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The best Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II Perks

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Perks have been a Call of Duty series staple for 15 years, and while this system returns in the latest entry, it works much differently than before. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II, players gain access to four Perks — which is typically more than many entries have offered — but you have to earn two of them over the course of a match.

Because of the way Perks function in Modern Warfare II, even veteran players might struggle to optimize their setups. In this guide, we’ll explain how Perks work and which ones you should use in Modern Warfare II.

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How Perks work in Modern Warfare II

A list of Perks in Modern Warfare II.
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Perks work differently in this game than in previous installments, as you can have up to four rather than only three. However, you start a match with only two from the Base tier, and must earn the others — from the Bonus and Ultimate tiers — over time. Gaining points speeds up the process of earning the additional two Perks, so you’ll want to play the objective as much as possible for maximum efficiency.

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The best Base Perks

Battle Hardened

Reduce strength of enemy flash, stun, gas, shock, and EMP effects. Immune to Snapshot grenades.

Since it seems like so many players run flashes and stuns, having Battle Hardened can make or break certain situations. It’s also a great Perk because it makes you immune to Snapshots, which is also a popular piece of equipment.

Bomb Squad

Take reduced damage from non-killstreak explosives and fire.

Speaking of equipment, Bomb Squad is a highly useful Perk, allowing you to take reduced damage from explosives and fire. Many players like to run with Drill Charges and other explosives, so you’ll likely survive in many circumstances while using Bomb Squad. It’s a passive Perk that doesn’t really require you to do anything to make use of it.

The best Bonus Perks

Fast Hands

Reload, use equipment, and swap weapons faster.

Another Perk that is all-around useful is Fast Hands, allowing you to reload, use equipment, and swap weapons faster. Considering the game’s animations are so slow compared to the time to kill (TTK), this Perk is highly effective, allowing you to re-challenge someone quickly in between reloads.

The best Ultimate Perks

Quick Fix

Eliminating players immediately triggers health regeneration. Capturing and holding objectives increases health regeneration rate.

Quick Fix is one of the most effective and consistent Perks in the game. It works just like its Warzone counterpart, triggering immediate health regeneration after securing an elimination. Considering enemies often challenge you back-to-back, having Quick Fix will allow you to take on your opponents more effectively, especially when they swarm you.

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Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden
Joseph Yaden is a freelance journalist who covers Nintendo, shooters, and horror games. He mostly covers game guides for…
The best field upgrades for Modern Warfare 3 Zombies
A man holding a mysterious glowing vial.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3's Zombies mode puts a slight twist on the mechanics you are already familiar with. It now plays much more like a souped-up DMZ mode rather than its old round-based format. And Field Upgrades have been modified in terms of both their effects and how you get them just for this game type. There are six different Field Upgrades you can bring into the map and use on a cooldown timer to help improve your chances of survival, but you can only pick one at a time. You will begin the game with only one option, but steadily unlock the rest as you level up. Once you have them all, the question then becomes which is the best Field Upgrade? We've managed to exfiltrate with the answer.

Healing Aura
Regardless of whether or not you're playing with a team or running solo, Healing Aura is no doubt the best Field Upgrade to bring on any Zombie run. When activated, you and any teammates in the area will not only gain immediate healing, but it will also instantly revive any downed teammates. The downside to all this power is that this upgrade has the slowest recharge time and is unlocked at level 19.
Aether Shroud
This is another upgrade that you will be glad to have. Aether Shroud makes you you temporary invisibile to all Zombies. This won't make you invincible, mind you, and PMCs can still take shots, but if you're getting swarmed and have no way to escape, becoming instantly invisible to a bloodthirsty pack of zombies can save your skin more often than you think. This upgrade has a medium recharge rate and is unlocked when you hit level 39.
Frenzied Guard
Just past the halfway mark, Frenzied Guard has a massive upside, but not without some risk. When you pop this Field Upgrade, you instantly repair all your armor, but also draw all the aggression of any enemy nearby for 10 seconds. However, another perk is that anything you kill during this time also repairs your armor, so situationally, it can be great or detrimental. This one recharges slowly, unlocking at level 9.
Frost Blast
Frost Blast does exactly what you expect: it fires a freezing blast that will slow down any enemy you hit with it and deal a bit of damage. It's decent in a pinch, but not a game-changer. You can get it when you hit level 29.
Tesla Storm
An odd ability on paper, Tesla Storm is only good if you have a team working together. Activating it will create a lightning chain between you and your team that will damage and stun enemies that get close to any one of you. It lasts for 10 seconds and can be great in the final moments while holding out for an extraction, but not in other situations. It recharges slowly and is the last upgrade you unlock at level 50.
Energy Mine
This is your default Field Upgrade, so it makes sense that it's the "worst" on the list. Energy Mine isn't exactly bad; you simply lay down a mine that does what a mine does -- explodes. It's just that setting up traps like this in Zombies isn't all that applicable except when kiting a boss around or waiting for the helicopter. It has a medium recharge speed.

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How to fix packet burst in Modern Warfare 3
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The last thing anyone wants to see when booting up a game like Modern Warfare 3 to head online with your friends is to be stopped by an error. Online games are susceptible to all types of problems beyond the player's control, leading to plenty of frustration and disappointment in a possibly ruined experience. While there are more substantial issues that can completely prevent you from playing, seeing the packet burst issue is almost worse because, while it does let you play, you will experience a ton of lag that makes the game essentially unplayable. If you've been struck by a packet burst error in Modern Warfare 3, here are some possible solutions so you can get back to fragging.
How to fix packet burst errors

If you spot a symbol of three squares on the left of your screen while playing Modern Warfare 3, it means you're suffering from a packet burst. This is essentially an error where something is messed up in the communication between your system and the game's servers, resulting in terrible performance. While it could be simply an issue on the server side and not related to you at all, which you can check by looking at the Modern Warfare 3 server status here, there are a few things you can do to potentially fix the issue on your end.

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Modern Warfare 3 Zombies: Mercenary Convoy guide
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The old format of Zombies has been left behind in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 in favor of a more open-world, objective-based take on the undead survival game type. This time, you will squad up and drop into a map with specific objectives you can choose to complete to earn tons of XP, while also pushing the narrative forward and unlocking new, more difficult tasks to take on. The early-tier missions are generally very simple, but in Act 1, you will be given the objective to find and destroy a Mercenary Convoy somewhere on the map. This sounds easy enough on paper until you realize you have no idea where this convey is or how to find it. Every run in Zombies risks losing all your hard-earned progress, so we'll lead you to the Mercenary Convoy to take it out before the zombies even know you were there.
How to find the Mercenary Convoy

Your first challenge will be to find this Mercenary Convoy. The problem here is twofold: first is that it isn't marked on your map in any way, and second is that, being a convoy, it is mobile. Once you land, you and your team should find the nearest vehicle and head toward the center of the map. Depending on how the threat levels are on your particular map, you are looking for roads and highways that are around the medium-threat level zone. You will have to patrol these roads until you come across the convoy, which only consists of three vehicles. Once you are in range, it does appear on your map to let you know you've found it.

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