Amongst several other features, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II conducts a serious revamp of the series’ staple perk system – offering a new way to customize any player’s preferred playstyle.

Unlike its predecessor, Modern Warfare II ditches the tried-and-tested 3-perk system for what’s called a ‘perk package’. You start the match with two ‘base perks’, eventually unlock the ‘bonus perk’ a few minutes into the match, and later, unlock an ‘ultimate perk’. The more effectively you play, the quicker the perks unlock.

Here’s our handy guide to every kind of perk available in the game, and our recommendations, based on current community discussions and top streamer use:

• Battle Hardened: Reduce the effect of enemy flash, stun, EMP, gas grenades, and shock sticks.
  Immune to snapshot grenades.
• Double Time: Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%.
• Scavenger: Resupply ammo and throwing knives from dead players
• Tracker: Enemies leave behind a footprint trail, and enemy death markers are visible. Kill markers
• are hidden from the enemy team.
• Strong Arm: Throw equipment farther, and see a preview of the trajectory
• Bomb Squad: Take reduced damage from non-killstreak explosives. Reset fuze timers when picking
• up live grenades.
• Extra Tactical: Spawn with one additional Tactical
• Overkill: Carry two primary weapons

Our Recommendations: Overkill, Double Time, Battle Hardened, And Scavenger

While Overkill’s advantage is obvious – two guns are better than one, after all – Double Time
continues to be a useful upgrade, especially for aggressive players looking to outmaneuver and gun
down enemies in close quarters. Scavenger rewards players with patient, defensive gameplay
style, while Battle Hardened helps counter the game’s several flash and stun grenades, which seem
to be more effective than in previous iterations.

• Resupply: Spawn with additional Lethal. Equipment recharges over 25 seconds.
• Spotter: Spot enemy equipment, field upgrades, and killstreaks through walls. Aiming down sights
  highlights them for the team. Hack enemy claymores, proximity mines, C4, and trophy systems.
• Cold-Blooded: Undetectable by AI targeting systems, and thermal optics. Does not trigger High
  Alert warning. Does not highlight in enemy tactical cameras, recon drones, and spotter scopes.
• Fast Hands: Reload, use equipment, and swap weapons faster.
• Hardline: Reduce killstreak cost by one kill. Reduce scorestreak cost by 125.
• Focus: Reduce flinch when aiming down sights and extend Hold Breath duration.

Our Recommendations: Fast Hands, Cold-Blooded, Spotter

• High Alert: Vision pulses when spotted by an enemy player outside of view.
• Ghost: Undetectable by UAVs, portable radars, and heartbeat sensors.
• Quick Fix: Killing players immediately triggers health regeneration. Capturing and holding objectives increases the health regeneration rate.
• Overclock: Store an additional field upgrade charge. Increases field upgrade charge rate by 40%.
  On-earn: Get a field upgrade charge.
• Survivor: On death, enter Last Stand with the ability to self-revive once per life. Teammates can
• revive downed players faster.
• Birdseye: The minimap is zoomed out. UAV and radar pings reveal the enemy’s direction. On-earn:
• Activates one local UAV sweep.

Our Recommendations: Quick Fix, Ghost, Survivor

If you’re the type to run and gun down multiple enemies at once, Quick Fix is pretty much mandatory, and helps boost your survival rate immensely. If you prefer a more balanced playstyle, it’s better to pick Ghost – an important counter to the constant UAVs being deployed in each match. Finally, Survivor can be a godsend during clutch moments – allowing you to slip past unsuspecting enemies and turn the tide of a match.

Lead Image: Activision