Operation: Rank Up Report #0039

Day 273 – 09:54:17 PST

Somewhere in California

AGB – Lead Writer

Live now in Modern Warfare, including Warzone™, is Triple Feed of XP – for Officer Ranks, as well as for weapons and Battle Pass Tiers – to go alongside a Free Access Multiplayer Weekend for Warzone players.

Oh, and a new Season just launched.

No time to waste; let’s get to ranking up:

Operator of the Week

The leader of the Shadow Company – blows open the Stadium and Train Station Concourse, you just must get featured Operator status, right?

Lerch’s ‘Behemoth’ (left) skin is a base skin unlocked at Tier 0. Complete his Operator Missions to unlock the similar variants ‘Colossus’ (right) and ‘Gargantua’ (not shown). The skins are evolutions of the ‘Behemoth’ that make him look more badass.

You can unlock these two additional skins – and more – by purchasing the Season Five Battle Pass, and completing his Operation Missions (Lerch must be selected Allegiance Operator): 

1. Get 15 Kills using a gun with 3 attachments

2. In Warzone, Survive inside of the gas for 7 seconds

3. Activate the Dead Silence Field Upgrade 3 times

4. Stun enemies 3 times using a Stun Grenade

Lerch holds the Cover of Night LMG, unlocked at Tier 1 (free tier) of the Season Five Battle Pass system. It’s an effective weapon at mid-range and – conveniently enough for Lerch’s first Operator Mission objective – has three attachments configured onto it.

With that said, I have another LMG for a Blueprint Custom Creation you must try, but first…

Top Rank Up Tip – MP Free Access Pro Tips

At the start of Season Four, I gave some general tips for those who are ready to jump from Warzone to Multiplayer during the Free Access weekend. All those tips still hold water for this weekend’s festivities, but I want to expand more on these two tips:

 1. Map Knowledge is Key. 

2. Play the Objective.

These are general pieces of advice; now, let’s dive deeper into what this Free Access weekend includes for maps and objectives, AKA modes of play. 

We’ll begin with modes, starting with the simplest one to understand for those transitioning from Warzone:

MODES:

Team Deathmatch

Think of this as small-scale Warzone Rumble. Teams earn points for each kill. Try and get more kills than deaths…

Kill Confirmed

TDM, but you must confirm a kill by picking up an enemy’s dog tag, which they drop upon death. You can also deny kills by picking up a friendly dog tag dropped by yourself or a squadmate. Always weigh the risk and reward of retrieving a dogtag, especially if you suspect an enemy is nearby.

Domination

An objective game mode where squads capture flags – two are usually found near each squad’s base, and another towards the middle of the map – by placing themselves on or near them for a short period of time. Points are earned over time based on how many flags a team has captured. Note that captures influence enemy spawn locations, so beware if you are trying to dominate by capturing all three flags. 

Hardpoint

Squads earn points for staying on a Hardpoint, a zone marked on your map, which rotates every minute. Learn where the Hardpoints are and rotate to the next once slightly before the current one expire to potentially get a head start on defending it for your squad and secure the spawn. 

Headquarters

Identical to Hardpoint with key exceptions. The hardpoints, now named Headquarters, take time to capture just like Domination. Then, points are continually earned until the other team captures the headquarters (you do not need to stay on a captured headquarters to earn points). The final caveat is once you capture a headquarter, your team no longer respawns. So, play your life. 

MAPS:

Petrov Oil Rig (NEW FOR SEASON FIVE)

The recent subject of our Tactical Map Intel series, this map set in a Classified locale on an offshore resource-gathering platform is the largest of the five maps within this playlist.

While it is touted as a CQB and mid-range player’s paradise, don’t overlook the sneaky sightlines found across large sections of the map near the oil drill (obvious second floor windows) and oil storage tanks (less obvious).

