Ugh, okay, so I finally hit Prestige Master in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. And honestly, I was good with just leaving it there—like, who needs to keep grinding, right? I’ve popped into the game a bunch, mainly to mess around with new Zombies maps like Shattered Veil. Somehow, along the way, I picked up those slick Dark Aether and Dark Matter camos for my fave guns. And yeah, I managed to complete everything on the Zombies Calling Cards and grabbed all the Trophies—even though I swore I’d never collect them all thanks to CoD’s annoying Platinum issues. Guess I lied to myself? Anyway, I was ready to hit pause on Black Ops 6 and move on. But nope, Treyarch just threw a wrench in my plans with a new patch.
Now, one thing I gotta say about Black Ops 6? The classic Prestige system is seriously cool, and Treyarch’s rewards for each Prestige level are even better. You could snag some awesome weapon blueprints—a rifle that looks like something out of the giant robots from Origins, or get this, a zombified Weaver Operator skin. But reaching Prestige Master? Let’s say it’s kinda underwhelming. Sure, unlocking Prestige icons from older games is neat, but is it enough to keep you grinding? Not really, at least for me. The so-called grand reward is more like an anticlimax.
So a little nugget from Treyarch hinted that Black Ops 7 would tie into Black Ops 2. If you’re one of those level 1000 players, you get to access Samuels, a not-so-iconic character from BO2’s storyline. He’s not exactly a household name compared to Harper, David Mason, or that big baddie Raul Menendez. Add to it, Samuels didn’t really talk—well, unless you count “smooth… too smooth” over and over. It’s like they made him just to say, “Hey, look at this cool status symbol.” But in this latest update? Bam! Now he’s got a ton of voice lines, making him actually fun. Honestly, I kinda feel like diving back in.
Ah, yeah, so shoutout to @ModenasHD on Twitter for pointing out how hilarious Samuels is now. Seriously, his voice lines in BO6 Zombies are golden. Sample this: “They say 50 is the new 20” when you hit round 50. Clever, right? And when using the Cryofreeze mod on zombies, he quips, “That’s what you get for giving me the cold shoulder.” I love when he says, “Grass… must touch grass” at round 100. Let’s be real, who even hits round 100 without a little insanity? Oh, and hitting the Mystery Box? “Gimme a Ray Gun!” Honestly, it’s like he’s speaking for all of us.
Now, I’m betting anyone invested in the Dark Aether plot will still opt for a Terminus crew member for first runs or Easter eggs. But for casual fun? Picking Samuels is suddenly appealing, enough to make me wanna unlock him and hear him chatter.
By the way, Black Ops 7’s buzz is starting to build up. Treyarch fixing the level 1000 reward in Black Ops 6 is super timely, don’t ya think? There’s a real shot Samuels could return alongside David Mason in the new game. With his shiny new personality, maybe folks will actually grow attached to him and want him in future co-op campaigns. As for me? I wasn’t rushing to max level, but now? Yeah, it’s suddenly tempting.
