Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 adds the Monolithic Suppressor to both BO6 multiplayer and the battle royale Warzone. Surprise, surprise, though, the Monolithic Suppressor unlock requirement in the menu is actually incorrect, and it's not earned through the armory like many other equipment items.

While the answer is much simpler than you'd expect, it is unfortunately very time-consuming—don't shoot the messenger. Here's what you need to do to get the new Monolithic Suppressor attachment, and what it does.

How to unlock the Monolithic Suppressor in BO6 and Warzone

To get the Monolithic Suppressor in BO6 and Warzone, all you'll need to do is reach page seven in the Season 3 battle pass and spend an unlock token on it. It's a free reward, so all players can claim it. Thankfully, it's not the page completion reward, so you can at least unlock it slightly sooner, though it's still 28 unlocks in at best.

If you check the attachment in the gunsmith menu, you'll be told you need to "unlock at none level 1," which…literally doesn't make any sense. Unlike most other attachments, the Monolithic Suppressor is not tied to weapon progression whatsoever, so this should actually just send you to the battle pass instead.

Given that this new attachment is only available from the battle pass, it's going to take quite some time to unlock it. To speed things up, make sure to complete your daily challenges for bonus XP. If you're a PvP fan but desperately want the new suppressor, I recommend hopping into zombies, as this generally gives you more battle pass progression per hour.

The Monolithic Suppressor increases range and bullet velocity, combining the benefits of a suppressor with the popular Reinforced Barrel. However, it reduces aim walking steadiness and aim down sight speed, which are quite significant downsides, so pair it with other attachments that boost handling like the Commando or Quickdraw Grip.

Alongside two new assault rifles, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 also adds a new sniper, the powerful HDR. As with all snipers, the HDR is incredibly slow and clunky right out of the box. It'll take the best BO6 HDR loadout to make this sniper competitive. A sniper that can't quickscope is no sniper at all (at least by Call of Duty standards).

I'll go over the attachments you'll need to make the best HDR build in BO6. I've also included a strong class setup if you're unsure what to bring with you into the battlefield.

It won't take too long to get this new sniper if you don't have it already. All you have to do to unlock the HDR is finish page three in the Season 3 battle pass. New weapons are free, so you don't have to buy the pass to add them to your collection.

Best Black Ops 6 HDR loadout

The best HDR build is:

• Barrel: Gain-Twist Barrel
• Magazine: Fast Mag 2
• Stock: Combat Stock
• Laser: Strelok Laser
• Optic: Prismatech 4x

As always with snipers, the goal is to improve aim down sight speed so you can keep up with enemies in close range. It's Call of Duty, so that's most of the time. The Fast Mag 2, the Combat Stock, and Strelok Laser are fantastic for exactly that.

While the upgraded Fast Mag does further reduce your magazine capacity (down to just four shots), it makes up for it by significantly boosting your aim down sight speed, as well as reload and sprint to fire speed. Likewise, the Combat Stock improves aim down sight and sprint to fire speed, aim walking speed, and flinch resistance. That's a hell of a lot of upgrades in a single attachment.

The only drawback is that it can't be used with grips, so you can't also have the incredible Quickdraw Grip—though this frees up an attachment slot for an optic. The Strelok Laser doesn't improve aiming speed, but does boost accuracy, making quickscoping more reliable.

Then, there's the ever-popular Gain-Twist Barrel, a staple for sniper builds. Since snipers already have all the range you could ever need, all that's left to improve is the bullet velocity, which this barrel has in spades.

With one attachment slot left and little in the way of valuable stat-boosting attachments remaining, I recommend picking an optic. The standard scope is far from terrible, but a lower zoom like the Prismatech 4x, the Willis 3x, the Kepler Red Dot, or even the Kepler Microflex are great options. These let you duke it out at close range, dropping enemies with a single shot like a shotgun blast.

HDR class setup

Here’s my recommended HDR class setup:

• Secondary: Grekhova
• Tactical: Stim Shot
• Lethal: Semtex
• Field Upgrade: Trophy System
• Perk 1: Dexterity
• Perk 2: Hunter's Instinct
• Perk 3: Slipstream
• Perk 4: Ghost
• Specialty: Enforcer
• Wildcard: Perk Greed

This loadout uses the Enforcer specialty, which increases movement speed and health regeneration after each kill, to keep the ball rolling. Since you're not quite as versatile with a sniper as you are with an SMG or assault rifle, it's more important than ever. So, you'll need three Enforcer perks.

Dexterity reduces weapon motion when using movement, making it much easier to consistently land shots. With the build's improvements to movement and aiming, why not take it to the logical conclusion? Don't be afraid to jump around just because you're using a sniper.

