CoD 4: Learning the Ropes

Last year was really something for online shooters, with great titles like Enemy Territory: Quake Wars and Team Fortress 2 bringing great new mechanics and deep, innovative gameplay to the table. The best of them all was undoubtedly Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, with its mix of great gun mechanics and a deep rank and unlock system.

Since it’s pretty much our favorite online shooter, we’ve been playing it 24x7 for a while now. With all those hours invested in the game, we didn’t feel like letting them go waste – so we decided to pass on what we’ve learnt in the form of a few guides to help you get started and pwning in CoD4. This is the first guide that’ll help you know what’s what in the game...

More from News Analysis

Ranks & Unlocks

CoD 4 uses persistent ranks that work a lot like levels in role-playing games; which means the more you kill, assist teammates, or do anything positive for your team/self, the more experience you earn, which in turn helps you work your way up the ranks. With each new rank you gain new unlocks; maybe a new gun, a new perk (I’ll explain what those are later) or new challenges.

You start off with a minimum arsenal at Rank 1 (Private) and you can frag all the way to Rank 55 (Commander). You gain bonus experience when you get a certain amount of kills per gun, so sticking to a particular gun for a while is a very good idea.

__PAGEBREAK__

Perks

Every few levels you unlock perks. Any class you create can have up to three unique perks, each adding a different attribute to enhance your game. For instance, you get a perk to reload faster and one to give you bonus ammo. Throw the perk that increases your accuracy and you have a class that’s can spew ammo effectively and quickly, mowing down anything that comes in your way.

Challenges

As you scale up the ranks you get many challenges unlocked, which on completion give you a good amount of experience. The challenges could range from killing a certain amount of people with a particular gun, or stabbing a few people in a row, without dying.

Guns

Every few levels you gain access to everything from sidearms, submachine guns and assault rifles. Try to stick to one weapon for prolonged periods to understand how it works and get better with it.

__PAGEBREAK__

Classes

You gain access to 5 default classes by the time you hit Rank 3. The classes are: Assault, Spec Ops, Heavy Gunner, Demolitions and Sniper. If you’re new, these classes are an excellent way of getting yourself acquainted with different styles of playing. Beyond that, they aren’t that great since customized classes are the way to go. After you hit Rank 4 you can customize up to five classes to your liking.If you’re a beginner, using an assault rifle or a submachine gun is a really great way to start. I preferred the MP5 (submachine gun) in my first class since it’s a pretty all-round weapon that’s great in short/mid-range combat. Try and get 150 kills with the gun you’ve selected to gain bonus experience through unlocks, and climb the ranks really fast.

Now that you've been briefed about the basics, we shall discuss the different ways to really start ranking up fast in our next guide. Stay tuned to Tech2.com!