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Modern Warfare Perk Combinations

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has a three perk system, which allows for a great deal of class customization. Read on below for information about the Modern Warfare perk combinations, and the specialist feature.

What are Perks?

Modern Warfare perks are passive abilities that allow players to make their loadouts more powerful by choosing effects that will support your play style and provide you specialized advantages in combat.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has three perk trees – blue, red and yellow – and each of these perk trees offers different perks. Players unlock the perks as they level up and can pick only one perk from each tree (unless you are running specialist).

*** With update 1.14 and Season 2, There were some Perk Changes. Overkill and Kill Chain swapped, and other perks were rebalanced. The notes below are updated as of the 1.14 update.

This then provides a massive amount of perk combinations. To skip to a section, click below:

Perk Trees
Perk Combinations
Specialist Information and Combinations

Perks NOT to use in Hardcore Game Modes

Let’s first start by listing out what perks are available, and what they do.

Perk Trees

Blue Perks – First Tree
  • (1) Double Time – Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%. ** Update 1.14 (+ Halved Tactical Sprint Recharge Time)
  • (1) E.O.D. – Take reduced Damage from non-killstreak explosives and fire. **Update 1.14 (Hacking abilities moved to Spotter Perk)
  • (18) Scavenger – Resupply ammo from dead players. Scavenger packs provide throwing knives.
  • (29) Cold Blooded – Undetectable by AI targeting system and thermal optics. Does not trigger High Alert warning. Still visible to Recon Drones, but cannot be marked.
  • (34) Kill Chain – Killstreak kills count toward your next killstreak. Only applies to killstreak earned this life. Cannot killchain with killstreaks from another player’s care package. Killchain kills don’t help earn nukes. ** Update 1.14 (perk swapped with Overkill, was in Red Perk tree)
  • (42) Quick Fix – Killing players, capturing objectives and holding objectives will increase your health regeneration rate. Health regeneration delay is reduced by 3 seconds. Health regeneration rate is doubled while carrying, capturing, or holding an objective.
Red Perks – Second Tree
  • (1) Restock – Recharge equipment over 25 seconds. Throwing knives can recharge 1 extra knife. Adrenaline recharges twice as fast. **Update 1.14 (Recharge Time reduced by 5 seconds, was 30 seconds)
  • (1) Hardline – Your killstreaks cost 1 less kill. Reduces specialist perk cost by 1.
  • (8) Overkill – Carry Two primary weapons. Cannot equip 2 of the same weapons, no secondaries can be equipped (melee, launchers). **Update 1.14 (perk swapped with Kill Chain, was in Blue Perk Tree)
  • (11) High Alert – Your vision pulses when enemies outside of your view see you. Triggered by enemies controlling Chopper Gunners, Wheelsons, IAVs, and APCs.
  • (24) Ghost – Undetectable by UAVs, Radar Drones, and Heartbeat Sensors. Still appears on killstreak radar when firing a weapon. Detectable by Advanced UAV, but removes direction. **Update 1.14 (Moved Snapshot Grenade immunity to Battle Hardened Perk)
  • (49) Pointman – Turn your killstreaks into score streaks. Counter UAV’s and UAV’s only give 100 score max per use. Advanced UAV’s and White Phosphorous only give 150 score max per use. **Update 1.14 (more score earned for assists, objective play and earn score for helping teammates destroy killstreaks)
Yellow Perks – Third Tree
  • (1) Tune Up – Reduce the charge time of field upgrades by 40% **Update 1.14 (Increased charge time reduction by 7%, was 33%)
  • (1) Amped – Faster weapon swap and rocket launcher reload speed.
  • (13) Shrapnel – Spawn with an extra piece of lethal equipment. Explosive damage delays enemy health regeneration. Regeneration delay is 3 seconds.
  • (26) Battle Hardened – Reduce strength of enemy flash, stun and EMP effects. **Update 1.14 (Added Gas Resistance, Added Snapshot Grenade Immunity)
  • (38) Spotter – See enemy equipment, field upgrades, and killstreaks through walls, mark them for your team by aiming down sights. Hack enemy claymores, prox mines, C4 & Trophy Systems. **Update 1.14 (Added hack Ability)
  • (51) Tracker – Enemies leave behind a footprint trail. See markers at enemy death locations, and hide the death markers of enemy you kill.

Useful Perk Combinations

Speed & Stealth

  1. Double Time
  2. Ghost
  3. Amped

This setup is effective for moving quickly around the map, staying undetected by enemies and allowing for quick weapon swapping and launcher reload speeds. Recommend using an SMG with launcher.

Defense Minded

  1. E.O.D.
  2. High Alert
  3. Battle Hardened

This setup is effective for helping you live longer. EOD and battle hardened will lessen the effects of lethals and tacticals and High Alert lets you know when enemies are aware of your presence.

Damage Dealer

  1. Double Time
  2. Overkill
  3. Shrapnel

** Consider Stopping Power as a Field Upgrade to up that damage potential.

This setup allows you increased speed, and the ability to carry 2 primary weapons in addition to an extra lethal. This build gives you great mobility damage dealing potential and versatility.

**Note, build was modified with 1.14 update due to Overkill being moved to Red Perk Tree.

The Ninja

  1. Cold-Blooded
  2. Ghost
  3. Tune-Up or Tracker

** Use the Dead Silence Field Upgrade (minimize footstep noises)

Looking to go as much stealth as possible, this setup will keep you off the enemy radar with Cold-Blooded and Ghost. For the third slot, you can use Tune-Up to get that Dead Silence field upgrade even faster, or use Tracker to hunt enemies down and hide the skull markers of enemies you kill from their teammates.

