Slide canceling nerf reversed in Black Ops Cold War Season 3 update

Brad Norton
Black Ops Cold War sliding gameplay

Treyarch originally nerfed slide canceling in Black Ops Cold War as part of the Season 3 update, all but disabling the popular movement mechanic. Since the update, however, this has now been reversed.

For the past few Call of Duty titles, slide canceling was a major feature for those looking to gain an edge in combat. With a quick input, your slide animation could be canceled ahead of time, allowing you to continue moving faster than usual.

What first came about in Black Ops 4 soon made its way to Modern Warfare and eventually Black Ops Cold War as well. After more than five months with the game on the market, however, Treyarch has made the decision to finally nerf it once and for all.

After installing the first part of the major Season 3 update, players had noticed that slice canceling was no longer possible. 

Rather than canceling the animation and continuing with full movement speed, players would return to a standing position much slower than before.

This made things feel very different: from rushing out of spawn to pushing around corners. Moreover, aiming down sights out of a sprint took slightly longer as well.

After years of it being one of the more prolific movement mechanics, the change came bundled in alongside a litany of other balance adjustments in the Season 3 patch.

Slide canceling reverted

Lead Game Designer Matt Scronce commented on a Twitter post that shared footage of the reverted change: “Should make the camera transition out of slide feel a bit better, but likely a touch too fast on that crouch to stand transition.”

The revert also fixes an issue with the 3rd and 1st person cameras not aligning, making things feel a lot more seamless and natural to use when switching.

Warzone gameplay
There’s currently no telling if the slide cancel will impact Warzone as well.

Slide canceling has long been a tactic used at the highest level of play. Without this feature to fall back on, it would offset many of the top Call of Duty League pros.

Keep on top of all the upcoming Esports action right here with our London Home Series overview, and in the meantime, here’s where you can keep on top of every major change in the Season 3 update for Black Ops Cold War. We’ve also got a release hub covering everything you need to know about 2021’s game.