Everything We Know About Black Ops 4 Blackout Mode

It’s been a busy with a lot of news on Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s new Battle Royale mode, Blackout. GameInformer broke many stories in their new feature on Black Ops 4 as part of their newest issue of the GameInformer magazine, providing new details, images, and more of Blackout.

With so much news, we have dedicated a section that showcases all of the posts we have on the Blackout news from this week. But we also wanted to consolidate a single place for all of the new information.

With that, here’s everything we know about Blackout:

• Blackout Beta Player Count: 80 players. Treyarch has tested over 100 players but want to focus on quality versus number. Player count can changed based on feedback.
• There are five vehicles total, four confirmed:
  • Cargo Truck (holds one driver, four passengers)
  • ATV (one driver, one passenger)
  • Zodiac Inflatable Boat (one pilot, one passenger)
  • Little Bird Helicopter (one pilot, four passengers)
• The Cargo Truck can hold extra inventory, so if you run out of space in your backpack, the truck can be used to take more items with you.
• Helicopters will spawn at designated helipads on the map and on flat terrain areas. One pilot and passengers are free to look out and shoot down enemies.
• Players enter the map via a helicopter.
• All players have a wingsuit equipped and can use the wingusit at any point during the game. Wingsuits can also be used to jump out of helicopters and get to the ground safely
• Fall Damage is active
• Friendly Fire is on
• RPGs are available on the map and can be used to take out vehicles
• Max Health in Blackout is 150. There are numerous ways to heal, including basic bandages, trauma kits, and king-sized med-kits. Basic Bandages are unique in Blackout compared to other BR games because they can take you back to full health.
• Perks/Consumables are available in Blackout. These can be used for a limited time:
  • Paranoia: Gives an audio alert when you’re targeted by an enemy
  • Skulker: Move faster while crouched and prone
  • Stimulant: Increases max health by 100 points
  • Outlander: Reduced damage from circle. Increased speed while taking damage from circle.
  • Looter: Reveal nearby stashes and items
  • Iron Lungs: Hold your breath longer while shooting sniper rifles or diving underwater
  • Consumer: Reduces times it takes to use items, heal, or revive teammates by 20%.
• Players can carry 2 primary weapons.
• If you are not carrying a weapon, a melee knife is used
• Treyarch is targeting 60FPS for all platforms. There is no FPS lock
• There are 20 characters available in Blackout, with more to come post launch. Characters are unlocked via specific missions/objectives. The missions vary by each character. Characters include Black Ops campaign characters, MP specialists, Zombies casts, and new Blackout specific characters.
• Emotes are planned but not in beta
• Named-locations on the map:
  • Estates: The rich neighborhood has a giant helipad where Little Bard can spawn. Good location if you want a shot at getting a chopper early.
  • Construction Sites: The unfinished skyscraper has a ton of loot and lots of opportunities to base jump out of the high areas to safety if things get hot.
  • Array: A few slices of elevation and play centered around the big relay dish make for a brutal warzone with lots of cover.
  • Nuketown Island: Lots of gear underground in the bunkers and lively action potential above ground, spurred on by a sign that identifies how many players are active here.
  • Firing Range: The hottest of the hot spots if you want instant action with plenty of players this is your go-to destination.
  • Hydro Dam: Big base jumps and deadly falls make up the critical point at the end of the map’s length forking river.
  • Asylum: You never know if you’re going to run into zombies as well as other players landing here, and while an early zombie supply stash is tempting, undead interference during your early loot-and-scoot can be dangerous.
  • Cargo Docks: Lots of elevation changes, a ship to roam on, and a giant crane arm. Great place to pick up boat spawn.
  • Factory: Lots of battles that go indoor/outdoor, with rooftop ambush action.
  • Fracking Tower: Tower located in a depression, highly exposed to the hills surrounding it.
  • Turbine: Bridge-to-bridge combat, large internal and exterior areas. Lots of desert and rocks to battle behind.
  • Rivertown: Urban combat, building to building fighting, perfect for close range encounters. Only area on the map surrounded completely by water.
  • Train Station: Long sight lines and train car-to-train car combat.
• Treyarch Testing split-screen for Blackout
• Not a simulation
