As part of Treyarch's efforts to continue to improve Call of Duty: Zombies as a game mode in every way possible, plenty of things that were initially received poorly have since been rectified and/or fixed, be it characters, game mechanics, or especially guns.
- As noted on the main page, Takeo was The Scrappy of the Ultimis crew. This changed once he became The Comically Serious in Ascension and is revealed to be Obfuscating Brainwashing, looking to punish Richtofen soon. If you're not growing on him after that, he takes a level in badass in the Black Ops III maps with the simple addition of a katana, using it in cutscenes to cut through waves of people both zombie and human. His Primis incarnation showing a level of humanity and relatability that his Ultimis counterpart didn't show also helps, as he comes across as an actual character rather than a caricature of stereotypes (though him embracing the Samurai heritage inheritant to running around with a Katana and putting it to very good use certainly helped.)
- The Victis crew got a good dose of this, much to the delight of their small fanbase. Initially hated for the They Changed It, Now It Sucks! effects, the poorly-received first two levels, and overall just seen as less interesting than the 4 main characters, fans eventually began to grow curious as to what happened to them after Buried. Immediately after, their 6-issue comic series was released, detailing their adventures to assist Primis Richtofen, fleshing our their personalities and relationships, and tying them back into the storyline. This leads to an even bigger return in Black Ops 4, where they get to be playable once more on Tag der Toten. Their return, despite their initial Scrappy status, has been very welcomed.
- Doctor Monty was divisively received in Black Ops III, for reasons noted in Base-Breaking Character. However, his reception has grown more positive following revelations in Black Ops IV that he’s actually an antagonist who doesn’t really want to fix anything, lest he lose his ultimate power. Monty’s turn as a villain has made him a much more interesting character in the eyes of the fandom. The Downer Ending of the series in which he and the rest of the multiverse are cast into the Dark Aether and destroyed also helped vindicate him in some fans’ eyes. Sure, he actively maintains the cycle, but it’s better than letting everything get destroyed!
- The Tombstone perk in Cold War. Basically, this perk has been reworked to resemble the feature from Who's Who, but tens times better than the latter. Not only do you have the weapons you have when you're activating the Tombstone perk, but you can also upgrade the perks to make the gain overshadow the loss. In addition, the Tier I upgrade (which costs a single Raw Aetherium Crystal) allows the player to regenerate while in the shadow form while Tier III allows you to gain all the resources when you're down thanks to the Tombstone Stash. As a result, this became one of the best perks for a solo player... until you upgrade Quick Revive to Tier V, that is.
- Returning from Black Ops 4 in Cold War Season 5, Death Perception. Previously, it only granted the ability to see Zombies through walls which, while not as bad as Tombstone or Who's Who, was generally pretty niche and situational, with its only saving grace being that its Modifier provided additional damage towards enemy critical points (which is now provided by the revised Deadshot Daiquiri). In Cold War, on the other hand not only does Death Perception retain the ability to see Zombies and other enemies through walls, but further upgrades increase the Salvage rate, increases armor penetration damage (which stacks especially well with Shatterblast and makes especially tanky enemies like the Krazny Soldat or Heavy Zombie easier to deal with), and nearby chests, resources, and item drops are also highlighted as well. Though it's still an overall low priority perk compared to Jugger-Nog or Speed Cola, its aforementioned Tier V ability is especially handy in Outbreak, as it speeds up the usually sluggish pace of equipping oneself for either Easter egg, be it Ravenov Implications (as the AP upgrade is very handy to have in the boss fight against Legion) or Entrapment.
- Explosive weapons tended to be looked down upon for being far more dangerous to the owner than the zombies in most games, not giving back as much points as a return investment, and were surprisingly weak. As a result, they only tended to be looked at when it's the upgraded M1911, or PhD Flopper was readily available. Black Ops 4 changed this by upping the damage significantly, meaning that kills were now much more common. While still dangerous, PhD Slider helped mitigate it (and with a later patch, completely nullified it), making explosives far more useful. This also nicely fit well with the gameplay overhauls which A) awarded a set amount of points per zombie, making points earned per shot more useful and B) made it possible to use any perk in any map, with some restrictions, meaning that PhD Slider was always available, albeit with a heavy price.
- As far as weapons go, while the M14 was by no means a terrible weapon in Black Ops and Black Ops II, it was quickly overshadowed by other, more effective weapons, such as the Galil or AN-94. The Black Ops III version, while still retaining its paltry 8-round magazine, now deals much more damage per shot. Taken even further in Cold War with the DMR 14, thanks in part to the new Weapon Tier system and retaining its 20-round magazine from Multiplayer, is far more effective not only because of the revised progression system (which carries over into Multiplayer and Warzone and vice-versa) allowing for a more flexible build, but its damage output is the highest it's ever been - being capable of thinning hordes very quickly while also deleting mini-bosses like the Megaton, Mimic, Mangler, or even the dreaded Krazny Soldat. Go ahead and use it against the Orda in Firebase and Outbreak and watch its health bar be shredded as you pull the trigger as quickly as you can (provided you've fully upgraded it, that is.)
- The PM63 (or, currently, AMP63) in Cold War. Again, thanks to the various revisions and game mechanics (as well as being changed from the Submachine Gun to the Pistol category), it went from being one of the worst wall weapons in the first Black Ops to a genuine force to be reckoned with, especially when Dual Wielded and fully kitted out with attachments.
- The M1911 in Mobile is significantly better as a base weapon than it usually is. It has an incredible ammo supply (12 rounds in a magazine, 264 in reserve), much better damage (2-shot headshot on Round 1), and with Double Tap and Deadshot Daiquiri, it can still be a viable backup weapon that can kill zombies in one magazine. Otherwise, the ammo supply and damage makes it a great "points gun" so you'll always have cash to spare for upgrades and ammo for your main gun.
- Return to the main YMMV page here.
