The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly (information on Ghosts).

[83457]

Hi, 83457 here to make a thread on the various things in cod ghosts. Please opine if you have some input as we all look at things differently. The maps got their own thread, but I'll try to get some info here on everything else. I post for the lesser informed, welcome input from those more knowledgeable than I.

I have to start somewhere, so...

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Strike Packages (no map specific ones, those appear in the map thread):

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Specialist: The first 3 perks that you put into specialist will be earned in the order you put them in the strike package. They will each cost one more kill than their listed perk value unless you use hardline. If you use hardline, the listed kills to get that perk won't change, but they will cost one less. The lower row will all be given at once, called specialist bonus, at the cost listed above that row (less one if using hardline).

Pick a class, go to strike package. Then hit A to select strike package. Choose Specialist. Decide if you want hardline on your class or want to add it in the perks in the specialist package.

The first 3 perks will appear in the 3 diamond spots in the order that you choose. Each will then have a number next to it, equal to the required kills to get that perk. The lower row will all be achieved when the number in the line 'bonus at # kills' is achieved (always one less if hardline). Edit: Note that you can fill your specialist package, then remove (usually) 1 perk from the first 3, in the diamonds, to reduce the amount of kills for the bottom row.

The perks in the first 3 slots will be highlighted in yellow in the right side menu, the bottom row perks are highlighted blue. You don't have to fill the strike package, if you don't have enough perks or the ones open are useless (like Extra Tactical, with no tactical). Your kill count resets at your death.

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Assault Strike Package: each of these has a number in the box, this is the number of kills needed to be awarded this item (Less one if using hardline). They will always appear from least to greatest number of kills. You may leave some open. Example: use hardline perk with sat com, dog to get a dog every 4 kills (sc at 2 kills, dog at 4, sc at 6, dog at 8). Your kill count resets at your death. Most of these items can be seen through walls with the Sit Rep perk. You can cycle to the one you want to use at the time by pushing up or down on the d-pad. If you get one while you have one, it replaces the first, it doesn't hold it in reserve. Edit: to leave user-controlled killstreaks, hold x.

Additional note: Each assault killstreak, when called in, will work towards the next killstreak only. So, if sentry, hind, loki; get a sentry, place it, if it gets two kills, it will get you a hind. But if you hold the sentry until you get a hind, then you can call in both to work towards your loki. [Now, i haven't tested this, but in theory you could use Hardline, dog (no other killstreaks), to get a dog at 4, then the dogs kills should work towards the next dog. Edit: I left this in just to say that it does not work, tested]. No Care Package reward of any kind will count towards killstreak count (field order, maniac, juggernaut, jugger recon).

Sat Com: 3 kills. This will award you with a small satellite dish that you must hide (destroyable) somewhere. If one is on the ground, any player that sees an enemy player will cause a small red/orange circle to appear on the mini map at the enemies location (which shows his movements in real time, unlike uav sweeps of the past). If 2 or more are on the ground, it causes a sweeping radar line that shows all enemies that don't currently have the Off The Grid perk on. More make the sweep update faster. Note that it shows their movements in the minimap in real time, not just a blip where they were at that moment.

Note: if only one on ground. Your soldier will see enemies that you don't, so if only one is down, take a brief look across the map or out any windows, then look at your mini map to see if any enemies were spotted. Once multiples are on the ground, the radar sweep shows enemy movements in real time, unlike uav sweeps of the past. If an enemy is more than a few feet above or below you, their orange circle will be accompanied by a small arrow pointing up or down respectively.

I.M.S (intelligent munitions system): 5 kills. This is set on the ground. It launches grenades into the air if enemies come near (4 times, you can visually see the open, used canisters). May be affected by Danger Close perk(?), but i doubt it. You are not told when it goes away or is destroyed (glitch?).

Ugly: while effective, they time out quickly. In most cases the dog is a better bet for the same 5 kills.

Guard Dog: 5 kills. One of the more popular rewards, this guy will guard you, growl when enemies are near, attack nearby enemies, and go for a vengeance kill should you die. Note that if you run stealth perks, the dog does not. It will give away your sniping position, but it is not seen by Sit Rep users through walls. Edit: the dog has been nerfed slightly. Note that it appears about 10-15 feet in front of you, call it in on an enemy in that location for a quick life-saver. It will appear and kill the enemy there (sometimes it really just sucks and drops dead, but is usually a good strategy). Edit: you can only have one dog at a time and one in reserve. Note that by trying to call one in when you have one will make your guy whistle, so you can keep whistling for whatever amusement you get out of it, or to make enemies nervous. Dogs have no upper kill limit. Last until they die, they don't heal. You may only have 2 squadmates in play at a time (usually), the dog counts as one.

Ugly: dogs work wonky, don't be surprised to be killed by them from 10 feet away. They take a couple of stabs, 20-25 bullets to kill them (best estimate), 6 fast shield bashes to kill them (same strength in hc, atm). Stays until it dies. The damage dealt to it is cumulative until it dies, they don't heal, much like juggernaut.

Sentry Gun: 7 kills. This sets down an automated gun that shoots enemies in front of it (aprox 90° angle?) that don't have Blind Eye perk. It times out before too long, but will do work if placed in a good location. Destroyable. Note that FMJ attachment to guns increases damage against killstreaks like this.

Trinity Missile: 7 kills. This puts you in control of a steerable missile, on it's way, you can twice fire a smart missile at targets, then you steer the remaining missile down. It can be boosted. The necessary directions appear on the screen during use. RT to fire drones, then RT to boost the steerable missile.

These are hit or miss, giving zero to 3+ kills, usually 1 or 2. These will take out enemy air support if needed. Worth holding on to for that in some games.

Battle Hind: 9 kills. This calls in a semi effective assault helicopter that is ai controlled. It isn't bad or good. Easy enough to evade, even without Blind Eye perk. FMJ will damage this quicker than regular bullets. One of the better streaks, they're all just not super strong.

