Veteran Campaign Tips For Call Of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Beating a Call of Duty campaign on Veteran difficulty is no easy task. 2022's Modern Warfare 2 is arguably the toughest campaign in recent years, pitting the player against dozens of armored soldiers and the occasional vehicle. Simply put, attempting this on Veteran or Realism will test your patience.

Fortunately, Modern Warfare 2's campaign gives you more than enough tools to overcome these odds. From a wide range of equipment to certain weapons, making conscious decisions about your loadout and positioning will get you far. Today, we'll be looking at seven tips that will drastically improve your experience clearing Modern Warfare 2's campaign on Veteran or Realism difficulty.

7 Use High-Caliber Weapons

Modern Warfare 2 2022 Soap Holding Sniper

Armored enemies are going to be the bane of your existence on Veteran and Realism difficulty. These enemies require multiple headshots to take down, but sometimes that's not always feasible. That's why you should always have a battle rifle or sniper rifle handy.

Weapons that fire high-caliber ammunition can break helmets in a couple of shots, making it much easier to down armored targets. Some notable weapons include the FTAC Recon, Lachmann-762, Rapp-H, EBR-14, and all sniper rifles. The last few missions in MW2's campaign give you a high-caliber weapon at the beginning, so ensure that you keep your ammo stocked up.

6 Embrace Stealth

Quite a few sections throughout the campaign promote stealth gameplay. Sneaking up behind someone or landing headshots from a distance is far easier than single-handedly taking on an army. You can complete most of 'Wetwork', 'Recon by Fire', and 'Alone' with a stealthy playstyle. Take it slow, line up your shots, and remember that a melee finisher is a guaranteed kill. If you ever make a mistake, reload a checkpoint.

5 Be Wary Of Checkpoints

Speaking of checkpoints, you can always reload a checkpoint when something goes wrong. Modern Warfare 2's checkpoint system is incredibly useful and saves quite often. For example, if you're playing 'Recon by Fire' and mess up the sniping section, you can reload a checkpoint to revert the last few seconds.

That is until you reach the last two levels, at which point the checkpoint system becomes inconsistent. Upon damaging or killing any important target in 'Ghost Team' or 'Countdown', immediately get to safety and wait for a checkpoint. This should prevent the checkpoint system from putting you in a death loop—a save where you die immediately after spawning.

4 Use Your Equipment

Veteran and Realism both have ludicrously short TTK values. If an enemy catches a glimpse of you, it's practically over. That's why you need to use equipment to gain the upper hand. Nearly every mission gives you a useful lethal and tactical device.

Do you need to push around a corner? Throw a flashbang to give yourself some breathing room. Are all the enemies funneling through a doorway? Throw a grenade. Equipment is also mandatory for eliminating riot shield soldiers. A well-placed Molotov or tear gas will drop them at a moment's notice.

Certain missions grant access to a backpack as well, allowing you to swap your lethal and tactical equipment on the fly. We highly recommend using your backpack to its fullest extent. Throw smokes to block sightlines, use explosives to flush out targets from cover, and use your Heartbeat Sensor before making any aggressive plays.

3 Mount Often

Cover is your best friend in Modern Warfare 2, especially on Veteran difficulty. Standing near a piece of cover gives you the option to mount your weapon onto it, increasing your accuracy and minimizing body exposure. Even on Veteran difficulty, mounting onto a piece of cover is relatively safe.

Your goal should be to fight from cover at all times. At the start of any engagement, find a segment of cover and mount your weapon. Land a few shots, go prone, then reload your weapon and heal. Be wary of incoming grenades and RPGs while doing this; a well-placed explosive can still kill you. Grenades can typically be thrown back, but RPGs will require you to duck fully into cover.

2 Find A Riot Shield

If you find a riot shield at any point, take it. Riot shields in Modern Warfare 2 can take an extreme amount of punishment from ballistic weaponry and explosives. It's especially useful for the mess hall firefight that takes place partway through the 'Prison Break' level. Equip the shield and let your allies do the heavy lifting.

1 Mission-Specific Tips

Call Of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Doesn’t Know What To Do With Its Realistic Settings (3)

This section contains story spoilers for the Modern Warfare 2 campaign.

Most players get stuck during certain levels in the campaign, so we're going to dedicate this section to smaller tips that apply to specific sections of the campaign. We'll give a few tips for MW2's tougher campaign levels.

Kill or Capture	Throw flashbang grenades while clearing indoor environments. For the helicopter defense section, use the windows inside the crashed Chinook as cover.
Wetwork	You can shoot your suppressed pistol underwater without drawing attention. There's an achievement for eliminating three guards this way.
Cartel Protection	During the swimming section, stick to the right-hand wall of the stream. This will block line of sight from most enemies.
Recon by Fire	You can throw tear gas into the air ducts of each warehouse, forcing the enemies to exit the building. For the fourth warehouse, we highly recommend lining the exits with C4 to break enemy armor.
Violence by Timing	Use the large convoy trucks as cover for your vehicle. The second you pass one, pop out of your driver-side window to shoot any armed soldiers. With enough distance, they won't shoot back.
El Sin Nombre	When you reach the second floor, head to the room on your left and look for a ledge. Crouch walk along the ledge to find a ladder that leads to the roof.
Dark Water	When you reach the moving crate section, lay prone atop the crates. Snipe the targets with your FTAC, then jump onto a nearby crate when it's clear.
Alone	Use smoke grenades to stun guards and block visibility. If you're going for the 'Gunless' achievement, have a few smoke grenades and Molotovs crafted for the final section.
Ghost Team	During the tank fight, reach the second floor of a building and wait for the tank to pass. This is the safest way to plant and detonate C4.
Countdown	When you reach the final section, you can lay prone under a table and safely detonate the missile, even if the guards spot you.