Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - some things I've learned

My lack of updated content here can be attributed to one simple thing... The discovery of Modern Warfare 2 on Xbox Live.

First some history. I have been a fan of first person shooters since the days of all night GoldenEye deathmatches on N64. I loved getting 4 friends together in the same room and just rocketing each other to death until we couldn't keep our eyes open. It was years after GoldenEye until I was able to reproduce that experience with the original Halo. Even though playing split screen almost completely eliminates any opportunity to be stealthy, there is just something special about being in the same room as the people you are playing against. None of us were hardcore gamers, so it was nice to play by our own rules and not worry about being dominated by another team. We were perfectly content to play local matches and had no interest in online play. A few years have gone by and finding 3 other people willing to hang out and play video games all night is becoming more and more difficult. I am fortunate enough to be married to a woman who loves her some FPS action, but most of my other friends are not that lucky. This meant a certain end to multiplayer deathmatches for me.

I was still a fan of FPS's, but stuck to the campaigns. I completed Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and only touched the multiplayer mode once or twice. That was up until 2 weeks ago when my wife got me Modern Warfare 2 as an anniversary present (I told you I was lucky). I played through a few levels of the campaign and decided to try my hand at some Xbox live play. After getting my ass handed to me on a silver platter I was slightly discouraged, but more determined than anything. Being ranked at level 1 in a room full of people ranked 40 and above can be quite frustrating, but I just stuck with it. Slowly starting to unlock more powerful guns and perks. I was hooked and I don't see it stopping any time soon. Level 32 and counting, the road to 70 is going to be long, but I will have fun getting there. I am also having a hard time getting my wife to put down the controller. She even created a new Xbox Live account just so she could have her own name (DivaDeath). She's working from a deficit and at around level 10 right now. My current favorite class setup is this:
Primary: TAR-21 with silencer (or grenade launcher until I unlock the shotgun attachment. On larger maps I might put on the ACOG scope)
Secondary: Stinger (to help unlock Cold Blooded Pro)
1st Perk: Scavenger Pro (or sometimes Bling if I want the HBS w/ silencer)
2nd Perk: Cold Blooded (working on pro)
3rd Perk: Ninja Pro

Some of my observations after 2 weeks of play

Weapons:

I switch guns quite often, but always go back to the TAR. I am very close to unlocking everything for it. I need to use FMJ for a while to unlock extended mags. The worst part about this gun is the horrible red dot site. Put up with it long enough to unlock the holo and never touch the RDS again. I recently unlocked the AUG HBAR, which is another great gun, but I haven't put much time in with it yet. It's basically a LMG with the reload time of an AR. If I am on a small map, like rust, I may use the P90 with rapid fire and stopping power since being invisible to UAV in a map like this is pretty useless. I hear great things about the ACR and will probably switch to that once it's unlocked. The M16 looks great, but I have a really hard time getting used to the burst fire. Every time I pick up a Famas or M16 I get destroyed because my finger wants to stay held down for a second too long and I'm dead before I realize what happened.

Attachments

• Heartbeat Sensor: I have mixed feelings about the Heartbeat Sensor. It can be a big help, but can also be a big distraction and you never know when the other players are using the Ninja perk. It can be helpful in finding campers. Don't you just hate walking into a room where someone is just sitting in a corner looking through their sites waiting for you to walk through the door? I can see the appeal of racking up a few easy kills, but is it really any fun? The only time that I hide around a corner is when I know someone is chasing me and I turn around and wait for them to appear. Unless you are sniping, camping in a corner and waiting is just a BS tactic. It's not only cheap, but boring as hell. Stop worrying about your KDR and just play the game people! More than half the time you won't see me coming and I'll just knife you anyway.
• Silencer is great in combination with Ninja and Cold Blooded for the ultimate ghost class. It can effect the range and/or power of a weapon, so only use when trying to be stealth.
• The ACOG or Thermal scope can turn an AR into a capable long range weapon. Useful in larger maps.
• The grip attachment is a must for most LMG's. They are just too inaccurate without it.
• Grenade Launcher/Shotgun: Can be useful, but you can equip an equivalent weapon as your secondary. It's up to you which is more important, an attachment or your 2nd weapon slot. One advantage of using the attachment is that switching back and forth seems a little faster. Getting your shotgun out a half second earlier to face a charging enemy can make all the difference in the world.

