User blog:Legos-Rule-15/On the Topic of Modding

Hello everyone, Legos here with another opinion blog, this time on the topic of modding.

The other day I was playing Black Ops with my friend. As a bit of backstory, Black Ops was the first CoD game that either of us had played (we got it within a year of its release). And while we had mainly played zombies, wager matches, or combat training, we would sometimes play actual online, usually demolition. Returning to the story now, we were playing a lot of combat training oncemore. We decided after a few matches to play in public matches, and that's exactly what we did. We hopped into a round of TDM on Crisis. Everything was going well, until I died without cause. I had been knifed, but no one was there. The killcam revealed that the guy was right in front of me. I realized that he was invisible. We continued the match, and as it went on, I also noticed the guy had godmode on too. As a result, we suffered a devastating 1400-7500 loss. My friend and I had only a few kills (less than 5 each), and almost two dozen deaths each.

A similar situation occurred on Gun Game on the sequel game a few days prior that occurrence. We had ended up on a match on Hijack. The match started up as normally. My friend complained that he died immediately once the countdown timer ended. I thought nothing of it, since the spawns are relatively near each other. But about twenty seconds into the match, the game restarted, except everyone in the lobby was being killed by someone else -- during the countdown! Within three seconds I had died half a dozen times. Both of us immediately left the game.

The Pros and Cons to Modding
Modding is a double-edged sword. On one end of the table, it can accomplish many good things. The Wiki benefits from the access to cut content in game files, as in the case Mr. Jarni on YouTube. There are of course the modded, custom made zombies maps on World at War, as well as modded servers on Modern Warfare, with incredible modes ranging from prop hunt to survival mode. They can really enhance the gaming experience with friends. I have no problem with this type of modding, or anything used in private matches really.

But on the other side of things, modding can entirely ruin the experiences of other gamers, primarily when used in public matches. Many of said modders that use godmode or of the such say that they are just trying to enjoy the game, or perhaps reach a high rank. But all it does is ruin everyone else's time on the game. I may have purchased World at War for a cheap $5, but I didn't spend that money for a broken game where nearly ever lobby contains a modder using godmode.

While I have had a lot of fun due to modders in public lobbies (gun game on WaW, games with high jumping or infinite ammo, etc), more often than not I have encountered modders who play solely for themselves. The below are what I feel are some of the worst mods that I have seen. I am not including nor talking about combinations of these mods, and instead will focus solely on the mod by itself.

Infinite Ammo
While I have had fun, that was because everyone in the lobby had it. Also, it was on the larger maps, so you weren't getting spawn killed. But when someone uses this just for themselves, especially with launchers, you can't get near them to kill them. It's like MW2 with the M203/OMA combination all over again.

Changes in HUD, Classes, etc.
Have you ever joined in game where there is flashing text everywhere on your HUD, your classes and weapon are renamed and redone altogether, and all you see is advertising for a website or YouTube channel, or otherwise derogatory slang and slurs being spammed onscreen everywhere? Or perhaps your gamertag has been changed on that game?

This is one of the less harmful things from modders, but at the same time is equally annoying. This adds absolutely nothing to the game, and is just a nuisance in my eyes. I don't need to see how offensive or insensitive someone can be in this case, as it is already quite obvious.

Invisibility
I guess this is how the enemies feel when you are using Optical Camo in BO2. An enemy you can't see at all is terrible in objective modes. Someone can camp flags or ninja plant/defuse bombs because no one can see them. The only thing that distinguishes they are nearby are the sounds of bombs and footsteps, as well as yourself and other teammates dying randomly. At least in The Hidden Source there's a way to tell someone is nearby or not. Not in Black Ops or Modern Warfare 2.

NoClip
This is a very useful tool without a doubt. But it is abused so easily. I don't need an enemy who is flying around the map with a shotgun, shooting and killing you from behind when you are against a wall. Or someone sniping you from outside the map on Downfall, hidden in a building you can't see.

God Mode
If you have played any CoD game before Ghosts in the last year, more than likely you have encountered someone using god mode at one time or another. If someone is saying they're good, then they shouldn't need god mode, right? Afterall, when no one can kill you, you can just stand right on B flag and kill anyone and everyone.

Aim Bot
I don't need to say much. Everyone hates getting spawn trapped. But when the person killing you is nowhere near your spawn location, the game is unplayable, and you will be unable to get any kills as a result. Good luck winning, and even more so in having a good time.

Closing
Mods are a tool. They can be used for good, or for bad. Unfortunately, the majority of CoD players who use mods don't care for everyone else's experience, and just there own.

In private matches, mods can be used to enhance the game greatly with custom maps and modes, as in World at War and CoD4 respectively. They show creativeness, and in some cases, many would want them actually included in another game.

But in public matches, it usually just ruins the experience of the game. When there are enemies you can't see, who you can't kill, who are everywhere and nowhere, the game is broken. This is the reason I chose to not prestige in any games pre-BO2. When you can't get a good match, there is no point to prestige because progression is so slow.

Modding can be used to better the CoD community, but it is used all too often to ruin it. If many of those malignant modders could see this, then I'm sure CoD could be flourishing, and older titles would have a slightly larger player count, and you could play modes besides TDM and Domination only. I doubt this will ever happen, but until such a day, I will just have to enjoy the few games I get to play that aren't full of modders.

Thank you for your time everyone. I hope you enjoyed this blog. If you have any suggestions or questions, leave them down in the comments. Also, have you ever encountered mods that made the game fun? Let me know down below. Until next time, Legos out.