 mode where one team protects a VIP while the other tries to eliminate them. The sides switch each round, and the first team to 4 points wins.
• Combined Arms: Think of it as Domination on steroids—larger maps, more players (up to 24), and vehicles like tanks and snowmobiles for added chaos.

These modes vary in pace and style. For beginners, it’s worth experimenting to find what suits your rhythm—whether that’s fast-paced action or strategic team play.

Class Creation System

Once you reach level 4, you unlock the ability to create your own custom loadouts. This system can be complex at first glance, but it forms the foundation of your playstyle. Here’s how it works:

• Primary Weapon: Choose from assault rifles, SMGs, tactical rifles, and LMGs. Initially, only one weapon per category is unlocked.
• Secondary Weapon: Includes pistols, shotguns, launchers, melee weapons, and specials. The special category houses the M79 grenade launcher—a unique weapon that delivers explosive damage.
• Tactical, Lethal, and Field Upgrade: These range from grenades to deployable gadgets that give you utility or protection.
• Perks: These give your character new abilities, such as the default Gung-Ho, which allows shooting while sprinting.
• Wildcard: A wildcard modifies your loadout rules—for example, letting you equip more attachments or extra throwables.

The sheer variety in class customization means you’ll have plenty to experiment with. Don’t worry if it feels like too much at first—over time, you’ll naturally gravitate toward setups that complement your playstyle.

Understanding Scorestreaks

Scorestreaks are another critical element of multiplayer. These are powerful abilities or tools like UAVs, attack helicopters, or care packages that you unlock by earning score during matches.

In Cold War, scorestreaks have a new twist: progress doesn’t reset when you die. Instead, it accumulates until you hit the required threshold. But there’s a catch—higher kill streaks within a single life grant more score, significantly accelerating your progress. For example, your fifth consecutive kill may give you ten times the score of your first.

• How to earn score: Kills, assists, and playing objectives (like capturing points or collecting dog tags) all contribute.
• Cooldowns: After using a streak, there’s a delay before you can begin earning progress toward it again.

Note: You select three scorestreaks pre-match and cannot change them during a game, so choose wisely.

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Zombies: PvE Survival and Upgrades

For players who prefer fighting AI enemies, Cold War’s Zombies mode is a deep and rewarding co-op experience. The main offerings include:

• Dead Ops Arcade: A top-down arcade-style survival game that offers endless zombie waves. It’s quirky, fun, and worth a try.
• Die Maschine – 20 Round & Endless: The primary Zombies experience. The 20-round version has a set goal, while the Endless version continues until you’re overwhelmed.

How Zombies Mode Works

In Die Maschine, your goal is survival—but with strategy. Here’s a breakdown of what you need to manage:

• Class Setup: Choose a primary weapon and a field upgrade like Frost Blast (default), Healing Aura, or Ring of Fire. These are support abilities that recharge over time and help you control crowds or stay alive.
• Credits System: You’ll earn credits primarily by killing zombies and repairing barricades. These are then used to:
  • Unlock doors to new areas
  • Buy weapons from wall-buys
  • Activate the power system—crucial to progression

Why Power Matters

Once activated, power opens access to the mystery box, which grants randomized high-tier weapons, and the Pack-a-Punch machine, which upgrades your weapons into laser-shooting death dealers.

You’ll also gain access to perks, which provide bonuses like increased health. These perks and upgrades are essential if you want to make it to Round 20 and beyond.

Power-Ups and Progression

As you fight, zombies occasionally drop power-ups with glowing green auras. These are game-changers, including:

• Max Ammo: Refills all weapons
• Insta-Kill: One-shot kills for a limited time

Used wisely, these can stretch your survival much further. The loop of earning credits, upgrading, unlocking, and surviving becomes more engaging with every wave.

Winning Die Maschine 20 Round

To win the 20-round version, you must:

1. Accumulate enough credits to unlock power and access key locations.
2. Secure perks, strong weapons (from the wall or mystery box), and Pack-a-Punch upgrades.
3. Reach Round 20 and survive the extraction timer by killing all remaining zombies.

Fail to do so, and the evac helicopter is destroyed. Succeed, and you’ve conquered one of Cold War’s biggest early challenges.

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Final Thoughts

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War brings a lot to the table—whether it’s high-stakes multiplayer, strategic PvE zombies, or story-driven campaign. While it may seem complex at first glance, this guide should help you build a strong foundation in both gameplay and systems.

Get familiar with class setups, try a few modes, and take time to experiment. There’s no single right way to play Cold War, but with the tools above, you’ll be equipped to find your own. Dive in, stay alert, and most importantly—have fun.

Good luck out there, soldier.