The sound of footsteps often plays a crucial role in the blackout mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4. We show you how to interpret them correctly, what they reveal about you and your opponents, and how to manipulate them.
No matter if at the beginning of a Blackout round or already in the final phase of a match – the sounds of footsteps are a factor that cannot be neglected, often deciding victory or defeat in battle.
Footsteps can not only reveal players, they can also provide valuable information about the enemy. But they can also be changed and used to your advantage. We have gathered all the important information about footsteps in Blackout for you.
How to Interpret Footsteps Correctly – What the Footsteps Reveal
The sounds of footsteps reveal a lot about your opponents. You can not only deduce the approximate direction of the enemy but also their distance and the type of armor the opponent is wearing – especially when you play with headphones.
The Distance to the Enemy
If neither you nor the enemy use perks that manipulate the noise level of footsteps, you will be able to hear the opponent for the first time at a fixed distance.
This distance is greater than many players would suspect. With a shorter distance, the footsteps become more distinctly audible.
Depending on the surface, the sounds of footsteps can also change. For example, you hear the enemy differently in the grass through the rustling and even a bit better. However, the distance at which you hear the first footsteps does not change because of this.
If you already hear an enemy, you can estimate the radius in which they are located and which direction they are coming from. You can then either track them or avoid the enemy – depending on the danger level and your equipment.
The Type of Armor
In addition to the distance, the sounds of footsteps tell you what type of armor your opponent is wearing when listened to carefully. The armor has no effect on the distance at which you can first hear the enemy. This distance remains unchanged – no matter if with or without armor.
However, the closer the enemy gets, the more audible the differences between the three armor levels become. With heavier armor, the sounds of footsteps become not only increasingly louder but also noticeably stronger and bass-heavy.
A Level III wearer can thus be clearly distinguished from an opponent with Level I armor or no armor at all. The heavier the armor, the easier it becomes to recognize the approaching wearer – even in combat.
This way, you can decide situationally whether to engage an enemy or prefer to remain hidden because you are still too weakly equipped.
Watch and listen to the following video from TheXclusiveAce – preferably with headphones:
How to Manipulate Footsteps
However, there are several ways to change the noise level of footsteps – through perks.
Perks do not represent permanent advantages in Blackout but are basically consumable items. They can be collected and later consumed. This then triggers a temporary effect that gives you an advantage.
For example, for a certain time, you can hear others earlier and better or reduce the volume of your own footsteps.
The Perk Dead Silence – How to Move Quieter
With this perk, you move quietly, and the sounds of opening containers are reduced. In addition, the distance at which the enemy can first hear your footsteps is altered. This is reduced by about 80%. Ideal for sneaking into attack range unnoticed.
If you wear armor, it has no effect on the distance, volume, or intensity of the sounds of footsteps when Dead Silence is active – regardless of the armor level.
However, note: Your footsteps do not become completely silent, as the name of the perk might suggest.
The Perk Awareness – How to Hear Your Enemies Better
Awareness does the exact opposite of Dead Silence. With it, all steps and other sounds can be heard twice as loud. Ideal for maintaining an overview and a tactical advantage.
This way, you can hear enemies much better and, above all, earlier. The distance at which you hear the first enemy footsteps is increased by the perk by about 20% – 25%.
This does have a downside, though. Because although you can sometimes hear the enemy acoustically before you even see them, the increased sound level can sometimes lead to confusion.
Sometimes it really sounds as if the enemy is about to stab you in the back – even though they are actually still far away.
The acoustic difference between the various armor levels is clearly audible with this perk, by the way.
Dead Silence vs Awareness – What Happens?
What actually happens when you have Awareness and your enemy has Dead Silence (or vice versa)? Is one perk stronger than the other?
No. In this case, both perks simply neutralize each other. The sounds of footsteps behave as if no perks are active at all.
The Perk Skulker – Dead Silence for the Poor
The Skulker perk is another way to reduce your footsteps – provided you crouch. Because when crouching, you move much faster and also do so more quietly.
Skulker is a quite good alternative to Dead Silence if you haven’t found this perk yet. The audible distance is reduced just like with Dead Silence.
However, the noise reduction of Skulker does not reach the level of Dead Silence. Therefore, Skulker is often considered “Dead Silence for the poor” among fans.
But in the heat and noise of battle, you can also approach your enemies unnoticed with Skulker and surprise them at an unfavorable moment.
