The Gunsmith system in Modern Warfare 2 is complicated in the best ways, eschewing the previous, somewhat simple Call of Duty gameplay loop of unlocking weapons and then unlocking attachments for them. Despite its annoying menu which needs fixing, MW2’s Gunsmith offers a complex, maze-like progression system that will undoubtedly have players working longer and, more importantly, differently to find their weapon of choice.
Modern Warfare 2’s new and improved Gunsmith tackles two significant issues that have plagued the Call of Duty series for years. The first is the common problem of players reaching max level quickly and running out of gear to work toward. Sure there are special camos and attachments to unlock, but the large portion of fun players have, especially during the launch weekend, is acquiring and testing out all the weapons to find the meta. Once the meta weapons are known, the second and more significant problem arises the lack of weapon variety. In the long term, this issue serves to the detriment of Call of Duty multiplayer, and MW2 has cleverly mitigated this issue with Gunsmith.
MW2’s Gunsmith Finally Makes Call Of Duty A Long-Term Game
The new rendition of Gunsmith introduces a progression system with much more depth than the previous Call of Duty gameplay loop of ranking up to unlock a weapon and then using it to unlock attachments. For instance, to unlock the Kastov-74u, players progress through a web of levels for the Kastovia platform. It starts with reaching player level 23, which unlocks the Kastov 762 and Kastovia platform. From there, players must rank up the 762 to weapon level 10 to unlock the Kastov 545. Next, the 545 must be ranked up to weapon level 13 to unlock the Kastov-74u. Beyond the 74u are even more weapons to unlock in Modern Warfare 2, like the Lachmann Sub, modeled after the MP5 submachine gun.
The complexity of Gunsmith extends to unlocking attachments as well. Progressing through the levels of specific weapons will unlock attachments that can be used on other weapons without unlocking the same attachment all over again. For example, ranking up the Expedite 12 shotgun will grant players access to the Cronen Mini Pro red dot sight for use on any weapon they have, provided they leveled it up enough to open up the sight attachment slot.
The new progression system has the immediate benefit of encouraging weapon experimentation. Players may think they have found their preferred weapon but must use another to unlock a particular attachment, and, in that process, they may discover a new weapon that they like better. Moreover, Gunsmith pulls the player’s focus away from ranking up fast in Modern Warfare 2 to reach max player level and, instead, promotes participation in a progression system in which they get to know a set of weapons that share a platform. These points will have the effect of having more weapon variety in lobbies long after the first few weeks after launch and making sure that players will have much to explore beyond reaching the max player rank. Despite being confusing at times, Modern Warfare 2’s Gunsmith breathes new life into the game and will, hopefully, keep players invested for much longer.