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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II tips and tricks for multiplayer

Joseph Yaden
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Now that Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II is here, millions of players have jumped into multiplayer across Team Deathmatch, Ground War, and the new Invasion mode. Despite being part of a long-running series, Modern Warfare II is quite different from its predecessors in terms of the way it feels — making it tricky to get used to.

The most notable change from previous installments is Modern Warfare II’s pacing, which is much slower than before. This can cause lots of trouble, especially if you’re a series veteran, as you can’t play Modern Warfare II like other popular entries.

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With that in mind, these are some tips and tricks to help you come out on top in Modern Warfare II’s multiplayer mode.

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Win those 1v1 gunfights

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You need to be aware of how to win 1v1 gunfights more consistently because this is key to leveling up faster and earning more victories. There are lots of factors to consider when challenging players, such as your weapon and its aim down sights (ADS) speed, along with the attachments and your position.

For instance, if you’re running out in an open field, there’s a chance an enemy onlooker is already aiming at you with a long-range weapon, so if you have a close-range SMG, you might as well not even try to challenge this enemy. Likewise, if you’re running down a hallway while carrying an assault rifle and you come across an opponent with an SMG, you’ll have trouble winning that gunfight as well.

So, the main idea is to first pick your battles accordingly. Once you’re confident you’ll have a chance at winning a gunfight, we highly recommend aiming directly for your opponent’s chest. This way, your weapon will actually kick up when they hit you — because of flinch — and you’ll actually connect with their head, allowing you to take them down quicker. The other main component to winning more gunfights is to hip-fire at your opponents while aiming down sights. This way, you can pull off a shot or two before you’re fully aimed at your opponent.

In addition, using tricks like jump-shotting or drop-shotting can throw off your opponents in close-range 1v1 battles.

Get your loadouts sorted

The STB 556 in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Loadouts work differently in Modern Warfare II than in previous entries. This is because many attachments have more penalizing downsides, meaning you have to take more into consideration when building your weapons. For example, if you’re building an assault rifle for the best recoil control possible, you will severely hurt the weapon’s ADS times. Each recoil control attachment you add to the weapon stacks against its ADS times, which can make the weapon practically useless in most situations aside from long-range. On top of that, if you attempt to compensate by adding attachments that help ADS times, you’ll then hurt your aiming stability.

Bottom line? You don’t always need to fill all five attachment slots when building a weapon. Sometimes, a weapon will actually perform better overall with only three attachments rather than five. Of course, there’s certainly nuance to this, but take a look at how a weapon feels and adjust accordingly if something is off. Oftentimes, the solution is as simple as dropping an attachment.

Play less aggressively

The major takeaway with Modern Warfare II is that you can’t play it as aggressively as other CoD games. This is because the time to kill (TTK) is tremendously fast, while many of the game’s animations are much slower. So, you might struggle to compete against players who are scoped in, watching a busy area. Instead, try to play a hybrid of the two. You can run around to busy locations, but instead of blazing through a high-traffic area, perhaps overlooking that spot to catch players as they run by will lead to more success. Then, move back to another area — rinse and repeat.

Switch to Scorestreaks

The Scorestreaks page in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

There really is no reason to use Killstreaks in Modern Warfare II. Thankfully, the game gives you the option to switch between the two from within the Weapons menu, so do be sure to take a look at that before you dive into a match. The reason Scorestreaks are better is that they essentially feature the same requirements as Killstreaks, but there are numerous ways to earn additional scores during a match.

For instance, a UAV requires four kills or a 500 score (which is exactly equal to earning four kills since eliminations are worth 125 points). But there is a slew of other ways to earn score, such as defending a capture point, avenging a teammate, or securing a long shot. So, since there are literally no penalties for using Scorestreaks, we recommend swapping away from Killstreaks ASAP.

Play Ground War to grind XP

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

We go into more detail about XP farming in a dedicated guide, but the main thing you should be aware of is that Ground War is one of the best methods for leveling up your weapons fast. This is because you can get into a tank and use it to eliminate players and capture points, which all give XP to whichever weapon you have equipped.

If Ground War isn’t your style, we recommend Kill Confirmed, as it’s also a fast way to earn XP if you prioritize collecting dog tags.

Adjust your settings

Controller menu in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Finally, we highly suggest making sure your settings are adjusted before you hop into a game. We go into further detail in our console settings guide, so be sure to check it out to see our recommendations. The main things you should change are your sensitivity settings, along with certain graphics and interface options.

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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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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode puts a slight twist on the mechanics you are already familiar with. It now plays much more like a souped-up DMZ mode rather than its old round-based format. And Field Upgrades have been modified in terms of both their effects and how you get them just for this game type. There are six different Field Upgrades you can bring into the map and use on a cooldown timer to help improve your chances of survival, but you can only pick one at a time. You will begin the game with only one option, but steadily unlock the rest as you level up. Once you have them all, the question then becomes which is the best Field Upgrade? We've managed to exfiltrate with the answer.

Healing Aura
Regardless of whether or not you're playing with a team or running solo, Healing Aura is no doubt the best Field Upgrade to bring on any Zombie run. When activated, you and any teammates in the area will not only gain immediate healing, but it will also instantly revive any downed teammates. The downside to all this power is that this upgrade has the slowest recharge time and is unlocked at level 19.
Aether Shroud
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Frenzied Guard
Just past the halfway mark, Frenzied Guard has a massive upside, but not without some risk. When you pop this Field Upgrade, you instantly repair all your armor, but also draw all the aggression of any enemy nearby for 10 seconds. However, another perk is that anything you kill during this time also repairs your armor, so situationally, it can be great or detrimental. This one recharges slowly, unlocking at level 9.
Frost Blast
Frost Blast does exactly what you expect: it fires a freezing blast that will slow down any enemy you hit with it and deal a bit of damage. It's decent in a pinch, but not a game-changer. You can get it when you hit level 29.
Tesla Storm
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Energy Mine
This is your default Field Upgrade, so it makes sense that it's the "worst" on the list. Energy Mine isn't exactly bad; you simply lay down a mine that does what a mine does -- explodes. It's just that setting up traps like this in Zombies isn't all that applicable except when kiting a boss around or waiting for the helicopter. It has a medium recharge speed.

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The old format of Zombies has been left behind in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in favor of a more open-world, objective-based take on the undead survival game type. This time, you will squad up and drop into a map with specific objectives you can choose to complete to earn tons of XP, while also pushing the narrative forward and unlocking new, more difficult tasks to take on. The early-tier missions are generally very simple, but in Act 1, you will be given the objective to find and destroy a Mercenary Convoy somewhere on the map. This sounds easy enough on paper until you realize you have no idea where this convey is or how to find it. Every run in Zombies risks losing all your hard-earned progress, so we'll lead you to the Mercenary Convoy to take it out before the zombies even know you were there.
How to find the Mercenary Convoy

Your first challenge will be to find this Mercenary Convoy. The problem here is twofold: first is that it isn't marked on your map in any way, and second is that, being a convoy, it is mobile. Once you land, you and your team should find the nearest vehicle and head toward the center of the map. Depending on how the threat levels are on your particular map, you are looking for roads and highways that are around the medium-threat level zone. You will have to patrol these roads until you come across the convoy, which only consists of three vehicles. Once you are in range, it does appear on your map to let you know you've found it.

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