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The best Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II console settings

While pure skill is king in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, having the right settings can certainly improve your performance. Tinkering with the settings is part of the Modern Warfare II experience, but as with most things in the series, there are an overwhelming number of options to choose from.

We’ve spent a considerable time with the multiplayer mode, and have fine-tuned our settings to maximize performance. In this guide, we’ll show you the best in-game settings for multiplayer, but keep in mind, many of these options come down to personal preference. Still, there are some that are objectively better than others. In addition, Infinity Ward will likely add new settings, or alter the way some current settings work.

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Controller

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

Inputs

Flip L1, L2 and R1, R2 Off
Stick layout preset Default
Controller vibration Off
Trigger Effect Off

Aiming

Horizontal stick sensitivity  High 7 (personal preference)
Vertical stick sensitivity  High 7 (personal preference)
Sensitivity multiplier All default (personal preference)
Vertical aim axis All standard (personal preference)

Gameplay

Aim down sights behavior Hold
Automatic sprint Automatic tactical sprint
Equipment behavior Hold
Weapon mount activation ADS + melee
Interact, reload behavior Tap to reload
Armor plate behavior Apply all

Advanced controller

Aim Assist

Target aim assist On
Aim assist type Default (personal preference)

Aiming

Aim response curve Standard
ADS sens. multiplier [Focus] 1.00
ADS sensitivity transition timing Instant
Custom sensitivity per zoom On
ADS sens. multiplier  [Low zoom] 1.00 (personal preference)
ADS sens. multiplier [2x to 3x zoom] 1.00 (personal preference)
ADS sens. multiplier [4x to 5x zoom] 0.75 (personal preference)
ADS sens. multiplier [6x to 7x zoom] 0.75 (personal preference)
ADS sens. multiplier [8x to 9x zoom] 0.75 (personal preference)
ADS sens. multiplier [High zoom] 0.75 (personal preference)

Movement behaviors

Sprint, tactical sprint behavior N/A
Auto move forward Off
Tactical sprint behavior Double tap
Grounded mantle On
Automatic airborne mantle Partial
Automatic ground mantle Off
Invert slide and dive behavior Standard
Plunging underwater Plunge freely
Parachute auto-deploy Off
Sprinting door bash On

Combat behaviors

ADS stick swap Off
Backpack alternate control Off
ADS interruption behavior N/A
Weapon mount exit delay Short
Depleted ammo weapon switch On
Quick C4 detonation On

Vehicle behaviors

Vehicle camera recenter Default
Camera initial position Free look

Overlays behaviors

Ping wheel delay Moderate
Double tap danger ping delay Moderate

Graphics

Graphics menu in Modern Warfare II.
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Details & textures

On-demand texture streaming On (dependant on your internet)
Allocated texture cache size Auto
Enable download limits Off (dependent on your internet)Allocated texture cache size
Daily download limit 1.0 (dependent on your internet)Allocated texture cache size

Post processing effects

World motion blur Off
Weapon motion blur Off
Film grain 0.00
Depth of field Off
Fidelity CAS On
Fidelity CAS strength 50

View

120 HZ refresh rate On
Field of view (FOV) 100 (personal preference)
ADS field of view Affected
Weapon field of view Default
3rd person field of view 80
Vehicle field of view Default
1st person camera movement Default [100%]
3rd person camera movement Default [100%]
3rd person ADS transition 3rd person ADS
Default spectator camera Game perspective

Audio

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

Volumes

Audio mix Headphone bass boost
Master volume 100
Music volume 0
Dialogue volume 0
Effects volume 100
Hit marker volume 100
Mono audio Off
Mono amount N/A

Subtitles

Subtitles Personal preference
Subtitles size Default
Subtitles background opacity 0

Voice chat

Voice chat On
Game voice channel Party only (personal preference)
Voice chat device Headset
Open mic recording threshold 70 (personal preference)
Voice chat volume 100
Microphone test Off
Microphone volume 100 (personal preference)

Channels

Mute yourself when connecting Off

Audio advanced settings

Juggernaut music Off
Hit marker sound effects MW (Personal preference)
Reduce tinnitus sound Off

