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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s PVP is great, but it needs some work

Just played a Headquarters match where I only died by the 725 and claymores. Nice.

Call of duty modern warfare issues
Image: Josiah Motley / KnowTechie

I have casually played many of the yearly Call of Duty releases for years now, but it hasn’t been since the early Modern Warfare titles that I really had fun with them. I was planning on skipping this latest title (and still very much disagree with some of the decisions made about the game), but due to peer pressure from friends, I ended up picking the title up at launch.

I hate how much I like this game. Now, admittedly, I’ve only played PVP. I haven’t touched any of the other game modes, but the multiplayer is definitely a nice return to the basics. The guns feel nice, the levels are interesting (expect Azhir Cave), and time to kill (TTK) feels a lot better than recent entries.

That being said, there are still some glaring issues with multiplayer that need to be addressed to bring the game to a more enjoyable place.

Issues with multiplayer in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s multiplayer

First and foremost, let’s get the big one out of the way – the 725 is too good. In its current state, there is almost no need to run an SMG. The 725 has the range of a submachine but maintains the stopping power of a shotgun at the same range, and that’s with pellets. An update this week is supposed to tweak its damage stats, so fingers crossed. It is by far the most glaring issue in the game at the moment, with footstep volume being a close 2nd.

They are just so very loud and I believe a recent patch did help with that a bit. Even so, they are just too much, especially with a huge portion of the player base wearing gaming headsets compared to gamers in 2009. Personally, I believe footstep volume should be lowered like 30% across the board and crouch-walking should go back to being completely silent. There are some solid arguments for moving Dead Silence (a timed ability you can use for silent footsteps) back to a perk slot, but I’m not quite ready to say that it is the answer.

In past games, not using Dead Silence as a perk put you at a big disadvantage, basically making it so you had to run it in its respective slot. In this title, the only option where it doesn’t completely do that is if it is placed in the same tree as Ghost, which allows users to remain hidden from things like UAVs. I think lowering overall footstep volume and bringing back silent crouch-walking would alleviate many of the camp-heavy matches players are currently experiencing.

Skill-based matching making needs to go (or lessen the priority quite a bit)

Finally, and this is something I admittedly don’t know a ton about but get rid of skill-based matchmaking. I understand the importance of giving players competitive matches, but part of the joy of playing Call of Duty online is that you typically had a mix of matches. One match you would absolutely kick-ass and feel like you were Nadeshot reincarnate while the next five were all good, competitive matches. Yes, sometimes you’d get steamrolled by a group, but it’s all part of the experience. Besides that, prioritizing ping and connection for players will result in better matchmaking, as well.

A competitive playlist in Modern Warfare or even just competitive modes (Search and Destroy, for example), could still give the competitive among us something to strive for.

And for a quick lightning round – throwing knives need to reveal more of your body when using a riot shield, sometimes character models are too washed out against the already-washed out level designs, and certain weapons (looking at you Uzi) need a buff to be competitive.

But yeah, that’s it for my ramblings. If you are looking for a pure Call of Duty experience, this is for you, just expect to see a lot of 725s over the next few days. RIP.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is available for PlayStation 4, Xbox One, and PC.

What do you think? Enjoying the latest Modern Warfare title? Let us know down below in the comments or carry the discussion over to our Twitter or Facebook.

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Former KnowTechie editor.

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