AI assisted translation (Korean > English)
2024⬆️
In the past, the surest guarantee of victory in CODM's Hardpoint mode was 'overwhelming aggression.' As demonstrated by Elevate (ELV) in 2024, they earned points through aggressive investment in the hill itself, centered around their superstar shotgun player, Peejay. Many teams crumbled before this style, and Elevate entered an untouchable realm by defeating Q9 4:0 in the finals.
The cause of this success lay in the 'Quality of Kill.' Kills that are not directly connected to controlling the hill are tactically akin to 'Empty Calories.' In other words, even if a Slayer records 2 kills at the front line, if they cannot survive and die immediately, the opponent can easily clean up the remaining forces whose health is depleted through a 'Second Wave' after respawning and retake the hill. If the advantage created by an individual is not immediately converted into team positioning, that advantage evaporates in an instant. The gains obtained through slaying did not serve as a basis for long-term buildup, and even if successful, they failed to create a significant gap in the macroscopic game flow due to failures in risk management.
In the 2025 Championship, many teams tried to apply Elevate's past playstyle in their own ways, and among them, some teams found the right method. Based on the matches of these teams, we will cover why the foundation laid by Elevate is powerful and how it has been adjusted.
One of the biggest features of 2025 is the change in how Operator Skills are utilized. This change does not mean that the concept of Operator Economics was newly created from nothing, but rather that the dominant logic of the existing meta has been revised.
The problem is efficiency. What happens if you pour Operators into a 'Non-Money Hill' where it is hard to score points by pushing aggression according to past logic? They might secure a good spawn, but by the time the upcoming 'Money Hill' timing arrives, their Operators will be depleted. On the other hand, the opposing team, having saved their Operators, will gain firepower superiority in the Money Hill fight, overcoming the disadvantage of spawns and taking control of the hill.
In 2024, Elevate did not need to invest Operators in many places thanks to their high win rate in engagements on Non-Money Hills like P1. Based on this ability, Elevate naturally gained economic advantages in the cycle of Operator Skills per point.
Consequently, a team that invests in a Non-Money Hill suffers a 'double loss': failing to earn significant points due to the geographical characteristics of the hill, and giving up the Money Hill where points must be earned to the opponent. This conclusion seems to contradict the grand premise of Hardpoint that aggressive personnel investment should be made equally in all hills, but it gave birth to a more evolved 'Operator Economics' where investment must be strictly calculated, at least for Operators.
The utility of Smoke Grenades has also evolved beyond simple vision blocking to become an essential tool for 'guaranteeing survivability' and 'winning microscopic engagements.' Going a step further from the past Elevate style of 'throwing smoke and rushing to get trade kills,' in 2025, it is used to maximize individual survival time to suppress the opponent's point acquisition.
Survival through smoke offers two benefits. First, enduring even one more second inside the hill leads directly to point acquisition. Second, even if defeated in an engagement, it buys time until allies join, paving the way for a 'Second Wave.'