NOTE: This thread is INSANELY long, so if you are cut for time or have A.D.D. try and at least some of the parts of the thread, you don't have to read it all.

I started playing Call of Duty with World at War, and then moved on the Modern Warfare 2, and now recently came back to WaW. I have experienced just about everything both of those games have to offer in multiplayer and I have some thoughts I would like to share that I personally think will improve the multiplayer experience in Black Ops. I'll divide the topics up and discuss a bit about each of them.

Killstreaks -

WaW and MW2 had very different killstreak layouts. Both had their advantages and disadvantages. First, here are my thoughts on World at War. WaW had a very simple 3-5-7 killstreak layout. One important thing I would like to point out is the Recon Plane killstreak. Everybody in MW2 has experienced their fair share of campers in every game. I feel that one of the prime reasons WaW does not suffer from the same is the fact that EVERYBODY has RECON PLANE in their killstreak. Whenever there is a recon plane in the air, people feel much safer when they move around the map, giving a more run and gun scenario than a campy scenario.

One other thought on world at war killstreaks, killstreaks should be thought out and carefully added into the game. I personally think Treyarch did a louzy job on the Dogs killstreak because the hit detection for dogs is absolutely atrocious. Just try and snipe a dog, you will see why.

Onto MW2, MW2 had a customizable killstreak layout which was very innovative and interesting. I think it was a very useful and unique addition to the game. The only real problem I see with the customizable killstreak is the fact that people camp more often to get their killstreaks. People look forward to the killstreaks in modern warfare 2 and many times, people will not even pay attention to the objective games because they want that Chopper Gunner so badly. ALSO, UAV is not required in MW2, which I think adds to the general camp fest in that game.

There is one tribute that both WaW and MW2 killstreaks share that I think should be completely revamped. That is the fact that killstreaks ADD to your next killstreak. If I get an artillery in world at war and kill 2 people with the artillery, I have my dogs. If I kill 4 people with my Harriers in Modern Warfare 2, I got my AC-130. Letting the killstreak play the game for you is not how Call of Duty should be played, but unfortunately the system promotes letting your killstreak work for you in the game. Therefore, I propose that killstreaks DO NOT ADD to your next killstreak. ALSO, I feel that killstreaks shouldn't even count of your "killstreak record" in general. So, if you get 20 killstreak with your gun and 7 with your kill streak, your killstreak record should be 20. That's just my opinion.

Also, the killstreaks need to be balanced. For instance the Attack Helicopter and Harrier should be about the same in terms of effectiveness. (Unfortunately it's not, the Harrier outshines the Attack Helicopter in almost every way possible) IF there is a general killstreak use that COMPLETELY overshadows a different killstreak.

Please allow killstreaks to stock up if you don't use them. Nothing is more annoying then getting dogs before you call in your artillery. Modern Warfare 2 had this right.

Some people have suggested a "cumulative" killstreak system where you can still get your killstreak even if you die. I do agree that this will remove camping, but I do see a big problem with this too. There will be WAY TOO MANY killstreaks going on at once. The airspace will be crowded all the time.

Weapon Balancing -

World at War and Modern Warfare 2 both suffer from weapon balancing. The problem I see with all of this is the fact that the evidence of why some guns are overpowered or never used is right in front of their face.

Why was the MP-40 so OBVIOUSLY overpowered? It does 50 damage within range, which is a 2 shot kill without stopping power. It also carried a VERY long sustained fire rate.

Why is the UMP the only SMG even used in MW2? Because it only loses 5 damage at long range and actually does MORE damage than most assault rifles at long, giving it a 3 shot kill across the map no matter the perk and no matter the attachment. Stuff like that has caused the multiplayer experience in WaW and MW2 to be rather frustrating.

So I think having a Beta version of Black Ops will be very necessary so Treyarch can get feedback on ideas they have for the game.

An important note: PLEASE bring back Idle sway on your guns! You shouldn't be able to hold everything but a sniper dead still, it just isn't right and allows for guns like SMG's to snipe people across the map which is hardly realistic. If your going to add idle sway to the snipers, you must add it to every other gun.

ALSO, a perfect example of something that WORKED and was in no way shape or form overpowered compared to others in the same class is the bolt actions of world at war.

There are all these talks about which bolt action is better or not. The truth is, they are the EXACT SAME WEAPONS other than they way they look in game. This is a perfect example of how weapons should be balanced. (Doesn't have to be the EXACT SAME, like I think the Type 99 and FG-42 both had their advantages and disadvantages, but overall they were balanced compared to each other).

