Call of Duty: Ghosts - tips and tricks for winning

It looks like you've picked up Call of Duty: Ghosts (likely at a bargain price). But now you're here, and that means you need some help. But never fear, I'm here to turn you from a puppy dog into a pitbull. Confused by the perks? Tired of getting your ass handed to you? Wondering where that guy got that gun? Well, you're in luck. Right here, you've got my sure-fire plan for not-sucking-quite-so-much in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Follow these few tips and you'll be on the right path towards noob pwnage, kill to death ratios over 1.0, and hell, maybe even complete domination of the competitive FPS scene (because why not)! Come on in and have a look.

While you're here, this is our list of the best Call of Duty games.

Get familiar with all of the maps' moving parts

One thing that's new about Call of Duty: Ghosts is you can mess around with the maps. Spread across each environment are designated interaction points in which players can do things like ride elevators, open or close doors, or blow holes in walls with C4. Sure, it's not Levolutionary, but it's still important to know what can do what and where. If you know how the map works, you'll definitely be able to make it work for you, especially in team games.

Want to funnel your foes down a particular path as they are trying to capture a domination point. Lower a gate that will force them to take a side route and walk them right into your crosshairs. Or you could even blow away a pesky sniper's cover in some situations. It pays off to be in the know. And as some wise soldiers have said in the past, "Knowing is half the battle."

Plan out what unlocks to buy early, and stick to the plan

If you've already taken a look at the loadout options available in Ghosts, you already know. It's tough to know where to start spending your hard earned Squad Points. What's worse, if you just start spending those points all willy nilly, you might find yourself ill-equipped if you end up not using those unlocks in your primary class.

What do you do? Easy, try equipment out and plan ahead. If you're unsure what attachments you'll like, start picking up the dead players' weapons and try out their loadouts. Find what you like and spend on the essentials, then you'll have everything you want without wasting points on what you don't.

Focus on building one class at a time

When you first start out, you don't want to spread your resources too thin. Having the right equipment and perks for the right situation can mean the difference between victory and an agonizing deathstreak. I recommend creating one class for your favorite match type, then focus on outfitting that soldier with the best equipment and perk you can get with your limited Squad Points.

If you like the close-quarters games like Free-for-all, focus on speeding up your ADS, movement, and reloading with perks and buy a short to middle-range primary weapon. Or, if you're a domination player, consider beefing up your defensive perks and pick up a long-range rifle. If you focus on upgrading the most useful class for your favorite match type, you'll be far better equipped than your foes early on. In other words: all the kills will belong to you.

Complete the Field Orders

There's a new feature in Call of Duty multiplayer, and that is Field Orders. Downed soldiers will randomly drop a Field Orders case which you can pick up and complete tasks for a free Killstreak.

Most of these are fairly simple to pull off: like shooting 2 enemies while prone or getting two kills with your secondary weapon. They are a small price to pay for a random Killstreak bonus that has the potential to nuke the entire map. And once you get that bad boy, you'll be rollin' in the kills.

Unlock the Sentry Gun ASAP

This may just be personal preference, but holy hell, I love the Sentry Gun Killstreak. Why? Well, it's one of the best defensive companions you could have. Are you in an objective type game? Need to protect a flag, portal, or domination point? Just post up one of these bad boys on or near the thing you want to protect and it will gun down anyone who pokes their soft, squishy head out.

Best of all, if you find good placement in the corner of the map, the top of an overlooking balcony, or anywhere else out of the way, you could just plop your Sentry Down and leave it to run around the map on your own killing spree. It's a great way to rack up kills for higher level killstreaks that you can deploy to, you guessed it, rack up more kills. Lots of racking going on in Ghosts...

Get armed for anti-air

One of the most useful things you can do for your team is to keep the skies clear of enemy Killstreaks because, you know, nobody ever thinks to carry a rocket launcher with them otherwise. Between the helicopter snipers, attack choppers, and explosive-armed drone, there will be plenty of airborne threats to vaporize in a fiery blast.

And if those airborne annoyances go unchecked, they can wreak havoc on your team's ability to score points against the other team, snuff your own chances to earn Killstreaks, and generally make your match not so fun. Do yourself a favor, set up a class with the Blind Eye perk and a rocket launcher. Your team will thank you.

Set up traps for "free" kills

Running and gunning is great fun, but you generally have to be pretty good to come out on top of a head-to-head encounter. Players use drop shots, jump shots, and all kinds of nonsense to get a kill. But if you're not at that skill level yet, play smarter--set traps. There's the easy way to set traps: just drop an I.E.D. on a well-beaten enemy pathway and watch passing opponents go up in smoke, or drop a C4 in a doorway and play the waiting game.

Then there's the more tricky way: actually watching enemy movement and reacting to it. You can close some doors and wait for pursuing players to open it to your awaiting iron sights (but remember to watch the flank), or toss down the Motion Sensor gadget (in your tactical slot) to keep an eye on where your target is going then quickly set up an ambush. Practice playing smart, stay aware, and be one step ahead of your enemies, and you'll dominate the competition.

Make a Speedster class

Most of the time it's better to just walk around levels, but in certain modes (namely Blitz, Kill Confirmed, and Cranked) you want to move fast. That's where your Speedster comes in. For this soldier, you want to be as light as possible. So ixnay on the sniper rifles, LMGs, and assault rifles. You're going to want to equip a SMG or shotgun, load them up with the attachments and grenades you want, then it's on to the perks.

It goes without saying, but you'll want to load up on the perks in the Speed category. Agility and Marathon will be your best friends with increased movement speed and unlimited sprint. From there you can go with Stalker for faster movement while aiming, or put on some stealth perks like Incog or Blind Eye. You'll be able to move in quickly, score some points (or get some kills), and get your ass out of there before any one's the wiser.

Create a defender class

Many Call of Duty players spend the majority of their time on the offensive. My Defender class gives you a chance to branch out, be different, and maybe even inspire your teammates to fucking guard the domination point you just captured.

LMGs are your best bet when on the defensive. You have a massive clip to gun down multiple aggressors, they're accurate at range, and their extra weight is a non-issue because you won't be moving around too much. For perks, load up on the Resistance category. Tac Resist and Blast Shield will let you shrug off enemy grenades, Sleight of Hand will reduce your LMG's lengthy reload time, and Ping will show you the position of attacking players as you pile up the bodies.

Create a sniper class

Some of the Call of Duty: Ghosts' maps have extremely long lines of sight, which is perfect for getting some scoped kills and brushing up on your sniper skills. Whether you're a seasoned sniper or completely new, you're going to want something that could hit a dime at a couple hundred yards at some point.

The loadout is pretty easy. Grab your preferred sniper rifle with a Variable Zoom Lens (the USR is a good starter) and equip some perks that will keep you out of the enemies' sights. Blind Eye will keep those obnoxious choppers off your back, Amplify will let you know if there are any bad guys stomping around your location, and Wiretap gives you enemy locations on your mini map if there is an active SAT COM from either team. Now, just find your sweet spot on the map and start squeezing off those headshots.

Lorenzo Veloria

Many years ago, Lorenzo Veloria was a Senior Editor here at GamesRadar+ helping to shape content strategy. Since then, Lorenzo has shifted his attention to Future Plc's broader video game portfolio, working as a Senior Brand Marketing Manager to oversee the development of advertising pitches and marketing strategies for the department. He might not have all that much time to write about games anymore, but he's still focused on making sure the latest and greatest end up in front of your eyes one way or another.