Interface

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

Readability

Menu text size Default (Personal preference)
Text chat text size Default (Personal preference)
Text chat background opacity 20 (Personal preference)
Text chat message duration Short (Personal preference)
Language selection English (Personal preference)
Color customization Personal preference

Subtitles

Subtitles All off (Personal preference)
Subtitles size Default (Personal preference)
Subtitles background opacity 0 (Personal preference)

HUD

Mini map shape Square
Mini map rotation On
Crosshairs On
Hit markers visuals On
Damage-based hit markers On
Player names Abbreviated
Vehicle HUD prompts Fade after 5 seconds

Telemetry

Telemetry  Custom
Server latency On
Packet loss On
Clock Off
Connection meter On

Advanced interface settings

Tooltips On
Parallax effects On
Center dot Off
Center dot scale Default

Account & Network

Online

Crossplay On (Personal preference)
Crossplay communication On

Content filters

Text chat On (Personal preference)
Profanity filter On (Personal preference)
Dismemberment & gore effects On (Personal preference)
Joseph Yaden
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
The best Wildcards in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Kill Order gameplay in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6.

The concept of a Wildcard might sound like a risky endeavor in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6, but this part of your loadout isn't random at all. We haven't seen this system since Cold War, and even those who remember it from that game will need to learn all the new cards there are in Black Ops 6. You can only equip a single Wildcard on your loadout, but they are powerful enough to completely redefine your playstyle. So far, there are only six to unlock while grinding through the levels with your friends, but picking just one is still a tough choice, especially if you want to use a permanent unlock on one after hitting Prestige. We've ranked all the Wildcards in Black Ops 6 so you can always have the winning hand.
All Black Ops 6 Wildcards, ranked

There is a level of personal preference in which Wildcard you will find better than others, but in most cases, the ones we've ranked as the best will help every player gain an edge in online matches. Here's our ranking of each Wildcard from best to worst, along with what level you unlock them at.
Perk Greed - Level 54
The last Wildcard you unlock is easily the most powerful. Perk Greed lets you unlock a fourth Perk to your loadout instead of being limited to three, which can borderline break the game if you choose the right set of Perks. It is also the most versatile of the Wildcards since it gives you the most options to play with instead of a specific bonus you may not find useful. It can also more easily unlock the special bonus buff you get for equipping three Perks from the same category.
Gunfighter - Level 33
Right in the middle of the unlock list, Gunfighter is one Wildcard you could easily make a case for over Perk Greed in some situations. This one increases your attachment points for your primary weapon by three. If you're rocking a top-tier weapon already, this Wildcard can let you tweak its stats even higher. We rank it second because it only applies to one weapon and thus is a bit more limiting.
Overkill - Level 24
For such an early Wildcard, Overkill is quite a powerful choice. This card lets you equip any weapon (except melee weapons) in your Primary and Secondary slots instead of the ones typically reserved for each. That means you can build a loadout with two Primary weapons and be far more versatile on the battlefield. Instead of having to trade off range, damage, rate of fire, mobility, or any other aspect of your game, you can cover almost all your bases by picking two Primary weapons that cover each other's weaknesses.
Prepper - Level 45
Field upgrades are powerful, don't get us wrong, but having two instead of one isn't always that much of a game-changer. It's a bit less useful than Gunfighter only because field upgrades are more situational and require more attention to use to their full potential. If that's you, then this is a great choice.
Danger Close - Level 38
Who doesn't want another grenade, Molotov, or combat axe? Is getting a second Lethal worth the Wildcard slot, though? Not in our opinion. Most of the time, Lethals are used in desperation or as a way to deny enemy movement for a time, and even then, they are risky because of how vulnerable you are while using them.
Tactical Expert - Level 15
The first Wildcard you get is better than nothing, but only just. It's exactly like Danger Close, only you can hold two Tacticals instead of Lethals. This is, by nature, a little worse since Tacticals don't have the ability to kill an enemy (unless you get super lucky and you directly hit an enemy with one who is on low HP). You can get some use out of them, but you're better off upgrading as soon as you have another option.

