Modern Warfare 2 provides plenty of options to customize your playstyle, from a multitude of attachments to a suite of perks that offer unique benefits in-game.
While many of the perks will be familiar to longtime Call of Duty fans, Modern Warfare 2 offers a different take on the perk system. You can equip a total of four perks at any one time, but each perk package is divided into Base, Bonus, and Ultimate perks.
You get two Base perks, and one Bonus and one Ultimate perk. You start each game with your Base perks, and slowly unlock the other two as the game progresses. Kills, assists, or playing the objective help you unlock them faster.
With a selection of 20 perks in the game, here’s a look at the best perks to use.
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Which are the best perks in Modern Warfare 2?
Base Perks
| PERK | DESCRIPTION | UNLOCK LEVEL |
| Overkill | Carry two primary weapons | 21 |
| Double Time | Double the duration of Tactical Sprint. Increase crouch movement speed by 30%. | Automatically unlocked |
| Battle Hardened | Reduce the effect of enemy flash, stun, EMP, gas grenades, and shock sticks. Immune to snapshot grenades. | 37 |
| Scavenger | Resupply ammo and throwing knives from dead players | 26 |
| Bomb Squad | Take reduced damage from non-killstreak explosives. Reset fuze timers when picking up live grenades. | 11 |
| Tracker | Enemies leave behind a footprint trail, and enemy death markers are visible. Kill markers are hidden from the enemy team. | 39 |
| Strong Arm | Throw equipment farther, and see a preview of the trajectory | Automatically unlocked |
| Extra Tactical | Spawn with one additional Tactical | 18 |
The most useful Base perks are Overkill, Double Time, Battle Hardened, and Scavenger. Which combination you choose will depend a lot on your playstyle — if you enjoy sprinting around the map and looking for engagements, Double Time and Battle Hardened will serve you well.
With the prevalence of flashes and stun grenades in the game, Battle Hardened significantly reduces the time you are incapacitated and allows you to re-enter the fight quicker.
For more versatility, Overkill will let you equip two primary weapons for both close-quarters and long-range combat. Finally, Scavenger ensures that you will seldom have to worry about running out of ammo.
Bonus Perks
| PERK | DESCRIPTION | UNLOCK LEVEL |
| Resupply | Spawn with additional Lethal. Equipment recharges over 25 seconds. | 31 |
| Spotter | Spot enemy equipment, field upgrades, and killstreaks through walls. Aiming down sights highlights them for the team. Hack enemy claymores, proximity mines, C4, and trophy systems. | 41 |
| Cold-Blooded | Undetectable by AI targeting systems, and thermal optics. Does not trigger High Alert warning. Does not highlight in enemy tactical cameras, recon drones, and spotter scopes. | 28 |
| Fast Hands | Reload, use equipment, and swap weapons faster. | 8 |
| Hardline | Reduce killstreak cost by one kill. Reduce scorestreak cost by 125. | Automatically unlocked |
| Focus | Reduce flinch when aiming down sights and extend Hold Breath duration. | 50 |
The best Bonus perk is Fast Hands, and the faster reload speeds are invaluable when you’re in the middle of a firefight. Snipers may find some value from Focus, which reduces flinch when aiming down sights, but it offers very niche benefits.
Ultimate Perks
| PERK | DESCRIPTION | UNLOCK LEVEL |
| High Alert | Vision pulses when spotted by an enemy player outside of view | 14 |
| Ghost | Undetectable by UAVs, portable radars, and heartbeat sensors | 52 |
| Quick Fix | Killing players immediately triggers health regeneration. Capturing and holding objectives increases health regeneration rate. | 44 |
| Overclock | Store an additional field upgrade charge. Increases field upgrade charge rate by 40%. On-earn: Get a field upgrade charge. | Automatically unlocked |
| Survivor | On death, enter Last Stand with the ability to self-revive once per life. Teammates can revive downed players faster. | 34 |
| Birdseye | The minimap is zoomed out. UAV and radar pings reveal the enemy’s direction. On-earn: Activates one local UAV sweep. | 47 |
When it comes to selecting the Ultimate Perk, it mostly comes down to a choice between Ghost and Quick Fix.
The UAV killstreak requires just four kills, which means that you’re going to be encountering it quite often. Ghost helps you stay off the radar and get the drop on enemies, especially when paired with the Dead Silence field upgrade.
On the other hand, Quick Fix is a great choice if you like to play up close and personal and find yourself frequently facing off against multiple opponents. The speedy health regeneration is extremely handy in a pinch, allowing you to reengage more quickly.
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