Improve Your CoD Skills!

Hi, I'm James, aka Pugster. I’m here to help you improve your CoD skills and get better at the game in general. Who am I? I’m not a pro player, although I have played at a decent level. I’m a journalist for Denial eSports and now also Gfinity. I write about all things gaming but specialize in Call of Duty. This article is for those of you beginners who have a frustrating experience when playing due to lack of game knowledge and time. Want to start getting ahead in your game? Then this article is for you. Lets get started.

Something that’s very important is attitude. I will often load into Free-For-All lobbies and hear people scream at game and call people every name under the sun. A quick glance at the scoreboard shows they're going 1-30. The reason for this is that if you’re too busy ‘raging’ at the game then you’re not concentrating on what you could’ve done differently to avoid that situation. If someone is constantly getting the better of you, chances are you not focused and need to work what they’re doing to outplay you. Don’t rage. From personal experience, I have trouble keeping my temper in check at times but when I let it get the better of me it ruins my game and I’m useless. For competitive players, it’s key to have a good attitude when playing with a team. I have played on teams in the past who had players who would insult and berate other players and then the team work falls apart and they would lose. Remember, you’re ALL trying to reach the same goal.

'How you conduct yourself, along with your attitude is vitally important when playing Call of Duty and performing at your highest level. Keeping up a positive and we can do anything attitude (you don't want to be too arrogant in that aspect, but a little is good) can make you unstopabble at times, once you let that go and start to fall into the trap a few players do, you're only setting yourself up for failure.' - Epsilon Tommey

 Raging will cause unnecessary stress and, possibly, less healthy walls. 

For this article I’m focusing on Ghosts as it is the current title, but this point applies to the whole Call of Duty series.

When playing public lobbies I find myself shaking my head at some of the class choices I witness. Obviously you are free to chose whatever you like but, don’t complain if you’re going negative every game.

To start with, every Call of Duty has usually two or three top weapons which are not necessarily the last unlocked. The best way to know what these are is by watching pro player such as Seth ‘Scump’ Abner amongst others.

For example, Ghosts has the Vector CRB and Remington R5. Originally, the MTAR-X was the best SMG (the close range weapon of choice) but  patches midway through the year changed things up and the Vector became the preferred gun instead.  Your weapon choice is really down to how you like to play; if you like to get in peoples faces and straight into the action then use the Vector as it’s an SMG, boasting high damage up close and a fast fire-rate.

If you prefer a more ‘tactical’ approach, enjoying flanking your opponents and getting overwatch positions at range then use a Remington R5 as it’s an assault rifle and has that extra range and accuracy to allow you to deal comfortably with enemies from a distance. Now that you’re using the right guns, the most important tip for public matches is: USE A SILENCER! It doesn’t take off that much damage and allows you to infiltrate spawns and get those high killstreaks without always checking your back.

'Class setup is dictated purely what kind of player you aim to be, whether you enjoy a fast-paced game or slow-paced game there's a setup that works for everyone.

The best way to find out what's best for you is to experiment as much as possible and pickup ideas from players you play against then use them for yourself if you feel like it could work for you.' - TCM BenQ Gunshy

Your perks (especially in Ghosts) can make or break a class.If you have the right setup then your life will be made ten times easier if you’re running around with a complete overview of what your advantages your perks give you

.A must for any level of play whether it’s public matchmaking or a competitive tournament is the perk ‘Ready Up’; this wonderful perk gives you the ability to aim down the sight of your weapon quicker after sprinting. If you meet someone who has it on and you don’t they WILL win the gun fight nine times out of ten.

Another essential perk is ‘Focus’, it’s amazing how many people don’t use this. Focus reduces how much you flinch when shot enabling you to stay accurate whilst engaged in a firefight. That split second of controlled aim that the perk gives you under fire can give you the advantage over your enemy. Result: another kill for you

‘Scavenger’ allows you to pick up ammo from fallen enemies regardless of what gun they had. This will help you keep that killstreak going rather ran running out of ammo in an important gunfight.

With this generation of gamers practically all owning highly sensitive headsets, the next perk to consider is ‘Dead Silence’- in my opinion probably the most important perk in any player's arsenal. Ever wondered how someone is stared at a doorway and knows you’re about to run through? No Dead silence. Simple. Prefer to be the one lying in wait? Then ‘Amplify’ is for you, allowing you to hear footsteps much louder and also hear Dead silence users

'You should set your classes/perks up around your play style firstly, and then adapt to what will benefit your team. You want the right balance through out your team, after all, CoD is a team based game.' - Epsilon Tommey

Try out different combinations of perks & weapons to find what suits you best

If you haven’t played seriously before and have been focused on just enjoying yourself online, you may have heard the term map awareness and thought it was nothing important. Point and shoot is all you need to know right?

Map awareness is essential to those long killstreaks you’re looking for and it's an amazingly simple concept. If you’re in a spot where you can be seen from more than one line of sight the smartest thing to do is find yourself a spot where you have cover and don’t need to concentrate on too many directions.

If you’re playing a game mode which has a fixed spawn point you need to remember to hang around it without straying too close or directly aiming at it, as that provides something called ‘influence’ on the spawn point which will cause them to begin spawning on the map at a slightly different location.

'Map positioning and awareness will come from watching others play and learning how to you integrate that into your own style of play. Ultimately it comes down to game time and learning from your mistakes. Always position yourself around what’s best for your team, not what’s best for you.'- TCM BenQ Gunshy

The game mode you play should suit the style of play you enjoy. If you enjoy just killing and earning those streaks then something simple like Team Deathmatch is probably your best bet. If you’re a lone wolf and don’t like anyone else cramping your style then Free-For-All is the perfect mode for you. All that being said, I suggest if you want the most challenge and fun out of your Call of Duty experience then an objective based gamemode is your best shot. These gamemodes will make you a better player; drawing on all of your skills and making you think about more than just shooting at the targets in front of you. There is a reason that all competitive game modes are objective based, showcasing the skill, talent and teamwork of the players and providing a platform for jaw-dropping plays from the pros.

'Of any current competitive FPS, it is Call of duty that offers perhaps the greatest diversity in game modes. Some players favour the methodical, calculated approach of Search and Destroy, whilst others are drawn to the fluidity of fast paced, ‘run and gun’ arenas such as Hardpoint and Blitz.

Whilst individuals have their preferences, and each game mode complements a certain style of play, it is ultimately the core principles of teamwork and skill that determine success, and why the elite players are equally proficient at every game mode.' - Epsilon Swanny

Hopefully these tips should have you on your way to becoming a better player and enjoying your time on Call of Duty. Before you go, I have one last tip for you and this is the  most important thing I can stress. Practice. There’s no quick fix guide on the planet which will magically turn you into the greatest player in the world just by reading it. So practice right and practice often.See you on the battlefield.

If you enjoyed this article then you can follow me on Twitter: @jameslilley_EU

Also make sure to follow Gfinity on Twitter: @Gfinity 

Follow the pro players who helped by contributing to this article:  Epsilon Tommey / Epsilon Swanny / TCM Gunshy