SegmentNextMechanics
Black Ops 4 runs on two rulebooks. Multiplayer is built around the Pick-10 loadout, a roster of ten Specialists, score-based streaks and a Prestige ladder with permanent unlock tokens. Zombies swapped the classic Perk-a-Cola line-up for fourteen perks with modifiers, and you commit to four of them before the match even starts. This guide walks through both, system by system, with the numbers pulled from our five detail pages.
Multiplayer perks: one pick per slot
Perks are passive effects that stay on for the whole match, and in the Pick-10 system they compete for the same points as attachments and equipment, so a bad perk choice weakens the entire loadout. They come in three groups. The first slot is about durability, the second about movement, the third about detection and stealth. Full breakdowns are on the Multiplayer Perks page; the table condenses them with the level each unlocks at.
| Slot | Perk | What it does | Unlocks at |
|---|---|---|---|
| Perk 1 | Scavenger | Refills ammo from fallen enemies | Level 1 |
| Perk 1 | Engineer | Shows enemy equipment and scorestreaks through walls, lets you re-roll and booby trap Care Packages | Level 1 |
| Perk 1 | Flak Jacket | Explosives deal less damage | Level 12 |
| Perk 1 | Tactical Mask | Resists 9-Bang, Concussion, Razor Wire, Reactor Core, Seeker, Tempest and fire, and counters UAV | Level 24 |
| Perk 2 | Lightweight | Faster sprint and no fall damage | Level 1 |
| Perk 2 | Skulker | Faster crouch and prone movement | Level 1 |
| Perk 2 | Cold Blooded | Resists enemy abilities, equipment and scorestreak targeting; AI spots you late and player streaks do not highlight you | Level 15 |
| Perk 2 | Gung-Ho | Fire and use equipment while sprinting, recover from sprint faster, reload at full speed | Level 30 |
| Perk 2 | Dexterity | Faster weapon swap, slide, climb and mantle, with better accuracy while jumping and mantling | Level 42 |
| Perk 3 | Ghost | Invisible to UAV while moving, planting or defusing, and while using scorestreaks | Level 1 |
| Perk 3 | Team Link | See friendlies through walls and share a fog of war circle with your team | Level 1 |
| Perk 3 | Dead Silence | Quieter movement and resistance to the Acoustic Sensor | Level 18 |
| Perk 3 | Tracker | Shows enemy footsteps and warns you when you enter enemy fog of war | Level 36 |
Scorestreaks: what each one costs
Streaks are earned with score, not kills, so capturing and defending objectives counts as much as gunfights. Die before you reach the threshold and the points reset. You can equip three, they stack as you earn them, and you cycle through them whenever the moment is right rather than using them at once. A COMSEC Device in one of your slots lowers every price. The Scorestreaks page describes each one in detail; here they are sorted from cheapest to most expensive.
| Scorestreak | Cost | With COMSEC | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Dart | 450 | 350 | A pilotable anti-personnel drone with three flight modes that Flak Jacket cannot stop |
| RC-XD | 500 | 400 | A remote-controlled car bomb |
| UAV | 550 | 450 | Live enemy positions; it can be destroyed with a single shot |
| Care Package | 600 | 500 | One random scorestreak from the whole pool |
| Counter UAV | 650 | 550 | Blinds enemy UAVs |
| Hellstorm | 850 | 700 | A guided missile you steer onto the enemy |
| Lightning Strike | 900 | 700 | A drone that zaps three fixed points once each |
| Mantis | 900 | 700 | A controllable spider bot with four missiles |
| Sentry Gun | 1,000 | 750 | A deployable turret our page rates the strongest streak when placed well |
| Drone Squad | 1,000 | 800 | Two autonomous turret drones that fire over cover, strong in Search and Destroy |
| Sniper's Nest | 1,050 | 850 | Two armored helicopters with snipers that hunt on their own |
| Attack Chopper | 1,200 | 950 | A helicopter that finds and kills enemies without input |
| Thresher (Strafe Run) | 1,250 | 1,000 | A jet pass that wipes bombs, rockets, bullets and enemy pushes |
| Strike Team | 1,350 | 1,050 | Two AI soldiers who hunt independently and score for you |
| Gunship | 1,600 | 1,350 | One minute in the gunner seat with missiles, flares, armor-piercing rounds and thermal vision |
Specialists: ten kits for five-a-side
Every match is 5 versus 5 and every player picks one of ten Specialists, each with a piece of equipment and a signature weapon. The roster covers tanks, healers, area denial and stealth, so a balanced team spreads its picks. Our Specialists page describes how each kit plays; this is the quick reference.
