Introducing: Heist

Weekend 2 of the Black Ops 4 Beta is here and we’re happy to kick off Day 1 with an all-new game mode – Heist. Heist offers an entirely new style of play for Black Ops that dramatically changes up the gameplay to bring together some unique strategies and teamwork.

Heist is playable now, but before you jump into a match we thought we’d give you some insight and tips on making the most out of this game mode.

The Rules

Each team’s objective is to secure a bag of cash and deliver it to a helicopter at the extraction point to successfully complete the heist. The extraction point will be randomly selected on the map once the cash bag has been picked up by either team. All players have only one life per round but can be revived if a teammate reaches them in time. Each round lasts 3 minutes and the first team to win 4 rounds wins the game.

There is a catch -- Heist has no Create-a-Class, and Specialist weapons are not in play. In between rounds, players are given the opportunity to spend the money they’ve earned during each round to purchase primary and secondary weapons, equipment, Scorestreaks, and other upgrades.

If you’ve ever played Zombies, you’ll get the idea quickly: you earn “money” from in-game activities including getting hits, downs, EKIAs, Scorestreaks, destroying equipment, completing objectives, and winning OR losing the round. So, with that much on the table, how will you spend your hard-stolen cash to upgrade your load-out?

Time To Go Shopping

At the start of round 1, everyone has $500 and a pistol. The $500 doesn’t get you much, but once you get into the rounds there’s a lot in store…

• Scorestreaks – These will cost a pretty penny but can be used to clinch a victory. The Counter UAV is particularly helpful as UAVs sweep the map periodically during the final minute of each round, revealing enemies in the Fog of War.
• Equipment – This includes common equipment like Molotovs and Frag Grenades and Special Issue Equipment like Recon’s Sensor Dart and Nomad’s Mesh Mine. Specialists are nothing more than character selections in this mode, so regardless of the Specialist you choose, you can acquire and use any equipment available.
• Armor – There are 3 levels of armor ranging from $500 - $2000 that can be acquired. If it is not destroyed, it will remain active for the next round.
• Primary Weapons – This roster includes all primary weapons available in the game for variable cost. Each weapon can also be upgraded with attachments. Attachments are tiered, so certain ones must be acquired before others. Weapons carry over between rounds and you start every round with a single magazine of ammo for each of your guns.
• Secondary Weapons – This category works the same as Primary Weapons, but only includes pistols, launchers and shotguns.
• Assault, Mobility, Support, and Reconnaissance - The last 4 categories offer 3 tiers of perks accompanied by a Gear item like Acoustic Sensor or Stim Shot in the third tier. Each category of perks serves to amplify different playstyles that can ultimately win games. Support includes a medic perk which allows you to revive teammates faster with max health. Reconnaissance features Ghost, Mobility includes Gung-Ho, and the Assault category begins with Scavenger, so you can forgo ammo buys.

 
All items that are unused carry over between rounds, with the exception of ammo and health packs. Any damage taken by your Armor also carries over to the next round, so you’ll need to rebuy if you want to replenish to full Armor. Communicate with your teammates to collective buy and share items. For instance, instead of each player buying ammo, one player can purchase an assault pack to share ammo with the entire team.

Some Tips

Players can be revived in this game. If your health meter depletes, you are “downed” but not out. If you can avoid taking a final blow, a teammate can revive you back to 50 health. Also, if you revive a teammate you earn $500, so it pays to help.

You can carry two health packs at a time, and each will heal you up to 75 HP. The health icon will feature a small “2” in the bottom right-hand corner to let you know you are carrying the max health packs.

You earn money for everything: money for hits, money for downing someone, money for kills, money for reviving a teammate… money everywhere. With this in mind, learn to spend your money wisely. Communicate with teammates so no one buys duplicate items and consider saving to make big purchases that can be gamechangers.

The extraction point only activates and appears on the mini-map after someone has grabbed the cash. However, the extraction point smoke marker is available at the beginning of the game, so keep an eye out for the red smoke and let your teammates know where the extraction point will be. Why does that matter you ask? Read on to our next point…

The cash bag leaks money. Once you grab the cash, the money starts to slowly drain, so make sure to get to the extraction point as fast as you can. Knowing this might add a bit of urgency if you’re “strapped for cash.”

We’ve had a lot of fun making this game mode at the studio, and we’re ready to hear what the community thinks at this early stage. If you are looking for more insight on Heist - watch our Friday Game with Devs to see the Heist action. Or get online and try it for yourself!

Heist is now live in the Black Ops 4 Beta until August 13 at 10AM PT.

Have fun out there!

Treyarch