To enter a quick match with your party - have one member of the party join a game. Once in the lobby, the other party members must open their Xbox Social List by pressing [RB] then highlight the previous player that joined the game and select Join by pressing [Y]. Alternatively, the party member in intermission can invite all party members to that intermission lobby using [LB].
2) What is the Leaderboard ranking based off of?
The Leaderboard ranks all players based on how many kills they have. More kills equate to a higher placement on the leaderboards. Only players with the full version of the game can appear on the ranked leaderboards.
3) What are Weapon Tags?
Weapon Tags are trinkets that the player can attach to each of their primary weapons. Weapon Tags allow players to personalize their weapon and come with various statistic boosts. Only one Tag can be applied per weapon at one time. Users can experiment with the various weapon tags to find out which suits their preference of style and play.
4) How do I use Weapon Tags?
To equip a weapon tag, select the Armory option in the main menu and choose the weapon loadout that you wish to add a weapon tag to. This will take you to the weapon preset select screen. From here, select Primary Weapon and then select the Equipped Primary option to access the weapon customization screen. Choose the Weapon Tags option at the bottom of the list to open a selection of Weapon Tags to equip.
5) What are some of the stats that Weapon Tags can impact?
The Weapon Tag stats can modify the following: melee attack speed, sprint duration, sprint recharge rate, movement speed, maximum health, health recharge rate, maximum health recharge threshold, switch weapon speed, weapon reload speed, HRV duration or HRV recharge rate. Players can experiment with the various weapon tags to find out which suits them and their style of play best.
6) What do the three stat icons in the loadouts represent?
These stat icons represent Lethality (the bullets symbol), Mobility (the >>> symbol), and Survivability (the shield symbol). These stats are based on and affect a number of different factors including: maximum health, sprint speed, damage, accuracy, weapon spread, weapon kick, HRV time, weapon switch speed, weapon reload speed and more.
7) How do I customize my weapon?
To customize a weapon, select the Armory option in the main menu or during a game Intermission. From there, choose one of the four loadouts that you wish to edit. This will take the player to a detailed information page of the selected loadout. Select either the Primary or Secondary weapon to enter the preset weapon selection screen. From here, the player can choose a preset weapon configuration or dive deeper into the customization by selecting the icon of a gun broken apart under ‘Equipped Primary.’ This will open a menu where you can equip different muzzles, barrels, stocks, weapon tags, camo colors, grips and magazines.
8) How do I customize my character?
In the Armory menu, choose a loadout then choose Armor. In this menu the player can choose their armor and camo from the Order and the Blacklight factions.
9) What is the UNLOCK CODE option in the menu?
From time to time Ignition Entertainment may release promotional codes to unlock additional content in the game. This location is where one would unlock such content when available.
10) How do I cook a grenade?
To cook a grenade, simply press and hold the grenade button - [B] on Xbox, [Circle] on PS3, [3/4] on PC. Don’t hold it too long or it will blow up in your hand!
11) Are players with the same clan tag aligned to the same team?
Players that share the same clan tag will have a better chance of being on the same team. This is to help friends end up on the same team when playing Quick Match. However, this can be overridden based on the ratio of clan to non-clan members in a team match.
12) What is the Social List?
The Social List shows all friends and party members currently active in BlackLight: Tango Down. One can access the Social List by hitting the SOCIAL button from any menu - [RB] for Xbox, [TRIANGLE] for PS3 and [INSERT] on PC.
Friend status is displayed via color. Friends that are offline will appear grayed out, online will appear as light blue, available to join in progress will appear as teal and friends who have invited you to a game will display as yellow. All party members will appear as dark green.
The Social List is your tool for quickly inviting friends to Black Ops, Private Match of Quick Match intermissions.
13) How do I use the Social List?
To use the Social list hit the social list button from any menu - [RB] for Xbox, [TRIANGLE] for PS3 and [INSERT] on PC. Select the player you wish to join or invite and follow the onscreen prompts.
14) What is Private Match and how do I play it?
Private Match is for hosting and playing games with only people that the player chooses. Whomever creates the match is defined as the host and at the end of each round this host can choose the next match and game mode. Users cannot join a friend who is in a private match unless they are invited or are in the same party.
Although Private Match is great for friendly play and practice, no EXP can be gained in this mode.
15) How do I bring my friends or party into Black Ops?
Players can invite members to their Black Ops session via the Social List. Alternatively one can use the Guide button for the Xbox and PC versions.
16) What is the health station and how do I use it?
When players take damage they will automatically regenerate to 50% of their total health. Health stations allow the player to regenerate health above that threshold and restore it to maximum. These stations can be easily spotted in HRV and are associated with medical cross symbol.
To use Health recharge stations, simply walk up to the station and stand near it. As long as you are within a close distance of the station you will begin to regenerate health.
17) What is an ammo station and how do I use it?
Ammo stations allow the player to refill your ammunition and explosives. To use Ammo recharge stations, simply walk up to the station and stand near it. As long as you are within a close distance of the station you will begin to refill your ammunition. These stations can be easily spotted in HRV mode and are associated with an ammo icon.
18) What is HRV and how do I use it?
HRV stands for Hyper Reality Visor and is an advanced piece of equipment that allows players to view objectives, teammates and enemies through walls and other objects that obscure the line of sight. HRV can be activated or deactivated by hitting UP on the Directional Pad on Xbox and PS3 or (V) on PC. The HRV can only be used for a limited amount of time and requires a cooldown period once deactivated. This period increases the longer you spend in HRV for any given amount of time. Weapons are disabled when the HRV is activated so use it strategically and with caution.
19) How do I take over a control point in Domination?
