David Vonderhaar on Black Ops 2’s Perks: I Can Nerf Perks and I Will, Mark My Words

One of the things Treyarch is changing with Black Ops 2's gameplay is how Perks work. Now, there will no longer be "Pro" version of Perks. So, why change something that players have been used to for years?

In an interview with CVG, Game Design Director David Vonderhaar explains:

Perks were pretty important for us to rethink, because they were getting too complex. You had perks, perk pros, perks that influence you, perks that influence your gun, perks that influence team mates. We've simplified that so perks only ever affect your character, and more importantly, Black Ops II's perks aren't absolutes. In Black Ops our only balancing options were to remove the perk or keep it; now we can tune any perk by increments to nerf it or improve it.

So, this means exploitable Perks and people running around with the same Perks due to them being the "best" might be a thing of the past. If not, Vonderhaar is not against nerfing Perks that are too good. 

I can nerf perks and I will, mark my words…A perk should never be something you need just to compete. A perk is 'I got a parking spot,' or 'the soda machine gave me free soda.' Your life shouldn't depend on it. The community helped me understand that, and that's why our new system has no absolutes. We can try to make it the most balanced CoD ever

In addition to Perks being shaken up, the way you create classes has been given a whole new meaning to Treyarch's all-new "Pick 10" class customization. Now you can choose if you want to carry a sidearm, extra grenades, no weapons at all and so much more. As long as it fits within the Pick 10 schematic, then you're good to go.

To be honest, Treyarch changing how Perks work and implementing this new create-a-class feature is what's seriously making me like what I've seen so far. It's way better than what we're used to before, no?

Are you liking the changes Treyarch is doing to Black Ops 2's multiplayer so far or are you fed up with the franchise to even care?