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Five Modern Warfare 2 beta changes you need to know about

Infinity Ward’s second Modern Warfare 2 beta weekend is almost here and there are going to be some changes you need to know about - here’s a handful of them

Modern Warfare 2 beta changes: an image of three soliders and a jeep and a helicopter

The Modern Warfare 2 beta start time is once-again upon us and there’s a lot to look forward to when it comes to this competitive FPS game, even if this isn’t the shooter’s final build. While you’re looking into setting up your best Modern Warfare 2 M4 loadout and pondering our claim that Modern Warfare 2 is at its best when it’s in third-person, we have a selection of five important Modern Warfare 2 beta changes you need to know about as we head into the second weekend of this game’s online testing.

Before we get stuck into this list, it’s worth noting that you’re not going to see anything about the mini-map in here – even though we all know you want to see the old mini map mechanics back.

Discussing the mini-map dot rules in a blog post, Infinity Ward has stated that “the design reason for [not showing red dots on the mini-map] is that we do not want to punish players for firing their weapons. We also want players to actively search out the origin of a gunshot versus just travelling directly to where the dot is on the mini-map”.

It’s certainly a bold design choice, and we don’t hate the concept, but it’s clear that it’s not as popular as it could be and we’re hoping the developer reconsiders going into the Modern Warfare 2 release date later this year.

Anyway, onto the list of five Modern Warfare 2 beta changes being implemented heading into weekend two. Here’s what you need to know:

  • Differentiated visuals for Enemies and Friendlies
  • Improved Muzzle effects
  • Increased perk progression speed
  • Altered footstep audio
  • Increased selection of weapons

Differentiated visuals for Enemies and Friendlies

In an effort to make it a little easier for you to identify your enemies in a chaotic environment, Infinity Ward has stated that it will be “trying a few changes” to visually differentiate Enemies and Friendlies outside the standard nameplates we saw in the first beta weekend. We don’t know what these are going to be just yet, but Infinity Ward is definitely going to be changing something. The developer has said it will detail what these are as and when they are implemented.

Improved Muzzle effects

In addition to this, Infinity Ward is also improving the muzzle effects to improve visibility both for the player firing and the player being fired at. This unusually means that there’s going to be reduced muzzle flash opacity and increased muzzle flash across the board going into the next beta weekend.

Increased perk progression speed

Think the new Modern Warfare 2 perks system is confusing? Well, Infinity Ward isn’t changing it just yet – but they are improving it for the second beta weekend. Not only are the ultimate perks going to be more potent, the developer is also going to test “drastically accelerating the earn rate of these” at some stage in the second weekend. We don’t think it’s going to stick, but it’s certain to be popular with players.

Altered footstep audio

If there’s one thing that’s causing problems with players in the Modern Warfare 2 beta it’s the footsteps. Thankfully, Infinity Ward is going to be reducing the range of footstep audio across the board and improving the distinction between Enemy and Friendly footsteps in-game. This should make things a lot easier and punish players pushing Enemies a little less.

Increased selection of weapons

We know this goes somewhat without saying when you look at all the Modern Warfare 2 weapons locked in the beta, but there is almost definitely going to be a new selection of weapons to check out in the second Modern Warfare 2 beta weekend. Although, don’t quote us on that.

Instead, quote known Call of Duty leaker ‘ModenasHD’. They have suggested that the following weapons will be available during the second weekend: base Signal .50, base Fennec, base Mk.2, full Lachmann 762, full Lachmann 556, full Lachmann submachine gun, full LM-S, full Rapp H. We know those are a lot of letters and numbers, but you’ll find out what they are soon enough.

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Are you looking forward to the next beta period? You can find out when the Modern Warfare 2 beta ends right here and learn more about the Modern Warfare 2 beta rewards right here.