The so-called “Peekers-Advantage” is a phenomenon in Call of Duty that gives aggressive players a graphical advantage. An expert has now demonstrated, using examples from Black Ops Cold War and Battle Royale Warzone, how significant the advantages are in the current CoDs and how you can use them to your advantage.
What is the “Peekers-Advantage”? It refers to an inaccurate synchronization of character models and their field of view in Call of Duty. This results in players who come around a corner seeing a stationary opponent first. “Peek” or “peeking” refers to taking a look or the movement around a corner/cover, and “Advantage” is the benefit.
This is a well-known phenomenon in CoD and also a topic in the latest titles of the series. The CoD expert “JGOD” has taken a closer look at the “mechanic” in Warzone and Cold War and illustrates that this advantage is not to be underestimated in both titles. MeinMMO shows you the results of his analysis and what lies behind it.
Peekers-Advantage gives aggressive players an edge
What does the advantage look like? Basically, it is about players in motion and with good movement benefiting from a deviating representation of character models and the field of view. Consider the following situation:
- A player runs across the map and turns around a corner
- Another player is sitting behind that corner waiting for someone to come
Ideally, the “camper” would have the advantage in this situation. However, the “Peekers-Advantage” ensures that the running player sees the camper first. That’s just a few moments. But in shooters like Call of Duty, which have a very low Time-to-Kill, that makes a significant difference.
To illustrate the advantage, we show you an image depicting the same moment in a match from two different perspectives. The two images above are from Cold War, the ones below from Warzone:
In both situations, the player who shoots directly around the corner has the advantage. In the fields of view of the players at a “disadvantage,” the opponents are not visible yet, but the “rushers” can already start aiming and secure the “Peekers-Advantage.”
How can I use this to my advantage? The first step is taken – you know the mechanic and now realize that this advantage exists. If you know the enemy’s position and can use a corner to attack them, you have a slight advantage – if the weapon is right.
With movement tricks, you can further enhance this advantage. The faster you come around the corner, the more you benefit from the “advantage.” Slides, perks, and gear that increase your speed also increase the asynchronicity of the fields of view. This results in a greater advantage for the “peeker.”
If you want to see JGOD’s analysis for yourself and experience the advantages in moving images, we include his English video here:
Error or Intent – It’s Hard to Say for Certain
Why does the Peekers-Advantage exist? Many factors contribute to this issue. For JGOD, however, the main reasons are a mix of the netcode infrastructure and the graphical requirements in Call of Duty:
- The character models move so quickly that the server cannot provide a synchronous representation of the movement
- The field of view additionally favors the “peekers”
JGOD states that the synchronization problems of the servers are understandable. However, what bothers him a bit is the inaccuracy of the camera. Because even if a player benefits from a higher ping and the server synchronizes enemy positions very quickly, the “peeker” still has the advantage even with a worse connection. The skewed field of view allows the “Peekers-Advantage” to persist.
The problem is not as severe as it was a few years ago. The CoDs with jetpacks and “augmented movement,” like Infinite Warfare from 2016, provided much greater advantages for “peekers.” The high speeds led to an above-average advantage for rushers, making the games faster, and in some situations, a bit unfair.
Intent or Not? This cannot be definitively clarified. Currently, there is little developers can do against the server-side inaccuracies in synchronization. Especially for players with really good connections. However, the asynchronous fields of view are a factor that can be significantly influenced by the CoD developers.
JGOD calls the player camera “broken” and says, “That’s just how it works in Call of Duty.” On the other hand, there could also be a deeper logic behind it to disadvantage campers and players who use less movement for their gameplay. It may even be that a CoD without the “Peekers-Advantage” would be less fun, as camping would become even more pronounced. We could not find critical comments from CoD developers on this matter during our research.
If you want to know more about the “Peekers-Advantage,” we link to two English developer blogs on the topic here:
- Graphics card developer Nvidia examines the problem from the hardware side (via nvidia.com)
- Ubisoft explains “Peekers-Advantage” in Rainbow Six Siege and how they are addressing it (via ubisoft.com)
It is important that you are aware of this advantage and work with it. It gives you a slight edge against campers in Call of Duty when you attack a position around the corner. However, you will quickly find yourself at a disadvantage if you are more exposed or want to defend a position. CoD is an aggressive, fast-paced shooter, and often you have an advantage when you play Call of Duty that way.
How you can gain another speed advantage is explained here: CoD Warzone: How to equip your armor faster and save crucial time.
