Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 offers a wide variety of options to customize your playstyle, from choosing the right weapon to a set of perks that give you unique advantages in the game.
Perks play an important role in creating the perfect play in Modern Warfare 2, so you need to know your possibilities. Below you can find the description of all the perks in Modern Warfare 2, as well as which ones, in our opinion, are the best to choose.
While many seasoned Call of Duty players will likely find these perks familiar, the system for their use in Modern Warfare 2 is a bit different. The old perk system in which all perks were available at the beginning of the match was reworked to feature a more powerful design, and perks now need to be earned during the match. The perks are divided into three tiers — Base, Bonus, and Ultimate — and players can use four perks at the same time.
In total, you can use two Base perks, one Bonus, and one Ultimate perk. At the beginning of each game, only Base perks are available to you, and as the game goes on, you unlock the other two. Killing, attacking, or completing objectives will help you unlock them faster.
there are a set of default perk packages setup in game in #MWII
but you can also create your own packages and use in different loadouts pic.twitter.com/uR4vRsxLr1
— CharlieIntel (@charlieINTEL) September 15, 2022
Base perks
From the moment the match starts, players can choose any two of the eight basic perks, which are activated right away.
Name | Description | Unlock level |
Overkill | Ability to carry two primary weapons | 21 |
Double time | Doubles the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increases crouch movement by 30% | auto |
Battle Hardened | Reduces effects of enemy Stun, Flash, EMP, Gas, and Shock Sticks grenades. Immunity against Snapshot Grenades. | 37 |
Scavenger | Ability to pick up ammo and throw knives from the bodies of dead players. | 26 |
Bomb Squad | Increased explosion resistance and reset of the fuse timer of the picked-up live grenade. | 11 |
Tracker | The ability to see the footprints of enemies and their death markers on the mini-map. Your markers will be hidden from the enemy. | 39 |
Strong Arm | Possibility of throwing equipment long-range, with a preliminary trajectory of movement. | auto |
Extra Tactical | Respawn with additional Tactical gear. | 18 |
Based on Fragster’s expertise, the most useful base perks are Double time, Overkill, Battle Hardened, and Scavenger. One gun is good, but two are even better thanks to Overkill. Meanwhile, you have to move a lot around the map, that’s why Double Time can help you overcome long distances faster. Lastly, thanks to Battle Hardened, you don’t have to look under your feet, because you are no longer afraid of grenades. Moreover, in the heat of the battle, cartridges often run out quickly, so having the Scavenger perk might too come in handy.
Bonus perks
Bonus perks take effect four minutes after the start of the match, but they can be activated faster if you score enough points. To activate them prematurely, you need to play aggressively, and our advice on starting perks is designed for this.
Name | Description | Unlock level |
Resupply | Respawn with additional combat gear that recharges over 25 seconds. | 31 |
Spotter |
The ability to see the enemy’s equipment and break it through walls.
|
41 |
Cold-Blooded | Invisible to AI systems, thermal optics, and doesn’t trigger alerts. | 28 |
Fast Hands | Reload, change weapons, and use items faster. | eight |
Hardline | Reduces the cost of Killstreak by one kill or Scorestreak by 125 points. | auto |
Focus | Reduces scope shake and increases breath hold time. | fifty |
Arguably the best perk here is Fast Hands, as faster reload speed proves invaluable when you find yourself in a hotspot. Also, Cold-Blooded will be very useful for fans of stealth playstyle. For snipers, there is obviously the Focus perk, which reduces the jitter while aiming.
Ultimate perks
Eight minutes into the game, players finally get access to one of the six most powerful perks in the game. But do not forget that if you earn enough points, you can activate them much earlier.
Name | Description | Unlock level |
High Alert | Gives a signal when an enemy player spots you out of sight. | 14 |
Ghost | Not visible to UAVs, Portable Radars, and Heartbeat Sensors. | 52 |
Quick Fix | Killing players immediately triggers health regeneration. Grabbing and holding targets increases the rate at which health regenerates. | 44 |
Overclock | Increases operator skill recharge speed by 40%. When you activate the perk, you get a ready-made operator skill. | auto |
Survivor | After death, enter the “Last Battle” mode with the ability to self-respawn once until the next death. Teammates can pick up fallen players faster. | 34 |
Bird’s Eye | Start with the zoomed-out minimap. UAVs and radars show the direction of enemy movement. When activated, the perk does one local sweep from the UAV. | 47 |
When it comes to choosing Ultimate perks, the choice basically comes down to the dilemma between Ghost and Quick Fix. Of course, health regen is always pleasant, but getting rid of enemy surveillance and annoying UAVs seems to be the most tempting solution.
But you also need to take into account the fact that Quick Fix turned out to be such a strong perk that it was transferred from Bonus to Ultimate. The Survivor perk might also often come in handy.
Perk Packages
The main innovation of Modern Warfare 2’s perk system is that now the game offers pre-made perk packages to fit specific playstyles. This will be useful especially for beginners and those who have just joined the game.
- Assault: Overkill, Scavenger, Fast Hands, Hardline
- Hunter: Strong Arm, Tracker, Spotter, Overclock
- Support: E.O.D, Battle Hardened, Resupply, Survivor
- Sniper: Double Time, Extra Tactical, Focus, Bird’s Eye
- Phantom: Battle Hardened, Double Time, Cold Blooded, Ghost
- Deadeye: Overkill, Strong Arm, Quick Fix, High Alert
Of course, there’s also an option the create your own perk setup.
Header: Activision