The latest patch for Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 contains a lot of tuning for the game’s battle royale mode Blackout, and one particular change will either make players very happy or very sad – the 9-bang, the powerful flash grenade that first appeared in Modern Warfare 3, has been removed from the game.
According to the patch notes, the 9-bang has been removed while developer Treyarch “evaluates its place in the gameplay loop.” Players had been complaining that the 9-bang was far too effective at blinding opponents, and for far too long – especially in such a stressful, intensive game like Blackout.
The 9-bang is so ridiculous it’s already been immortalized in meme form, the gist of which is that the flash is so powerful it sends you into another game like Fallout, or even The Walking Dead. The grenade was already massively nerfed in the last patch, but clearly that wasn’t enough to stop the complaints – so now it’s out altogether, and who knows when it’ll be back in.
The same patch for Black Ops 4 also adds a number of further tweaks to Blackout mode. Other than the 9-bang removal, the inclusion of the Blightfather from Black Ops 4’s Zombies mode is probably the highlight. To find him in Blackout simply follow the red pillar of light to his location, and if you manage to kill him and survive you’ll receive some hefty rewards.
100-player Quad matches have been added to the playlist, and both Solo and Duo playlists have been capped at 88 players – which should make things feel a little less intense. A number of guns have been buffed, and speaking of grenades – Concussion grenades have had their thrown distance lengthened and stack size increased to 2.
While the removal of the 9-bang flash grenades could put a stop to the complaints, at least in the short term, only time will tell if it puts an end to the meme. It’s tougher to kill a meme than a Blightfather, after all.