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How to level up weapons fast in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

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Whether you’re aiming to dominate the competition in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II multiplayer, or simply getting ready for Warzone 2.0, you’ll want to make sure your weapons are leveled up as much as possible. In Modern Warfare II, the weapon grind isn’t as bad as in other games, as many firearms share attachments, making the system more streamlined. Still, some weapons that are terrible in Modern Warfare II might work well in Warzone 2.0, or maybe there are weapons that just don’t mesh with your play style.

Whatever the case, you might want to reach max level with certain weapons as quickly as you can. In this guide, we’ll highlight the best weapon XP farming methods in Modern Warfare II. Keep in mind, there currently isn’t a ridiculously overpowered way to level up, but with these methods, you should have a much smoother experience than simply playing Team Deathmatch.

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Invasion method

Player running through a map in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

One of the best XP grinding methods is to farm AI enemies in the new Invasion mode.

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Invasion is a new game mode added to Modern Warfare II, bringing together large-scale 20v20 battles on Ground War-style maps. It’s essentially Team Deathmatch, but there’s a twist: It features AI enemies, as well as real players. Taking down a player earns you 5 points while eliminating an AI is worth one point.

Throughout the match, each team will get more AI partners that spawn from helicopters that fly overhead. You can see them approaching ahead of time, which is nice. Oddly enough, eliminating AI is worth the same amount of XP as a real player. It’s unclear if that’s intentional or a bug, but for now, it’s recommended to take advantage.

So, what we recommend is to continuously take out AI by getting close to the enemy’s spawn. Use a Tactical Insertion Field Upgrade to ensure you’re always close to the enemy’s spawn — just make sure to place this item in a hidden spot so it doesn’t get destroyed. We also recommend using the Munitions Box Field Upgrade so you always have plenty of ammo. When you hit level 45, you can actually choose between two Field Upgrades, which is highly effective.

Taking down AI is easy, at least at first. Eventually, they spawn with armor, which makes them a little harder to take down. You can continue farming when this happens, but considering they’re harder to take down, it might be a good idea to just back out to make better use of your time.

Ground War method

Players around a tank in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

As for Ground War, this method is a bit cheesier than the other one, since it requires the use of a tank. There are actually two ways you can go about farming XP. One is to simply capture objectives in a tank, which is self-explanatory. You actually earn XP for whichever weapon you have equipped while in the tank. Much like the previous Invasion method, it’s unclear if this is a bug or feature.

The other method is to actually use the tank’s attacks to take down enemies. As mentioned before, you earn weapon XP while in the tank, even if you aren’t actually using the firearm you have equipped. With this in mind, it’s best to drive around your enemy’s capture points, where you’ll come across many on-foot opponents. Simply use the tank’s turret to take them down, or run them over for good measure. This will probably get patched, so make sure to use this method ASAP.

Prioritize objectives

Finally, if you’d rather not play on the large maps, you should consider playing objective-based modes like Domination or Hardpoint. Both have the potential to give you lots of weapon XP, but it’s worth noting that Hardpoint gives you more objectives since the capture points change frequently. Ultimately, your performance will have a lot to do with your teammates, which makes it a bit tougher for consistency, but the matches do go by faster than Ground War and Invasion.

Finally, for any method, don’t forget to utilize any 2XP Tokens you might have. Currently, there are a few ways to get your hands on these tokens, such as through promotions with popular products (like Mountain Dew), for buying the Vault Edition, and or the Endowment Bundle.

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Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
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