Everything we know about Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War's Wildcards

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Cold War Wildcards allow players greater freedom in how they customize their loadouts.

how to use cod cold war wildcards
(Image credit: Activision)

Call of Duty: Cold War Wildcards are back. A feature in every Black Ops game since Black Ops II, Wildcards give players more freedom to create classes with all the perks, attachments, and equipment they desire. They'll add a new level of nuance to the loadout system from Modern Warfare, letting players skirt around certain systems, like the Gunsmith, that Infinity Ward put in place. 

Wildcards are a welcome addition to Call of Duty. Every Wildcard forces players to make a big decision. Do you want more attachments for your gun, or perks? Do you want extra grenades or another primary weapon?  Here's everything you need to know about Wildcards in CoD: Cold War to make those decisions easier.

What are Wildcards? 

Wildcards let players break the rules when building a loadout. They give players a ton of freedom when designing their ideal loadout, letting them choose extra perks, lethal equipment, tactical equipment, and attachments for their primary weapons in exchange for giving up a different customization option. 

All of the Wildcards featured in Black Ops Cold War change the create-a-class system in a big way. Law Breaker, for example, lets players equip two primary weapons. That's going to be a popular choice now that Overkill, a perk from Modern Warfare that let you equip two primaries weapons, is gone. 

What are the CoD: Cold War Wildcards?

Here are all the WildCards available in Cold War at launch:

  • Danger Close: Lets you equip an additional piece of lethal and tactical equipment. You'll also spawn with extra ammo. 
  • Gunfighter: Lets you equip three additional attachments to your main weapon. 
  • Law Breaker: Lets you equip any weapon class in any slot. You can also equip multiple Perks from the same Perk category.
  • Perk Greed: Lets you equip an extra perk in each perk category. 

(Image credit: Activision)
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While all four of these Wildcards are useful, Law Breaker and Gunfighter are the standouts. Law Breaker will effectively replace the Overkill perk while letting players attach perks like Ghost, which makes it much harder for enemy Spy Planes to detect you. That combo will be hard to match in many game modes. Gunfighter, on the other hand, will make wider array of firearms more viable in the ever-changing meta by letting players use attachments to compensate for any shortcomings their weapons may have. 

Danger Close seems to be the weakest of the four Wildcards. Two extra pieces of equipment simply isn't as useful as extra perks, an extra primary weapon, or extra attachments. Further Wildcards (alongside possible changes to the Wildcards above) could be added in future game updates. Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 includes eight Wildcards, for example. 

Wildcards from Black Ops 4 that don't appear in Cold War include Underkill (the ability to replace a primary weapon with a secondary one) and two different Operator Mods (weapon attachments that drastically change how a gun works). It's unlikely the Operator Mods are included in Cold War since that feature wasn't present in the Alpha or Beta.

How to use CoD: Cold War Wildcards?

Wildcards are equipped like all other weapons, perks, and equipment while creating a loadout. Once chosen, they'll also let you alter how the loadout is built. You should pick your Wildcards first as they'll shape what items you'll be able to choose from in other parts of the loadout. 

(Image credit: Activision)

How will Wildcards affect Warzone?

It isn't clear whether WildCards will be present in Warzone or not. Adding them could potentially throw off the mode's balance — giving players extra perks in a Battle Royale could make for lopsided combat. Wildcards were not present in Modern Warfare, nor were they equippable in Black Ops 4's battle royale mode, Blackout. But perhaps Treyarch will surprise everyone when Warzone is integrated with Black Ops Cold War in December.