Vulture: 9 kills. This is a flying sentry gun. Note the red laser that points where it fires as it can bring your attention to an enemy. Times out before too long. Really times out too quickly (i believe the time has been extended slightly since launch), the hind is usually the better choice. This is a 'companion' like the Night Owl, only one may be in play per player, at a time.

Gryphon: 10 kills. This is a user controlled reward, so hide somewhere safe before use. You will fly around the map, using a targetting sight to cause enemies to be struck with missiles. Decent reward, not great, times out before too long, can be shot down. Edit: controls similar to the diving/space controls of campaign: grenade buttons raise and lower it. If you fly too high, you will lose the gryphon, but you will be warned by fuzzy screen and on-screen prompts. It gets hung up on everything, it can easily destroy itself with it's own missiles if too close to the enemy. I am fairly certain that destroying it by itself counts towards your Operation; destroy X(5?) Vultures.

Maniac: 10 kills. You call this in like a care package. It can be stolen. This will give you armor, a knife, a throwing knife, Sit Rep perk, and high movement rate to stab enemies. You don't heal. Lasts until you die.

Juggernaut: 10 kills. Like Maniac, it must be called in. This gives you armor, slow movement, minigun, cluster bomb, Scavenger perk that only counts towards pistol ammo. Lasts until you die, no healing.

Helo pilot: 12 kills. This is another user controlled reward. You fly in an assault helicopter that you steer. Controls on screen during use. Times out eventually or can be shot down. Has flares for enemy MAAWS.

Loki: 15 kills. This user controlled reward gives you a steerable overhead view of the map starting at your location. You will have four controls;

Lb: care package

Lt: small rod (missile)

Rb: juggernaut bot/Move bot to new location.

Rt: large rod (missile-larger blast radius, slower reset)

On screen directions tell you if the button is ready or not.

This can't be shot down.

Loki note: call in the cp as soon as possible to give it the most recharge time. This will allow you to get 3 cps, instead of 2, before it times out. The juggernaut is a walking sentry gun, so call him in right away to guard your body or drop him where he will help guard an objective while you rain missiles. He lasts until he dies.

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Support Package: For these rewards, your kill count does not reset if you die, so you can obtain higher rewards despite dying. These generally support your team. Note that you can choose less than 3. Example; run Hardline Perk, Sat Com + Ammo Crate for an AC every 5 kills.

Sat com: 4 kills. Same as assault package.

Ammo crate: 6 kills. This reward gives you a placeable box that gives a magazine's worth of ammo to friendlies near it's location about every 10 seconds. Friendlies (including you) can also, once per life, take a random weapon from it by holding X when near it. If every member of your team (6?) takes a weapon from it, it will vanish. Otherwise, it times out before too long. One of the best rewards of the Support Packages. Try to use it, place it, wisely; it can be destroyed. Place near effective teammates who may be running low on ammo, but be wary as it can be seen with Sit Rep, so in the vicinity of, but not too close, to campers/snipers on your team as it could give their position away (unless they hold an obvious spot of course). Gives xp for weapons taken by teammates. You may get a minigun or some map specific weapon (weapon x, Unearthed). It is extremely common to get mods on your rifles/marksmen rifles, so check for single shot/3 burst/auto fire when you get the gun. A random gun received may have zero attachments to (i believe) 1 attachment from each category. For example: i received a 2010 with 4 attachments; single shot mod, silencer, grip, tracker sight.

Ballistic vest: 8 kills. From a selfish standpoint, these are weak, giving enough protection to possibly survive a battle that you otherwise would not. But, given that you just gave that to several teammates, these may be worth it. Will not protect versus knife. Gives xp when taken by teammates. They seem to have improved these slightly, reducing a few bullets' worth of damage.

MAAWS: 9 kills. This gives you a missile launcher. The projectiles go where you aim the laser. 2 shots, can be used on aircraft or as antipersonnel. Low value, swag kills, but it is a support streak that does kill.

Night Owl: 10 kills. This is a flying radar package and Trophy in one. Times out fairly quickly. This is a 'companion' like the Vulture, only one companion may be in play, per player, at a time. Gives away your position. Waste of a reward. Really bad. Edit: way2g00 uses this on his domination class and likes it for captures/defends, for a different opinion. In tdm, it is a waste, imo.

Support Squadmate: 11 kills. This calls in a shield/pistol bot that is fairly useless at the time of this post. Avoid this. It wanders away and dies to give enemies some xp. Maybe with a buff it could have value, as is, garbage. Edit: if i call one in, I get Down-Syndrome Bot, if an enemy calls one in, they get Chuck Norris Bot, so check them out and let me know if they work for you. They apparently hate me. I suggest the 'combo' of waiting for your next ammo crate (or saving the first) before you call in your squdmate as he will immediately take a new gun. This sometimes backfires, but often makes your squadmate much more deadly. Edit: you may call in 2 maximum. I presumed that they would help take flags, but they actually run away from them.

Ground Jammer: 12 kills. This scraps Sat Coms, explosives and messes up enemy radar for a short while. It scares the crap out of people when first activated, friendlies and enemies alike. Not amazing, but effective at what it does.

Air Superiority: 12 kills. Takes out enemy aircraft, keeps skies free for a few seconds. Works at what it does, is rarely useful.

Helo Scout: 13 kills. User controlled helicopter that you snipe out of. Not the easiest to use, but it is a support reward that kills. Times out or you can be killed on it. 4 shots per magazine, Lynx Sniper. It's pretty bad.

Oracle: 14 kills. This momentarily shows enemy locations through objects. Not very effective in general. Pretty much a waste. Needs a buff. This is really bad.

Juggernaut Recon: 14 kills. This gives you armor, a shield with radar package, magnum pistol. Very effective in objective game modes as a defender or for a walking wall when attacking with a team. Must be called in like a care package. Lasts until you die, no healing.

Odin: 16 kills. This is a user controlled satellite like Loki. Times out eventually, can't be shot down.

