How To Unlock The Close Shave Perk in Black Ops 6

Black Ops 6 marks a major departure from many of the older Call of Duty titles that longtime fans know and love. The game fully embraces movement with its new Omnimovement system, retains the Tactical Sprint feature first introduced in Modern Warfare 2019, and even shakes up loadouts by introducing a dedicated Melee Slot. However, with its ongoing post-launch support, Black Ops 6 is also gradually reintroducing some classic mechanics.

Players looking to return to a more traditional movement style can equip the Slipstream Perk, which removes Tactical Sprint entirely in exchange for an overall faster sprint speed. But that’s not all, as panic knifing has officially returned in Black Ops 6 Season 3, thanks to the debut of the Close Shave Perk. Here’s how to unlock the Close Shave Perk, and what it actually does.

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By Nathan Round

How To Unlock The Close Shave Perk In Black Ops 6

The Close Shave Perk is a Multiplayer Perk tied to the Black Ops Tribute Event running for both Black Ops 6 and Warzone. To unlock it, players must earn a total of 180,000 XP by simply playing either game during the Black Ops Tribute Event's runtime.

how to use the Close Shave Perk in Black Ops 6

Upon unlocking the Close Shave Perk, it will be made available as an Enforcer-based Perk, equippable in either the Perk 1 slot of players' Multiplayer loadouts or their fourth Perk slot with the Perk Greed Wildcard. Currently, the Close Shave Perk is exclusive to Black Ops 6 Multiplayer and cannot be equipped in Warzone.

The Black Ops Tribute Event ends May 1 at 10 AM PT. Once it has ended, those who did not unlock the Close Shave Perk will be able to get it through the Black Ops 6 Armory.

What Does The Close Shave Perk Do?

gameplay of the Close Shave Perk in Black Ops 6

The Close Shave Perk aims to bring back the standard melee functionality from older Call of Duty titles, allowing players to automatically melee with the weapon in their dedicated Melee Slot upon pressing the melee button. This essentially cuts down on the time needed to melee in certain situations when the player's primary weapon is equipped. Normally, players would have to switch to their melee weapon first, then press the melee button to use it—if they wanted to avoid using the traditional weapon butt melee attack that is.

After a melee is performed, players will automatically cycle back to the previously equipped weapon. When paired with Melee Weapons capable of eliminating enemies in one hit, like the Knife, Cleaver, or even the Sai, players can potentially secure a guaranteed kill if close enough to an enemy while still having their primary weapon equipped.

The perk itself can be a great option for those working on unlocking Camos for various Melee Weapons, as it allows players to seamlessly melee with their desired weapon at the press of a button, while still being ready for ranged combat without needing to manually switch between weapons. However, there are a few caveats to remember.

If players equip a two-hit kill melee weapon like the Kali Sticks or the Baseball Bat, it will still require two hits to kill, even with the Close Shave Perk equipped. The melee weapon's speed is also retained, meaning that faster melee weapons are typically the best options to pair with this Perk. Additionally, using the perk while keeping a primary weapon equipped means players will miss out on the movement speed buff typically granted when holding a melee weapon. While players can still manually switch to their melee weapon to regain that buff, doing so somewhat defeats the purpose of the Close Shave Perk.

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