Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Beta– Best Perks And How They Work

Infinity Ward is wrapping up a PlayStation-exclusive first weekend of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2‘s multiplayer beta. The crossplay beta weekend is coming up, and we’re highlighting all the perks available in the game. Modern Warfare 2 makes some pretty significant changes to Call of Duty’s perk system, so we’re going to break down everything you need to know about using perks this year.

How perks work in Modern Warfare 2

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 features a mostly familiar list of multiplayer perks that longtime fans will recognize, and there are a few new perks to discuss as well. However, perks work a bit differently in Modern Warfare 2.

In Modern Warfare 2, perks come in “packs” of four. You can customize which perks you want within your customizable pack, but you’ll only have two “base” perks active at the start of the match, while a bonus and an ultimate perk are both earned during the course of the match. The bonus perk is earned four minutes into the match, and the ultimate is earned eight minutes into the match.

While it might seem like a bummer to not have all your perks for the start of the match, you can acquire your perks earlier than the standard earn times of four and eight minutes. You just need to score some kills or play the objective of whatever mode you’re in, as every 10 points you earn in your match will shave a second off of the timer.

All perks currently in MW2 MP

Base perks

• Overkill: Carry two primary weapons
• Double Time: Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increases crouch movement speed by 30%
• Battle Hardened: Reduce the effect of enemy flash, stun, EMP, gas grenades, and shock sticks. Makes you immune to snapshot grenades
• Scavenger: Resupply ammo and throwing knives from dead players
• E.O.D: Take reduced damage from non-killstreak explosives. Reset fuze timers when picking up live grenades
• Tracker: Enemies leave behind a footprint trail, and enemy death markers are visible. Kill markers are hidden from the enemy team
• Strong Arm: Throw equipment farther and see a preview of the trajectory.
• Extra Tactical: Spawn with one additional tactical item

Bonus perks

• Resupply: Spawn with an additional lethal item. Equipment recharges over 25 seconds
• Spotter: Spot enemy equipment, field upgrades, and killstreaks through walls. Aiming down sights highlights them for the team. Hack enemy claymores, proximity mines, C4, and trophy systems
• Cold-Blooded: Undetectable by AI targeting systems and thermal optics. Does not trigger High Alert warning. Does not highlight you in enemy tactical cameras, recon drones, and spotter scopes
• Fast Hands: Reload, use equipment, and swap weapons faster
• Quick Fix: Killing players immediately triggers health regeneration and capturing and holding objectives increases health regeneration rate
• Focus: Reduce flinch when aiming down sights and extend Hold Breath duration

Ultimate perk

• High Alert: Vision pulses when spotted by an enemy player outside of view
• Ghost: Undetectable by UAVs, portable radars, and heartbeat sensors
• Hardline: Reduce Killstreak cost by one kill. Reduce Scorestreak cost by 125
• Overclock: Store an additional field upgrade charge. Increase field upgrade charge rate by 40%. At the time of earning this perk, you’ll get a field upgrade charge
• Survivor: On death, enter Last Stand with the ability to self-revive once per life and teammates can revive downed players faster
• Bird’s-Eye: The minimap is zoomed out. UAV and Radar pings reveal the enemy’s direction. At the time of earning it, enemies are pinged on the minimap

Best perk packs for MW2

It’s important to consider your playstyle when choosing perks for your custom packs. If you’re an aggressive player, you might want Double Time and Overkill for your base perks with Fast Hands and Bird’s-Eye for the bonus and ultimate perks. This will let you speed around the map with two primary weapons, give fast reload and weapon swap, and you’ll get enemies marked on your map.

If you want to be sneaky or more tactical, try Tracker and Scavenger for the base perks, and Spotter and Ghost for the bonus and ultimate perks. This lets you track enemy footsteps for a sneaky kill, resupply ammo, spot and hack enemy equipment, and eventually keep you off the enemy UAVs.

It can also be handy to have at least one set of perks tailored to help you survive the matches where the enemy team is destroying you with killstreaks and equipment. For these situations, Battle Hardened and E.O.D. would be good base perks, and Cold-Blooded and Ghost would be best for the bonus and ultimate perks. This will help you reduce the damage taken from lethal equipment, reduce the effects of stuns, keep you hidden from enemy streaks, and eventually, you’ll be kept off the enemy UAVs.

Now that you know everything about the new perk system, make sure to check out our complete guide for Modern Warfare 2’s killstreaks. If you’re looking to preorder a copy of the game, here are all the preorder options and bonuses available for Modern Warfare 2.