Over the span of 19 years, the Call of Duty franchise has launched over 25 titles across various platforms, making it the king of the FPS genre. And with the release of Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, Activision plans to revamp the entire franchise from an arcade-style shooter to a more tactical one. Most notably, IW (Infinity Ward) plans to change the Perk System and remove the traditional mini-map, which has upset many long-term fans of the franchise.
Infinity Ward has also re-released the game mode Invasion from the original Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. But sticking to their words, they have introduced several never before seen gameplay mechanics that will surely draw in players from the Battlefield franchise. But, players jumping into the Invasion game mode do well in preparing as this mode isn't like a traditional Call of Duty match.
Core Features of Invasion Mode
At its core, Invasion mode plays like a giant Team Deathmatch (20vs20) with two teams fighting for kills. But, in this game mode, both sides have AI-controlled teammates that will either spawn from the spawn point or drop from an airplane. There are various AI-controlled classes in this mode, ranging from snipers (you can often find them on the rooftops) to ground troops (they have assault rifles and shotguns).
Players shouldn't be too concerned about the AI since they don't pose too much of a threat but shouldn't be left to wander as they can become annoying when they're too many in the area. If the team has a Radar or UAV, AI-controlled allies (or enemies) will appear as a circle on the mini-map.
Players will also have access to two vehicles: a Humvee and a light-armored tank. These spawn into the match once the team earns a certain amount of points and will continue to spawn throughout the match. There will also be various Loadout drops that can contain any of the available Scorestreaks/Killstreaks, but these usually drop in "hot areas," so capturing one won't be easy.
How to Win Invasion Mode
To win Invasion, one of the teams must obtain at least 1000 points. There are various methods of getting points in this new game mode for Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2, so let's briefly break it down.
- 5 Points: Defeat a Player or destroy a player-controlled vehicle.
- 3 Points: Take down enemy combat aircraft (Chopper Gunner, VTOLs, etc.)
- 2 Points: Take down enemy support aircraft (UAVs, Support Chopper, etc.)
- 1 Point: Defeat an AI-controlled enemy.
By far, beating enemy players will be the best way of racking up points in Invasion mode. But, due to the size of the map and the constant chaos, getting a player kill will be a lot more challenging. So, players should stick with their Squad (players are placed in Squads of four players) and play tactically instead of running and gunning.
Players should also note that some AI-controlled enemies will go to the down state (similar to the Survivor Perk), so players should always double-check that they are eliminated before moving forward.
Best Loadout for Invasion
The Invasion game mode takes place in a part of the Al Mazrah map (which will be the one used for Call of Duty Warzone 2), and this area has lots of buildings and narrow streets. So, it would be best if players were equipped with a long-range weapon (Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle, or LMG) and a short-range weapon like the shotgun or MP5 (Lachmann Sub in Modern Warfare 2). Players could also ditch a short-range gun for a Launcher since they can use it to take down vehicles or aircraft.
That means players will want to equip Overkill as one of their Base Perks and either Double Time, E.O.D, or Battle Hardened as their secondary Base Perk. As for the Bonus Perk, Resupply and Quick Fix seem the best since one helps recover Tactical/Lethal equipment while the other increases HP regeneration after a kill, but players can only equip one at a time. Ghost will be extremely helpful as there is a constant flow of enemy UAVs and Radars on the map.
The most team-friendly Field Upgrade players can use is the Munition Box since any player from the team will be able to resupply their ammo. For Tactical Equipment, players should consider using the Smoke Grenade since snipers abound in this sort of game mode, and moving out in the open is a death sentence. The Drill Charge is a must-have lethal as it can defeat players that are located behind cover, but the C4 Charge can also be useful to destroy enemy vehicles.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 launches on October 28 for PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