| Specialist | Equipment | Weapon |
|---|---|---|
| Ruin | Grapple Gun, a zip to nearby positions | Grav Slam, heavy damage in a radius |
| Seraph | Tac Deploy, a spawn beacon for the team | Annihilator, a revolver with lethal penetrating rounds |
| Battery | Cluster Grenade, sticks to surfaces before detonating | War Machine, a grenade launcher |
| Torque | Razor Wire, damages and slows anyone crossing it | Barricade, deployable cover that also slows and damages |
| Firebreak | Reactor Core, radiation that lowers maximum health and blocks healing | Purifier, a short-range flamethrower |
| Recon | Sensor Dart, reveals nearby enemies | Vision Pulse, a team-wide enemy reveal |
| Ajax | 9-Bang, a flash and stun that can be cooked for multiple bursts | Ballistic Shield with a built-in machine pistol |
| Crash | Assault Pack, ammo packs that add kill bonuses | TAK-5, heals the team and raises maximum health |
| Nomad | Mesh Mine, a lethal tripwire | K9-Unit, an attack dog sent to a location |
| Prophet | Seeker Shock Mine, chases and paralyses enemies | Tempest, an EMP rifle that incapacitates a target and nearby teammates |
Prestige: tokens, ranks and levelling fast
Prestige returns as the long-term ladder. After your first Prestige, every level reset hands you a Prestige Token, which permanently unlocks one weapon, perk or Specialist ability so it is available from level 1 on the next lap. Players who reached level 40 in the beta started the full game with a token in hand. Our Prestige page argues against spending tokens quickly and names two priorities: the Swordfish, which normally unlocks at level 55 and kills most targets in a single burst, and the VAPR-XKG, which it calls the best gun in the game. Reaching max Prestige is purely an experience race, and the page's advice boils down to five habits.
- Play objective modes. Planting and defusing in Search and Destroy or holding flags in Domination pays far more than kills, so favour Domination, Hardpoint and Search and Destroy over Free-for-All and Team Deathmatch.
- Work through challenges. Weapon, Specialist, attachment and kill challenges pay 500 to 1,500 experience each, and finishing a whole set pays 5,000. Track them so you know which are close.
- Play the Double XP weekends and promotional events Treyarch runs, which were frequent in the game's early months.
- Chain kills into Strikes and Mega Kills, and take assists, which pay a little less than kills.
- Run team-support streaks. UAV and Counter UAV earn experience every time they help the team, and stacking the two multiplies it.
Zombies perks: fourteen options, four slots, one modifier
Zombies dropped Juggernog and rebuilt the perk system from scratch. There are fourteen perks, you choose four before the match, and only those four appear on the Perk-a-Cola machines in that game. One of them can go in the modifier slot, which adds a bonus effect on top of the base perk. The Zombies Perks page covers every effect and the six picks our writers settled on; the table gives the full list with unlock levels.
| Perk | Effect | Unlocks at |
|---|---|---|
| Death Perception | Enemy movement on the minimap and enemies visible through nearby walls | Level 1 |
| Dying Wish | Fatal damage triggers nine seconds of invulnerable Berserk instead of a down, then returns you with 1 HP | Level 1 |
| Electric Burst | Reloading near enemies shocks them, harder the emptier the magazine was | Level 1 |
| Quick Revive | Faster revives and faster health regeneration | Level 1 |
| Stamin-Up | Faster stamina recovery, movement and sprint | Level 1 |
| Timeslip | Shorter cooldowns on equipment, traps and fast travel, and faster Mystery Box and Pack-a-Punch weapons | Level 1 |
| Stone-Cold Stronghold | A field that grants armor and extra damage while you stand inside it | Level 2 |
| Secret Sauce | A random perk from outside your chosen four | Level 6 |
| Victorious Tortoise | The shield absorbs damage from every angle and explodes when it breaks | Level 14 |
| Deadshot Dealer | Instant headshots when aiming down sights, less sway, recoil and hip-fire spread | Level 18 |
| Bandolier Bandit | Larger ammo capacity | Level 26 |
| Winter's Wail | An icy blast when you take melee damage that freezes most enemies and slows the rest | Level 30 |
| Mule Kick | A third primary weapon slot | Level 38 |
| PhD Slider | Slide once to charge, then slide into enemies for an explosion you are immune to | Level 42 |
The six our writers run
- Dying Wish, the Juggernog replacement. Berserk clears the zombies around you or buys an escape, it comes off cooldown for reuse, and in the modifier slot it restores full health when Berserk ends.
- Quick Revive, which now also speeds up health regeneration, so it matters solo as well as in a squad. As a modifier it gives both players full health on a revive.
- Stamin-Up, for maps this large and fast. In the modifier slot the sprint never runs out.
- Victorious Tortoise, which makes a raised shield cover you from every side and turns its destruction into an attack. The modifier lets the shield knock down mini-boss zombies.
- Winter's Wail, the Widow's Wine stand-in: two frost charges that freeze anything that hits you in melee, plus a third charge as a modifier, but spent charges cannot be recollected.
- Bandolier Bandit, more ammo per gun and slow regeneration for the weapon you are not holding, which is what keeps a Wonder Weapon fed.
Perks are also where Talismans plug in. The Amulets in the items guide make a chosen perk cheaper, give it to you at the start or stop you losing it, so pick your four first and then choose the Talisman that protects the one you cannot play without.
Where to go next
With a loadout settled, the maps guide takes each Zombies map's main quest in order and covers Blackout's unlocks, while the Black Ops 4 hub ties all three modes together.