Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - League Play Tips and Strategies

If you've read that other article of mine, you'll know that I have something of an issue with how League Play runs in BO2. My article: Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 - League Play is Broken! has been read over 500 times in just under a month, and it details how I think that League Play was not presented or created well enough to be useful to Joe Average (or SlydeDraco, for that matter), but to be used and useful only to the e-Sporting community. If it was intended for "the rest of us", it has failed, in my humble opinion!

However, just because I feel it has the potential for growth does not mean that I think it is a failure, entirely. Au contraire, mes amis! I still play League Play, and have found a few things that make the tough going just a little more bearable. I rage quit far less often, now! ;-)

Seriously! It's just a game, not life, right? OK, so you take your gaming seriously. So do I! And sometimes I get a little aggravated and tend to overreact to the situation. Then my girlfriend hurls at me all of the stupid things I always say when I am getting frustrated with the game ("As if!" , "WTF?!?", "That's ridiculous/ridonkulous!"). Usually, that will make me stop, take stock of what I am doing, and have a good laugh at my own expense!

Sometimes - and I ONLY recommend this if you are of age! - I will have a beer or some other alcoholic drink while gaming. As I am of an age where it is OK for me to do so, I find that this will sometimes relax me, and I can enjoy my gaming a little more. But if you are under the age of majority in your region, stick to chocolate or something like that. It can have pleasant mood-altering effects as well!

If you have a slew of friends online, or even if you only have a clutch of friends, get a few of them into the game with you and make a League Team. You will have FAR more fun with a group that are either of similar skill, or at the very least whom you are good friends with! Then you can get in there, co-ordinate your attacks and defenses, and you will have way more fun.

I haven't done a lot of gaming in BO2 with friends, but I did quite a lot while I was learning the ropes in MW3, and I found that I not only got less angry, but I would often have more fun and do a lot better than I did solo. I am still looking for a good group on XBox Live for Black Ops 2, so hopefully I can test out this recommendation in League Play soon, as well!

There is no substitute for getting in the game and running the mode that you prefer to get better. Learn the maps. Learn the tricks that other players do. Check out YouTube videos from some of the top players. I watched a lot of NadeShot and Ali-A, as well as LegendOfThunder, and after seeing some of the things they do, I found that I was able to tailor what they do to my style of play and became better as a result! I don't do everything the same, and I would never go so far as to say I am as good as them (not even close!!!), but I was surprised and amused at how much better my play got as a result of seeing how the "pros", so-to-speak, do it.

Even if you are running solo League Play in Black Ops 2, it's possible to hook up your microphone and talk to the other players on your temporary team. Tell them where you found someone camping, or a group rushing in. Don't let your death be in vain! If you come around a corner and there's a group running up that alley and they kill you, tell your team! That way, they can hopefully avoid a similar fate, and maybe even avenge your death! The more you contribute to the team effort, the more everyone will contribute, and your play can improve with just that simple communication!

And don't be shy! I am the world's shyest man, and I even speak up on occasion. I never used to because I felt stupid talking to random people, thinking they are judging me, but I found that if I called out an enemy and saved someone's bacon, they more often than not shot back a thanks, and were there when I was about to get ganked the next time!

As someone mentioned in the comments section of my other COD: BO2 League Play article, you can make quite a bit of experience towards your public match by playing League Play. I agree, this is a good thing to note, though if you have hit level 55, and just want to stay there and not prestige, it doesn't do you any good.

However, during the Double XP events, such as the one that just passed this weekend in advance of the Uprising DLC that just came out today, you earn 20,000 XP points for a win, and 15,000 for a loss towards your public rank. I decided to roll over to Prestige 5 on Thursday, and built myself all the way back up to Level 37 by the end of the Double XP event - and I was sick for most of the weekend and didn't play much at all! You can easily do a full prestige or more with lots of play time, at 20,000 points per round!

That's what this game is all about anyway, right? If you aren't having fun, you shouldn't be playing the game! This is something I teach my daughters when they start to get frustrated, and something that I need to remind myself of at times, as well. If I am not having fun, why am I continuing to do a voluntary action that is causing me frustration?

Whether you are a hardened veteran of FPS games, or a n00b trying to learn the ropes, as long as you are having fun, you are doing it the right way! Keep those trigger fingers itchy, and good hunting!

Cheers!

-- Slyde