Next, go for Hunter's Instinct. This marks a nearby enemy each time you kill someone, alerting you to an enemy and giving you a target to hunt down at the same time. Fast Hand is a tempting option in this slot, though you'll lose the specialty bonus unless you choose it as your bonus perk below.

In the third slot, choose Slipstream or Double Time. Splitstream is generally the better option, though if you're too used to using tac sprint, stick to Double Time.

Because this loadout uses the Perk Greed wildcard, you can also choose a bonus perk. I'd suggest either Ghost or Ninja, though Fast Hands is an option too if you'd like a more reliable sidearm.

The equipment selection is what you've come to expect from the meta. Stim Shot and Semtex are the top picks, though there are still other good options like Drill Charges if you're looking to change things up. Since you're more likely to stick to one area and lock it down with a sniper like the HDR, I've opted for the Trophy System, though the Acoustic Amp is as good as always.

The Kilo 141 is one of two new assault rifles arriving in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3, alongside the CR-56 AMAX. Both are strong contenders, but the best BO6 Kilo 141 loadout is undoubtedly more popular since it's an old favourite finally making its return with Verdansk.

Below, I'll go over the attachments that you need to make the best Kilo 141 build in BO6, alongside a supporting class setup if you're unsure what to run. Despite being an iconic Warzone (2019) weapon, the Kilo is a bit vanilla, so the loadout isn't all that revolutionary.

Best Black Ops 6 Kilo 141 loadout

The best Kilo 141 build is:

• Optic: Kepler Microflex
• Muzzle: Ported Compensator
• Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
• Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
• Magazine: Extended Mag 1
• Rear Grip: Commando Grip
• Stock: Balanced Stock
• Fire Mods: Rapid Fire

By default, the Kilo struggles with strong vertical and horizontal pull, very quickly veering off to the left. Even with good recoil control, you'll have a hard time staying on target. To combat this, I recommend the Ported Compensator and Vertical Foregrip. While the Standard Compensator has greater vertical recoil control, its ported counterpart adds first-shot recoil control, which greatly improves your chances of landing the vital first two shots. Meanwhile, the Vertical Foregrip drastically reduces the horizontal pull.

The Reinforced Barrel shows its face yet again, as it does with almost all assault rifles, boosting range and bullet velocity–it's hard to say no. The Short Barrel can be a fun alternative if you're a bunny-hopper (curse you), but it blocks important muzzle attachments.

To improve the overall handling, use an optic like the Kepler Microflex or Merlin Reflex, the Commando Grip, and the Balanced Stock. As much as I love to save an attachment slot and keep things basic, the Kilo's default iron sights aren't great, so an optic goes a long way. The Commando Grip improves aim and firing delay speeds during almost all actions, and the Balanced Stock boosts all types of movement speed. All in all, you're much more agile now.

Lastly, I recommend the Rapid Fire mod and Extended Mag 1. With the muzzle, barrel, and grip equipped, the downsides of the rapid fire mod are easily outweighed, treating you to a 10% increase in fire rate and so speeding up your time-to-kill. Since you'll be shooting at over 800 RPM now, the no-negatives extended mag works wonders. You could opt for an even larger magazine, though the downsides quickly stack up.

Kilo 141 class setup

Here’s my recommended Kilo 141 class setup:

• Secondary: 9mm PM
• Tactical: Stim Shot
• Lethal: Semtex
• Field Upgrade: Acoustic Amp
• Perk 1: Dexterity
• Perk 2: Hunter's Instinct
• Perk 3: Double Time/Slipstream
• Specialty: Enforcer
• Wildcard: Gunfighter

The most important options here are the perks, as these also unlock a specialty. With three enforcer perks, you get a powerful buff that increases movement speed and health regeneration after each kill.

Dexterity is the best enforcer perk in the first slot, significantly reducing weapon motion when jumping, sliding, or diving. In other words, you can leap all over the place and still land shots. It takes some getting used to, but you'll be the enemy's worst nightmare. The addition of Hunter's Instinct, which marks a nearby enemy each time you kill someone, finally gives the enforcer specialty a good perk in the second slot. The third slot is a toss-up between Slipstream and Double Time, decided by how much you use tac sprint.

Moving on to equipment, there are plenty of good options. I like the Acoustic Amp field upgrade to track nearby enemies, which is great given all the Ninja perk players running around, though the trophy system and scrambler are strong alternatives.

Since this Kilo build uses more than five attachments, the Gunfighter wildcard is a must. This is necessary to equip up to eight attachments so you can squeeze in an optic without cutting out stat-boosting attachments.

How to unlock the Kilo 141 in BO6

To unlock the Kilo 141 in BO6 multiplayer, you need to download and play Warzone. That's it. In fact, you don't even need to play a match; you just have to boot up the battle royale once, and you'll be gifted it before reaching the main menu.

