The classic Ballista is returning in Season 1, and here’s how to unlock it.
The Season 1 Reloaded update in Call of Duty: Black Ops 7 and Warzone is set to introduce two new weapons into the fray. One of those weapons is the beloved Ballista sniper rifle, which saw its debut way back in Black Ops 2 in 2012. The Ballista became the second-most popular sniper in that game, thanks to the DSR 50, but it's maintained a cult following in the community for the past decade plus.
Now, in Black Ops 7, players can once again use the Ballista, but only after they unlock it following the Season 1 Reloaded update.
Unlocking the Ballista sniper in Black Ops 7 and Warzone
At the time of writing, Season 1 Reloaded is still a couple of weeks away, meaning we're not sure of the exact unlock method for the Ballista.
However, what we do know is that the Ballista will be unlocked through an in-game event after Season 1 Reloaded arrives. What that event is and how the sniper is unlocked is still unknown, though. We also don't know when this event will arrive after Season 1 Reloaded is released.
If past events and weapon unlocks are any indication, the Ballista will be unlocked by players completing every challenge in an event or through a community challenge. If it's the latter, then all Black Ops 7 and Warzone players will need to contribute to a specific challenge in order to unlock the Ballista for every player. That specific challenge will likely take days to complete, similar to how it took nearly a week for the NX Ravager crossbow to unlock through the Naughty and Nice event in Black Ops 7.
Unfortunately, that's all the current info we have on the Ballista and how to unlock it. After the calendar turns to 2026, Activision and Treyarch should divulge some additional details about the Ballista and Season 1 Reloaded, so we'll have to stay tuned for those announcements.
Until the Ballista gets here, make sure you're dominating Black Ops 7 the right way with the best loadouts for the VS Recon and Warden 308.