Spawn System -

I can't even play for an hour in modern warfare 2 or world at war without experiencing an absolutely ridiculous spawn. (either me or an enemy) The system just needs to be redone. A lot of people will argue that modern warfare 2 spawns are worse, and I completely disagree. The reason why it SEEMS that MW2 spawns are worse is because killcams last a LOT longer in that game, so in many killcams you actually see the person die (most of the time to you), and then spawn, turn a corner and shoot you in the same killcam.

Actually a side note: killcam lengths should be about what they were in world at war, MW2's killcams are too long, and nobody watches them, it's too time consuming.

In world at war the spawn system is really bad, you just don't know about it as much because the killcams are short so usually they don't show the person dead then spawning.

You can easily see the spawn system problems in world at war when there is a recon plane in the sky, and all of the sudden you see the entire team spawn behind you.

One solution I think that should be added into the spawn systems is simple: Add more spawn points to maps. It just seems that there are too few spawn points, and that is causing part of the problem in Call of Duty games. I have no idea how the system works, all I know is the current system needs to be redone.

Joining Games -

I'll keep this one short. A lot of people complain when they search for a game, and they get put in a game where the score is 650 to 300, and the enemy has dogs and artillery and complete map control. Nobody likes being put in those games, so I offer a system that asks people if it is ok to join a game in progress. This would fix the problem of people being put in random games that are completely one sided.

Leaderboards -

When comparing leaderboards of modern warfare 2 and world at war, there is no question who wins... World at War. I love how you can view your stats on EACH GAME TYPE in world at war. Maybe adding some objective stats could be a cool addition in Black Ops? Modern Warfare 2 lacked the quality in leaderboards as you couldn't check your stats in different game types, you couldn't even check the stats of people currently in your lobby. Treyarch had the right idea on leaderboards, keep it up for Black Ops!

New Playlist Suggestion -

This suggestion actually already exists. There were people asking for a "Barebones" playlist for modern warfare 2, which is a playlist where there are no perks/attachments. I think that would be a cool addition for Black Ops. (Allow snipers to use scopes though...)

Perks -

Oh, the lovely perks. In World at War and Modern Warfare 2, there are some perks that are always used, and some that are never used. What that means is simple: there's a balance issue amongst perks. Stopping Power and Juggernaut I feel should be completely removed. (I know removing stopping power will SEVERELY irritate the snipers, so to compensate for that, I think there needs to be a general damage increase in snipers, much like having stopping power with a Springfield with sniper scope attached) Some perks that never got to see the light of day include shades, gas mask, lightweight, sitrep, and scrambler. There needs to be a balance and an actual useful purpose for the perks in comparison to others. (Sitrep Pro vs. Ninja Pro, Ninja wins any day because Sitrep Pro still struggles to hear ninja, but ninja has no problem hearing sitrep users). Some perks that I think were very good additions were perks like lightweight, hardline, and flak jacket. I also like the addition in modern warfare 2 with the Pro version of the perks.

There are some perks though, that should be COMPLETELY removed and never seen again. First, One Man Army, that perk has too many flaws. (danger close noob tubing, boosting, etc.) Another perk that just causes too many problems is Commando, nobody likes the perk, it just causes frustration. Call of Duty is a shooting game, being able to knife effectively should be a real hard challenge, not something you can do with relative ease. Martyrdom only caused frustration, which is the exact reason of why it should be removed. Last Stand was also just a pain in everybody's throat and more specifically hurt those players who used slower firing guns like snipers. I think Call of Duty would be better off without any varient of Last Stand. Booby Trapping your body on death though? That would be COOL!

Perks that counteract other perks should balance each other equally. Also, try to balance the tiers of perks too. (which perks should be blue, red, or green) This will require a lot of thought, but it is necessary to have a decent multiplayer experience.

*TREYARCH PLAY CLOSE ATTENTION TO THIS NEXT PART*

This next suggestion is for Treyarch. I think in order to respond to the community effectively and address different concerns is to have a database that records perk use, map use, killstreak use and weapon use. By keeping a record of all of this, it should be easy to tell when something a perk or weapons is overpowered or underpowered (you can tell this by the amount it is used) and what maps are effective and generally liked. I'm pretty sure you already have a database for world at war because you know the exact maps that were played and the kills with different weapons. (It was obvious the MP-40 was overpowered just by the amount of use it gets) (It is also obvious the Harrier is overpowered in comparison to the Attack Helicopter) ALSO, many people have suggested that you bring out some POLLS asking questions like "Would you rather see Shotguns as primaries or secondaries?" This would give Treyarch reasonable feedback from the community so it will help them create a better game.