Unlike the other new Season 3 weapons, the Kilo isn't locked behind the battle pass grind. It's easier to get, though certainly more confusing and arguably more troublesome if you're fighting for storage space. After all, you have to download yet another Call of Duty game, and we all know how drive-devouring they are.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Season 3 brings two assault rifles, the CR-56 AMAX and the Kilo 141. It's always fun to use the new weapon, and fortunately the best BO6 CR-56 loadout packs a punch—it's already making a name for itself in the meta.

Below, I'll go over the attachments that you need to make the best CR-56 build in BO6, alongside a supporting class setup if you don't know what to run. I won't lie, it's about what you'd expect from an assault rifle—it's remained pretty similar for three seasons now.

If you're yet to get your hands on this new gun, you can unlock the CR-56 by finishing page six in the Season 3 battle pass. As always, new weapons are free, so you don't have to actually buy the pass to get them.

Best Black Ops 6 CR-56 loadout

The best CR-56 build is:

• Optic: Merlin Reflex
• Muzzle: Compensator
• Barrel: Reinforced Barrel
• Underbarrel: Vertical Foregrip
• Magazine: Extended Mag 1
• Rear Grip: Commando Grip
• Stock: Balanced Stock
• Fire Mods: Rapid Fire

Similar to the Kilo, the CR-56 AMAX has a strong vertical and horizontal pull (to the left) by default. As with almost all assault rifles, this is best countered using the compensator and vertical foregrip. The Compensator has the best vertical recoil control of all the muzzles, and the Vertical Foregrip has the highest-rated horizontal recoil control. This quickly turns the CR-56 from an unwieldy firehose into an almost perfect vertical recoil pattern, which is much more easily managed.

The tried and true Reinforced Barrel moderately increases both range and bullet velocity, letting you deal maximum damage at greater ranges and more reliably hit your target. At this point, it shouldn't be surprising to see this attachment on an assault rifle, as it really is all you could ever ask for.

While the front post of the CR-56's iron sights is clear, the back posts are a mess that constantly blocks your view, so I recommend using an optic. It's largely down to personal preference, but the Kepler Microflex or Merlin Reflex are popular choices.

To bump up the handling, I rock the Commando Grip and the Balanced Stock. This grip is fantastic as it massively improves the speed you can aim and fire after any type of action, like sprinting or jumping. This goes hand in hand with the stock, which increases movement speed when strafing, hipfiring, or aiming down sights. The Infiltrator Stock is a good alternative if you're only interested in aim walking speed, which is the most valuable of the bunch.

Name a more perfect pairing than the Rapid Fire mod and Extended Mag 1. You can't. The (admittedly hefty) downsides of this mod are countered by other attachments, so you'll get to enjoy an amped-up time-to-kill with little impact on recoil control. With this improved rate of fire, you'll naturally burn through ammo faster, so the larger magazine gives you more bullets to play with before needing to reload. As much as the 60-round magazine is fun, it does hurt handling, so I prefer to stay away from it.

CR-56 class setup

Here’s my recommended CR-56 class setup:

• Secondary: 9mm PM
• Tactical: Stim Shot
• Lethal: Semtex
• Field Upgrade: Acoustic Amp
• Perk 1: Dexterity
• Perk 2: Hunter's Instinct
• Perk 3: Double Time/Slipstream
• Specialty: Enforcer
• Wildcard: Gunfighter

This loadout makes use of the Enforcer specialty, which increases movement speed and health regeneration after each kill. So, it requires three Enforcer perks.

There's nothing more annoying than enemies who jump, slide, and dive all over the place like a Squirmle (those fuzzy worm toys on string). So, why not do it yourself? Dexterity significantly reduces weapon motion when using movement, making it much easier to consistently land shots. This perk makes up for the fact that this weapon build doesn't use a stock or laser with a similar effect.

In the second slot, go for Hunter's Instinct, which marks a nearby enemy each time you kill someone. Finally, an Enforcer perk in this slot that I actually want to use, and not just pick because it's necessary to activate the speciality.

For the final slot, I recommend Slipstream or Double Time, depending on how much you use tac sprint. Splitstream has taken over as my preferred option, though I've no doubt many players are too used to activating tac sprint whenever they can that Double Time becomes more valuable.

As for equipment, I recommend the ever-popular Stim Shot and Semtex, though there are plenty more viable options. Likewise, the Acoustic Amp field upgrade is great for identifying enemies (and countering Ninja players), but I'll often swap to the Trophy System or Scrambler for objective-based modes like Hardpoint.

Last but by no means least, you'll have worked out by now that you'll need the Gunfighter wildcard. This is how you're going to cram eight attachments onto the CR-56 AMAX.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, being both a major game release and a huge game in download size, has been eating up my internet for the last week. It seems that's true of most of the US too, according to Comcast.

