Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II – COD 101: Learn The Lingo

Open beta is now available. Use this glossary of gaming terms to get ready for your deployment to Modern Warfare II. Improve your gaming play by learning the language.

COD 101: Learn The Lingo of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II

Whether you’re a veteran or a newbie, Call of Duty® may introduce you to some phrases that are unfamiliar to you.

Understanding all the terms we use – both simple and advanced – is essential to using this book, so read up on them all before delving into the maps, weaponry, movement, gameplay, settings, and more. Additionally, being familiar with all of these terminology can help you blend in with the community, particularly for in-game voice communications.

Consequently, let’s begin with textual basic training: these are the most frequently used Call of Duty phrases and jargon.

Basic In-Game Terms

• ADS – Aim down sights. This occurs when you press the aim button; doing this narrows the spread of the weapon’s fire for more accurate shots.
• Assist – A stat awarded to a player who deals damage to an enemy player but does not deal the eliminating blow.
• Attachment – An item that attaches to a weapon that gives it a passive benefit and changes its appearance. An example of an attachment is a Suppressor. Weapon Platform specific attachments are useable within a specific Weapon Platform, while Universal Attachments can be used across all Weapon Platforms. Found within the Gunsmith menu.
• Camo / Camouflage – A “skin” that only changes the cosmetic appearance of a weapon.
• Channel – A place for text and voice communications.
• Combatants – AI-controlled characters that either work alongside Operators or on their own, non-Faction group.
• Dolphin Dive – Activate by crouching during a Tactical Sprint, throwing your Operator forward in a dive to the prone position.
• Double Weapon XP – When this state is active, you will earn weapon experience points at double the rate.
• Double XP – When this state is active, you will earn experience points at double the rate for Player Level.
• Faction – The group your Operator belongs to, either SpecGru or KorTac. In Multiplayer, these are the two teams in team-based game modes, so whatever Operator you choose within each Faction is the one you will play as.
• Field Upgrade – An ability or piece of gear that gives you a tactical advantage during a Multiplayer match, such as a Portable Radar or Deployable Cover. Field Upgrades charge during a fight, with its charge time detailed within the Field Upgrades menu (located within the Multiplayer Loadouts menu while editing a loadout).
• Field Upgrade Pro – The ability to equip two Field Upgrades at the cost of significantly increased recharge times.
• Finishing Moves –A powerful melee attack that eliminates your foe, performed by holding the melee button behind an unsuspecting enemy.
• Gunsmith – Within the Multiplayer Loadout menu, this is where you can customize a weapon’s attachments and camouflage.
• Hitmarker – An on-screen visual and audio indication that your shot has made contact with an enemy Operator.
• Hip Fire – The opposite of ADS. This is when you fire a weapon without aiming, which is faster than aiming down sights but may be less accurate.
• Killstreak – A reward for earning a certain number of kills in one life during a Multiplayer match. Accessible in-match, this reward can be something that offers an offensive advantage (i.e. a Cluster Strike) or in-game intelligence (i.e. a UAV). An Operator can equip up to three Killstreaks. The number of kills to earn said reward is detailed within the Killstreak menu.
• Ledge Hang – When your Operator grabs the side of an edge and holds onto it. Sometimes, an Operator can Mantle up from a Ledge Hang. Player retains access to a pistol sidearm, and can peak over edge with ADS.
• Lethal Equipment – Limited-per-life items that harm enemies, usually in explosive fashion. Think Claymores, Frag Grenades, C4, and more.
• Loadout – What an Operator brings into battle. The Loadout consists of two weapons (a primary and a secondary), two pieces of Equipment (Lethal and Tactical), and a Perk Package.
• Mantle – The act of going up-and-over a ledge or object, usually done with the same command to Jump.
• Minimap – An on-screen map showing your current position in the environment as well as nearby teammates and certain enemies. Crucial when planning your movement through the map.
• Mount – Mounting fixes your weapon to a wall or ledge, allowing for more accurate fire via reduced recoil at the cost of mobility.
• Operator – Your character in the game.
• Optic – A device that offers a precise sight picture while aiming with a weapon. Some optics also offer a zoom level or even a magnification toggle, allowing you to switch between multiple zoom levels. Optics are equipped via the Gunsmith part of the Multiplayer Loadout menu.
• Perk (in a Loadout) – A passive ability or benefit given to your Operator within a Loadout. One example Perk is Overkill, which allows your Operator to carry two primary weapons in a Loadout. Perks are set within a Perk Package.
• Perk Package – A set of two base Perks, plus two more – a Bonus and an Ultimate – that are earned for the duration of the match. Perk Packages are equipped to individual loadouts via the Multiplayer Loadout screen.
• Ping – Mark an enemy or object in the environment with a distance marker that is displayed on your squad’s Tac Map and minimap.
• Player Level – A number that denotes your overall experience level. The Beta has a separate Player Level Progression system to the full game.
• Quick Draw – The ability to gain instant access to your pistol sidearm while keeping your primary weapon on the ready.
• Receiver – The core of a weapon that determines its primary use and strengths. Changing a weapon’s Receiver transforms it into a new weapon within the same Weapon Platform.
• Reload – When your Operator replaces the magazine, clip, or other ammunition in a weapon back to its full amount with replacement ammunition in their reserve. The bottom right of the HUD in-game shows the current number of ammunition of the weapon (left side of / mark) and the total number of ammunition in reserve (right side of / mark). shown at the bottom right of the HUD while in the game. Your Operator will automatically reload a weapon if there is available reserve ammunition while the weapon is empty.
• Reload, Checkpoint – When interrupting a reload through actions like firing your weapon, swapping weapons, or climbing a ladder, you will return roughly to the same point where your Operator left off when subsequently completing the reload. This is a new feature to MWII, and is called Checkpoint Reloading.
• Revive – The act of picking up a fellow Operator after they are Downed, but not Eliminated. Only available on certain modes.
• Scorestreak – An alternative to Killstreaks, Scorestreaks are earned not just through eliminations but through earning Score via playing the objective, earning assists, using Field Upgrades effectively, and performing other actions in-match.
• Showcase (Profile) – A place to show off your achievements in the form of your current Rank, as well as your Calling Cards and Emblems. The Beta includes a Profile, a preliminary form of the Showcase where you show a Calling Card, Emblem, and edit a Clan Tag. Available as the last option in the Launcher.
• Tactical Equipment – Limited-per-life and re-usable items that range from intel-gathering sensors, instant healing, and disorientation devices.
• Tac Map – The full view of the current map, accessible in the match. Check it fast, then get back to the action.
• Tactical Sprint – The fastest movement option on feet, exchanging combat readiness for all out sprinting.
• Third-Person – An available playlist variation that puts the camera behind your Operator’s shoulder, rather than in the Operator. 
• Weapon Level – A progression system separate to Player Level. Increase your Weapon Level by dealing damage and earning eliminations with that weapon to unlock attachments.
• Weapon Platforms – A designation of weapon (or weapons) that have a specific attachment pool. The category of the weapon within the Weapon Platform is denoted by its Receiver.
• Weapon Tuning – The ability to fine tune your weapon’s attachment for minute, but meaningful statistical changes. Once you’ve fully leveled up a weapon, you can select tunable attachments via the Gunsmith to maximize its potential in combat.
• Weapon Vault – The ultimate Weapon Blueprint: a variant of a weapon that keeps its cosmetic properties on all attachments native to its base platform.

