Black Ops 6 Ranked Play has a major issue, here's what you need to know

Modified Nov 18, 2024 12:22 GMT

Two Operators emoting in front of the game — Black Ops 6 Ranked Play setting might do more harm than good (Image via Activision)

Black Ops 6 Ranked Play has a major problem, and no, it has nothing to do with the game's progression system or Skill Division. It all comes down to crossplay. In Black Ops 6 Ranked Play, crossplay will be always enabled, meaning users can't turn it off, irrespective of the platform they are on. This is not an issue in regular game modes as players can easily turn off crossplay and ensure they are only matched with those on the same platform and input device.

However, with Black Ops 6 Ranked Play, players will no longer have the option to turn it off. This may not seem like a problem, but it can ruin the competitive integrity of the game mode.

Note: Parts of this article are subjective and reflect the writer's opinion.

Crossplay will always be on in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play

Crossplay always being on in Black Ops 6 Ranked Play can create many issues. For a competitive mode, the primary idea is that all players are provided with a level playing field, allowing them to compete and come out on top.

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However, crossplay always being on might harm the controller or the console player, and the entire concept of a "level playing field" will cease to exist. It is well-known that mouse and keyboard players will always have the upper hand in a first-person shooter. The precision that a mouse delivers is something simply a controller cannot produce, even with aim assist.

In a competitive mode, if a controller player goes against a mouse player, chances are that the keyboard and mouse user will always come out on top. Although controller users can defeat a mouse and keyboard player, it is usually not the case for the vast majority.

Also read: When does Black Ops 6 Ranked Play start?

Hence, it would mean that the matchmaking isn't fair and the "level playing field" is completely gone since now one player has a distinct advantage over the other just because of a better input device.

Secondly, it also has a problem with cheaters. Call of Duty has a long history with cheaters, and despite continuous updates, the Ricochet anti-cheat does not do its job. Hence, console users typically turn off crossplay in other modes since cheating on a console is much more difficult than on a Windows PC.

This helps console users bypass potential cheaters on PC and ensure they are only matched against users on the same platform. However, Black Ops 6 Ranked Play having crossplay always turned on takes away the players' ability to match only against others on their own platforms.

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In fact, in the previous entries, the Ranked Play leaderboards in all games were dominated by cheaters. COD had to go on a purging spree to ensure that all the cheaters were punished and the leaderboards were also reset to reflect only the legit players. In these ban waves, many innocent players were restricted from playing the game including pros like BobbyPoff.

With such an unstable method of punishing cheaters, the only way for console players to avoid such a fate is to turn off crossplay and play with users of their own platform.

Hence, Black Ops 6 Ranked Play having crossplay always turned on can cause significant issues for players, especially those on consoles.

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Edited by Adarsh J Kumar