Your first steps into an online multiplayer game can be daunting at best and downright terrifying at worst. You’ve seen people online pulling off insane maneuvers and bragging about their double-digit killstreaks. Meanwhile you don’t even know what a killstreak even is. Luckily for you, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has you covered with the new player friendly Combat Readiness Program.
This program throws you into one of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s maps for a Team Deathmatch game with a difference. This mode ensures that you are not up against people who might rage at you in voice chat or who can see your name at the bottom of any scoreboard – hell in there mode there isn’t even a scoreboard. Every play is simply called Friendly or Enemy so there’s very little pressure.
You’re offered a choice of 5 different pre-made loadouts before being put up against a collection of human and computer controlled opponents. This isn’t a place to be the best and see your time with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare go completely, this is simply somewhere with no pressure to either enjoy yourself or get to grips with the game. You’re also frequently offered Supply Drops which grant you the opportunity to try out new score-streaks without the fear of someone laughing at you missing hilariously.
There can be little doubt that the addition in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare which has the most impact is that of movement. Yeah, you can still sprint or go prone but the shining and brand-new Exo Suit strapped to your back grants you the ability to double jump. This is your best friend. Without your Exo Suit, you are useless. Without you, your Exo Suit is useless.
Every single map of Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has been built in an even more multi-leveled way than before. Tarzan-wannabes are able to leap from roof to roof with a simple tap of the jump button. Admittedly it isn’t totally open. Certain parts of the maps are inaccessible due to mysterious barbed wire or walls. For the most part however, if you can see it you can jump to it. This changes up the game for long time players as they can get to their vantage points quicker. It also changes up the game for those who wish to hunt these people out, as getting to their positions is much less of a slog.
You can completely eschew this new mechanic if you’d like and still progress fairly well but your opponents will always have that advantage. It can take a few games to get into the swing of double jumping and the subsequent descent (which can be sped up into a slam by crouching). When you’ve cracked it, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare becomes a much better game for it.
Nigh on every first person shooter of the modern era has offered players the same holy trinity of combat options: guns, grenades and melee. Unsurprisingly, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is no different. However it doesn’t just give you normal explosive grenades to play with. You’ve got a whole host of options to play with, don’t ignore the choices afforded to you.
The standard staples of Stun and Frag grenades are of course still there but they are joined by some friends. First among these new buddies is the threat grenade. If you’ve spent any time in the Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare single player you’ll have found yourself using these to paint nearby enemy targets with a fragmented red glow. This glow enables you to track them much more easily and prepare a strike wherever they may roam. Following up behind it is the EMP grenade which disables enemy equipment (i.e remote turrets and Goliath suits) while also hindering movement for a few seconds as their Exo Suits have to reboot.
What really changes these up is that the ones which are not Frag grenades can be manually detonated with a double-tap of Square/X to ensure your intended target gets a precise face-full of whatever you dare to throw at them. A final third option is actually a conglomerate of the Threat, Stun, and EMP grenades. You can cycle through these to choose the best option for any situation. Unlike their more focused counterparts though, these cannot be manually detonated.
Do you ever wish you could run a little faster? Maybe you pray for the day you can go invisible on a whim or hover through the air? Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare has you covered there by offering a selection of Exo Abilities for those who want to get a little more bang for their buck.
Chosen as part of your loadout, each ability confers upon you a special boost for a short period of time depending on which you take. The Exo Shield for example provides you with a light and easily held shield to get you through the crossfire while the Exo Cloak allows you to turn on active camouflage for 10-15 seconds, opening up the opportunity to sneak up behind your foes without being spotted.
These are all tied to a battery life however so you’ll have to ensure the power is there before activating one. If you can’t choose between two different Exo Abilities you can take a Wildcard named Tactician which grants you the use of two Exo Abilities at the cost of grenades. Finding one (or two) you love and sticking to them will really up your effectiveness in the field of battle. Don’t be afraid to try out new ones though. It only takes one death to change back to a preferred loadout and rain merry death upon those who killed you before.
You wouldn’t go out on the town without the items you need upon you. Smartphone stashed in your pocket with you wallet and keys in the other. Going into battle in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare is much the same. Sometimes it feels more exciting to just make a loadout that looks good and run into battle. In terms of effectiveness though, you can find yourself somewhat lacking. Don’t tune out your need to succeed, kit out your loadout.
By playing around with Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare‘s loadout screen you can create the perfect class for you. Perhaps wandering around with an SMG which has a thermal sight while you are able to cloak and run at high-speeds is your style. Then go ahead and do that. Perhaps you’re a little like me and never seem to stay alive long enough to get a higher score streak. Then take away the later score streaks and only take one, giving yourself more options throughout the loadout.
It might take a few minutes of tweaking and a short run of battles to get your weapons (not to mention yourself) leveled up to the point you need to create the class you need. That few minutes isn’t a waste of time. If you have the tools you need to succeed, then your chances at actually doing so multiply exponentially.
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