Is Skill Based Damage in BO6?

Skill Based Damage has not been officially confirmed to exist in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (BO6). Read on to learn what skill based damage is, whether it's in the game, and reasons that can cause skill based damage and inconsistent TTK values in multiplayer.

Is Skill Based Damage in BO6?

No Solid Evidence of Skill Based Damage

At the time of writing, there has been no official confirmation that Skill Based damage exists. While Skill-Based Matchmaking (SBMM) exists in Black Ops 6 (BO6), skill rating affecting your damage output during matches does not.

Has Been Speculated to Exist Since MW and Warzone

Despite the videos being shared online that seem to back the claim, the debate around skill based damage existing has been around since Modern Warfare (MW) and Warzone.

Back then, there were also players claiming this very issue, however no official claims were made by the MW3 developer that it existed making it highly unlikely to exist in BO6.

Could Be Caused by Connection Issues

The likely explanation behind skill based damage will probably be connection issues ranging from server-side lag or a player's poor internet connection. Make sure you're playing on a stable, wired internet connection to avoid connection issues.

Additionally, while an earlier COD blog post back in April 2024 says matchmaking does not affect hit registration, we can still cast a bit of doubt on its statements seeing as this blog was made to address MW3 and not BO6.

What is Skill Based Damage?

Number of Shots to Kill Increasing Based on Skill Rating

Players on Reddit and TikTok have reported that they are encountering something called Skill Based Damage where they are punished for doing well. They claim that the higher your skill rating, the more the game punishes you by increasing your TTK between matches.

However, do note that there is no concrete proof that this is a real feature of the Skill-Based Matchmaking System of BO6. Players still hoping to get official confirmation can keep tabs on the BO6 Trello Board.

What Seems to Cause Skill Based Damage?

Your Weapon Could Have Poor Damage Range

Damage Range determines the damage fall-off of your weapon depending on how far your target is. Hit a target beyond a weapon's damage range, and you'll effectively be dealing less damage per shot.

Naturally, what looks to be skill based damage, can simply be a case of inconsistent time-to-kill (TTK) values. This can be attributed to damage range, especially when taking gunfights at range in some of the bigger BO6 multiplayer maps with long sight lines like Protocol or Red Card.

Enemy in a Head-to-Head Has a Better Loadout

Another factor that affects TTK (and could potentially look like skill based damage) is access to better attachments. Remember, player progression is not uniform. Sooner or later, you'll be matched with players with better weapon level progression than you.

Higher weapon levels mean access to better attachments, so even if you went head-to-head against an XM4 while also rocking the same gun, you could lose out simply because your enemy's gun had better damage range and a tighter recoil pattern than your loadout.

SBMM Places You in a Higher Skill Lobby

Similarly, a high skill rating could mean you're now getting matched against better players. Better players tend to optimize their builds and loadouts more, leading to quicker TTKs as you get matched with players that have better aim. This could explain poor head-to-head results compared to a previous match where you were dominating.

Limb Damage Could be Affecting TTKs

During the CODNext held prior to BO6's release, the developers talked about better limb damage calculation in Black Ops 6. Perhaps, the longer TTKs and higher number of shots-to-kill can be attributed to you hitting limbs more than body shots or headshots.

Connection Issues Could Affect Shot Accuracy

Lastly, skill based damage could very well be a factor of poor server performance. Chalk it up to a myriad of reasons (from poor hit registration or spotty client internet connections) and you could perhaps replicate the multi-hit marker videos that are being used to try to prove that skill based damage exists.

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