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The best Perk-A-Colas in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
A screenshot from Call of Duty: Black Ops 6's zombies mode.

There's nothing more refreshing than taking a nice big swig of a Perk-A-Cola during an intense Zombies match with your pals in Call of Duty: Black Ops 6. Besides tasting great (we assume), these colas empower you with buffs that will keep you alive until the later rounds. These bonuses are just as important as the Pack-A-Punch, but come in a wider range of flavors. It is possible to stack them all, but that gets expensive very fast so you need to be thrifty about choosing which ones are most valuable early on. These colas come in eight different types that may or may not be worth your Essence to chug. If you want to know which ones are the best in Black Ops 6, check out our ranking.
Best Perk-A-Colas in Black Ops 6

We're ranking these Perk-A-Colas based on their base bonuses, not any additional effects you can get if you Augment them, from best to worst.
Jugger-Nog
You can never go wrong with the classic Jugger-Nog. Increasing your health by 100 is useful for the entire duration of a Zombies mode, but especially in the early rounds. Going down is at best a major setback and at worst a cascade into defeat. This extra health allows you to get out of a bad situation that would otherwise end your run.
Quick Revive
This Perk has two components, with the less useful one being the ability to revive teammates 50% faster. Ideally, that shouldn't be needed but is nice. However, what makes it rank so high is the 50% shorter delay on health regen. Your health will come back over time in Zombies but at a dreadful pace. Starting to heal faster means less time running and kiting zombies around and more time in the action helping the team.
Speed Cola
The best early guns for Zombies mode have a large magazine, fast reload, or both. Running out of ammo at the wrong time and not being able to get more rounds in the chamber fast enough has ended many a run, but Speed Cola is the solution. It will speed up your reloads and armor plating by 30%. That's not a massive number, but fast enough to make the difference.
Stamin-Up
These zombies aren't the shambling types. They will chase you down like sprinters, and some of the monstrous ones can outpace you even at full tilt. Stamin-Up sounds like it would let you run for longer, but actually just lets you run faster since you have no limit on sprint in Black Ops 6. Positioning is everything in Zombies so being able to get where you need to be faster is never a bad thing, especially if it's a downed teammate bleeding out.
Deadshot Daiquiri
Every zombie has a weak spot, which is most often the head. Deadshot Daiquiri makes a critical hit hurt even more than normal, plus increases your auto-aim on those weak points when you aim down sights (ADS). That second part shouldn't factor much if you've got good aim, which is why this is only a decent Perk-A-Cola.
PhD Flopper
Not being able to hurt yourself is situationally useful, and the ability to cause an explosion by diving is a risky move. Yes, it's cool, but you don't want to be lying prone surrounded by zombies. This is a cool gimmick, but save yourself the Essence and skip it.
Elemental Pop
When Elemental Pop works, it's great. The problem with it is that you can't rely on it. It gives a small chance on every shot you take to add a random ammo mod effect, which is cool but impractical. If you have spare Essence on you, sure, it won't hurt you to have, but it isn't something that will turn the tide for you or your team.
Melee Macchiato
Finally, Melee Macchiato bottoms out the list. It is fine in the early game when the hordes are small and you're better off meleeing enemies since it will smack enemies away with each hit, but quickly drops off in usefulness. When the zombies get too strong and too numerous, you will need a lot more than a strong punch to deal with them and end up forgetting you even have it.

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The best Call of Duty games, ranked
Soldier holding weapon in Modern Warfare II.

Few video game series are as influential and popular as Call of Duty. The annualized franchise throws players into fast-paced battles across various historical time periods -- along with fictional eras as well. Call of Duty has taken us to World War II, the Cold War, a modern setting, and even to the future.

Although it's one of the most successful video game franchises out there, Call of Duty's quality varies significantly from game to game, with some fantastic entries in the series, but many mediocre ones as well. But which Call of Duty games are worth your time and which ones should you skip? To answer that question, we've ranked all the mainline entries in the series, with details about why you should or shouldn't play a particular game.

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