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Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer strategy guide

We've played hundreds of rounds, some against the developers themselves - learn what we know

Words: on November 11, 2009
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The following is a catalogue of the main multiplayer unlockables:


Attachments

Grenade Launcher (Assault Rifles only)
Grip (Increases accuracy - Light Machine Guns and Shotguns only)
Rapid Fire (SMG only)
Red Dot Sight
Silencer (Shots do not show up on enemy minimap)
ACOG Scope
FMJ (Increases damage)
Shotgun
Akimbo (Hold two weapons simultaneously - SMG and Machine Pistols only)
Holographic Sight
Heartbeat Sensor
Thermal (A scope which highlights enemies in white)
Tactical Knife (Pistols only)
Extended Mags


Equipment

Frag – Cookable fragmentation grenades.
Semtex – Timed sticky explosives.
Throwing Knife (lvl. 7) – Throw it and pick it back up.
Tactical Insertion (lvl. 11) – Choose where to respawn.
Blast Shield (lvl. 19) – Increased explosive resistance.
Claymore (lvl. 31) – Anti-personnel mines.
C4 (lvl. 43) – Remote-detonating explosives.


Perk 1

Marathon – Infinite sprint. (Pro: Mantle faster.)
Sleight of Hand – Faster reloading. (Pro: Faster aiming.)
Scavanger (lvl 13) – Resupply from dead bodies. (Pro: Extra mags.)
Bling (lvl 21) – Two primary weapon attachments. (Pro: Two secondary attachments.)
One Man Army (lvl 45) – Swap classes while alive. (Pro: Swap classes faster.)


Perk 2

Stopping Power – Increased bullet damage. (Pro: Extra damage vs. enemy vehicles.)
Lightweight – Move faster. (Pro: Faster knife speed.)
Hardline (lvl. 9) – Perks require one less kill. (Pro: Deathstreaks require one less death.)
Cold-Blooded (lvl. 25) – Undecetable by UAV, air support, sentries, and thermal. (Pro: No red name or crosshair when targeted.)
Danger Close (lvl. 33) - Increases explosive weapons damage. (Pro: Extra air support damage.)


Perk 3

Commando – Increased melee distance. (Pro: No falling damage.)
Steady Aim  – Increased hip fire accuracy. (Pro: Hold your breath longer.)
Scrambler (lvl. 17) – Jam enemy radar near you. (Pro: Delays the explosion of enemy claymores.)
Ninja  (lvl. 29) – Invisible to heartbeat sensors. (Pro: Move Silently.)
SitRep (lvl. 37) - Detects enemy explosives and tactical insertions. (Pro: Makes enemy footsteps louder.)
Last Stand (lvl. 41) – We haven’t actually unlocked this yet, but we assume it is similar to the Last Stand from CoD 4, which allows a player, upon his death, to take a few shots with his secondary weapon.


Kill Streaks


3 kills - UAV - Shows enemies on the minimap.
4 kills - Care Package - Airdrop a random killstreak or ammo.
4 kills - Counter UAV  - Temporarily disables enemy radar.
4 kills - Sentry Gun - Airdrop a placeable sentry gun.
5 kills - Predator Missile - Remote control missile.
6 kills  - Precision Air Strike - Call in a directional airstrike.
7 kills  - Harrier Strike - Call in a Harrier Strike.
7 kills - Attack Helicopter - Call in a support helicopter.
8 kills - Emergency Airdrop – Calls in four care packages.
9 kills - Pave Low - Heavy armored assault helicopter.
9 kills - Stealth Bomber – An undetectable bombing run.
11 kills – Chopper Gunner - Be the gunner of an attack helicopter.
11 kills -  AC-130 - Be the gunner of an AC-130.
15 kills - EMP – Temporarily disable enemy electronics.
25 kills - Tactical Nuke - Deploy a tactical nuke (ends the game).


