Professional Call of Duty player Patrick ‘ACHES’ Price has explained why players who used sniper rifles had such a massive advantage over everyone else in Black Ops 4.
ACHES, who is a restricted free agent following the end of the 2019 season, competed for Team Envy throughout Black Ops 4, and has one of the most impressive resumes in CoD esports, including two World Championships and as part of CompLexity, one of the most dominant teams of all time.
Following the conclusion of the season, the 25-year-old has taken aim at Black Ops 4’s sniper rifles, and explained how one specific decision from Treyarch made them far too powerful.
While playing Black Ops 3 with fellow pro players, ACHES and caster Anthony ‘NAMELESS’ Wheeler discussed how difficult it was to punish snipers who miss their shot, with the two-time World Champion comparing it to the issues they had with Black Ops 4.
“Think about fucking Black Ops 4,” a frustrated ACHES stated live on stream. “You didn’t have a smoke grenade. You couldn’t punish a sniper!”
“That’s why [eUnited pro player] Simp had a 2.0 [kill/death ratio] on Arsenal. You couldn’t stop him from sniping back steps. Treyarch’s been making bullshit.”
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Throughout Black Ops 4’s cycle, many called on Treyarch to add a smoke grenade to the game, but the developers continuously refrained, leading to those with pin-point accuracy with the weapon in their hands dominating opponents, especially in Search & Destroy.
The incredible strength of these weapons means that if you get caught in the crosshairs of an enemy, they can usually take you down in one shot, and with no smoke grenade to give you cover from their sightline, you can become a sitting duck if you happen to peek at the wrong moment.
Whether Modern Warfare will have similar issues remains to be seen, but it’s clear ACHES would prefer it if they were able to counteract the destructive power of opposing sniper rifles.