Top 5 tips to dominate Checkmate in Black Ops Cold War
When you want a simple map that is easy to learn, easy to remember, but a bit difficult to master, then Checkmate might fall into that category. Improve your performance with these top 5 tips for Checkmate in Black Ops Cold War.
The beauty of this map is its simplicity. It’s basically a giant warehouse with its noteworthy feature being the plane situated in the middle of it. Other than that, plenty of cover and training facilities populate the rest of the map.
It’s expertly designed by Treyarch to make the most of tight corners and breed furious bouts of stand-offs and compelling gameplay. Plus it has channels capable of long-range styles too, meaning it’s fit for all purposes.
1. Avoid the plane unless it’s an objective
The temptation to board the plane and command it for your purpose is understandable, but not advisable. There is so little room to maneuver that the plane essentially becomes one massive choke point where you can be jumped from every angle.
Even being on the wing you’ve got to contend with a full channel the length of the map, so it’s better to leave any potential conflict until you have to fight for an objective. Although if you’re going inside of it, you can hop onto the seats near the middle section’s doors and even have a great line of sight to a side channel for easy points.
2. Opt for less aerial scorestreaks
In the same way a prisoner scribes the years they’ve spent in prison, we’ve reluctantly done the same thing with the number of cruise missiles that have made for nice roof fodder.
There are obviously holes in the warehouse’s roof to allow for such a thing, but perhaps sentry turrets, RC-XDs, and war machines might be better suited to Checkmate.
3. Two great spots
Down the long, spacious channel is a point of interest at each end. On one end you’ve got a small set of stairs that takes you onto the tail of a plane. This provides just enough room to operate and give you an awesome sneaky view of the entire channel – whilst remaining quite hidden.
On the flip side, the other end has an even better peeping spot as you can hop onto a box and peer over a wooden wall. Given that we’ve faced people behind both of these spots at range, we can assure you that these are gold mines for kills, more so in Hardcore when your presence is even more cloaked.
4. The containers
Down the opposite side of Checkmate, you have the more secluded part of the map shrouded in darkness, containers, and limited space. If you’re accurate and quick on the trigger, then this can be a popular spot for farming kills. Proximity mines and grenades are a great way to surround already trapped targets.
Try and be flexible about your position too as if you stay in the same spot too long, then it’ll be you being peppered with grenades and facing death instead.
5. Under the plane
Dominating the plane itself is very dependent on the game mode and caliber of player you’re locking horns with, but under the plane is your best bet to take control. I think the general consensus is that it is hard to dominate the primary area of the plane, but its base is easier. It’s a common spot and very accessible too.
You can easily switch channels using it and it provides plenty of cover. Due to it being darker as well underneath, visibility is decreased, meaning your chances of being spotted are shorter. This is a great play for modes like Team Deathmatch and can also benefit objective modes as you can capitalize on enemies trying to access the plane’s stairs.
Checkmate dispenses with complexities and thoroughly shines in its attempts to make an open map that is equally just as closed-off. It’s far from one dimensional, and hopefully, our top 5 tips should help you up your game with Checkmate in Black Ops Cold War.
Image credits: Treyarch
