How to Use Knife in BO6 Call of Duty – In Call of Duty: Black Ops 6 (BO6) Zombies, understanding the use of the knife can make a surprising difference in your gameplay. While many players focus on guns and heavy weaponry, melee attacks — especially with the knife — have a powerful role in surviving the hordes of undead. Using the knife effectively in BO6’s Zombies mode helps conserve ammo, earn extra points, and maximize the perks and bonuses that knifing can offer. This guide will cover essential strategies for using the knife in BO6 Zombies, including when to use it, upgrading to the Bowie Knife, using melee perks, and how GobbleGums and other game features enhance melee attacks.

Why Use the Knife in BO6 Zombies?

The knife has unique advantages, especially in the early rounds. Here’s why it’s worth adding to your toolkit:

1. Increased Points: Knifing rewards you with more points than shooting in early rounds, a key factor if you’re aiming to unlock doors, buy perks, or access powerful weapons early.
2. Ammo Conservation: With limited ammo, especially in early rounds, the knife can conserve bullets for later, more challenging rounds.
3. Efficient in Early Rounds: Zombies in the initial rounds are weaker, making the knife particularly effective for quickly finishing off enemies.
4. Silent and Effective: The knife doesn’t draw attention from large groups of zombies, so it’s ideal for close encounters without alerting surrounding enemies.

Early Rounds – Knifing for Maximum Points and Efficiency

In the early rounds of BO6 Zombies, knifing zombies is often the most efficient strategy. Here’s how to make the most of it:

• Round 1: Zombies have low health in the first round, making a single knife strike enough to kill them. This round is perfect for getting a feel for the melee mechanics while racking up easy points.
• Round 2 and 3: In these rounds, zombies are a bit tougher, but knifing remains an efficient way to score kills. You can increase your efficiency by shooting each zombie a few times before finishing them with a knife, maximizing both ammo conservation and point accumulation.

Knifing Technique in BO6

Mastering the knifing technique in BO6 requires quick reflexes and a solid understanding of the mechanics. Here are the basic steps:

1. Approach Carefully: Don’t rush into a horde. Instead, approach zombies one at a time or in small groups, backing away if needed.
2. Press the Melee Button: On most consoles, this is the R3 button (PlayStation) or RS button (Xbox). Be close enough to the zombie so you don’t miss the melee strike, but ready to retreat to avoid retaliation.
3. Lunge and Retreat: When you press the melee button, your character will lunge forward. After each hit, quickly back away to avoid a counterattack. Repeat this to prevent taking damage, especially in later rounds.

When to Upgrade – Bowie Knife and Special Melee Weapons

As rounds progress, the standard knife becomes less effective against tougher zombies. To keep up with the game’s escalating difficulty, it’s worth upgrading to the Bowie Knife or another melee weapon.

The Bowie Knife

The Bowie Knife is an upgrade from the basic knife, available on most BO6 Zombies maps. Here’s why it’s worth the investment:

• Stronger Melee Damage: The Bowie Knife does much more damage than the regular knife, allowing you to one-hit-kill zombies up until around Round 10.
• Cost and Location: The Bowie Knife costs around 3000 points and is usually found on the wall in designated locations throughout the map. Investing in it early on can pay off in both points and survival time.
• Combination with Perks: The Bowie Knife pairs exceptionally well with perks like Double Points, allowing you to rack up points quickly while conserving ammo.

Special Weapons with Melee Abilities

Black Ops 6 introduces Specialist Weapons that incorporate powerful melee attacks, each offering unique benefits for crowd control and point-maximization:

1. The Annihilator: This high-damage pistol includes a melee attack that’s effective for taking down zombies in close quarters.
2. Wrath of the Ancients: A bow available on specific maps, it has a charged melee attack that can knock down multiple zombies simultaneously.
3. Skull of Nan Sapwe: This specialist weapon emits a beam that disintegrates zombies within close range, functioning similarly to a melee attack with a significant area of effect.

Perks and Power-Ups that Enhance Melee Effectiveness

In BO6 Zombies, perks and power-ups can enhance melee capabilities, making the knife viable in higher rounds. Here’s a breakdown of perks that boost melee effectiveness:

• Widow’s Wine: This perk slows down zombies that attack you, giving you a critical advantage when knifing in crowded situations. Combined with the Bowie Knife, Widow’s Wine can keep you knifing effectively until the mid-game.
• Electric Cherry: Every time you reload, Electric Cherry emits an electric shock, which stuns nearby zombies and can be extremely helpful for melee kills.
• Juggernog: Although not directly affecting the knife, Juggernog increases your health, making knifing safer in later rounds.

GobbleGums and How They Boost Melee Attacks

GobbleGums are unique boosts that can temporarily improve your knife’s effectiveness in various ways. These can be game-changers when you’re in tight spots or aiming for maximum points:

• Sword Flay: This GobbleGum increases melee damage by 5x for a limited time. It can make your knife a one-hit kill weapon even in later rounds, which is useful for both conserving ammo and scoring high points.
• In Plain Sight: This GobbleGum makes you invisible to zombies for a short time, allowing you to perform melee attacks without being counterattacked. This is especially handy for completing knife challenges or escaping tight situations.
• Alchemical Antithesis: While primarily an ammo-focused GobbleGum, Alchemical Antithesis rewards points for melee kills, allowing you to restock ammo while continuing to knife zombies.

Knifing in Higher Rounds – Safety Tips and Tactics

As rounds progress, zombies become tougher, making it riskier to rely solely on melee attacks. Here are some tips for maintaining effectiveness while staying safe:

1. Only Knife Lone Zombies: In later rounds, focus on knifing stragglers rather than groups. Knifing a lone zombie is much safer and allows you to control the battlefield without overwhelming yourself.
2. Pair with Crowd Control Weapons: Using crowd control weapons alongside knifing helps manage zombie groups. Weapons like the Ray Gun or Monkey Bombs can distract or eliminate large groups, allowing you to focus on melee kills for lone zombies.
3. Use Melee on Crawlers: Injured zombies that crawl are slower and easier to knife. Use them to build points safely without risking health.

Knifing Challenges and Rewards

BO6 Zombies mode occasionally features challenges that require a set number of knife kills to unlock rewards. Completing these challenges can give you perks, powerful weapons, or other useful items. Here are some tips to meet these challenges efficiently:

• Early Round Completion: Start working on knife challenges in the early rounds when zombies have less health.
• Use the Bowie Knife: If possible, get the Bowie Knife before starting a challenge. The added damage will help you complete it faster.
• Activate Double Points: Double Points combined with knifing can maximize your rewards, helping you hit milestones and unlock doors or perks faster.

Conclusion

Knifing in Black Ops 6 Zombies mode may seem secondary compared to firearms, but it’s an essential tool for maximizing points and conserving resources. Learning how and when to knife strategically — especially when combined with perks, GobbleGums, and upgrades like the Bowie Knife — can greatly improve your overall game performance.

With practice, knifing becomes a valuable skill that allows you to navigate the battlefield with precision and efficiency. By mastering these techniques, you’ll be better prepared to face the endless waves of zombies in BO6, earning higher points, conserving ammo, and unlocking key areas with ease. Whether you’re a beginner or a veteran player, incorporating melee attacks into your gameplay adds a new layer of strategy and depth to your BO6 Zombies experience.