There are two ways to take over a control point in Domination - either stand in the vicinity of the control point and wait for the takeover animation to complete or hack the station. Keep in mind that if you are taking over a control point via the first method, increasing the number of players in the vicinity of the control point increases the speed it is taken over.
Hacking requires the player to successfully complete a mini-game to accomplish the hack. To hack a control point, walk up to it and hit the button sequence as prompted on-screen. Repeat the pattern as it is shown using either the directional pad or the face buttons on a control pad. On the PC, users will have to repeat the pattern by clicking on each the four quadrants with the mouse.
A control point cannot be captured if it is in a contested state - which is when two or more players on opposite teams are near it and/or fighting over it.
20) How do I plant the bomb in Detonate?
To plant a bomb in Detonate, stand near the target and follow the onscreen prompt to activate the mini-game. This mini-game’s objective is simply to align all the triangles to the center. To do this on the Xbox or PS3, use left and right on the directional pad or the left and right face buttons if playing on a pad for the Xbox or PS3. On the PC, to align the triangles use the left and right mouse buttons. Doing so will move the currently selected triangle to either the left of the right. Once you have moved a triangle to the center you will be prompted to do the same for the following triangle until all have been centered. Once all the triangles are properly aligned the bomb will be planted.
21) Can I defuse a planted bomb in Detonate? If so, how?
Yes, you can defuse the bomb. Defuse the bomb through the same method used to plant one (See Q. 20).
22) Why can’t I carry the bomb or a Retrieval canister into my base?
In order to prevent players from camping with the bomb or the retrieval canister, the game does not allow players to take it into their base. If you enter your spawn, you will see an onscreen notification indicating that you have dropped the bomb or canister. Simply go back, pick it up and return to the main gameplay area outside of your spawn.
23) Why are there turrets in team spawns?
The turrets are there to prevent opponents from entering the spawn area.
24) If I suicide in Deathmatch, does it count against my score?
Yes, it does.
25) Do turret kills count towards the team score in Team Deathmatch?
Yes, they do. If your team’s turret kills an opponent it will add to your team’s total score. This is to prevent players from committing suicide in order to deny kills to the other team.
26) How do I pick up an opponent or teammates weapon?
Simply stand over a weapon that has been dropped and hold the button indicated by the onscreen prompt. The prompt will not appear if you are not close enough to the weapon. Picking up weapons is a good way to see what weapon combinations are being used by opponents and friends.
27) Can I gain experience and rank by playing Black Ops?
Yes, you can. Kills in Black Ops net you a different amount of EXP then in Quick Match. However, successfully completing a Black Ops mission nets you extra EXP on top of kills.
28) How do I change cameras or follow different players when I am spectating?
When spectating the player can switch between various camera placements or one can follow their teammates. To change camera angles or the player being followed:
On the Xbox, [A] and [X] switches between stage cameras and player follow. Clicking [L3] or [R3] cycles through the available camera or players.
On the PS3, [X] and [SQUARE] switches between stage cameras and player follow while [L3] and [R3] function the same as on the Xbox.
On the PC [SPACE] switches between stage cameras and player follow. [X] cycles through the available cameras or players depending on what you are currently viewing.
Note: After you are killed you will briefly spectate your killer though you cannot cycle through players on your killer’s team.
29) Why can’t I join my friends in progress when they are playing Quick Match?
This is the current protected nature of Quick Matches. Our quick match games are ranked which ensures player’s gameplay stats are tracked and reported accurately. You can, however, join a Quick Match during intermission. You can also invite your friends and party during intermission as well.
30) What is Deathmatch?
In Deathmatch it is every man for himself. The player that either reaches the kill limit first or has the highest score (kills) at the end of the time limit is the winner.
31) What is Team Deathmatch?
Team Deathmatch pits two teams against one another. The team that either reaches the kill limit or has the highest combined score (kills) within a set time limit wins the match. Work together with your teammates for victory!
32) What is Retrieval?
In Retrieval, each team defends their own data canister which contains sensitive information that must not fall into enemy hands. Your objective is to steal the enemies' canister and return it to your team's canister base. You cannot score points if your canister is in the hands of the enemy. Just remember to keep your own base carefully guarded or the opposing team might steal your canister…along with your pride!
33) What is Detonate?
A neutral bomb sits in the center of the map. Grab the bomb before your enemy and plant it at their base. Defend the bomb until it detonates or risk your enemies defusing and planting it your base.
34) What is Domination?
In Domination there are a number of designated control points that teams fight for control over. There are two ways to capture control points – standing within the radius until the control point has been successfully taken over or hacking them (See Q.19). A successfully hacked control point causes it to immediately switch teams. Once hacked, a control point cannot be taken over for a set period of time. Teams earn points over time for each control point they possess. The winning team is the first team to reach a set number of points in the match.
35) What is Last Man Standing?
A standard Deathmatch game (see Q. 30) but without the ability to respawn until the round is over. The last player left alive is the winner. One must keep winning rounds until they reach a set number of points required to win the overall match - or have the highest score when the match time expires. If two players have won an equal number of rounds when time expires, the player with the most kills wins.
36) What is Last Team Standing?
Last Team Standing follows the same rules as Team Deathmatch (see Q. 31) except players cannot repsawn from death until the round is over. Points are awarded to the team that survives the round. The first team that reaches a set number of points is the winner.
Note: Turrets are disabled in this mode.
37) What did the most recent XBLA update do?
This update was in the works before the release to address certain system related functional issues and does not include any gameplay tweeks. One high priority fix in the update addresses a problem some users were experiencing in which they were unable to play the full version of the game when it was purchased on one console and then transferred to another.