The new season is live, and with it comes an exciting new event that features Zombies: the Mars Leaderboard. However, it is important to note that the event is currently extremely broken. To boot the new survival map may not be the best time investment, as it will be one of the shortest leaderboard events in Black Ops 7 history.

This event will only last around 4 days to complete, and the rewards will only be given to the players that are top of the leaderboard.

There are some Legendary Gobblegums and some Animated camos that will only be given to the top players. In order to get to the top of the list, there is less of a need to play more. It is more important to play smart.

There is a lot of current confusion around the rewards on the line and the leaderboards mess, and with that stated, there are some specific options to take to get a guaranteed top ranking without being in competition with players that cheat.

• The Event is Broken
• The Rewards: What Are We Fighting For?
• Wait and Bait Strategy Easiest Lobbies Ever
• 1. Be Patient
• 2. One Round Scamming
• Step 3: The Takeover
• Knowing the Rules
• FAQ
• Closing

↖ The Event is Broken

Let's get straight to the point: Do not start your leaderboard run right now.

You have literally 0 chances to get on the leaderboard, and the tracking is most definitely broken. Within 30 minutes of the update, players had their guns pointed to the top and shooting for scores of Round 311, and even Round 771. That is impossible.

What is actually going on?

Players appear to have been loading into dead game save files.

Players who loaded into Astro Malorum (a completely different map) were given instant scores on the Mars leaderboard.

Players who loaded into the Mars survival map to Round 36 and exfilled, received zero points.

If you go now, you run the risk of getting your score completely bugged, or worse, being stuck in a hacker lobby where the top score is immeasurably unbeatable. The devs have missed their update deadline and it is already incredibly late and unsafe to run the score.

↖ The Rewards: What Are We Fighting For?

The event's rewards may have bugs, but it's seeing some of the best cosmetics we've seen recently, including some very nice looking camos. The event operates on a 30-player leaderboard bracket. The higher you place, the better your rewards.

Here's the breakdown per position earned:

Note: There are also milestone rewards, such as the Weapon Blueprint for Feathered Idol Kogat after reaching cumulative Round 100.

↖ Wait and Bait Strategy Easiest Lobbies Ever

Since the event has only 30 players, the game has to utilize SBMM or engagement metrics to group players. If you join the event first, you get grouped with the sweatiest hardcore players or current glitchers.

Here's out tip on how to get 1st place with this strategy:

↖ 1. Be Patient

Try to join the event on the last day or if you want to be even more patient the last 12 hours. By then the hardcore players are all stuck in their brackets and the glitchers are more than likely to be out or be banned.

↖ 2. One Round Scamming

When you finally want to join the event, do the following:

• 1. Queue into Mars Survival
• 2. Play 1 round
• 3. Leave

What does this achieve?

This will put your account on the bottom of the leaderboard, and because your score will be low, the algorithm will put you in a more casual lobby or a bot lobby, the current 1st place probably won't even be past round 20.

↖ Step 3: The Takeover

After being put in an easier bracket, look at the top scorer. If 1st place is at Round 25, you just need to do 1 serious run, get to Round 30+, and you can get top rewards with almost no effort.

↖ Knowing the Rules

People don't understand the rules of the game because the in-game text is conflicting.

Rule Set A: You earn points by getting eliminations and surviving rounds. This sounds like a cumulative score (grinding multiple games adds up).

Rule Set BComplete the highest round you can. This sounds like a High Score type system (if you get to Round 30, your score is 30. To beat that score, you would need to start over and get to 31).

Given the current bugs, it is safest to assume it is a High Score system. Which means one really good run is better than ten okay runs.

↖ FAQ

Q: Has the glitch been fixed yet?

A: As of now, Treyarch/Activision is aware of the incorrect progress tracking issue, but they haven't confirmed a full fix. If you're considering spending several hours to a run, the official Trello board and Twitter will be your best bet.

Q: Will playing Astro Malorum impact my Mars leaderboard in any way?

A: Yes. We've had players report being placed in the Mars leaderboards just for playing other Zombie maps. To avoid being placed in the Mars leaderboards for Zombie maps, do not play any Zombie maps until the event starts.

Q: If I drop out of the Top 5, do I still get to keep the rewards?

A: No. Your placement is final and determines the rewards you get. If the event timer hits zero and you are in 1st place, you get the 1st place rewards. However, if you are in 1st place on Tuesday and drop to 6th on Wednesday, you do not get the 1st place rewards.

Q: Is the Mars Camo animated?

A: Yes. The Mars camo is animated and is a Top 5 reward. The Planet Flamingo camo is a Top 15 reward and is a similar camo, but is static.

↖ Closing

With the animated camos looking great and the powerful Gobblegums being available, the technical state of competing in Black Ops 7 Season 2 is great rewards, terrible execution for the Mars event.

We recommend staying away from the Mars Survival map for the first few days. It's best to let the developers patch the save file glitches and clear out the impossible scores. With our Wait and Bait strategy later in the week, you will have a much easier time flexing that Mars camo without having to deal with Round 700 glitchers. Avoid the leaderboards for now, and keep safe out there!