Guide to hunting Nuke boosters in Modern Warfare 2

I have spent a lot of time playing COD:MW2 recently and lately it seems like just about every FFA match I get into has a bunch of Nuke boosters. After hunting them down a few times I started to learn their tricks and hiding spots, so I thought it was time to make a guide.

This guide was originally posted on the Modern Warfare 24/7 forums and will be maintained there.
Guide to hunting nuke boosters in ffa

1. Identifying Boosters
   
2. Class Setups
   
3. Common Boosting Locations
   
4. Killing Boosters
   
5. Final Tips

1. Identifying Boosters

The first step in stopping boosters is to realize that you are in a game with them, and there are a number of ways to do this. For anyone who is not aware, a booster will pair up with a friend, or larger group, and go off to a secluded corner of the map. They will place a tactical insertion and allow themselves to be killed. Respawn, place the TI again, get killed. This process repeats until they get their big kill streak rewards eventually leading to the nuke.

Some quick things to look for in the lobby are nuke emblems and matching clan tags. If you are playing FFA and 3 people with the same clan tag join, all have nuke emblems and appear to be in a party chat, there is a high likelihood that they will attempt to boost.

If the match has not started, go into spectator mode

1. wait for the match to begin
   
2. press B (XBOX) instead of choosing a class
   
3. cycle through all of the regular campers until you see someone run to a far corner of the map and drop a Tactical Insertion
   
4. Do not spend too much time in spectator mode or you will be kicked from the game for inactivity

In some cases you will find snipers or people using TI's for legitimate reasons, but most of the time you will pinpoint the exact location of your boosters. The other day I saw a guy set a TI down behind the power station on Estate and just started running laps. Nobody else showed up and he just kept running in circles. I think he was trying to unlock marathon or lightweight pro.

If you suspect boosters during a match

• check the scoreboard for someone with lots of deaths and very few kills
  
• watch the kill feed for the same person being killed over and over again
  
• if someone gets an EMP without a care package you probably have boosters and have very little time to find them
  
• use your ears and listen for tactical insertion spawns. Once you get attuned to the sound you can't miss it and can use it as a homing device

2. Class Setup

I recently changed my classes around a little and have a few variations depending on the map. I used to always use an SMG with marathon and lightweight to help get around the map quickly. The trouble with this setup is with air support. Once there is a chopper gunner in the air you will have a hard time getting to the boosters, especially if they know you are after them.

Marathon is critical for getting around the map quicker. I find that the speed boost you get from using an SMG is not worth giving up the grenade launcher on the AR's. You can substitute Light Weight for Danger Close if you want a little extra speed in place of explosive power.

Sitrep make spotting the tactical insertions much easier. They can be seen through walls, buildings, etc... On smaller maps you can sometimes locate the boosters just by scanning for TI's using Sitrep.

Explosive class
Primary: Tar-21 w/ Grenade Launcher
Secondary: RPG or Thumper
Equipment: Semtex or C4
Perk 1: Marathon
Perk 2: Danger Close
Perk 3: Siterep

The explosive class is great for early on in the game before the heavy air support rolls in. Hitting anywhere near the boosters with a noob tube or RPG and danger close is sure to be a multi-kill and you have a good chance of taking out their insertions too. The same can be said about a well placed semtex. C4 is also nice if you can get in close to the boosters location. It makes almost no sound when thrown, but has a very limited range.

The Thumper is just another way of carrying 2 extra launchable grenades. Just remember to make sure you are far enough away to give the grenade time to arm, or else it won't explode and you will be stuck trying to reload. Once you unlock the RPG I think it should be used in place of the thumper. You can fire the RPG from as close as you want without worrying about firing a dud round. It's very easy to kill yourself with the RPG at close range, but it's a lot of fun. It's also a good long range explosive weapon, but can randomly veer off target when firing from a distance, so be ready to follow up with another RPG or grenade. The Javelin is also a very effective launcher, but you only get 1 shot and it takes a long time to lock onto targets. The advantage of the Javelin is that it will launch straight into the air and come down directly on top of your target. This can work very well when the boosters are hiding behind cover and cannot be shot directly. There are a few locations on Afghan, Sub Base and Karachi where I have used the Javelin to get a well protected booster.

The Tar-21 is one of my favorite assault rifles in the game because it has a good amount of ammo, high rate of fire, and enough power to work well without stopping power. It's also available very early in the rankings, but an AK-47 works just as well for those level 70's.

