Prebrief
Team Deathmatch is one of the premier Multiplayer Modes that has been an integral piece of what has helped define the Call of Duty® franchise since its original 2003 release. The basic principles of Team Deathmatch are simple, but the strategies to maintaining a top spot on the leaderboard go deep. Use this guide to learn new skills and galvanize them in a way that helps you understand most of the basics that live within Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.
Welcome to Team Deathmatch.
// INTEL CARD
- BO6
Team Deathmatch
// MULTIPLAYER MODES // CORE
Swift strategy: The objective of Team Deathmatch (TDM) is simply to get eliminations, but aimlessly running around will likely result in your team’s loss. However, this is a great mode to use as a warmup or to get used to a new Loadout you have just built.
Tamed and tactical: Utilize all of the Recon perks that you can and move with purpose. Clearing corners and taking advantage of angles is less risky when you’re equipped with Recon perks. The enemy will have a harder time knowing you’re there which grants you the element of surprise.
Secure your six: In TDM, spawns move in a rotation based on your team’s position. Use the minimap in order to gain a general idea in where the other team might be. Remember that enemy pings on your minimap means there’s almost certainly activity in that area, unless it’s a Decoy Grenade.
Mode Details
Team Size: 1-6 Players
Team Deathmatch, or TDM as it is better known , is a 6v6 core Multiplayer mode. TDM is Call of Duty in its simplest form. Don’t be fooled by its ruleset, there are many ways to play this Mode. The only way to do it wrong is by not playing your way.
Operator Brief
Eliminate members of the opposite team and don’t let them eliminate you.
Face Off
Face Off is a sub-mode of Team Deathmatch that is primarily for the purposes of Strike maps. Strike maps are small and have been designed for 2v2 and 6v6 lobbies. With the Face Off variant, you can play in full 6v6 lobbies, however Scorestreaks are disabled, which means it’s your team and your Loadouts versus the other teams and their Loadouts, straight up.
Match Win Condition
The first team to reach 100 eliminations in a public match, or the team with the most kills within the time limit, wins the match.
Main XP Gains
Eliminating enemies. Completing daily, weekly, and overall challenges, especially if they are specific to Team Deathmatch.
Key Terms and Definitions
Elimination
The act of striking the final blow or any assisting damage that results in an enemy death.. The amount of damage does not matter for someone to get credit for the elimination, so long as damage was dealt. You will sometimes get elimination credit for an operator death if they do lethal damage to themselves.
Team Score
While anyone that deals damage will receive an Elimination stat on the Scoreboard, only the final blow counts toward the team’s score. Each final blow will increase your team’s score moving your team closer to victory.
Elimination/Death or Elim/D Ratio
The number of Eliminations earned divided by the number of deaths. Keeping this ratio above 1.0 — one elimination per one death — is a goal of nearly every Call of Duty player. If you’re close to a 1.0 Elim/D, you’re doing well.
Recruit Tactics
Slow down, stick together
A sometimes-difficult strategy to staying consistent is to “play your game.” Yes, sometimes you’re a speed demon and you want to get out there and chase down every enemy player you see. This can be effective, but if it’s not going well, it can really hurt the team. TDM is a race, but the most strategic players will know that sometimes, it’s best to take a moment and assess the best move forward in order to start dominating.
Team Deathmatch is a full-contact sport, but it is also a team sport. There is almost zero downside to playing with your team and sticking together. One death can always be countered with a “trade,” or kill that occurs on the operator that just killed a teammate. Making deliberate movements alongside your squadmates is what wins matches. You don’t have to follow them everywhere, but that also doesn’t hurt. So long as you’re paying attention to the map and communicating, you and a squadmate or two can become a stampede of steamrollers tearing through your favorite 6v6 map.
Stay alert and vigilant
Team Deathmatch’s no-frills nature allows you to focus on the map, the enemy team, and your squadmates. Pay attention to where the action happens — usually down one of the main map lanes and more specifically the center of the map — and use audio or visual cues, such as footsteps or the start of a battle, to determine where enemies are coming from.
If you miss, still support
Final blows only count for Team Deathmatch points, but assisting allies is crucial to team success and shaves time off getting a Field Upgrade for yourself. It will also earn you Eliminations which in turn results into more XP toward your Levelling journey. When you see an enemy, fire at them and call them out — either by pinging them or using voice chat. As long as you aren’t far away from a squadmate, they can help you clean up the job, giving you the full elimination score for the assist.
Advanced Tactics
Jump into the Training Course
The Protocol Training Course is the ultimate start to nailing down the basics of Call of Duty. Whether it be movement, firing your weapon, or reading the HUD, the Training Course is the ultimate playground to test it all out. Of course, if you wish to simply fire your weapon only, you can also jump into the Firing Range from the Weapons menu.
Off the spawn
The first crucial moment of any match, but especially a Team Deathmatch, happens when the pre-match timer hits zero. Have a quick glance at the next map’s Map Guide infographic located at the top of each Map Guide to learn a little about what you’re getting into before the match starts. If you have a moment between matches, read the Initial Spawn Strategy section to learn how to get a leg up on the competition and go for that First Blood Medal to set the tone for the rest of the Match.
Time and score
Team Deathmatches can end in a tie. Though ties don’t happen often, they still occur. It may be wise to start “playing against the clock” if your team is blowing out the competition, especially if there is little time left to play. Consider pulling back and letting the other team make mistakes out of desperation when you’re in the lead. Or if you’re playing from behind or with little time on the clock, use those Scorestreaks before the match is over. Capitalize on any advantage you can gain throughout the last few minutes.
Scorestreak eliminations = TDM eliminations
Those solely focused on getting wins rather than going for Camo Challenges may want to use offense-minded Scorestreaks, as a Scorestreak elimination counts for the same number of points as a weapon elimination. “Set and forget” Scorestreaks, such as the Watchdog Helo, are great for those looking to just get more points. Manual Scorestreaks like the Hellstorm Missile or the RC-XD can help run up the score quickly, especially if you use them in the right spot. The right spot being where the largest concentration of enemies is located.
Enemy prediction
In Team Deathmatch, an operator tends to respawn close to their teammates and away from the other team, rather than have that respawn tied to an objective or initial spawn point. If you want a better chance at keeping a Scorestreak alive, note where there is “empty space” on the Tac Map, that tends to be where your opponents are, if you don’t have a visual. “Empty space” would be where there are no friendlies or pinged enemies. Then adjust your angles and routes to ensure the proper amount of cover from map lanes where a respawning enemy might funnel in from.
Lift your teammates up
The best thing to do for a teammate is to help them win. Be a part of the team and a piece of the puzzle toward victory. However, attempting to carry the entire team on your back is extremely difficult and not recommended. So rather than blaming your teammates for a loss or discouraging them, try to find ways to help. If you see them running into a high-traffic area, or an area that is well defended by the enemy, toss some danger pings that direction. They may not be reading the map with this in mind. So long as you’re attempting to be helpful, the end result will often be better rather than worse.
Go out into your favorite map rotation and do everything you can to secure the win. Refer to this guide again if you need a refresher, but remember:
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