Players in the CoD Black Ops 6 community claim to have noticed some strange inconsistencies with the TTK values in multiplayer. Many report that their guns do way less damage than they actually should, leaving them wondering if Activision has implemented a hidden system where damage output is tied to the game’s skill-based matchmaking. Here, we’ll go in-depth on what’s going on with multiplayer.
Damage Inconsistencies
Players reported on Reddit, YouTube, and Steam that Black Ops 6 may have a “skill-based damage” system where your individual ELO determines how much damage your guns deal. While the developers have not mentioned any system in place, many assumed that it exists since many players have said that targets are taking way longer to kill than usual.
Probable Causes of “Skill-Based Damage”
One of the likeliest explanations for the damage inconsistencies is more of a server-side issue than a skill-based matchmaking system. Players have done some digging into the game’s server and found that it only receives a portion of the data sent out by the game client.
The way multiplayer games work is that a game’s client sends all the actions that a player makes in the game to the server. The server then sends that data to everyone else’s client so that all players are in sync. This process happens constantly, with the game client sending it more than 60 times, which is called “tick rate.” The higher the tick rate, the smoother the game feels.
Usually, the server will send all the data to your game client, but in the case of Black Ops 6, it instead receives less data, which can sometimes fluctuate. This creates some desyncing issues where the info of shooting a target is delayed, making it feel like you’re shooting ghost bullets.
This means that it’s more of a server-side issue than the game actively nerfing your damage output because of your matchmaking rank. Server desyncs cause your shots to input later than they should, which is why enemies feel like they take more damage to kill.
