The Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta gave everyone a chance to try out the online multiplayer of the game, offering a peek at some of the new changes to multiplayer coming with the game. While the core of the game is still the same kind of Call of Duty multiplayer everyone is used to, new movement tools and minor tweaks to player customization switch things up a bit to open up a wider pool of play styles for those looking to hop online. As someone who has played many multiplayer matches in the series, I have a few go-to ideas for setting up my loadouts and perks for my individual play style that has worked out in most Call of Duty games I've jumped into. But the changes to Black Ops 7 and how it approaches multiplayer have encouraged me to step out of my comfort zone and try out new things with my loadouts whenever I spawn into matches online.
While most people are pretty settled in their ways when it comes to playing a multiplayer game online, sometimes you just have to mix things up and try something different. Whether that means equipping different perks to your loadout or utilizing new items with varying effects, variety can really be the spice of life when playing online. And after spending a lot of time in the Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta, I found myself stepping out into uncharted territory for me as a player, and encountering a wide range of results. Here's how the multiplayer changes in Black Ops 7 made me want to experiment with different types of loadouts as I played online.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
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Released November 14, 2025
ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
Developer(s) Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher(s) Activision
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The Overclock expansion
Encouraging to try out new stuff
One of my favorite things from the beta is seeing how equipment can be expanded upon with Overclock modifications. These are extra changes that allow equipment to gain extra effects or bonuses, which can differentiate players that have a similar loadout. Certain lethal equipment can have a stronger or larger blast radius, while tactical equipment can offer additional effects that hinder enemy players in various ways. Using them more opens up the different modifications, and they can be equipped immediately when editing a loadout. It takes a bit to gain new mods in some cases, but the payoff for them is well-worth the effort, especially when you're playing a lot of matches in Black Ops 7.
What I like about this is how it convinced me to use different equipment more often with my loadouts, even when it was something that I never planned on using online. Items like the Pinpoint Grenade can detect enemies that are nearby on my mini-map, but eventually gains the ability to ping enemies for my allies as I use it in matches. Things like this give me an incentive to throw it out frequently before I enter a firefight, and eventually become a bigger asset to my teammates, provided I do so often. And the best part is that it only costs me a slot on my loadout, and can yield a pretty big payoff in matches. In the past, I would keep things like a flash bang or stun grenade, and sometimes never get to use it. But with the extra push for opening up more effects, I'm encouraged to make a better effort to do so.
Other equipment, both lethal and tactical, can be the same way, but it also applies to killstreaks that you have equipped. I began to play around with different killstreaks that I normally wouldn't use in the past, just to see if they can get even better if I was able to call them in, rather than the familiar UAV or RC-X I would typically have. The main focus is having me use them more often throughout the matches I play, and making them stronger or more effective. And much like everything else in Call of Duty multiplayer, the more you use something, the more you get rewarded with it.
Playing with perks
Hybrid specialties are great
The other change to multiplayer in Black Ops 7 is the way that perks are handled. Instead of forcing everyone to commit specific colored perks to gain specialty bonuses, now we can mix and match what we like. This yields hybrid specialties that give a boost to one play style or the other, while allowing multiple colors of perks to be equipped. The bonuses may not be as potent as when you have one type of color set of perks equipped, but it doesn't feel restrictive. It's something that lets me feel like I'm not prevented from seeing which perks might offer an extra edge to my individual play style, rather than what the game wants me to play like.
When the multiplayer beta was live, I would have multiple loadouts with different perk sets that would try out various combinations of perks. Often, I would find myself being more aggressive in matches, opting to capture points and seek out players, rather than hang back behind everyone else. So my loadouts would frequently cater to things that would boost my sprint, detect enemy footprints, and even offer some extra protection against lethal grenades. This would normally be a combination of colored perks that wouldn't allow me to get a bonus for playing my way in other Call of Duty games.
As I experimented with the many perks that opened up as my player level increased, I would end up going into my loadout every few matches to switch up which ones I wanted to try out. And my hybrid specialties would change as a result of that, enabling me to either be a better teammate that helped with assists or stay hidden when firing on enemies as I roamed the map. One can argue that staying with the complete set of colored perks will have the better overall benefits during a match, depending on what match type you play, but I never felt like I was without a bonus for the perks I was choosing to have. It made me feel like I wouldn't lose anything from going outside the box and using different perks for one type of match or the other.
Comfortable with new gun choices
Pushing to stretch out weapon options
Because of those changes to multiplayer that influenced my willingness to experiment, I also became curious about picking up different guns that were in the multiplayer beta. How it usually goes for most Call of Duty players is that everyone gravitates to one or two types of weapons that they like using, which ends up being what they have for most matches they play in moving forward. Some might try to use everything they can to get challenges and open up extra accessories, but most people will stick with a weapon they like the most. And while I've been the same way, being able to try out more of the other aspects of my loadouts made me wonder about how using different weapons would change that as well.
While the beta didn't have the full lineup of weapons that the final release of Black Ops 7 would include, there was enough for me to still jump between different sets of equipment. Instead of sticking with the MXR-17 assault rifle that I had used often when starting, I tried using the same perks and equipment set up with other guns, including a few different submachine guns and the light machine gun that was available, and shifting things in-between. And while the results of my matches were definitely varied, it did give me some time to approach matches differently with each weapon I tried out. Even some of the sniper rifles and shotguns that I used for a few matches were definitely outside my comfort zone for playing things like Domination and Kill Confirmed, where I would opt to stick with an assault rifle. But having the changes to my perks and shifting my priorities within matches as I used these different matches was a nice change of pace.
Would I stick with many of the gun options that I tried out in the full game? Probably not, because there's going to be more options to explore when the final game is released. But I at least was comfortable enough to be willing to step out into new territory with so much of the game encouraging me to do so. Something like that is never always going to be positive and life-changing, but knowing what works and what might not work is always a good benefit to have.
A better outlook on changing things
I honestly feel like my outlook on Call of Duty multiplayer has broadened in the time I spent playing in Black Ops 7 multiplayer beta. Being able to try out new things with the changes to perks and equipment was very interesting, and pushed me to mix things up with my chosen loadouts. As the full release of Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 draws near, I find that I'll have a stronger willingness to change my playstyle and chosen equipment when hopping into multiplayer online, because I feel like I'm not penalized for stepping outside my comfort zone. I can take chances with how I decide to play, and still be able to contribute to the matches I engage in, whether they are wins or loses. How far this will go will be very interesting to see when Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 finally releases on November 14, 2025.
Call of Duty: Black Ops 7
Like
Action
FPS
Sci-Fi
Systems
OpenCritic Reviews
Released November 14, 2025
ESRB Mature 17+ / Blood and Gore, Intense Violence, Strong Language, Suggestive Themes, Use of Drugs
Developer(s) Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher(s) Activision
5 Images
Where to play
Close
WHERE TO PLAY
DIGITAL
Engine IW Engine
Powered by Expand Collapse