Four buttons offer; cp, smoke, 1 juggernaut recon bot (and to move him to another location), mark enemies. Marked enemies appear like the Oracle; highlighted in orange through the walls. When an enemy is marked, they are momentarily blinded as well. Edit: with a good team, this is useful. Communicate to your team that the packages are for the taking. If playing solo or with a fiend or two versus bots, use this strategy with it: call it in, drop juggernaut, drop cp, mark nearby enemies, hold X to end it, grab cp and fight alongside the juggernaut. For with just one or two players, the juggernaut will get overrun, you will die while using it. Better to get the one cp and fight alongside Mr. Naut. Overall not great unless the care package drops are good and your team knows to take them.

Lb: cp

Lt: smoke

Rb: juggernaut/move j to this location.

Rt: mark enemies.

I will update the unclear aspects as i get better information.

Happy gaming!

Special note on any squadmates: you may only have 2 on the screen at once. This includes support squadmate, the 11 kill support killstreak: the Juggernaut recon squadmate from the Odin satellite: the juggernaut from the Loki satellite, dog, probably death mariachi squad mates. If you try to call in a support squadmate with 2 out there, the screen will say you have too many squadmates and not call it in. If you have 2 already and use the satellites, the satellite squadmate simply won't load (unless you cheat).

Edited August 12, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Please fill in missing information or opine.

Lethals: each costs 6 squad points to unlock. There is no scavenging lethals in ghosts. They are refilled when you complete field orders only, as soon as you complete them. IW hates grenades in this game, they are very weak even with Danger Close, just fyi. Edit: Throwing knives can be scavenged.

Frag grenade: your basic thrown explosive. It has 4 red lights near the targeting reticle that light up one at a time. When the last lights up it explodes. Throw it before then, try to time it so it blows when it reaches its target. I feel it's a little less user friendly than the bo2 frags, and a little less fun to play ball with by throwing it against the wall and picking it up again with 'Strong-Arm' perk.

Semtex grenade: this is a medium range sticky grenade. While it works much like it always has, with the larger maps, the timing on it seems more perfect than in the tiny arena-maps of bo2. By the time it reaches your target, it explodes giving them no time to run from it.

Throwing knife: this is a thrown 1 hit kill knife that works like previous games. Very easy and practical. Can be retrieved for reuse. Strong-Arm perk gives this great range with low lob. Edit: these can be scavenged.

I.E.D.: This is an improvised explosive device with a proximity trigger. It is like a blend of the Claymore and Bouncing Betty from bo2. You want to set this about 6 feet in from an entrance, make sure it is on an open spot where the blast won't be blocked by random debris as they are finicky. Probably the most commonly used explosive. Edit: obviously all of the explosives in this game needed a buff. Since they were so weak (and nonreplenishable), people tended to use the i.e.d. as it was okay. IW mistook this for it being too good and nerfed the i.e.d., rather than make a proper fix to all of the grenades. And then nerfed it more, stupidly. So now, they work like a warning device, not like a kill grenade. Inexplicably, Danger Close perk greatly reduces their effectiveness. No dc=50% chance of kill, with dc=20% chance of kill (seriously, try it offline).

C4: Throw it where you want it, hit RB again to detonate it. The more common method is to double-tap x to detonate it. You can place it and wait for prey, or throw it at someone and blow it up. It works about as well as ever, with the added drawback of a highly visible red blinking light on it (light has been dimmed a little), making it harder to use as a trap than in previous games.

Canister bomb: this needs to be primed, and has a short throw distance making it not very useful in a game where you would die quickly during the short priming step. Needs Strong-Arm perk to throw more than 5 feet, needs Reflex perk to reduce the arming time.

In conclusion, the grenades are practically squeezed out of your class due to almost no replenishment, overpriced/underfunctioning Danger Close perk, low effectiveness with or without danger close. Edit: and now made even less effective by an unwarranted Nerf by IW. Edit: and nerfed again by these clueless fools. At this point, I assume that they don't actually play the game...

Remember to check out anything on bots in the private match or local modes before you waste squad points on it.

Happy gaming, back with tacticals soon.

Edited July 25, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Tacticals: these cost 6 squad points each to unlock.

9-bang. This is a flash/emp grenade that must be charged for max effect. It will have 4 yellow lights near the reticle that light up like the frag grenade, but this will not explode until thrown. It has an emp effect on electronics that temporarily disables them and a useless slight blinding effect, combined with reducing your hearing to a ringing noise for a few seconds, on players. Against humans, this is trash, even fully charged. It does work versus bots; making them cover their eyes and wander out from cover. Edit: you get 1 bang if not charged, 2 bangs per lit up yellow light (?). Edit: these have been improved somewhat. Instead of just the small explosions, they actually blind you a little now. They are kind of cool now that they actually blind a little, but given the long charge time, plus the fact that most placeable killstreaks and the grenades are nerfed to the point of being a non-issue, the 9-bangs just aren't really useful.

Concussion: slows affected player movements for a few seconds. This cod staple works a well as always. Still one of the better tacticals.

Smoke: makes a cloud of smoke for several seconds. This grenade works well enough. Unfortunately, given the high usage of tracker and thermal sights, this is less useful at what it does than in some other games. Unlike some cod, you may carry 2 with the extra tactical perk. Edit: Over time, the trackers and thermals appear less, so these work better now than when i first wrote this guide. These will temporarily blind Sentry Guns. Sadly, your red name can be seen easily through the smoke (glitched), requiring Incog if you want to use it as cover for flag taking.

Trophy system: this device will take out two incoming projectile. Given the low value of thrown projectiles, with the detriment of no replacing them, the trophy system is usually completely pointless in this game.

Motion sensor: This item is thrown on the ground, when an enemy comes near, it explodes, causing the enemy to be able to be seen through objects for a second or two (end edit). This is a worse version of the bo2 sensor grenade; it is stationary, takes several seconds to arm, so no quick use, is obvious to see, and does very little in terms of what it is supposed to do. It's best use is to set it where enemies are coming into a room (or flags) that you are holding; it goes off, temporarily blinding them, which is way more useful than it's intended purpose.

