The recently released Call of Duty: Modern Warfare provides new and returning players with a variety of new mechanics while maintaining the sensation provided by a classic first-person shooter title. The game reboots the first-person giant and builds upon the years of development that the franchise has received. Hosting a variety of unique and rather complicated maps in relation to other entries in the series which makes this most recent one more difficult to approach and excel at.

Modern Warfare is arguably the most intricate title in the long-standing franchise. This in-depth intricacy makes new players or those used to previous entries in the series at a surprising disadvantage in online play. This makes the already brutally competitive online environment of the game even more grueling and difficult. This guide will provide tips for returning players and those new to the series to improve and develop as players. Follow the provided tips and tricks and watch as your overall play improves dramatically.

Utilize the Strongest Guns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

This is by far the easiest way to improve in Modern Warfare. Making use of these powerful weapons will make combat encounters dramatically easier than utilizing some of the lesser powerful weapons in the games. The weapons a player should use to ease the stresses of online combat scenarios include the MP5, the M4A1 or the Kilo 141.

These weapons are considered to be the strongest weapons in the game by the community. Making use of these weapons will easily melt through an enemy’s life alongside maintaining a powerful display of accuracy even when firing at full auto. These weapons simply outclass the others in the game and can ease the weight of the stresses of firefights in a match.

Arguably the strongest weapon to utilize is the M4A1. This is due to its ease of use and powerful fire rate on top of supreme accuracy. The other weapons mentioned are truly strong but just fall a tad bit behind the versatility of the M4. This is not to say that the M4 will become a crutch that a bad player can lean on to improve. But it will make firefights easier to win once you have established that your aim and accuracy are up to snuff.

Although these weapons are powerful, without the time spent mastering the aiming mechanics of the game they are simply just weapons to use. They are definitely the strongest in the game but that alone will not separate a player from his peers. Developing a strong aim and warming up before matches are the only way to truly use these weapons utmost potential. So be sure to train and sharpen your aim in order to establish yourself as an excellent COD player.

Aiming for the Head in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

This may seem like no brainer advice and seemingly impossible for players struggling in online play. One of the smallest parts of a body to aim for, headshots are a difficult tactic to incorporate into a player’s tool kit. Being proficient in the coveted headshot is indicative of a strong player and is a tactic that is easier than players like to express. The following tips will improve a player’s headshot consistency in an online match.

Due to the nature of recoil in Modern Warfare headshots are more or less related to a player’s ability to strategically aim lower than an enemy’s head. By aiming for the neck or upper chest area a player’s recoil will force the iron sites upward and directly in the path of the ideal and coveted headshot. Simply drill and practice the action of aiming lower than an enemy’s head, ideally their neck, and utilize the recoil of your weapon to force the spray of bullets upwards.

Learning to utilize this technique will allow for quick and deadly efficient combat scenarios. Separating a player from his online opponents.

Editing your Loadout Mid Match in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare

A new mechanic introduced in the latest entry. Modern Warfare provides players the opportunity to edit their loadout during the course of an online match. This may seem like just a quality of life change but it provides some tactical implications that are significant to a player’s success.

Let’s examine a common example found in the online landscape. You as a player are facing a powerful team that has acquired a variety of AI-controlled kill streaks. The variety of AI kill streaks are wiping out your team and you simply cannot get your offense going. By switching to the Cold-Blooded perk in the loadout screen, you are able to bypass this seemingly overwhelming obstacle through a tactical adjustment to your enemy’s style of play.

There are countless examples of adjusting to an enemy’s style of play through this newly introduced customization mechanic. This opens the door for a match in which players are constantly adjusting perks and load-outs to meet the demands required by their enemy’s individual style. This provides some much-needed reprieve from the oppressive kill streak domination present in titles found in the series’s earlier entries. It also allows for a meta of constantly adjusting players in competitive and tactical matches of COD that may have been impossible without the feature.

This is one of the most important aspects of Modern Warfare that requires mastery and implementation in a player’s game plan. Being able to shut down your enemy’s powerful tactics and weaponry can be the difference in a crushing defeat or a tactical adjustment and eventual victory. Learning how to counter a team’s prominent tactics can explicitly widen the gap between a novice player’s skills and a player on the road to mastery.

More: Modern Warfare & GTA 5 Were the Most Downloaded Games on PlayStation Store

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available on PS4, Xbox One, and PC.