In order to condense all the recently announced mechanics, changes to movement, and new perk system in one place - and to remind you of everything else that remains the same from Modern Warfare 2019 - we wanted to create this guide. The Modern Warfare 2 beta is currently just minutes away (for PlayStation owners, at least), so we wanted to do it.
Both seasoned gamers and beginners will benefit from this, especially those who frequently take certain parts of Call of Duty for granted. This is something that Infinity Ward frequently does, and its daring vision for this game isn't afraid to tinker with series cliches.
The Modern Warfare 2 beta will be our first true opportunity to personally experience all of these adjustments, both significant and minor, and determine how each of us feels about each one. Without further ado, let's go through what's new and what hasn't changed.
The minimap still doesn't show unsuppressed weapon fire
Modifying how the minimap functions was arguably one of the 2019 Modern Warfare's most divisive design choices. Previously, if a player fired an unsuppressed weapon, a red dot would appear on the minimap. They now only appear on the recently introduced compass at the top of the screen in Modern Warfare 2019 though.
In that regard, Modern Warfare 2 is similar to its predecessor in that players do not automatically appear on the minimap upon shooting their weapons. You'll need to equip the Bird's-Eye Ultimate Perk from Modern Warfare 2 to avoid this (more on that below).
If you wish to use the minimap in the classic style, you might think about equipping Bird's-Eye since it effectively switches the minimap to its classic behavior.
The new perk system is unlike anything you've seen before in COD
Okay, so each Call of Duty game has had perks, but each studio has its own opinion on how many, how they should be presented, and how useful they should be. It will take some getting used to Infinity Ward's main perk update in Modern Warfare 2, which is a significant rewriting of the wheel.
You do not enter a Modern Warfare 2 match with all of your chosen perks. Four perks are available for each player to equip, although not all of them will be active at the beginning of a battle. The new system divides benefits into three categories: Base, Bonus, and Ultimate.
Base perks are the two "free" benefits that immediately go into effect when the match begins. Instead, you gain your Bonus perk (one) and Ultimate perk (one) while playing the game. In a match, the Bonus is gained about four minutes in, while the Ultimate is unlocked about eight minutes in.
Earning points through kills, assists, captures, and other regular Call of Duty match actions can hasten the process. Currently, every 10 points subtracts one second from that clock, and dying does not cause your progress to be lost.
In the beta, you can experiment with various perk packages or make your own. However, there is presently no option to switch back to the traditional form of benefits.
You can freely pick between killstreaks or scorestreaks
When it comes to killstreaks and scorestreaks in Modern Warfare 2, you can choose your poison, avoiding the entire argument. There is a straightforward toggle in the streaks menu that converts the necessary amount of kills for each streak into score.
You can experiment with the toggle to determine which system suits you better, but you can't change it in the middle of a match—only in the lobby in between games. You don't lose or gain anything because the streaks themselves and their efficacy are the same for both scenarios.
Scorestreaks, in general, are friendlier to casual players and newbies and work better for people who enjoy playing the objective.
Bunny hopping is the new slide cancelling
There must be at least one dubious movement mechanic in every Call of Duty game, and Modern Warfare 2 includes two of them! The act of jumping around corners, during a combat, over cover, etc. is known as bunny hopping.
Of course, this isn't a novel strategy; in Modern Warfare 2019, aggressive players used it frequently to divert the attention of players who were camping them. With no cooldown on jump height or jump frequency and seemingly no accuracy loss during the jump, it's roughly as effective in the new game.
Due to the removal of the infamous slide-cancelling, anticipate adversaries to burst through doors and around corners.
But there is one more movement technique that you'll also notice a lot of.
Dolphin diving is a thing now
Modern Warfare 2 incorporates a dolphin dive, a movement mechanism that forces your character to instantly hit the deck and fall into a prone position after running, as a nod to earlier Treyarch games.
While holding the crouch button while sprinting causes the dolphin dive, tapping it causes a regular slide. A dive has clear advantages, especially if you use it to sneak under cover fast.
However, you should be aware that the usage of the dive animation as an offensive element is constrained because it takes a second for your gun to reappear.
Swimming and water combat are big new additions
Swimming and water combat are often avoided in Call of Duty games developed by Infinity Ward. But thanks to a plethora of new systems, equipment, and movement options in Modern Warfare 2 that enable you to battle on or around water, this changes.
Now, players can dive, swim, or jump into any body of water that is deep enough to submerge them. If you wish to approach someone covertly, doing this makes you harder to spot by people on the coast. You can fire out of the water at players standing on dry land and at other players who are swimming.
Of course, anyone who sees you can shoot at you as well. The only catch is that when a bullet hits water, some of its damage and momentum are lost, so don't be shocked if it takes you longer to take down a target.
Having said that, don't anticipate swimming in the little 6v6 maps. Ground War was the major use case for the mechanism until it was later added to Warzone 2.0. The former is playable in the beta so you may give it a go for yourself even though we don't have access to the latter in this version.
You can't cancel weapon reloads
One of those aspects that will unavoidably cause gamers to disagree is this one. Staged reloads were included in Modern Warfare 2 by Infinity Ward. This implies that if you pause a reload, you'll never have to start it over from scratch.
The advantage is that your reload animation will basically continue where it left off if you switch weapons, decide to walk, etc. The drawback is that once a weapon reload has begun, it cannot be stopped. You can only pause it at this point.
When you are abruptly surprised by an attacker, you cannot resume firing even if there are still rounds in the magazine or chamber. A reload cannot be stopped by switching weapons, often known as the Y/Y cancel. You should probably switch to your sidearm if you are ever caught in the middle of a reload.
Dead Silence is a Field Upgrade again
There isn't one in Modern Warfare 2 since Infinity Ward seems to be quite set in its ways when it comes to sound-dampening features. This will be disappointing to players who want to rush, especially after their experience with the 2019 Modern Warfare.
Presently, the only option to mute your footsteps is to utilize Dead Silence, a Field Upgrade that charges over time and has a short window of time in which to apply it (as opposed to perks, which are passive abilities that are always active).
Third-person is back and you can try it in the beta
Call of Duty veterans will cherish the recollections of their time spent in third person in the first Modern Warfare 2. This was merely a novelty because it only altered the camera's angle while leaving everything else untouched.
For the updated Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward chose to bring back third-person, but with an improved appearance and feel. First, the camera has been modified to more accurately identify walls and follow the character's forward motion. Similar to games like Ghost Recon, the first-person perspective is automatically switched while aiming down sights.
Expect third-person to randomly appear in playlists throughout the duration of the game because it is a modifier that may be turned on or off, including in Warzone 2.0. You'll be glad to know that third-person mode has been confirmed for the beta if you're anxious to try it out for yourself.