Thermobaric: large blast, low damage fire grenade. This exciting addition is one of the winners of the tacticals selection, along with the Concussion grenade. It does do some damage, it will 'combo' with the Recon perk to see hit enemies through the walls. Edit: this is not affected by Danger Close. It will take two of these to kill a player, but given their large blast radius, throwing two into a crowd should get some kills.(end edit). This one, like the frag, has four red charging lights and will detonate lethally in your hand. In my opinion, it is almost worth it, but only with extra tactical perks (and maybe recon). Thoughts? Edit: I try to wisely pick a target area and immediately toss both to the same location. Edit: recently balanced to only take half of your life in HC as well.

Happy gamage!

Edited July 25, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Perks:You are given 12 point-slots in ghosts, primary, secondary, lethal, tactical, each take up one slot. The remaining slots are filled with perks. Each perk has a number associated with it, this is the number of remaining slots that it will take up (points in parentheses).

Speed;

Ready Up (1): does what it says; your gun will be ready faster after sprinting. If not generally running, or if hip-firing, pass on this. Otherwise, this is well worth the 1 point slot.

Sleight of Hand (2): Reloads faster. While this is obviously good, not every gun nor class will 'need' this. Use if necessary.

Agility (2): Increased movement speed. While also not for every class, this is often undervalued. Any assaulting/goal getting class should use this. It gets you to the objective, cover, or out of fire/blast range, faster.

Marathon (2): Another good perk. Not necessary on most classes. Prime for going after objectives or full-on runner/gunners that never stop. Most classes just need the short burst of run and can pass on this perk.

Stalker (3): This perk allows you to move at a decent movement rate while still aiming-down-sight (ads). I feel that most classes besides sniper/camper practically need this unless using Steady Aim. As such, i feel it would have been more fair at 2 points, rather than 3, but i digress... Some long range battles are fine with the low movement rate, but for ads movement in crowded maps, it is a staple. Edit: Not needed on smg classes. Other long range classes can do without it.

Edited May 12, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Handling:

Strong Arm (1): Throw Lethals and Tacticals further, reset the fuse on picked-up frags, shortens cook time (but not canister bomb arm time). Best for throwing knife use as the knife goes far with very little arc. Fun for throwing a frag grenade against the wall and picking it up over and over, even better to confuse the enemy by picking up their grenade (and bouncing it), leaving them wondering why it didn't explode. Basically not a high value perk, but useful on the right class.

On The Go (1): Reload while you run. A nice 1 point replacement for Sleight Of Hand. No accidental runs canceling your reload. Not bad for 1 point, not top tier.

Reflex (2): Swap weapons, use equipment faster. Not normally needed. Great for slow weapons like the grenade launchers, or for using shield/throwing knife types of combos where fast hands really help. With most players using one gun and often skipping Lethals/Tacticals, it is rarely needed. Reduces arm time for canister bomb.

Steady Aim (2): A decent 2 point perk. If you can get used to playing like this, you just saved tons of point-slots versus the points needed for a good ads class. When you aren't ads, there are 4 white dashes making up your middle-of-screen aiming reticle, this is where your bullets will fall while hip-firing. When you move, it spreads even more. With Steady Aim that area between the dashes is smaller and doesn't widen as much while moving. Honestly, it doesn't do very much, easily passed over, even on a hipfire class (focus would still be a better choice).

Quickdraw (3): another great perk that seems overcosted by a point to me. It does what it says, bringing the gun into ads mode faster. My opinion is that most of us can aim the gun before/during ads so this doesn't have super high value, but does have good value. You can live without it, but it will help you beast out on the fastest classes.

Back eventually...

Edited July 25, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

One more row before i go...

Stealth:

Takedown (1): a great 1 point perk. Almost necessary on a knife class, useful for any silenced close-range class. Basically, when you kill an enemy, it won't show the death symbol. Besides keeping enemies from seeing where their buddy died, it also works like this: you get killed, quickly respawn and look for the death symbol so you can get back where you just were (maybe for revenge, maybe you died calling in Maniac), but there is no death symbol, so no shortcut to knowing about where you died.

Blind Eye (2): Protects against ai controlled rewards and Oracle. Should be only 1 point; air support is basically a joke, Oracle is a joke, sentries are not a big issue. Use for camping/sniping out in the open or objective modes like Domination, where killstreaks and being out in the open are both common.

Dead Silence (2): Makes you almost completely silent, fall sounds still occur. This is useful again. Not needed in every map, but a worthy perk on some maps/some classes.

Incog (3): Resists trackers, thermals, no red name or crosshairs nor call outs when targeted. One of the best perks in the game. With thermals and tracker sights everywhere, this is quite useful. It does what it says, and that's a lot.

Off The Grid (3): Keeps you off of Sat Coms, radar pings. Does what it says, which is probably not always worth 3 points. 2 points would be a more fair price. Don't underestimate the number and usefulness of Sat Coms. For hiding or playing objective modes, where you might see shields with radar as well, it is quite decent. Edit: as the game progressed, sat coms became rare in tdm games as players used better rewards. I only use this perk on my nonmoving sniper now. Edit: due to the way the Reinforce plays out, this can be useful on the higher rounds in that mode.

Happy gaming!

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[Hells Warrrior]

Great post 83457 - I still don't have the game yet but it was a good read - might buy Ghosts end of the month but I'm not that fussed about it to be honest.

[83457]

Awareness:

Recon (1): this not overly exciting perk is not terrible on the right class, but certainly not top tier. Note that you will see any enemy hurt by any explosive, including Thermobaric grenade and any teammates explosives.

Scavenger (2): scavenges ammo only. If you plan on living a long life, and don't want to pick up random guns, this may be for you, either in your class or in your specialist package. Normally is better than starting with max ammo, but weaker than any other version of this perk in cod games due to ghosts inexplicable lack of grenade scavenging. (grenades are so weak, why can't they be scavenged?)

Sit Rep (2): shows enemy armor and equipment, including ammo crate, Sat Com, most killstreaks, but not dogs. Less valuable in this game than in previous cods due to underwhelming grenades/tacticals/killstreaks, but still a decent perk.