Anti Air
Primary: Tar-21 or AK-47 w/ Grenade Launcher
Secondary: Stinger
Equipment: Semtex or C4
Perk 1: Marathon
Perk 2: Cold Blooded Pro
Perk 3: Sitrep

It's pretty obvious when you are going to need this setup. My advice is to take down air support as soon as possible to delay the higher killstreaks. A chopper gunner can be taken down before it does any serious damage. If you are using the explosive class and a chopper gunner is called in, simply throw a semtex at your feet and re-spawn with your anti air class.

Cold blooded pro is a great perk for hiding from boosters. On levels like Underpass, Rundown, Afghan and even parts of Favela, you can lay prone in the grass near a suspected boosting spot and they can walk right by you. If you really want to remain unseen, try laying prone and rapidly pressing the "switch weapons" button over and over again. You may look stupid on your own screen, but it makes it very hard to distinguish you from dead bodies because you won't appear to be holding a weapon.

The other major advantage to using cold blooded pro is you can actually trick the boosters into thinking you are their boosting partner since your name doesn't appear over your head. This works well when the boosters themselves are using Cold Blooded Pro.

For those who have not yet unlocked Sitrep, or just don't want to dedicate a class slot to booster hunting, the "Overwatch" default class is a good start. It does not have Marathon equipped, but uses Sitrep and danger close w/ Semtex. This class uses the L86 LMG with a red dot and grip, a great gun for taking out multiple boosters at once without having to worry about reloading.

3. Common Boosting Locations

Now that you have identified the boosters, it's your job to find their hiding spots. If you used spectator mode to locate them, your job is easy, but if you don't notice until they start racking up the kills it can be rather difficult to find them in time.

Each map has a number of common locations that boosters typically like to frequent. Click each map for a larger view.

Afghan	Estate	Favela
Highrise*	Invasion	Karachi
Quarry	Rundown	Skidrow
Sub-Base	Terminal	Underpass
Wasteland

*What isn't shown on this map are the scaffolding on either side of the level, the crane, as well as the rooftop, all areas that can be used for boosting. If a pair of guys manage to both get to the roof you are going to have a hell of a time getting them down, but making your way to the top of the crane can give you a clear view of them.

4. Killing the Boosters

Now that you found them, it's time to kill them. Take note of which one of the boosters is doing the killing because he is the one you need to kill. If they have a chopper gunner or AC130 out you can be sure that he will be hiding somewhere, but won't be able to defend himself. You can be sure that his partner will be standing guard.

The guy you are after will just be standing there waiting for his partner to spawn, so he is the easier target and you can just run in and knife or shoot him. But you want multi-kills timing becomes more important. What I like to do is wait a second or 2 after the re-spawn to give them just enough time to put out a new tactical insertion, but not enough time to be killed again. If you time it right and launch a grenade you can get the double kill plus destroy the TI.

If the TI is not destroyed you have 2 options. If you are trying to unlock Sitrep pro, this would be a good opportunity to tally up more equipment destruction. Or you can just wait for the re-spawn and kill him again. Either method accomplishes the same thing.

Sometimes the boosters are actually a little bit intelligent and will not stand close enough together to kill them both with a single grenade. You will find them standing in opposite corners of a room and shooting instead of knifing each other. Knowing their exact location is key and Sitrep can really help if you don't have a clean site-line. A couple of well placed grenades from a safe distance usually takes care of them.

The 2nd level of the house in Underpass is a common place that I have seen this strategy used. One guy will sit in the corner directly behind the stairs, the other will be diagonally across. A grenade through the window from ground level can usually get one of them, then run upstairs and quickly shoot the other. You could also access this room from the "shelf". The gas station on Rundown is another spot where the boosters will most likely be separated by some distance.

Once you manage to kill them both, they often return to the same spot, but there is a good chance that they will either leave the game or move to another location. Keep hunting them down. A smart pair of boosters will swap roles and start all over again if you screwed up their big killstreak.

5. Final Tips

Always be aware of the score. There is nothing I hate more than being in a match with boosters and not noticing until it's too late.

Give the boosters a little bit of time before killing them. This is especially true if you know their location from watching in spectator mode and get there early. There is no use in killing them before they have at least 6-7 kill under their belts. With a 30 kill score limit, it will make it impossible to get a 25 streak.

Use your mic. If you can't get to a booster in time or keep getting killed on your way to them, call them out. Someone else may be much closer and be willing to lend a helping hand in order to stop the boosters. Nobody likes to be nuked.

Find a booster hunting partner and pair up. Get into a party chat with a friend and go hunting together. It's always good to have a partner and one less person on the map trying to kill you.

The boosters will most likely give up after you kill them a few rounds in a row. If you really want to be a pain in the ass, follow them! Go to your recent friends list and wait for them to get into another match that you can join.

I think that about sums it up. If anyone has anything to add or change please let me know.

Happy hunting!