Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War seems set to introduced one new perk with each Survival map, leaving three slots left to fill when it comes to DLC additions. With the official perk lineup leaked awhile back, though, fans already know the perks that are going to be released for Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies mode. Throughout the game’s next few seasons, Mule Kick, PhD Flopper, and Double Tap will be making their grand returns to the popular survival mode.
While Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War could improve Mule Kick through Perk tiers and fans will likely be most excited for the debut of Flopper, there is a strong case that can be made for Double Tap being added next instead. While holding three weapons and having explosive damage immunity would be nice, the double damage provided by the 2.0 version of the perk could fix the Zombies meta. Instantly improving a vast majority of the weapons in the mode, players could be encouraged to try out a new playstyle — meaning that fun could be had in the high rounds without the same handful of guns being used.
The Flaws Of The Current Zombies Meta
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s Zombies weapon lineup may boast a bunch of guns to choose from, but the reality is that many of these weapons are useless from Round 30 onward. While Snipers are weak due to low bullet penetration, Assault Rifles, Tactical Rifles, and SMGs all suffer from low damage. While LMGs and Pistols are fine classes, both are simply outclassed by the existence of Shotguns. As such, players are at a disadvantage whenever they are using something other than the Streetsweeper, Gallo SA12, or the truly overpowered Hauer 77.
While one solution would be to simply nerf the Shotgun class, that seems like the wrong move in a PvE game. After all, shotguns in Zombies have been powerful for years, as it makes sense for the close-range weapon class to tear through the hordes of the undead. Further, strong guns are not hurting anyone in a PvE game mode, and it is undeniably fun to gun down a Panzer Soldat or Megaton with a few shells from the Hauer. As such, nerfing the class is not the move, as the other weapon categories should simply be buffed instead.
Currently, weapons that are not in the Shotgun category struggle from a lack of damage. With their attachments only providing a minor boost to this statistic, it is easy to understand why this issue exists. While Treyarch could go in and rework every damage-related attachment to make the guns stronger, this would not solve the issue seen with their fire rates. However, one Call of Duty Zombies perk instantly solves all the issues tied to the mode’s weapons, and it is none other than Double Tap Root Beer.
How Double Tap Solves The Issue
In its original incarnation, Double Tap Root Beer gave Call of Duty Zombies fans a faster fire rate. A 33% increase, this faster fire rate saw Zombies dying quicker — though it ultimately burned through magazines. As such, it could sometimes become a negative perk to have equipped, as SMGs and Assault Rifles saw their clips being emptied in seconds. LMGs, on the other hand, benefitted greatly from this change, becoming stronger than ever before due to the boosted rate of fire and large magazines to offset its negatives.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 Zombies, however, the perk went from a decently beneficial bonus to a must-have buff. In fact, it became one of the core reasons for the creation of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4’s divisive perk system, as like Juggernog Double Tap was considered a must-buy perk. Becoming a crutch perk that players needed to succeed due to its double damage, this variant was unbelievably powerful. Still, it was fun to see how much of a difference it made, and it was a fan favorite for obvious reasons.
With Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War boasting a new Zombies meta that is reliant on perk tier upgrades, these two versions of Double Tap could be combined to create an even better version of the perk. Further, with there no longer being a limit on how many perks can be held, there is no such thing as a crutch perk anymore. As such, Double Tap is free to be as strong as Treyarch wants to make it — though there does need to be some level of balancing involved.
How To Keep Double Tap Balanced
Double Tap 3.0 could boast any number of abilities, as Treyarch has used Elemental Pop and Tombstone to combine the effects of less popular perks with stronger options. Still, it is fun to speculate as to what this upcoming addition to Zombies could look like. As such, here are some potential perk tiers for a new version of Double Tap.
- Tier 1: The first tier of this new version of Double Tap could serve as a better version of its 1.0 version. Players could be given a 50% boost to the fire rate of fully automatic weapons — instantly improving Assault Rifles, LMGs, and SMGs.
- Tier 2: An experimental second tier could see anything from an increase to melee speed to the doubling of salvage drops. Still, one fun ability would be a 25% chance to pull ammo from the stock, meaning that players would be punished a bit less for the perk’s fast fire rate.
- Tier 3: The tier of Double Tap could see it becoming much like its 2.0 self. Much like how Tombstone’s third tier brought back its original function, tier three of Double Tap could bring back the double damage boost for fully automatic weapons.
- Tier 4: This tier could he used to remove the fire rate cap on single fire weapons like Tactical Rifles and Shotguns, essentially along players to fire as fast as they pull the trigger. Tier 2’s stock ammo ability chances could be raised to 50% as well.
- Tier 5: Finally, a maxed out Double Tap could provide double damage for single fire weapons. This way, if players want to wield an even more powerful Shotgun, they need to invest several crystals into the perk.
While Double Tap could ultimately look nothing like this, including some of these abilities would instantly make almost all of the mode’s weapons viable. While Shotguns would rightfully remain on top, players who want to use something else would not be at a major disadvantage like they are right now. With so many of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War’s best weapon blueprints being for guns that are useless inside of Zombies, another buff for the mode’s less popular weapons is long overdue. Such a buff would instantly happen with the arrival of Double Tap, making it a prime candidate for the next perk addition.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.