Amplify (2): makes enemy footsteps easier to hear and allows you to hear players with Dead Silence. I think peoples opinions of this vary. It can help you track down enemies, but the sound is already fairly loud to me, so I've used it, i can see the value in it, but don't really need it myself. Try it out...thoughts?

Wiretap (3): This perk is better than you first think. I rarely find room for it in my class set-ups, but have had it from Gambler (random perk), so i have seen how strong it can be. You see enemies from every allied and enemy Sat Com, so many games it will be a huge boon, many games it will be a dud. Run it with a Sat Com in your killstreaks, call it in when an enemy or teammate calls one in. Edit: most games sat coms are rare now, so the value of this went down over time.

Back soon...

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Great post 83457 - I still don't have the game yet but it was a good read - might buy Ghosts end of the month but I'm not that fussed about it to be honest.

Yeah, I'm having host/lag/p2p issues galore, but the bots, campaign, extinction are all making it worth the wait for the mp fix.

You can put bots on 'mixed' difficulty, and it plays much like real games; some veteran strength, hardened, regular, and recruit. So you get some fierce competition and some 3-14 players, like real games. You can also restrict anything, so playing a shotgun only or knife only match can be fun.

If you get it, you will probably enjoy it. If you pass on it, that's understandable too as it really is just the same thing again (extinction is a bit different).

Happy gaming!

[83457]

Resistance:

Resilience (1): Take no falling damage. A decent 1 point perk, usually less important than something else, but worth the 1 point for sure.

ICU (2): You regenerate health faster. Sounds good, but is rarely useful because you either die or you lived. Maybe for objective players fighting for B-flag(?), otherwise this is a luxury perk, not a necessary one. Objective player thoughts?

Focus (2): Reduced ads weapon sway, reduced flinch when hit. A top tier perk. Perfect for snipers/marksmen, useful on many classes. Don't undervalue this.

Tac Resist (2): Reduces tacticals effects on the player. Maybe would be considered as a 1 point perk. See Blast Shield.

Blast Shield (2): Reduces damage from explosives. This and Tac Resist are near useless in a game with such nerfed tacticals and explosives. The main use of Blast Shield in tdm would be on your own Danger Close class to keep from killing yourself. These probably hold slightly more appeal in some objective modes, but generally could be passed over for something more effective for your class. Edit: after extensive objective playing, this perk is still not needed: grenades in this game are clearly a non issue.

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Equipment:

Extra tactical (1): Self explanatory. Should you find value in one of the tacticals, why not take 2?

Extra Lethal (2): Also rather obvious what it does. Usually not worth it for the 2 points it takes up, but a staple in an explosives/Danger Close class. Also consider this for a throwing knife class; despite being retrievable, they do get lost sometimes, and you do miss some throws. Edit: Note that the underbarrel grenade launcher gives you two grenades and is not increased by this perk.

Fully Loaded (2): Start with maximum ammunition. I have yet to find a reason for this over scavenger. Maybe for long-range camping? Too far to run with your lmg guy to get that little blue satchel? Luxury perk...

Extra Attachment (3): the cost and usefulness of this (and overkill) self explanatory perk is questionable at best. Extreme luxury perk. Thoughts?

Danger Close (4): increases damage dealt with explosives. Given that the only way to replenish grenades is to do 'Field Orders', this perk is crazy overcosted. That being said, you will use it if you want to make an explosives class. At 3 it would be fair, at 4 points, it should allow you to scavenge grenades. C4 works well without it. The underbarrel grenade, launchers, and thrown grenades all benefit from dc. IEDs are much LESS effective with danger close. IW really screwed these up.

Almost done with perks, feel free to input your own advice, even if it is completely at odds with mine. It will help us all grow and understand better.

Edited July 8, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Elite:

Gambler (1): seems silly, but actually will pay off quite frequently. It is a 1 point perk that will usually get you a better-than-1-point-perk. Often squeezed out for a class-specific perk, but a great 1 point filler if you don't know what to use in that slot. If you use gambler in your Specialist class, you will receive the bonus perk as soon as you unlock Gambler. As soon as you get it from Specialist or spawn in with it, the perk that you were granted will momentarily show in the middle of your screen, so watch for that.

Hardline (2): Killstreaks cost 1 less, each 2 assists count as a kill. Not often needed, but a staple in many 'Specialist strike package' classes, and some of you just love it.

Ping (2): Activates a radar ping from the death location of an enemy that you kill, revealing nearby enemies without the 'Off The Grid' perk. A fair addition to the game. Taking your eyes off of the screen to see the minimap may get you killed by the guy on your minimap though.

Overkill (3): Carry 2 primary weapons, no secondary. At 3 points, given the current point system, i see very little point in this. Useful for campers.

Deadeye (5): "Consecutive kills increase the chance to deal more damage with bullet weapons". 5 point perk with lots of qualifiers in that sentence. I've used this from Gambler, and it seems underwhelming. Is anyone using this and finding it worthy? I didn't notice any great effects that would fill me with the desire to main this on a class. Thoughts/experience with this? Edit: I spent a few hours playing with Dead Eye. What happens is this; random bullets will give a special red-squarish flash instead of the normal hitmarker. These bullets did extra damage. At one point i hit a guy in the arm and leg and both were the special bullets, so i got a kill in 2 bullets to limbs. It was kind of amusing to use, but overall, i still don't see the value of it being worth 5 perk points.

After more testing, i find it useless on marksmen rifles/snipers. I kind of hoped it would make chest shots a 1 hit kill for marksmen (on red hitmarkers). Shotgun pellet spreads count all or none, not really helpful. Best with lmgs/ars/smgs.

That's our 35 Ghosts perks, happy gaming all!

Edited July 8, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Field Orders:

Edit: most field order bugs have been fixed by now. But, if you achieve the FO then immediately die, it will not count. Example; 1 melee kill: i stab a guy, get stabbed, fail the FO. You must survive at least 1 full second after completion.

Field Orders appear as a blue briefcase that slowly bounces up and down on the map. They are dropped by a player that had them, by the first player killed in a game, and randomly during the game if the current one times out. There will usually be a couple active at once. Speculation: i believe (tdm, 6 players) that 3 players from each team will see/interact with 1 FO, the other 3 from each team see a different FO that the first ones can't see and vice versa.

