The black market of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 is under criticism. Many players find the effort for cosmetic items to be disproportionate. However, the tedious grind can be bypassed with real money. How much you need to spend has now been tested by a YouTuber.
Recently, microtransactions were introduced in Black Ops 4. Their introduction in the form of Call of Duty Points (COD Points) was not unexpected, but the implementation drove many fans to protest. A YouTuber has now tested how much money one has to spend if they want to get everything from the black market.
Here’s how much you need to pay if you want to get everything from the black market
What did the YouTuber do? The player MatMicMar spent a significant amount of money and went on a shopping spree on the black market of Black Ops 4.
With the COD Points, he bought additional ranks until he had all the cosmetic items that Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 has to offer in the currently ongoing operation (season).
The result: In total, MatMicMar spent around $1,000 – just for the cosmetic content of a single season! He received his last missing item at black market rank 936. The YouTuber shared this on Twitter. Corresponding videos are to follow shortly on his YouTube channel.
At tier 936, an in-game message indicated to him that he had exhausted all reserves of the black market and that there would be new content for him in the next operation. There was nothing special, like a unique item, for this “achievement.”
Now he could look for new special orders. These represent smaller shipments for the black market with their own cosmetic items, themed around a particular subject, motif, or game character.
MatMicMar mentioned that he could still progress in the black market ranks, so there seems to be no end in sight. However, with each additional rank up, one will only be rewarded with duplicates. His personal goal now is rank 1,000 – simply because it is cool.
For comparison: According to player calculations, it currently takes around 250 hours to reach rank 200 starting from scratch. From there, there are no set rewards anymore, just random cosmetic loot. Depending on “loot luck,” one may have all items by level 500. Or they may only reach nearly rank 1000.
By the way: The YouTuber who now owns all available cosmetic items states that apparently there is only one signature weapon among the cosmetics – the so-called Boombox. It is simply a special cosmetic variation of the SG12 shotgun with no gameplay advantages.
Many players had expected much more. Many have fought through the ranks in the hope that there are more of such cool weapon cosmetics – and as we can see now, apparently in vain.
Test provides additional fodder for black market criticism
What is the black market? The black market is a type of in-game shop where content can be earned through increasing game progress in multiplayer and blackout or can now also be purchased with real currency.
What is the problem with the black market? This is what players say: The black market faces some strong criticism in its current form.
Instead of adjusting the much-criticized, excessive grind for black market content, one can now purchase progress with real money. Many fans complain that the current progress system of the black market almost forces one to resort to real money.
The focus of criticism is on slow rank progress in the black market. Progress is not tied to individual player performance but rather to pure gameplay time. The effort involved is enormous and, according to many fans, still disproportionate even after adjustments that have already taken place.
For most players, it won’t be possible to reach level 200 in time through playing within the limited availability of the currently active smuggler’s goods stream – let alone rank 936. Due to the slow progress and time factor, one is almost forced to resort to microtransactions.
Even though the content of the black market is entirely cosmetic, the cosmetic items simultaneously represent the greatest incentive for further progress for many and make up a large part of character customization.
The fact that this artificially prolonged progress can now be compensated for with nearly $1,000 adds a whole new dimension to the debate.
Are these contents really worth this money? Is this even legal? What is the difference from loot boxes, when so many cosmetics in the game still depend on luck? These are just a few questions that fans are now asking on Reddit, YouTube, and Twitter. There are even claims of blatant extortion. It remains to be seen how and if Treyarch will react to these new insights.
What do you think about this? Has Black Ops 4 overstepped the mark and should overhaul its black market progress? Or is it not relevant in your eyes since it’s purely cosmetic content?