Perks:

• Scavenger: Great perk that I started using recently. When you first start playing there is a good chance that you won't be alive for long enough to run out of ammo. Plus at lower levels picking up another players gun will most likely be an upgrade for you. Once you advance a little and have a great gun with the attachments you like, this perk is invaluable.
• Bling: Only useful after you unlock some nice attachments for your gun. Getting used to the iron sites can save you from wasting your perk slot on Bling. But I sometimes like to combine the silencer with a nice scope or the HBS. This is very dependent on the gun and whether it's ammo capacity warrants using scavenger.
• Cold Blooded: I think Cold blooded is one of the must useful perks and I am slowly working my way towards Cold Blooded Pro. Running right up to a Sentry gun, knifing it and then killing the person who thinks it's protecting them is just too much fun. Also being able to run around more freely when there are air attacks going means much less hiding in buildings. Of course being invisible to UAV is it's main advantage. Cold blooded pro goes one step further by preventing crosshairs from turning red and stops your name from appearing when someone is aiming at you. You can literally look right at someone using this perk and not know they are there. A few more sentry gun knifings and I'll get there.
• Hardline can be useful when you are having trouble racking up the kill streaks. Getting a harrier early in the game can be a huge advantage.
• Ninja is a nice perk, but only if there are other people using the heart beat sensor. Ninja pro on the other hand is amazing. Sound is such an important part of this game, and if you are not using a proper surround sound setup you are really missing out. Ninja pro makes your movements completely silent, not only to other players, but in your own speakers as well. I cannot tell you how much easier it is to hear other people trying to sneak around you. With a good surround sound setup you can almost pinpoint their exact location, or at least the direction they are coming from. Before getting pro, I was constantly hearing my own footsteps and thinking there was someone near me. Now I am 100% sure that if I hear a noise, it has to be coming from someone else.
• Stopping Power: This can be useful for some of the weaker guns, especially if you are still working on perfecting your aim.

General Tips

• Use your ears. I cannot stress how important sound is in this game. Especially on smaller maps. This, obviously will not stop you from being sniped from across the map.
• Practice using your knife. If you are close enough, use the knife. If you run up behind someone and they don't know you are there, use the knife. Need to reload but don't have time, use the knife. It's a quick, silent, single shot kill and doesn't waste any ammo. What else can you ask for?
• Don't panic when facing an enemy. Tensing up and aiming all over the room while holding the trigger will rarely get you the kill. Always try to aim correctly before taking the shot and giving your position away.
• Learn to aim and strafe. Do not stand in one place making yourself an easy target. When in a face to face battle, make sure you are always moving and change directions often.
• Pick a gun you like and stick with it for a while. This not only gets you used to handling the gun, but unlocking attachments can earn you some extra XP and help you level up much faster.
• Don't be afraid to experiment with the controller sensitivity. Don't think you are not hardcore if you don't play with it set to 10. Find a level you are comfortable with and stick with it. Once you get used to that setting, you can try increasing 1 step at a time if you need some more turning speed.
• Pay attention to the kill cam. Get killed 3 times in a row by the same guy? Pay attention to where they were when they killed you and go get those payback points.
• Remember that it's only a game. You will get your ass handed to you at first and may have a 0.2 KDR, but as long as you are having fun in the process, who really cares? Keep playing and you will improve.

I still have a ton to learn about this game and this is by no means a comprehensive guide, but I hope this can help out some of the new players out there in some way.