If you get the FO, you will be given some task to perform, if you succeed, you will earn a squad point (in theory), your ammo, tacticals/grenades/reserve grenade launcher ammo will be replenished, and you will be given a care package grenade to call in a cp. The cp may be any killstreak(?), or it may be a map specific killstreak, which will show a grim reaper symbol.

Squad points; upon completing FO, you will immediately get a squad point (even in Squad Assault/squad games). Often they show up late and possibly not at all. This is a bug. I have had them show up 20 minutes after I stopped playing online. I've had them not show up, but then sometimes I go from 0 sp to like 12, and the game isn't always clear in what challenge you did to earn them, so it is never clear if owed points are showing up late or if I earned new ones en masse. (again, most of these bugs are fixed).

Challenges:

1 headshot

2 crouch kills

3 non-killstreak kills.

1 explosive kill (non-killstreak).

1 jumping kill (before apex).

Humiliate (teabag) the next enemy that you kill.

1 prone kill (laying down).

1 secondary weapon kill.

2 kills with a picked up weapon.

1 melee kill. Knife/shield (i assume shield works?) Kill.

Note on 'Humiliate'; it will be the most recently killed enemy, not the first one that you kill after getting this f.o. Example: get f.o.: humiliate, you kill 3 enemies, go teabag the last 1, not the first, of those 3. Teabag = squat then stand while on the corpse of your enemy. You may 'humiliate' from any height, you do not have to be on the same plane, just above them (probable below them too, where applicable).

Jumping: must be start of jump before apex.

Prone: this means laying down kill.

Picked up weapon: glitched; ubsg counts, ubgl maybe?, gold knife versus enemy with gold knife, maybe having the same weapon as the enemy? Any Ammo Crate weapon counts.

Secondary weapon: must be a secondary, probably can pick one off of the ground, but must be a secondary. Won't work by trading your empty secondary for a primary from the ground.

Headshot: in Safeguard mode (called challenges, not field orders) these may glitch for several rounds where it is not possible to get any headshots to count.

I think that's all of them and correct.

Note: completion will refill launcher ammo in reserve, but not in the 'chamber'. So if you have any ammo in your launchers, make sure to reload before completing the FO.

Panzerfaust: 1 in chamber/2 in reserve max.

Kastet: 1/1 reserve max.

MK32: 6/6 reserve max. (2 fire at once).

Note that you can complete more than 1 per match and you can have multiple care package grenades without penalty.

Edit: if you get any juggernaut package and then get an FO, there will be special orders for the juggernaut. Also, if you have field orders and then suit up as any 'jugger', your orders will change to appropriate 'jugger' ones.

I'm not sure how many there are, but;

Maniac: 3 melee kills.

3 throwing knife kills.

3 kills from behind.

Minigun juggernaut: 7 kills with your weapons.

Juggernaut recon: 4 kills.

Michael Myers (dlc1 Fog) earned once per match max: 7 kills.

Predator (dlc2 Ruins) earned once per match max: 7 kills.

Death Mariachi (dlc3 Departed): 7 kills. The undead can't use killstreaks. You may earn Death Mariachi more than once per match.

Edited July 27, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Using launchers: i won't get into every gun as there is a ton of information and opinions out there that are probably better informed than I. But I will talk about the 'fun' stuff, like launchers:

Kastet: 3 sp to unlock. Remember the Thumper? This is a 2 shot (1 chamber/1 reserve) grenade launcher. The shots must travel a certain distance before contact or they won't explode. Up close, works as a 1 hit kill shotgun. It's low profile won't make you easier to see. It has a fast movement rate. Decent secondary for any class, staple for Danger Close class. Easily the best of the launchers. Best to aim at their feet or watch an area with a wall behind it and shoot the wall when enemies come near.

Panzerfaust: 7 sp to unlock. This gives 2 rockets (1 chamber/1 reserve) that fly vaguely where you aim them. This is large, slow, and adds some bulk and height to your soldier. This is for fun kills. It has very little 'pro' value. Note that if fired at an enemies feet, it may level out, pass between their legs and fly away harmlessly. Use carefully for swag kills or to shoot down enemy aircraft. Since it is free fired, it is not affected by the flares of the heli, for a lucky heli downing. Field orders will fill the reserve to 2 rockets.

MK32: 9 sp to unlock. This has 6 Semtex in the chamber, none in reserve (reserve 6 filled by field order completion), fires 2 at a time; 1, vaguely where you aimed, 1 higher than that. This is not very accurate and the time that the Semtex takes to launch and explode usually gives you plenty of time to be dead by then. Best use is while camping with danger close explosives inside; if the enemy gets in, start firing these around the vicinity to pick up a kill or two after death. You can usually get off two shots, for 4 Semtex, so be sure to plan the areas to Semtex so the room won't be safe, hopefully not actually getting killed, but expect death when using this. For more proactive use, try to aim the first shot in front of the enemy as the other will go high, hopefully sandwiching the enemy between shots. Danger Close is practically needed. Use for fun kills, no real 'pro' value. Moderate movement rate, adds some width to your soldiers back, making him easier to see if prone. Up close, be sure to aim well so they are stuck. If you miss, the enemy will simply run off before they explode.

With all of these: having a high perch so that you can shoot at their feet works best. Next best option is watching an area with a wall behind it so that you can shoot the wall and still kill them with the explosion, without having to land the shot on the actual player as there is no room for error.

I recommend danger close with all of them, especially the last two, but the Kastet is a decent secondary on many classes. Sleight of hand should be considered for maximum effectiveness, but not necessary. Reflex is another consideration.

Remember that, if you held this as you died, you can pick up dropped ammo from your death location (unless someone picked it up). True for any weapon in game, including underbarrel attachments.

Edited July 25, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Prestige and you:

This is just some thoughts on Ghosts prestige.

In this game, when you max level 60, you prestige. Just like that. This unlocks a Prestige symbol and Prestige background and changes all of your soldiers level-symbols to prestige 1 (or current prestige) symbols. That soldier stays there at '60 maxed' and keeps their stuff.

