05-09-2025, 02:38 AM
After spending a solid week bo6 bot lobby service immersed in the “Blazing of Glory” event in Black Ops 6, I’ve come away with mixed feelings. While the concept is undeniably bold and full of potential, the actual gameplay experience leaves a lot to be desired.
Starting with the idea itself—crafting an entire themed event around cannabis culture is unprecedented for a franchise like Call of Duty. It’s clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a fine line between humor and gimmick. While the themed skins, trippy map visuals, and new game modes bring something different to the table, they don’t always enhance the experience. In fact, sometimes they actively detract from it.
The visual filters in some maps—like haze effects, color distortion, and hallucinations—are interesting at first, but they become more annoying than entertaining. Especially when you’re in a tight 1v1 and your screen starts to pulse or a hallucinated enemy appears only to vanish, it crosses the line from immersive to frustrating. Even with the “Sober Mode” toggle in settings, the core mechanics still feel a bit off during this event.
The new game modes like “Blunt Force,” which is basically Domination with haze bombs, and “Joint Ops,” a slightly altered version of Ground War with fog-based visibility mechanics, sound creative on paper. In practice, they can be unbalanced. It’s hard to coordinate with your team when vision is limited and reaction time is slowed by game design rather than skill.
Where the event does shine, however, is in its progression system. The Blaze Bucks and event-specific challenge ladder are genuinely rewarding. They encourage players to engage with the theme without making it feel like a slog. Even though the rewards lean heavily into stoner humor, some of the cosmetics are top-tier, especially the animated weapon skins and reactive gear.
The community response seems just as split as I feel. Some players love the ridiculousness; others hate it. While I can’t say it ruined the game for me, it definitely wasn’t the highlight of the season. It’s great to see Call of Duty trying something new, but they need to ensure that gameplay quality doesn’t suffer for the sake of novelty.
My hope is that future events strike a better balance between theme and functionality. “Blazing of Glory” gets points for effort and uniqueness, but its execution feels more like a meme than a meaningful addition to the Call of Duty experience.
Starting with the idea itself—crafting an entire themed event around cannabis culture is unprecedented for a franchise like Call of Duty. It’s clearly meant to be tongue-in-cheek, but there’s a fine line between humor and gimmick. While the themed skins, trippy map visuals, and new game modes bring something different to the table, they don’t always enhance the experience. In fact, sometimes they actively detract from it.
The visual filters in some maps—like haze effects, color distortion, and hallucinations—are interesting at first, but they become more annoying than entertaining. Especially when you’re in a tight 1v1 and your screen starts to pulse or a hallucinated enemy appears only to vanish, it crosses the line from immersive to frustrating. Even with the “Sober Mode” toggle in settings, the core mechanics still feel a bit off during this event.
The new game modes like “Blunt Force,” which is basically Domination with haze bombs, and “Joint Ops,” a slightly altered version of Ground War with fog-based visibility mechanics, sound creative on paper. In practice, they can be unbalanced. It’s hard to coordinate with your team when vision is limited and reaction time is slowed by game design rather than skill.
Where the event does shine, however, is in its progression system. The Blaze Bucks and event-specific challenge ladder are genuinely rewarding. They encourage players to engage with the theme without making it feel like a slog. Even though the rewards lean heavily into stoner humor, some of the cosmetics are top-tier, especially the animated weapon skins and reactive gear.
The community response seems just as split as I feel. Some players love the ridiculousness; others hate it. While I can’t say it ruined the game for me, it definitely wasn’t the highlight of the season. It’s great to see Call of Duty trying something new, but they need to ensure that gameplay quality doesn’t suffer for the sake of novelty.
My hope is that future events strike a better balance between theme and functionality. “Blazing of Glory” gets points for effort and uniqueness, but its execution feels more like a meme than a meaningful addition to the Call of Duty experience.