Death Streaks

Copycat – Steal your killer’s class in killcam.
Painkiller (lvl 6) – Big health boost while you spawn.
Martyrdom (lvl27) – Drop a live grenade just after dying.
Final Stand (lvl 39) – Like the Last Stand perk from CoD 4, except that you can use your primary and recover after enough time.

Nov 11, 2009

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Platforms:

Xbox 360, PS3, PC

62 comments

  • Richard Chiodo - July 16, 2012 10:22 a.m.

    I Know This Postis OLD, But I Recently Discovered after Prestiging is Takes Time to unlock a good gun like m9 and to get the tactical knife for "stealth operations, =D" But I Also Discovered UsingThe "First Recon" Default Class Killing With The .44 Magnum via Bullets or /Tact. Knife They Count Towards Kills So In a ay You Can Unlock Tact. Knife For Your Custom classes for Those Stealth Operations.

  • MW2Maniac - March 27, 2011 8:18 p.m.

    the guide is much appreciated i have a question tho i am a lvl 20 although i need to plat more i think you should go wit the AA-12 or striker there my fav shoties my tag is REACHWARRIOR25 i may see you on ty

  • jakub-trust-wasilewski - April 4, 2012 5:38 a.m.

    no offence but sniping is intervention as a must, assult is ak 47 or famas, sub is most defenetly ump 45 with perks marathon cold blooded and ninja, riot is good with spas 12 aldough i prefeare the at4 hs or rpg-7, and light mashin gun as rpd because of its high accurucy and damege. you mostly got it wrong... im 10th and mostly for team games i use uav care pack and emergency air drop. if im going for a nuke i use harrier air strike choper gunner (it lasts longer then ac-130) and well nuke. if stealthy then use big uns like the kill streaks he used which were predator harrier air strike and ac-130. my x box gamer tag is Sinq shadowz and im going to change it to Jinz LoAdZ. im also geting a capture card called the roxio game capture costing 83 pounds with the post or $99 with post so you can messege me and i'm going to do montages and others in around 1 or 2 weeks time at the least a month. peace out

  • Scottster88 - October 13, 2010 7:39 p.m.

    Good stuff here. Thanks. There's a little more info here too that I found useful: http://www.wikinut.com/in/wkgji/www.wikinut.com/call-of-duty:-modern-warfare-2-snipers-guide/q1ro033e/1ubl60dv/ Thanks again ^.^

  • andremurphy212 - September 26, 2010 5:19 p.m.

    Does any1 have any ideas as to how to easily get easy FMJ kills with the sniper rifle. I have the Barrett .50 cal w/ FMJ. also, the ACR is damn good at longer range. And dont mess with the SCAR since the accuracy on it sucks ass, unless u r used to high-power rifles. TANGO SUCKA!! -_-

  • andremurphy212 - September 20, 2010 9:28 p.m.

    Instead of tha scar-scavenger combo, the ACR-scavenger combo works alot better, since it fires faster and has a helluva lot more accuracy, so it makes for faster long-range kills. The intervention is good to master, since it has more accuracy than the .50 cal, and it has the exact same power, so all you need to deal with is the bolt action. The riot shield is good for protecting your TI, just in case some1 sees it and waits for u to respawn just to shoot u back down again.(Its hard to find a good TI location...:( btw, the ump45 silenced is good for a rush class... SoH is only good for a sniper, nothing else. scavenger, danger close, and commando are like the most godly rocket launcher class w/ an AR w/the grenade launcher and either the thumper, rpg-7, or the javelin. It always works. u dont hav 2 trust me, just read this over just in case u need a last minute resort. Lemme know if it worked out.

  • Midgetman377 - September 5, 2010 8:41 p.m.

    I've noticed that if you're playing domination, plant a C4 in a box near the flag and move on. If they try to capture the flag, you'll here it say that they're capturing the flag. If you blow it then you can get an easy kill.

  • ChucklesNM - September 4, 2010 1:41 a.m.

    Oh.... hah! Had I kept reading I'd have seen the Pro part of SoH, so now I get...... forgive the ignorance above.