When the next soldier maxes, then you get prestige 2 level-symbols by all of your soldiers (up to 10th).

Deep thoughts: Once you prestige your soldier, you tend to ignore that one while working on the others. So you have this one great soldier basically sitting on the sidelines, because playing him/her will be a waste of xp that you could be earning for other soldiers. It's not the end of the world, but imperfect. So my solution to you for maximum soldier enjoyment is to get each of your initial 6 soldiers to about level 30. By then, you have unlocked focus and many other good perks by level, and probably have had enough to purchase the other necessary (to you) perks for your soldiers. But now, all of them are still playable, not pseudo-locked-out by being max prestige. Then work each soldier up 10 levels at a time until each reaches '61ish'.

This method will also make it easier to have an effective Squad, should you care about that aspect.

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Updated some posts, added launchers and prestige posts.

As always, happy gaming!

[83457]

Call-outs: An amazing new cod ghosts feature is that your soldier and others on your team will actively call out positions of enemies that don't have the Incog perk equipped. By paying attention to these call-outs it will improve your game.

Your own soldier always does call-outs unless you have Incog on, so as to not give away your position, so learn to pay attention as the digital eyes may see someone that your human eyes missed, or is off of the side of your screen.

Your soldiers voice sounds like someone not too far behind you, facing away from you, yelling. But that is your soldiers voice. The voice will be different for each character model and will have 1 Ghost voice and 1 Federation voice, so get to know and recognize it (i use the season pass ghosts mask on all of my characters for easy voice recognition and it makes my squad all look the same for limiting human information when people play versus my squad, all in the same uniform, all with similar names).

Note that most maps have similarly named areas. Learn what each area is called (either over time or do splitscreen/2 man game with a friend as an enemy and walk around the maps to hear all of the call-outs).

Some call outs:

Overwatch: usually a high spot or hidden sniper spot.

Rooftops/on the roof.

Parking garage: in Overlord, this is the lone '03 garaje', in tremor, the parking garage was left out, but the alley along it is called out 'in the parking garage'. Flooded, the upper level parking area is out of map, so the middle level is 'upper level parking garage' the flooded lower level is 'lower level parking garage'.

Restaurant.

In the open.

Atrium.

Skybridge

Concourse.

Office building.

This is not a comprehensive list, just a starter. Note that some maps may have specific names like 'church' in Containment or 'canyons' in Fog.

If one, usually you hear 'enemy's in the xxxx', with more than one, it is usually 'multiple enemies in the xxxx'.

They use the word 'hostile/s' as well as 'enemy/ies' or 'target/s'. Also 'he/'s', whether a male or female soldier. Edit: Also 'contact/s'. If your soldier yells 'contact!' By itself, that means someone is in cqb range, so check the room/corners if you haven't been stabbed yet.

'Holed up' or 'dug in' means an indoor enemy, like 'he's dug in in the Hardware Store' (Warhawk).

Edit: enemies call outs are heard as well (ones with Incog remain silent). So if you camp in the restaurant, an enemy runs by and yells 'contact in the restaurant', then you kill him, assume that other enemies may have heard that call out, so even if you killed them with stealth, your position may be compromised. Bot enemies: will always know your exact location once one of them does. I often play 1 versus 11 or 2 (split screen) versus 10 tdm bot matches, so if i hear 'mumble mu mumble mumble' in the distance, i know that every bot in the game is now converging on my last known position.

Happy calling out!

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Hidden egg hunt: this is in the map thread, but i thought I'd sum it up here: go into public matches on the first dlc, each map has Cryptid Egg (from extinction) in it (see the map thread for locations). You must shoot the eggs. A pop up on the left will tell you that you did it. Once all 4 have been shot, you get 2000xp. Then, go into extinction in a public match, as soon as you defeat a hive, you get 10,000 xp for extinction. Edit: egg hunt added to dlc2. Edit: easiest way to get the eggs in the mp maps: Dlc2; go to squads> devastation> safeguard> play now. Just shoot the eggs and leave. For Dlc1; squads> safeguard> play now, then leave and hit play now over and over until you get the 4 dlc1 maps, shoot the eggs during the loot round, leave.

Point of contact Easter egg: go to the motel sign, shoot the letters L O L, then do it again. Lol should appear in the center of your screen. Crypytids will explode into plush cryptid dolls.

Nightfall Easter egg: the poles change, but watch what 4 light poles light up with sparks, see what order they spark in. Then shoot them in order as they spark. If done correctly, the Cryptids will explode into snowmen.

Edited May 12, 2014 by 83457

[XLORDXSITHX]

just to note there is a hardcore mod for this game aswell. very good squads and core mode guide however!!! props.

 

sith

 

sad hackers are so numerious on ps3

[83457]

Thanks Sith. I don't play hc, so i haven't talked about it. If there is information on it, what has or hasn't changed, feel free to post it here.

Dlc guns: dlc1 added the Maverick assault rifle and it's alternate personality, the Maverick-A2 sniper rifle. They are both unlocked, but attachments must be bought (except local/private match, where all are unlocked). Now available for purchase without the map pack.

Assault rifle: high damage up close, almost fills an smg role. Mediocre at range. It's fair, far from the best, not the worst. Best at close range.

Sniper rifle: unique tracker/sniper scope. High recoil. Wimpy with silencer, pretty much requires chrome barrel. It is bad, but fun with a cool scope. Each shot leaves you star-gazing due to recoil.

Dlc2 brings us the Ripper: Season pass holders have access to this already, the rest of you must wait until April 3, you will get it with the maps. Now available to purchase without the map pack.

Ripper: While ads, click the RS to switch between SMG mode and AR mode; SMG mode gives you a small post iron sight, lots of view. The AR mode flips up a unique green holographic sight with green dot. This is a quite easy to use gun. The green dot occasionally is a little hard to see against some bright backgrounds, but this will be used by most, expect to see these in action. I tried it with 3 attachments: silencer, grip, rapid fire and it was compatible to using the MTARX. Since i don't normally rock 3 attachments, i tried without the silencer and it was almost as easy to use, despite rapid fire at range. Don't overlook this one, it is in a higher class than the Maverick.

