Call of Duty Cold War Multiplayer guide: 8 top tips for budding soldiers

Need some Call of Duty Cold War tips for Multiplayer? Finding your footing in Multiplayer may take longer than you expected if you've spent this year honing your shooting skills in Modern Warfare and Warzone. The beta proved that Cold War's multiplayer is still a lot of fun, though, so it's worth brushing up on a few of its features to give yourself a fighting chance when you first drop in.

It's tempting to wade straight into the action, but it's worth taking a few minutes to familiarise yourself with these tips to get the edge on your opponents. Note: This Call of Duty Cold War guide is based on the beta, and I'll be updating it when the main game comes out, where necessary. There's no time to waste, so let's get you ready to dominate some matches.

Call of Duty Cold War guide: 8 tips to help you dominate Multiplayer 

Tweak your loadouts

Before hopping into a match, it's a good idea to spend a few minutes adjusting your loadouts. If you're just starting out, it's unlikely that you'll have many attachments to choose from, but it's still worth finding a few weapons that suit your playstyle. You can't go wrong with the XM4 assault rifle, but the MP5 is also a great choice if you want a snappy SMG that won't slow you down. I like to keep a heavy weapon like the Cigma 2, and later the RPG-7 for taking enemy scorestreaks down in my secondary slot. There are also perks, field upgrades, tactical, and lethal slots to consider.

If you're unsure where to start, try this loadout for size. Just like my best Warzone loadouts recommendations, you'll need to play and earn XP to unlock a few of the following items, but they're worth the wait: 

Primary

• XM4

Secondary

• Cigma 2/RPG-7

Tactical

• Stimshot

Lethal

• Semtex

Field Upgrade

• Field Mic

Perks

• Perk 1: Engineer
• Perk 2: Scavenger
• Perk 3: Gung-Ho

Wildcard

• Law Breaker

Stimshot was the best tactical item during the beta in my opinion, and I found that healing is so important when trying to capture a point, or defend an area. I always keep a Semtex handy during Multiplayer to maximise my chances of damaging my opponents, too. With regards to perks, Engineer allows me to detect enemy equipment and scorestreaks on the minimap. I also like using Scavenger to replenish my ammo from fallen players as it's easy to run out of ammo if you're on a good streak. Finally, Gung-Ho is a no-brainer third perk: It lets me fire accurately while sliding, allows me to shoot and use equipment while sprinting, move at full speed while reloading, and even switch weapons faster than usual.

During the open beta weekend, Treyarch included five premade classes with different loadouts to give us a good idea of what we can expect from some weapons once we have access to more attachments. Stealth Ops is a good one to try as it uses a standard Krig 6 assault rifle, whereas the Tank Hunter class is perfect for gunning down helicopter scorestreaks. If you're a sniper with a keen eye for distant foes, Double Agent is the class for you. 

Don't forget Wildcards

If you're arriving fresh from Modern Warfare, you'll know that wildcards didn't appear in that game. In the beta, there were four Wildcards to choose between:

• Danger Close: Equip extra lethal and tactical thrown equipment. Start with additional ammo. 
• Law Breaker: Equip any weapon class in either slot, and equip multiple Perks from one Perk category.
• Gunfighter: Unlock three additional attachment slots for your primary weapon.
• Perk Greed: Equip an extra perk from each Perk category.

My favourite Wildcard so far is Law Breaker as it lets me equip any weapon in my primary and secondary slots. As I mentioned in the loadouts section above, it's worth using a weapon like the XM4 as your primary, then rocking a Cigma 2 or RPG-7 to take out powerful enemy scorestreaks.

Eliminate enemy Scorestreaks promptly

This was one of my top tips for playing the Call of Duty Cold War beta and it still stands. Scorestreaks no longer reset when you die, so before long you'll see lots of them crowding the skies. Consecutive kills will still ensure you unlock these deadly tools faster, but this does mean that more players will be able to work towards unlocking scorestreaks over the course of the match.

If you see a destructible scorestreak like an Attack Helicopter or RC-XD, eliminate it quickly and do your best to protect your teammates. While it's easy to get caught up in the action, ignoring these deadly threats can halt your team's progress. They could even end up costing you the match if you fail to handle them swiftly.

Reload while aiming

One new feature that you may forget to take advantage of is reloading your weapon while scoped, or aiming-down-sights. Naturally, we spend a lot of time running and vaulting over obstacles in Cold War's multiplayer maps, so there's usually time to reload while on the move. However, for the moments when you're holding an angle and need just a little more ammo in your magazine, there's no need to take your eyes off the prize. Your operator will step back from the weapon slightly as they slot a new mag into place, but I found that I felt less vulnerable while reloading like this in the heat of capturing a contested point.

Duck behind cover

It's obvious, but when I'm doing well in a match I sometimes get a bit greedy, which can lead to avoidable deaths. Cold War's multiplayer maps have their fair share of risky open spaces, but there's also plenty of cover to keep you safe. The Satellite map has dangerous dunes that make them a hotspot for hopeful snipers, for example. You won't get far storming straight down the middle of Ocean Drive on the Miami map, either. Use vehicles, walls, and other obstacles to avoid enemy fire. If you've selected the Stimshot as your tactical, crouching behind a short wall might be just what you need to refuel you for a few more kills.

Slow down and think tactically

Lets avoid falling into the familiar routine of spawning, running, and quickly dying, which is so easily done in Call of Duty games—it's time to break that habit in Cold War. If you find that your K/D stat isn't quite where you'd like it to be, take a moment to work out where the enemy team members tend to gravitate to, and keep an eye on those portions of the map. There's no sense in running around like a headless chicken, and a little patience can go a long way, especially when other players will be rushing around the map. The time-to-kill in Cold War is significantly longer than we're used to in Modern Warfare, so snapping to an enemy's head and making every shot count is more important than ever. 

Slip and slide

Cold War is fast by nature, but one way to stay ahead of your opponents is by sliding. While it was adjusted in the beta, it proved to be an excellent means of bamboozling opponents during the open beta weekend, not to mention that it's the smoothest way to retrieve tags in Cold War's Kill Confirmed mode. Treyarch could make further changes to sliding in the meantime, but if you're hoping to respawn as infrequently as possible—a goal we should all aim for—sliding may buy you a couple more seconds to help you down your opponent before they can strike back.

Don't be afraid to change tactics between modes

There are lots of Multiplayer modes to try, and it's okay if they're not all your cup of tea. Your strategy for each will differ greatly, too. For example, there's more of a focus on working as a team in modes like Fireteam: Dirty Bomb, versus a regular Team Deathmatch scenario where it's perfectly fine to run solo. As always, you can filter the modes you'd prefer to queue into in the Quickplay playlist. I really enjoyed the Quickplay options during the beta, but it's worth trying out Combined Arms Moshpit as its Armada map is really interesting to run and swim around.

• Warzone bunker codes: All combinations and locations
• Warzone stadium access code: Get the Enigma blueprint
• Best Warzone loadout: Finest overall setups