Black Ops 6's Shadow Hunt Event Is A Step In The Right Direction, But There's Still Work To Be Done

Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 fans have been spoiled with new content in season two, with two limited-time events running at the same time in February. The latest event, Shadow Hunt, only runs from February 13th to February 20th, but it's the best Black Ops 6 event so far. Even so, there's still room to improve and expand Black Ops 6's approach to events beyond what Shadow Hunt has to offer.

Previous events like the currently running Terminator crossover have added plenty of flashy cosmetics to purchase, and some interesting weapons and customizations to unlock, but haven't been very engaging. Shadow Hunt bucks that trend and gives players the opportunity to unlock some game-changing customization options and a new weapon by completing unique challenges.

Shadow Hunt's Missions Have Fit With The Theme

Players Need To Be Stealthy And Successful

A Screenshot of the Black Ops 6 Shadow Hunt Event Rewards

Black Ops 6's second season introduces the new operator, Nocturne, a Shinobi-inspired character showcased in a stealthy opening cinematic, available on the official Call of Duty YouTube channel. Now, the game is getting a stealth-themed event called Shadow Hunt. This event has six missions, each with its own rewards, and completing all six missions will unlock the new TR2 Marksman Rifle.

Shadow Hunt Reward	Warzone Challenge	Multiplayer Challenge	Zombies Challenge
Unburied Hatchet spray	Complete 5 contracts	Earn 50,000 score	Complete 30 total rounds
Stealth Hunter emblem	Get 3 headshots	Get 100 eliminations using a weapon with a suppressor	Get 500 critical kills using a weapon with a suppressor
Wolfhound weapon charm	Complete 5 matches	Win 5 matches	Successfully exfil 3 times
1 Hour 2XP token	Loot 10 caches	Get a kill without taking damage 5 times	Get 30 kills in a row without taking damage 10 times
Slipstream perk	Get an elimination using melee	Get 5 kills using melee weapons	Get 200 kills using melee weapons
Binary Trigger attachment	Get 10 eliminations with custom guns	Kill 10 enemies revealed by your Spy Cam or Prox Alarm	Kill 3 Elite Zombies
TR2 marksman rifle	Complete all 6 event challenges	Complete all 6 event challenges	Complete all 6 event challenges
Black Diamond operator skin	Complete all 6 event challenges w/Blackcell	Complete all 6 event challenges w/Blackcell	Complete all 6 event challenges w/Blackcell

Half of these missions fit the stealthy Shadow Hunt theme, requiring the player to get kills with melee weapons, suppressors, and the Spy Cam or Proximity Alarm pieces of equipment. These aren't challenging missions, and they should take only one or two hours to complete, but they force players to change how they approach the game while they do them.

An operator holding a launcher in Black Ops 6 while another gets blown away.

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Shaking up the basic gameplay loop is a prerogative that previous events have lacked, leading to them all feeling the same. Shadow Hunt is the first Black Ops 6 limited-time event where the theme matches the gameplay, and it should serve as a benchmark for similar ideas in the future.

Events Need To Be Longer Or More Frequent

There Should Be Weekly Unlocks Or Extra Missions To Complete

Two Operators from the Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 Terminator Event side by side

Powerful rewards like the TR2 marksman rifle and the Slipstream perk are great, but they're unlocked so quickly that the event is quickly forgotten. If Black Ops 6 wants its future events to be even more exciting than Shadow Hunt, they need to offer more engagement or happen more often.

2024's Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 had weekly challenges that earned after-market part attachments, which was a great way to get players to try new things and give them new things to unlock. If the game doesn't want to go down that route, it needs to make events like Shadow Hunt last as long as the Squid Game and Terminator events do, and offer even more rewards that change how Black Ops 6 is played.

Source: Call of Duty/YouTube