The new Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 update introduces some much-welcome changes to the XP system, including how tokens work in the Infinity Ward FPS game, while also nerfing both the most annoying and best CoD and Warzone 2 weapons, as Call of Duty Raids also go live – providing you can conquer DMZ mode.
The best Modern Warfare 2 guns are hard to acquire unless you shrewdly grind for XP, but the latest CoD update thankfully makes that a lot easier, as you can now, finally, see how long is left remaining on your currently active XP tokens, and also equip tokens mid-game, if you’re having an especially good one.
Call of Duty double XP weekends are running from December 15 to December 19, and that applies both to general player XP and specific weapon XP, a good chance to grind for the best Modern Warfare 2 LMGs.
These events come as the Modern Warfare 2 raids go live too. These are three-player PvE missions that combine combat and puzzles. If you want to unlock a raid assignment, you need to either complete a specific challenge in multiplayer or spec ops, finish in the top 20 in any mode in Warzone 2, or, in DMZ mode, collect $30,000 and successfully exit the match via the exfil chopper.
It’s a bit of busy work, but once you unlock the raid assignment, it will be available for you to access for a week. If you’re planning to play as part of a trio, only one player needs to have the raid assignment unlocked, meaning you can piggyback on your pals. Each time you finish a raid, it will unlock extra rewards, so grinding them multiple times will be worth it, once they are unlocked.
The much-troubled Call of Duty UI has also received some attention in the new update. The ‘hub’ and ‘friends’ tabs in the social menu have now been merged, simplifying the whole party process by removing an unnecessary screen. You can also now send friend requests in batches, so if you’ve teamed up with a good squad, you can recruit them all to your list at once. The in-game UI has also been retooled – ally nameplates will now disappear when an enemy is in their direct path, meaning you’re less likely now to mistake a friend for a foe.
When it comes to weapons, let’s start with the bad news. If you’re a fan of the best Modern Warfare 2 Kastov 74u loadout, one of, if not the best compact assault rifles in the game, your favourite gun is about to get nerfed. Whereas before the Kastov 74u would drop people almost instantly at close range, that power has been reduced – you’ll now need to score three hits, with at least one landing in the chest, before you can score a Kastov 74u kill.
Several akimbo weapons have also been weakened – the dual P890s, X12s, Basilisks, and 50 GS now do less damage against armoured opponents. Shotguns, also, will not kill armoured opponents in one shot anymore. Owing to that, you might want to switch to the VEL 47, which has a reduced hip spread, increased movement speed, and an increase in damage over distances following the new update.
In better news, undoubtedly Modern Warfare 2’s most annoying weapon, the riot shield, is getting a downgrade. You now move slower with the shield equipped, and the melee damage nerf means it now takes 3 hits to kill an opponent, if beating them down with the riot shield is your plan. It will also take longer now to swap from the shield to the throwing knife. You can see the full list of bug fixes coming to Call of Duty courtesy of Activision’s patch notes.
With double XP coming, it’s a good time to unlock all the Modern Warfare 2 mastery camos. You might also want to know how to level up fast in Modern Warfare 2, or how to unlock the Modern Warfare 2 polyatomic camo, to make yourself shine in season 1 reloaded.