Modes of Play

Beta –In an Open Beta, players are invited to play the game early before its official release date. Features are limited and may not be in their final form. Player feedback during the Open Beta helps the developers to fine tune the game in the weeks leading up to launch.

Multiplayer – The online mode of Modern Warfare II. Accessible through the main menu. Modes featured in the Open Beta include:

• Team Deathmatch – Use teamwork to eliminate the enemy players and reach the score limit.
• Domination – Capture and hold three flags to gain points for your team.
• Hardpoint – Capture and hold the Hardpoint (a zone that shifts to several locations during the match) to earn points for your team.
• Knock Out – Teams fight over a bag of Cash located in the middle of the map. Eliminate the opposing force or hold the package to win. No respawns. Teammates can revive each other.
• Prisoner Rescue – Locate the hostages and get them out alive or defend them at all costs. No respawns. Teammates can revive each other.
• Search and Destroy – Teams take turns defending and destroying an objective. No respawns.
• Ground War –Large-scale conflict featuring vehicles. Capture and hold objectives to score. Capturing objectives open forward spawning locations for your team. Similar to Domination, but with more objectives.
• Ground War Invasion –A large-scale conflict that combines player-controlled Operators and AI Combatants in a massive Deathmatch.

General Cod Lingo

• 1v1 – A duel. Often thrown down as a challenge, especially on maps with plenty of Rust.
• 100-Point Club – Describes when one team wins a Hardpoint match via the score limit (250) while keeping the opposition under 100 points. The losing team is then deemed a member of the “100-Point Club.”
• Beam – The act of hitting an accurate shot for an elimination despite the target being far away and/or mostly behind cover.
• Chalked – When a situation is insurmountable and is nearing a finite end (AKA “chalk one up”) However, we believe it’s never chalked.
• Clutch – When a player or players win an engagement despite having a disadvantage in the number of active players on their side.
• Collateral – When a single bullet eliminates more than one enemy.
• Cross-Map – Describing a shot or equipment throw that goes the full length (or at least 85% of) the map.
• Double Tap – Tossing a C4 and detonating it mid-air.
• Drop Shot – Rapidly changing your Operator’s stance from standing to prone while firing in order to throw off your enemy’s aim.
• Ego Chall – The act of a player entering a disadvantageous situation believing they can win.
• First Blood – An accolade awarded to the Operator who lands the first elimination in a match.
• Flank – When you take a side path (either left or right) to confront the enemy.
• Flinch – The force an Operator feels when damaged, affecting their aim.
• Frying / Cracked – Two common terms for when a player is doing extremely well in-game.
• Hardpoint – The “hill” or “zone” where points are scored.
• K/D Ratio – The number of kills earned divided by the number of deaths.
• Kill Trade – An instance in Search & Destroy whereby one player eliminates an enemy, and then is eliminated by the enemy’s squadmate, thereby “trading” eliminations.
• Lane – A main way through the entirety of a Multiplayer map. Most often, maps have a “mid” path, with other ones surrounding this central route.
• Lobby – The pre-match area in a Playlist before entering a game.
• One-Shot – A designation in common communications given to someone who is supposedly one-hit away from an elimination (usually, this is never the case).
• Ninja Defuse – Disarming the bomb in Search & Destroy as the last defending player while the attacking team is alive.
• Pre-Aim – Aiming down sights as you round a corner, so as to be ready for any immediate engagements when entering the new area.
• Press F – The proper way to pay respects.
• Rotation/Rotating – What players use to describe the change of Hardpoint locations, or the act of getting to the next objective before the current one expires. Alternatively used to describe a set of Hardpoints.
• Scrap Time – The final 5-10 seconds of an active Hardpoint.
• Send – Moving forward towards a point, e.g. “send it towards X.” “Full Sending” is rushing towards that point despite any danger present or perceived.
• Spawn Location – Where your Operator loads into the map, either in the beginning of a round or after a death.
• Squad Spawn – The process of respawning on the positions of a fellow squadmate rather than on an objective or at a base. Available in Ground War modes.
• Triple Cap – The state where one team has captured all three flags in the Domination game mode.