C.O.D: Warzone Ploy

This one might sound glaringly obvious, but it’s something that needs to be said. Familiarizing yourself with the weapons you’ll find in  Warzone  is one of the most important aspects of the whole damn operation. Not knowing your FN Scar 17 from your FAL can easily cost you a fight — and one fight is all that separates you from getting booted back to the main menu. There is an insane number of guns in  Modern Warfare , and they’re all in  Warzone , too. Find which weapon best suits your style and learn how each handles and operates. Getting the drop on another player is no good if you pull the trigger expecting a barrage of bullets only to take one potshot and get blasted down. Don’t go thinking a semi-auto assault rifle is a full-auto, or that a bolt-action sniper is a semi. Trust us, it doesn’t feel good to lose a fight because you didn’t understand your weapon. You can absolutely pick this all up as you go. After all, it’s a matter of learning from your ow...

You might think that by  Warzone  being new, everyone starts off on the same foot. You’re wrong. Both  Warzone  modes allow players to bring their typical multiplayer loadouts from the base game into the fray. In Battle Royale, you can pick one of these up by coming across a loadout box, while in Plunder, you start with your preferred loadout each and every time you drop in. So what’s the big deal? Well, the guns, perks, and attachments you can slot into your loadout are locked behind level gates. You don’t have access to everything right off the bat. But those of us who’ve been grinding away since  Modern Warfare  launched last year have some very fancy weapons and daunting attachments. Are newcomers at a disadvantage? Sort of. These weapons are still “Player” ranked as opposed to the rare, epic, or legendary equipment anyone can pull out of a cache in the field, but starting out with a scope or optical sight is a damn sight better than staring dow...

Even though the late-game will see many players rocking loadouts that make them invisible to the scanners, UAVs are still a hugely powerful tool in Warzone, helping you to stay aware of where enemy squads are around you. Moreover, you might not have realised that they can actually stack - if three players on your squad call in a UAV at the same time, you'll be blown away by the detail you receive. You'll get an advanced look at every enemy on the map, not only showing you where they are but also which direction they're pointing in, in real time. It won't last long, but if you've completed a few contracts and have cash to burn it could give you some lasting insights into positions and tactics. 

There's also a range of field equipment that you can find around the map as you go, which can help you out in a pinch. Whether it's field cover to block an enemy's sightline, the Dead Silence field upgrade to make you quiet for a spell, or more, there are a lot of ways these can help. One fun tactic that's been discovered involves the field drone you can find. If you use the drone, and a teammate has C4 equipped, they can actually drop the C4 on the drone to turn it into a miniaturised, mobile bomb. Try it out for yourself, and let's hope Infinity Ward doesn't patch it out. 

Cash is important, then, but when you hit up a Buy Station it might be worth knowing what your priority should be. As we said, a UAV can be a huge help, but the top priority in your squad should be for someone to buy a Loadout Drop as soon as possible. These airdrops let your whole squad pick one of their standard multiplayer loadouts to swap into, getting their customised guns and equipment.  That's like slipping on a glove in this context, letting you get in the groove with a loadout you're comfortable with, and most of the best players are now using it as a way to dominate the late-game of each match. Follow suit, if you can! Once you do, pick your loadout as quickly as possible to avoid sitting-duck danger. While you can obviously feel free to experiment with perks, too, we'd highly recommend running with Cold-blooded and Ghost by default, as these will make you invisible to standard UAVs and heartbeat monitors, while also making you infinitely less obvious thro...

Since the days of the original  Modern Warfare , the idea of using sounds of player footsteps to our advantage has been a big selling point for companies trying to peddle “gaming” headphones onto people who don’t know any better. Of course, using audial cues to track just about anything is a very real and basic practice that has been a thing in gaming far longer than the previous console generation. Still, it’s a massive part of the game, and one you can tweak in the sound settings. Sat right at the top of the  Modern Warfare sound settings menu is a drop-down box. Here, you can quickly switch between sound mix presets to fine-tune the game’s audio to your own listening preference and equipment. Expand the option and you’ll see a more detailed look at the frequencies you’re working with. If you’re using something like the Home Theater option on your $20 cans, you’re probably botching your ability to pinpoint precious enemy movements. Listen to the music change as you f...