Suldal Harbor (NEW FOR SEASON FIVE)

The future subject of our Tactical Map Intel series (yep! It’s coming soon!), this map is set in a coastal city with a wealth of engagement opportunities and types.

Prior Blog communications made the map’s origins pretty mysterious, but if you haven’t figured it out already: it’s the O.G. Harbor that you may know from the original Call of Duty(and it’s expansion pack, Call of Duty: United Offensive), or its reimagining through Call of Duty 2’s Invasion Map Pack.

Cheshire Park

Released in Season Four, Cheshire Park is located within an urban London neighborhood.

My favorite part about this map is getting in a right kettle of fish… erm, frequent CQB engagements at the Fish & Chip Shop and other interior spaces. However, if you like to snipe, there are awesome sightlines down the map’s south and east streets.

Scrapyard

Also released in Season Four, Scrapyard is a classic Multiplayer map from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

If you usually drop at Zhokov Boneyard in Warzone, then you’ll feel right at home on Scrapyard; it’s the exact same layout as the middle area in that specific zone! 

Rust

Another classic map from Modern Warfare 2 that’s been remastered for this game, Rust clocks in as the second smallest map in this Free Access Weekend.

Note the central structure towering high in the sky; it’s an incredible power position, but because everyone knows its notoriety, scale it at your own risk.

Shoot House

The former joint training ground for Armistice before it fractured, Shoot House is a medium-sized, three-lane map where it’s easy to learn, but has some nuances and advanced strategies to master.

For instance: if an Operator is too comfortable sniping out the second-floor office windows, know that the roof of it is open, meaning you can lob an equipment piece up, over, and into it, or call your Killstreak right on top of it. 

Shipment

The most chaotic, frenetic, fast-paced – whatever word you want to describe –map that throws tactics out the window, it’s Shipment. If this pops up, don’t fret about that K/D ratio and prepare for insanity.

Consider going for weapon challenges on here – especially ones that require hip-firing or kills shortly after reloaded – given the incredible frequency of engagements here.

Gunsmith Custom Creation

An often overlooked LMG is the focal point of this week’s Gunsmith Custom Creation.  

However, thanks to the recent Ragnarok bundle that hit the Store, the included Bloodlust blueprint shows off this weapon once more:

I like this configuration, but this is the Gunsmith Custom Creation section, so let’s optimize it, at least, to my playstyle and preference:

I ironically named it Benevolence. It has the Bloodlust blueprint as its base, and keeps its pre-configured Heavy Barrel and No Stock attachments. 

Then, if you have the The Uprising blueprint from the Season Two ‘Insurgence Store’ bundle you can attach, then customize, the Snatch Grip and Tac Laser to get a contrasting, yet sleek, look. Finally, the added Monolithic Suppressor takes on its appearance from the Forester blueprint, found in ‘The Gardener’ Store bundle released during Season One.

In terms of stats, the barrel and muzzle significantly extend the weapon’s highest damage output range, with the barrel also helping with recoil control. The Snatch Grip and Tac Laser also help with recoil control and increase aim down sight (ADS) speed, and No Stock allows for both faster movement and ADS speeds. 

Configured as such, this LMG has an emphasis on fantastic damage range, and is built for overall balance, if you can deal with its high recoil potential – despite three attachments helping it – and its iron sights. 

If you need to better control its recoil, mounting on a piece of cover will help significantly. However, once you learn its high and side-to-side recoil pattern, you might just be able to master this weapon like I have.

I built this weapon more for Warzone, but it still translates well to Multiplayer. Although it has a generous damage drop-off (long-range battles) and high fire rate (CQB fights), this well-rounded LMG is arguably most effective in mid-range engagements, which are common in MP, especially on the Free Access maps. 

The exception to that rule is, of course, Shipment, but my counterpoint is that 100-round box mag, which is more than enough to get you through a single life on there.

However you configure this new blueprint to your liking, I hope you give it a try soon. 

I’ll still see you online.

Stay frosty.