DLC3 added a Gold (Combat) Knife available at 5th prestige and a Gold PDW automatic machine pistol secondary, available at 10th prestige.

Gold Knife: exactly like the Combat Knife minus the 'grab and push' animation, just a quick slash.

Gold PDW: auto fire, all attachments come unlocked with it.

Happy gaming!

Edited July 27, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

As of the March patch, all Operations are always active, so it is much easier to get the unlocks and squad points that you want.

Thank goodness.

[83457]

More bot thoughts:

1. Warm up.

2. Give them some class.

3. Custom recipe.

1. Since the addition of bots in BO, people have been doing this: warm up with bots. Some of you never need a warm up, but some have claimed that this improves their game. Simply play 1-11 bots and you get your aim going, get used to fighting multiple enemies at once, and judging when to reload or not. If you get timid about playing other players, take a little bot warm up first.

2. Give bots a class: they play those awful default classes. You don't want them, so why make the poor bots use them? Edit: this is inconsistent; sometimes i can force them to play with made-up default classes, sometimes no. I think some of the updates to the game have glitched then a little, so results may vary.

Go to Options> Player Options> Create Default Loadouts. Take Ghosts Loadout 1, make it a decent class. When done, highlight Loadout 1, press x (toggle default loadout) to make it active in game. Hit LB to copy, highlight Federation Loadout 1, hit A to copy, hit x to activate that default class. Do that for each class and the bots will have some better options.

If you make a stab only or shotgun only (or whatever) class, be sure to make these default classes up to fit that mode, so that the bots (as well as players) can access the appropriate classes.

3. Custom Recipe: you can then save these Custom Recipes, which will be available under Mode> My Modes. Even available in local.

I like to fight bots, and i often play Split Screen with a buddy.

Solo: 1-11 mixed difficulty, friendly fire on, 100 kills, unlimited time, default classes.

Split Screen: 2-10 no killcam (saves wear and tear on the processor, makes it easier to discern when fighting is actually going on), friendly fire on, 150 kills (highest allowed in Ghosts), unlimited time. Default classes.

Happy gaming with AI.

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

More gun talk: I am going to talk from experience about the guns of Ghosts. I'm not picking through code to number crunch and tell you the theoretical best. I am going from experience and from what i see being used. Feel free to opine if you agree/disagree. I am posting basically to help the uninitiated get started in their enjoyment of Ghosts multiplayer. I play online, offline versus 11 bots, Safeguard, some Extinction. I've only had this since the end of the year, but have racked up (15k+) kills, i do some 20+k-0d games, and have 10 soldiers made up (10th prestige) so while i may type some stupids, i am fairly knowledgeable. So...

Pistols, the other secondary.

Thoughts: the tac knife stabs really fast. Pistols are decent, but usually used for a speed run boost from a slow primary (sniper/lmg) or in a 'out of ammo' situation. Akimbo is not very effective nor recommended. (akimbo got better).

M9A1: Not very popular, seems very weak to me.

MP-443 Grach, P226: these are the stars of the pistol group. Effective, accurate guns.

44 Magnum: High cool factor, a little inconsistent, slow reload. Usable, but most often seen akimbo with acogs, for the 'i have no idea what I'm doing' patch. Usually kills in 1 headshot.

PDW: so bad. If you must use it, put on Muzzle Break. May kill in one burst, more likely to not kill at all.

DLC3: Gold PDW unlocked at prestige 10. Automatic, short range secondary. Easily the best of the pistol group.

When you unlock it, all of the attachments are also unlocked for it.

Back with primaries.

Edited July 8, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

I'll do these in order, except that I'm going to throw the Riot Shield and Combat Knife together in this post.

Combat Knife: if you choose no other primary, you get the combat knife. It is a slow, inaccurate, 1 hit kill. You will grab the enemy, stab them, toss them down. Highest movement rate of all weapons. Generally, the tac knife on a pistol is more user friendly for stabbing. Has some style points.

DLC3: Gold Combat Knife unlocked at prestige 5. Increased melee speed. Essentially identical to the combat knife, but the 'grab and push' animation is removed.

Riot Shield: a primary, that you can't set down, are highly unlikely to get kills with, and makes you quite obvious to see. One of the worst versions of Riot Shield yet. It needs a 1 hit kill option for core, which it lacks. The lightweight frame doesn't make it any better. I've only seen it used, with the radar package, in Domination/Reinforce. Unless you are really keen on playing with this, avoid it as it is fairly worthless. Bragging rights if you can own with this.

Edited June 29, 2014 by 83457

[83457]

Assault Rifles: generally, all of these are usable. I'll opine on them a little. The single shot option is an odd but usable choice usually needing 2 shots to kill, some of the rifles work well with 3 burst.

Maverick (DLC Onslaught gun): hyper-velocity rounds make this destroy up close, but it is not a great long range gun. A good hipfire/cqb weapon. Interesting iron sights. Has it's fans.

SC-2010: great gun, generally overlooked, being a starter gun.

SA-805: great gun, ugly iron sights.

AK-12: the original popular rifle, becoming less popular.

FAD: another underestimated rifle that is worth using.

Remington R5: this theoretically takes a little longer up close, but maintains damage over range, making this the opposite of the Maverick. One of the best and most popular of the assault rifles.

MSBS: 3 round burst. I didn't even use this until after it was nerfed, and it is still a pro weapon. Silenced, expect to need 2 bursts, with muzzle break, 1 burst should kill usually. The full-auto option works decently, but nothing spectacular.

Honey Badger: Another perfectly fine automatic rifle, comes with a free silencer.

ARX-160: comes with a laser for improved hipfire. This gun sucks. I keep trying to pretend that it isn't one of the worst guns in the game, but it is one of the worst guns in the game. No idea why it costs the most squad points. Rarely seen in use, i have tried it again and again and can't wait to take it off my class to put something better in it's place.

Edited July 27, 2014 by 83457