Clipping-

*Idea suggested by Generation Skill*

"I'm not sure wether this is a community colloquialism so I'll explain. The cameras in COD are for some strange reason on a players forehead which leads to death by forehead where I can see only the tippy top of a player behind a crate whatever but they can quite easily see and shoot me. This is a major annoyance and seriously needs to go."

Explosives -

It is important to remember that Call of Duty is a shooting game, not an explosives game. People should not be able to rely solely and explosives and play well consistently. (They can in MW2 because of one man army danger close noob tube, one factor that contributed to the overall failure of the game) Explosives should be hard to use, and very tactical. I like the way they have claymore/bouncing betties/C4/RPG's. Those were all used for different situations and made the game more interesting. You should NEVER, and I mean NEVER be able to replenish explosives. This makes the game uninteresting because people just use explosives instead of their guns. (Claymore camping with Scavenger Pro/Noob tubing with one man army/thumping with scavenger) Grenades should be balanced with one another, not one that completely outdoes the other (Like Semtex vs. Frag in MW2) In MW2, the Frag did very little area damage compared to the Semtex which is why the semtex is always used and the Frag is never used. I think the Frag damage in WaW was about the way it should be. (maybe a TAD bit less) Special Grenades need to be balanced too. Finally, Grenade Launchers should TAKE YOUR FIRST PERK SLOT UP, just like World At War.

Weapon Attachments -

The first and main complaint I have with weapon attachments is the fact that different weapon attachments increase/decrease the damage the gun does. I'll bring the M1 in as an example. The M1 got a MAJOR damage increase when the sniper scope was added. I think that is rather illogical and I don't really see the point. (All bolt actions in WaW had a damage increase when scopes were attached) Some attachments decreased damage, like adding a silencer to a sniper in Modern Warfare 2. Instead of decreasing the range like normal silencers do, the silencers in MW2 actually just decreased damage altogether. That isn't right. I do like the way MW2 had you unlock weapon attachments, by using different weapon attachments to unlock others. HOWEVER, one thing I can't stand about weapon attachments is the fact that you unlock grenade launchers after ONLY 10 kills. That is absurd, it should be one of the last unlocked. If you allow extended mags for one type of class, you need to allow it for ALL CLASSES. (Why were SMG's so overused in WaW? They were the only guns with an extended mags option.) This rule applies for most attachments. Grenade launchers should be unlocked very close to last. (Treyarch had it RIGHT with the bolt actions of world at war unlocking the noob tubes LAST)

Characters - One person suggested having customizable characters. While it's not necessary in a Call of Duty game, it would sure be cool! Treyarch could make it similar to that of Halo 3 where you are able to customize your character layout with different armors.

Third Person - This was suggested by somebody else, and I had forgotten to talk about it! I think most people would like to see the return of third person game modes, and perhaps expand on it a little bit from MW2? It was kind of limited in MW2.

Camos - Please bring back Camos for the guns. I really don't know why camos were not brought back in World at War. There was no longer an incentive to get headshots. Bring back Camos, they are a great addition, and it gives something unique that people can work towards. Modern Warfare 2 did camos right, ALTHOUGH some camos for secondaries would be cool.

Secondary Weapons - I think secondaries should be limited to handguns and MAYBE some machine pistols. PLEASE no shotguns, make shotguns primaries and not secondaries, they were way too good in MW2 and could've easily been used as primaries.

Limb Damage - I think this topic should be a big focus. It always amazes me that the MP-40 takes the same # of shots to kill someone hitting them in the foot as a sniper in world at war. There needs to be an incentive to aim for the chest and head for ALL WEAPONS not just the snipers. Why somebody dies from two MP-40 bullets in the foot is beyond me. In Nazi Zombies, there was a CLEAR incentive to aim for the chest and head because you could kill zombies a LOT faster by shooting them in those places. This system should be added to multiplayer.

**My friend suggested this one**

Theater System - My friend made an excellent suggestion talking about adding a theater system similar to that of Halo 3. People like to save their shining moments, and what better than a theater system to do so! That would ALSO save people who record their gameplay (like me) LOADS of time because they don't have to record every single game they play just incase they hit that random triple kill with the sniper.

Well, this about sums up my thoughts and suggestions for Black Ops. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE post comments on what you guys feel should be done with Black Ops, and don't be afraid to disagree! I'm all up for debate.

Thanks a lot for making it this far, and I hope Treyarch will listen very closely to the Call of Duty community so they can come out with an excellent game that satisfies as many people as possible.

Thanks again.