  • ChucklesNM - September 4, 2010 1:31 a.m.

    Miss more shots because of Sleight of Hand???? You mean something else right, doesn't SoH only allow for faster mag changes?

  • ChucklesNM - September 4, 2010 1:28 a.m.

    Thanks Tyler, I'm sure to use most of this. Thanx again. \m/

  • Soapx - August 4, 2010 9:56 p.m.

    I am sorry but this guide is rather useless. i am final pristege in both cod4 and 6 and have been playing Call of duty since number 3. The best gun is the AK but definately for new players start with the famas but grab the scar-h asap. However While using the schar-h you definately need the scavanger perk, stopping power, and ninja. Lets face it as a newer player, you are going to burn through ammo be verry loud and have slow knife reactions. the attachment on the scar-h should be anything other than a sight, the metal sight on the scar-h is beautifull personally i use the silencer. For a sniper it does not mater what you use with it other than sight of hand!! if you dont use sight of hand (pro) i promise you you will die lots and miss far more shots. And for the riot shield , just dont go there. Thanx

  • andremurphy212 - August 2, 2010 7:35 p.m.

    One question... Which game mode helps u level up the fastest??

  • Manguy17 - June 4, 2010 10:51 a.m.

    you guys say you need slight of hand for the scar because it devours ammo quickly, in that case surely you would want scavenger instead? some of the stuff you guys advise seems a bit odd, but ill toy around with it anyway.

  • goldenbullet - May 9, 2010 5:42 a.m.

    Real good, the strategies go well with the stimulus package strategies also. Very good and one tip! always explore the maps like the quarry or the new stimulus maps.

  • mw2freak - April 20, 2010 2:05 p.m.

    Thanx Tyler now I can pound everybody in mw2

  • Merse91 - April 14, 2010 5:54 p.m.

    I HATE getting tactical nuked....it happens all the time in free for all

  • travissmith - March 6, 2010 11:41 p.m.

    Put The ACOG scope on the Barret 50 cal and use like a assualt rifle you will get many one shot kills its also useful for longshots because its steady and you dont have to hold your breath. I have been playing for 2 1/2 years and this is an awsome set up for ranking up fast Add me to your friends on 360 Travman86 Thanks and good luck to all you players.

  • Matalgirrafe - March 4, 2010 4:21 a.m.

    Commander Crunch I completely agree they just get scared and just empty they're magazine into you, while they're reloading you throw the knife, works every time :D

  • Trayveon11 - February 15, 2010 6:03 a.m.

    everyone should add me on playstation network at Trayveon11

  • ten2oh9 - February 15, 2010 5:20 a.m.

    I miss the days of the first half life multiplayer counter strike - what happened to the good old vertical and horizontal sensitivity settings ??? this only adjusting the sensitivity as a whole is some bullsh*t ... i like my movement to feel heavy/steady but also fast if u can understand that ... but most of all i miss the simple play of everyone moves at the same pace , there wasnt nothing but ur weapons and aim , all this extra crap is ruining online play ... i do like some of it but i prefer the old ways , like the kill streak rewards, lame totally lame - u have enough crap to worry bout - to have to watch out for air strikes n what not , that just sucks ... the perks do make the game interesting but also ruin it , if im quicker to stab u i should kill u not the other way around bc u have a special perk ... but most of all this is a word of advise to all the idiots who have no idea about playing multiplayer games ... u see a guy bout to shoot down a heli or plane thats not urs, do everyone including urself a huge favor wait til he gets his shots off at the thing then kill him , seriously WTF u guys cant think n play at the same time ??? same thing goes for seeing a guy u know is trying to take out a sniper wait a sec then kill him !! to all u snipers theres time n places for it but to spend 60+ dollars on a game to just squat in one place all game , dude get a life winning isnt that important and alos its only a game if u die in COD u dont die in real life so please feel free to run around something amazing might happen like getting better at the game ... thats all for now ....

Showing 1-20 of 62 comments

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