The Rogue

  1. Cold-Blooded
  2. Ghost
  3. Spotter

Looking to sneak behind enemy lines identify and hack their equipment? This setup will keep you off the enemy radar with Cold-Blooded and Ghost. Spotter allows you to identify enemy equipment and hack that equipment.

Again, there are hundreds of different potential perk combinations. Choose one that fits your playstyle and objective.

Killstreak King

  1. Kill Chain
  2. Hardline
  3. Tune-Up or Shrapnel

Looking to get your killstreaks up and going quickly, this loadout gets your killstreaks 1 quicker with Hardline, then let those Killstreaks go to work for you with Kill Chain. For the 3rd perk you can either use Tune-Up to help get those Field upgrades faster, or Shrapnel to give you an extra lethal which can help build those killstreaks quicker.

Specialist – The Super Soldier!

modern warfare perks

When activating Specialist mode, you will no longer gain KillStreaks and kills that you get will give you three additional perk slots to use with whatever perks you want. Specialist Mode unlocks when your player reaches rank 29 in multiplayer.

The 4th, 5th and 6th perks activate every 2 kills, so on your 2nd, 4th and 6th kills, (unless using Hardline), where they activate on kills 1, 3 & 5. These extra perks are activated in the Custom Loadouts Section, and you can choose any three additional perks you want, regardless what tree they come from! Keep in mind, you will no longer get any kill streaks, so there are some perks you don’t want to use in Specialist mode! See Below.

modern warfare perks specialist

When getting your 8th kill, or 7th with Hardline, you will get a “Specialist Bonus”. This is where the magic happens, as at that point you will unlock every other perk in the 3 perk trees except for Overkill, Kill Chain & Pointman. If you did not pick a perk, say Tracker in one of your 6 slots, it will then activate on that 8th kill.

Additionally, you get some added Weapon bonuses that aren’t stated anywhere which include Sleight of Hand, as well as Recon. If you are used to running solo, and are OK relying on your teammates KillStreaks, then Specialist mode can make you the ultimate Super Soldier.

Tips for using Specialist

First, choose a build, then use perks which boost the effectiveness of the build (don’t use Killstreak King for obvious reasons). Below we list out useful perks depending on how you want to initially boost your character.

For Example, if you choose “The Ninja”, which is a stealth build. Your specialist perks should then boost the effectiveness of that build, such as:

  • “Double Time” (to instantly increase your movement speed),
  • “Scavenger”(to let you start replenishing ammo from the enemies you’ve killed, as you will have killed 4 enemies by now),
  • “Tune Up”, or “Tracker”, whichever one you didn’t pick, to then keep the ‘Dead Silence’ field upgrades coming faster or allow you to continue hunting your enemies through tracker.

At this point, your character is moving quickly around the map, undetected, replenishing ammo. This should help to get you to that 8th kill to unlock the rest of the perks.

Useful Perks for Specialist Mode

Choose perks that will benefit you immediately, provide extra ammo, boost your defense, or increase your stealth. We have listed some useful ones below, and as we mentioned, select them in order to complement your primary build. Keep in mind that once you get that 8th kill, all of the Perks below become activated!

Hardline – This is probably a must have Perk in slot 2 if you are running Specialist. It allows you to achieve each level 1 kill quicker, and if not used becomes of no benefit when unlocked at the 8th kill.

Immediate Boost Perks
  • Double Time – Increase your Movement speed
  • Tune Up – Reduce charge time of Field Upgrades
  • Amped – Faster Weapon Swap and Launcher Reload, useful if using Overkill or have a launcher and it’s not already equipped.
  • Quick Fix – Increase health regeneration by killing enemies and playing objectives.
Ammo Boosting Perks
  • Scavenger – Resupply ammo from dead players
  • Restock – Recharge Equipment over 30 seconds. Extra useful if Shrapnel is a base perk.
Defense Boosting Perks
  • EOD – Reduce your damage from non-killstreak explosives.
  • Quick Fix – Listed above as well, increases health generation by killing enemies or playing objectives, allowing you to stay alive longer.
  • Battle Hardened – Reduces strength of enemy tacticals or EMP.
  • Spotter – See enemy equipment better and mark them. Avoid getting killed by that rogue claymore or mine.
Stealth Boosting Perks
  • Cold-Blooded – Increases your undetectability
  • High Alert – Vision will pulse when enemies see you.
  • Ghost – Undetectable by UAV’s, drones, sensors & snapshot grenades.
  • Tracker – See enemy footprints, hides death markers of enemies you kill..

Perks you Shouldn’t use at all with Specialist

  1. Kill Chain – This is pretty obvious, but since you will not be using killstreaks, there is no reason to use the KillChain Perk.
  2. Pointman – Again, used for activating Killstreaks, and without killstreaks, there is no point using this on a Specialist build.

Perks you Shouldn’t use in slots 4, 5 or 6

  1. Hardline – It is more useful in slot 2 to reduce your number of kills needed to activate specialist, becomes pointless if used afterwards.
  2. Kill Chain – as stated above.
  3. Pointman – as stated above.
  4. Overkill – You will already have your build, adding a second weapon slot makes no sense in slots 4, 5 or 6.

Perks you Shouldn’t use in Hardcore

This is a later add-on to the original, as after playing some hardcore matches it dawned on us that there is one perk you should avoid when in Hardcore Mode.

Quick Fix – Quick Fix will not heal you in hardcore as there is no health regeneration and most players will be using weapons which kill in 1 shot anyway.

Hopefully you enjoyed this page about the Modern Warfare Perk Combinations as well as info on Specialist Mode.

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