Black Ops Cold War leak reveals workaround to dropshotting nerf

A Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War leak has revealed a weapon attachment that could be Treyarch’s solution for the ‘drop-shot’ nerf that dates back to Black Ops 4.

The popular mechanic known as ‘drop-shotting’ lets players aim down sights (ADS) while dropping down to a prone position, which results in a stable, uninterrupted line of fire from the player while actively trying to dodge an opponent’s crosshair.

This would be used in almost every gunfight engagement that rewarded quick thinking and skilled play until Black Ops 4 came out, in which Treyarch essentially reduced the mechanic’s effectiveness by forcing players’ weapons to switch to hip-fire any time they tried it.

Now, with Black Ops Cold War next in line for the storied franchise, Treyarch have once again opted to go with that same untraditional drop-shot method, although this time, there’s a workaround.

During the recent Black Ops Cold War alpha, a glitch in the game revealed every weapon’s attachments, despite most of them being hidden, and one was the ‘Duster Handle’ for the XM4 rifle, which lets players “aim while going prone.”

At the expense of a Quickdraw or Impact Handle, among others, it looks like users will be able to drop-shot in some capacity if they have this attachment equipped.

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Furthermore, based on the various videos of leaked attachments from the BOCW Alpha, it appears that this Duster Handle will be available for several, if not all, of the game’s regular weapons, like SMGs, Assault Rifles, LMGs, etc.

In essence, Treyarch have tried to afford their player-base the best of both worlds: nerfing drop-shotting so that experienced players can’t abuse it against lesser-skilled opponents, while also giving them the chance to use the mechanic at the cost of an attachment slot on their guns.

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Of course, such is the nature of glitches and leaks that we can’t 100% know if this is how the final build of the game will be – although we should get a good idea once the Black Ops Cold War beta rolls around in October.

Until then, drop-shotters better hope that this Duster Handle attachment doesn’t get scrapped by November 13, when BOCW is due to release.