Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, released last November, rekindled the long-lost fanbase of Activision’s most prized first-person shooter by rebooting the franchise and returning to its roots. Although Warzone became a massive hit, drawing in multiple millions of players and still remains the center of buzz for all things Call of Duty, Modern Warfare as a whole felt more like a love-letter to fans of the previous generation, exemplified by its elaborate Gunsmith and blueprints functionality.
As the Black Ops Cold War debut draws near, fears and woes increase over the potential loss of this highly detailed gun customization system with rumors of the Gunsmith being unavailable in COD 2020. Without it, despite having an enticing narrative and stellar near-next-gen graphics, Black Ops Cold War will nonetheless be missing a fan-favorite feature.
The Brilliance Of Modern Warfare’s Gunsmith
Though not without several issues, the weapons customization system in Modern Warfare instantly became one of the hallmarks of the game. Players could easily model their own gun variants in a multitude of directions, taking off the stock for faster sprinting, adding a laser for quicker ADS, extending the mag for additional ammo capacity, and much more. The immense detail and variety spawned record numbers of opinions on the best loadouts in the game, with an entire subreddit basing itself around this very concept.
Then, there are content creators, like Nemsk, who go out of their way to show the breadth of this customization component, specifically highlighting all of the many hidden weapons in the game made entirely via Gunsmith. If your favorite gun wasn’t already in Modern Warfare, don’t fret. With the Gunsmith, literally anything can be designed through some tweaking and custom fitting. It became so much of a success that Gunsmith was even added to Call of Duty: Mobile just last month, but for Black Ops fans, it’s nothing new.
The OG Black Ops III Gunsmith
Few may recall, but a very similar iteration of Gunsmith found its way into the third Black Ops title all the way back in 2015. Though promising, Black Ops III’s Gunsmith was a major disappointment, but there’s no denying the fact that it laid the groundwork for what is the now-beloved system in Modern Warfare. The only downside to this previous iteration was, of course, the no-stat change, as this form of Gunsmith focused mainly on cosmetics and was intended to maintain balance within the experience.
Fast forward to today, wherein unreleased sniper rifles and rampant hackers are the new forms of disappointment, Gunsmith has in many ways uplifted the tried-and-true Call of Duty gameplay and proven to be revolutionary in the FPS category. Cosmetics, in the form of camouflage, charms, stickers, and even reticles, have become arguably the second most important feature of Gunsmith. Players will tackle difficult challenges in order to unlock sleek weapon skins, like gold, Damascus, and obsidian. They’ve effectively evolved into a rite of passage within the community: “Don’t have Damascus? Git gud, bruh.”
Why Cold War Needs Gunsmith
Demand for its inclusion in Black Ops Cold War is ever-palpable. Given its past history in the Black Ops series, coupled with the success it has had in Modern Warfare, it only makes sense to inject Gunsmith into Cold War. The clear issues it currently has, what with hidden stats and useless attachments, could be amended all the while elevating the feature through some interesting updates.
For instance, a perk system for guns instead of perks being a gun attachment would be an interesting concept to try out, not to mention removable attachments (like the stock) also not requiring a mod slot. Some valuable components from the Pick 10 system could also be implemented, such as replacing a tactical grenade with an extra gun attachment, allowing for a slew of interesting gun redesigns and player loadouts.
Little info about Black Ops Cold War’s multiplayer component currently exists, with most eyes avariciously glued on that sweet campaign mode, not to mention a next-gen upgrade path that continues to make heads spin. All but rumors exist thus far, with a majority of them speculating that Gunsmith will not be in the game, yet with not even a single bit of multiplayer intel released from Treyarch, it’s hard to believe them all, especially given the outward adoration so awarded Modern Warfare’s current system.
For now, Call of Duty fans are left with nothing more than prayers as the release date for Black Ops Cold War grows closer and closer. If Call of Duty wants to stay on the good side of fans, including Gunsmith would be a great way to do so.
NEXT: Call Of Duty: Black Ops Cold War Will Feature Multiple Endings