Internet provider Comcast recently put out a statement (via The Verge) reporting the "biggest week in internet history". In this, Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 accounts for 19% of all network traffic coming up to its launch.

Nearly a third of Comcast's data was just Call of Duty and Thursday Night Football, which is a pretty huge amount of its total data. Figures aren't available on last year's Call of Duty launch, though it didn't have as big a launch as Black Ops 6.

Importantly, Comcast only gives its Xfinity users 1.2 TB of data with its plans, so customers do have to choose how they spend their data when it comes to huge releases like this.

As pointed out in the Black Ops 6 system requirements before launch, the game itself on Steam is over 120 GB but can be much more with extra packs post-launch and previous Call of Duty games. This means that not only are Comcast customers choosing to play the game en masse but many of them are effectively choosing to do that over other uses of their data. That Comcast limit is a monthly cap, and I would have gone significantly over 1.2 TB of data just this month as I bought a new PC and decided to cram pretty much every game I could fit onto my new SSD.

However, a silver lining in this report is that Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 actually seems worth playing this year. From spending some time getting through the campaign and taking on zombies, it's the most I've enjoyed the game basically since the invention of COD HQ a few years ago.

This file size problem has only gotten worse since launch, as Treyarch launched Nuketown amid complaints about maps and spawn points. Despite the game launching on Xbox Game Pass, it still seems to be outselling the previous Call of Duty, which was, admittedly pretty terrible. Hopefully, this big launch will see greater support throughout the year, even if Comcast's monthly limit may get in the way.

Nvidia's latest Game Ready GeForce driver (566.03) is out and should optimise your rig for some new and upcoming games and DLC, but Corsair iCUE or Bluestacks users might want to hold off on pressing that shiny green update button.

In its release notes (PDF), Nvidia reports (via Overclock3D) "higher than normal CPU usage" as an "open issue" for iCUE and Bluestacks software. The former is software that allows for centralised control for all your Corsair hardware—you know, for that sweet, sweet RGB sync—and the latter is Android emulator software.

It's a little strange that a GPU driver update could cause high CPU usage, but all these components are interconnected, I suppose. We don't know exactly how much "higher than normal" the CPU usage will be for users of these programs, either. However, if you use either of them and you won't be playing the new games the update's targeting, it might be best to skip the 556.03 driver or wait for a hotfix.

According to Nvidia, the latest DLSS 3-supporting games that this driver should benefit include:

• Dragon Age: The Veilguard
• Alan Wake 2: The Lake House
• Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
• Horizon Zero Dawn Remastered
• No More Room In Hell 2
• Red Dead Redemption
• The Axis Unseen

Of biggest note might be the first three of these. Black Ops 6 is set to launch tomorrow and will be coming to Game Pass, Dragon Age: The Veilguard will launch on the spookiest of dates (October 31), and the Alan Wake expansion is available right now.

Gamers wanting to play any of these titles who also use Bluestacks or iCUE might have a decision to make, then. After all, the driver could increase performance in these games more than enough to offset any increase in CPU usage alongside iCUE or Bluestacks.

You could, of course, install the driver and then roll it back to uninstall it if it's causing too many problems. Or you could temporarily uninstall iCUE or Bluestacks, depending on how necessary it is. Uninstalling the former might be difficult for some systems, though, given that Corsair can sometimes make its software a requirement for control of its fans and so on.

Whatever the case, if you use either of these pieces of software, at least take the time to decide whether the latest Nvidia driver update is worth it, because it might not be.

Update: System requirements have been changed and the story has been uppdated to reflect that

If you've been playing all of last year's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, you should be able to run Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 without needing to buy new parts. Miraculously, it seems to take a little less storage space too, so you can make just enough room for it by deleting the last entry. You'll be better off that way. 

Despite my personal misgivings with the last entry in the COD franchise, Black Ops 6 is shaping up to work a treat on minimally powerful gear. The Black Ops 6 beta that went live just last month shows it all runs pretty smoothly too.

With just a GTX 960 and an AMD Ryzen 5 1400, two bits of gear that launched more than five years ago, you can get Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 running on its minimum settings. This will give you access to the new singleplayer campaign set in the '90s, multiplayer with a new movement and old prestige system, and the return to round-based easter egg-filled zombies. The game itself will launch on October 25, this year.

The storage requirements this year are a little smaller than last year, which is a good sign of how well-optimised the game is. The same is true of the relatively light specs. Interestingly, three different spec requirements have been given, with a suggestion of how to get it running in 4K present.

As well as this, there aren't unique requirements for the multiplayer, like in previous years—with all game modes requiring the same specs. With Modern Warfare 3, you can play the multiplayer mode even if your CPU isn't strong enough to handle the campaign. The same does not appear to be true for Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Let's hope it's worth the storage space this time.