• Blackout might take place in North California
• Treyarch is not ruling out adding characters from other Call of Duty games, but they’re current plans include Treyarch based characters
• Blackout will have limited time events events to use/unlock certain content
• There are a few types of Armor
• No plans for players to pick up clothes in matches
• Weapons do not have a rarity variation in Blackout, Vahn states in the interview that it makes the rest of the game confusing
• Players can trade items between players, presumably within squads.
• Dead players will drop their stashes, which you can loot. If you pick up a weapon that is quest related, you can take over the quest.
• Zombies spawn at at least four locations at specific zombies based locations. You have to look for the ray out light. At each zombies specific location, there are be 5-8 zombies as Treyarch does not want to over spam the map with Zombies.
• In regards to zombies, unlocking Zombies-related characters in Blackout requires fighting the zombies on the map and investigating their locations.
• It’s possible circle can close in on pack of zombies
• Circle will be randomly directed in games. They don’t want it closing outside of the map or in water places too often.
• Blackout indirectly affects other game modes
• Blackout features a “victory quote” when you win, but specifics not revealed
• Blackout is all first person only; there’s no third person. “We develop first person shooters and put them on the internet.”
• The point of the beta is to ensure game tuning, item tuning, progression are all on track to the numbers Treyarch
• No information on Blackout going standalone, Vahn says he “makes the shoe” and not the business decisions’
• GameInformer asks if you can camp in a tub, Vahn says that won’t work and you won’t win like that.
• Players can find Ruin’s Grappling Hook and use this. Any character can use the hook, you don’t have to be Ruin to use it. Many specialist abilities are available on the map to find and use
• Horns on vehicles can be honked
• There’s no other weather than the day setting.
• There is a melee weapon in Blackout that has to do with Zombies
• Asked about Zombies lore, Vahn says “nova gas symbology, circle outside”
• Raven Software are working with Treyarch on Black Ops 4
• No voiced lines/dialogue between characters in BO4 in Blackout
• At least one Mason in Blackout
• There is no cross platform play
• The circle may be made of Nova Gas, Vahn says being caught outside is “bad news”
• Getting stuck outside causes player to hallucinate
• The circle can cause vehicles to malfunction. For example, helicopters may start to not function properly and crash.
• Blackout by the Numbers:
  • 3 tiers of health and armor
  • 8 primary ammunition types
  • 12 equipment items
  • 17 consumable perks
  • 17 weapons attachments
  • 24 different weapons
  • 125 items total
• Treyarch says that the Blackout map, throughout development period, has been re-booted 3 times.
• There will be more weapons, vehicles, items, map updates, and more on the way beyond launch.
• There are Special Chests that will spawn in at set locations on the map, but the chests may not spawn in every match. These chests contain “gold guns” that have pre-equipped attachments.
• When you pick up attachments, they will auto equip onto your primary weapons. Players can go to the menus and adjust as they like.
• There is a consumable reconnaissance robot in Blackout. You can prop up and search around the area to see where enemies are using the robot, but it leaves you exposed to being killed while you control the robot.
• There is basketball courts on the map. You can play basketball, but picking up the basketball takes up a primary weapon slot. There are other “just for fun” stuff on the map too.
• You can spectate other players once you are eliminated.
• Sensor Dart is available in Blackout and can share enemy location on radar. The dart can be stuck to a car/chopper to give info as you move across the map.
• You can open/close elements like garages, doors, etc.
• Bullet Drop is in Blackout and takes a bit to get used to compared to other Call of Duty modes
• The skyscraper in Blackout was originally “much, much taller” in the map, but Treyarch reduced its height because it would cause players to get dizzy running up/down.

And finally, here’s the Blackout map.

The Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 Blackout Private Beta begins on PlayStation 4 on September 10 at 10AM PT. Xbox One and PC players can join in on the Private Beta starting September 14 at 10AM PT, with a PC-only Open Beta going live September 15 at 10AM PT. The Blackout Beta ends on all platforms on September 17.

Information in the list in this post is collected from the GameInformer Cover Story.