Hardcore game mode has been in Call of Duty since it first became a playlist option in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. In Hardcore, player health is more than halved, meaning that almost all weapons produce one shot kills.
The heads-up display in Hardcore does not exist without a Recon Plane, and you will also be without a mini-map, ammo count, score count, equipment count, or any red indicators above enemies.
Friendly Fire is also turned on in Hardcore, meaning that you can damage your allies and potentially be ejected from the lobby if you drop your teammates too many times.
These rules make Hardcore a completely different experience from a typical Call of Duty Multiplayer match, but that should not scare you away. In fact, here are five reasons why you should load up and give Hardcore a try in Call of Duty: WWII.
Improved Awareness
When you first drop into Hardcore, you will immediately notice that you do not have a HUD. While you will have to adjust to the lack of a mini-map, it will give you a chance to be more aware of your surroundings.
Navigating any of Call of Duty: WWII’s maps in Hardcore will aid you in learning a map’s general routes, chokepoints, and shortcuts. Having a general idea of the map’s layout in your mind will go a long way toward improving your K/D ratio, and leveling up your Hardcore map awareness can help you with that memorization process.
Hardcore will also provide an opportunity to memorize your weapon’s ammo count.
While knowing how many bullets are in your weapon’s clip might seem trivial, the split second of time in which you would normally glance down at your ammo counter could become the difference between a kill and a death.
Playing on Hardcore will help you learn to count your shots, since you will not have that ammo counter handy, and that should give you a few milliseconds of awareness. Use those milliseconds wisely.
Quick on the Draw
In Hardcore, the first bullet that connects to your opponent usually means a guaranteed kill.
Landing the first shot on an enemy in any mode, from Hardcore Search and Destroy or Team Deathmatch, is vital to your overall success in a regular match. Whether you want to engage an enemy from five feet or fifty yards away, you will have to land your shots if you want to bring the opponet down.
Hardcore teaches you to land this first shot because the game mode has little margin for error. The first bullet that connects with a player will most likely kill them in Hardcore, and that makes hitting your shots incredibly important toward achieving success.
Hardcore can also teach how to properly place that first shot on an enemy. Usually, aiming for the upper chest and head area is ideal for a gunfight. This area is also where you will almost always land a one-shot kill in Hardcore, and learning how to aim for that area every single time is a great way to improve your overall play.
If you learn how to consistently place good first shots on enemies in game, with which Hardcore can help, then you are well on your way to winning most gunfights in any mode.
Practicing Patience
Call of Duty is known for its fast-paced action, but sometimes that can lead to reckless attacking.
This may surprise you, but running headfirst into combat without any regard to your surroundings will most likely land you in a front row seat to a killcam. Playing a few Hardcore games will make you realize the dangers of reckless play fairly quickly, as a single shot can cut you down in a few seconds.
You can still play aggressively in Hardcore, and aggressive play may be your most effective playstyle. However, learning patience regardless of playstyle is the key to earning long killstreaks and winning games.
Checking around corners for lurking foes scouring the ground for S-Mines, taking a second to check for flanking enemies, or waiting for a teammate’s callout in competitive game modes can all help you stay alive, and could ultimately lead you and your team to victory. With very little health to work with in Hardcore, you may just find yourself waiting before charging into an engagement, and applying such patience could just be what you need to improve your overall gameplay.
Corner Those Camo Challenges
If you are on the road to earning diamond camouflages on all of the guns in your loadout, then you may encounter some difficulty completing camouflage challenges on a few weapons.
While it is possible to earn 100 one-shot kills with the Sawed-Off Shotgun or Toggle Action, you might find it tougher in a Standard game mode to get close enough to an enemy in order to earn those one-shot kills.
The universal starting health reduction across all players in Hardcore may help to complete those camouflage challenges faster, as it gives a larger range of forgiveness when aiming for one-shot kills with certain weapons.
Hardcore game modes also guarantee one-shot kills when you hit an enemy in the head.
For most weapons outside of the sniper rifles and shotguns, you will need to earn 100 headshots if you want to unlock a specific weapon’s remaining camouflage challenges. If you can accurately place headshots in Hardcore, you can breeze through these camouflage challenges in no time.
Your New Favorite Way to Play Call of Duty: WWII?
The only way to know if you love a game mode is to give it a try. Hardcore games are truly a different experience from other modes, and it could become your cup of tea if you find that you prefer what Hardcore has to offer.
We hope you try out some Hardcore matches in Call of Duty: WWII for all the reasons above and more… including the fact that Hardcore Ricochet is now live! In this mode, all of the normal Hardcore rules apply, with the addition that friendly fire will be reflected back onto yourself. So, you’ll really need to be accurate in order to see if you have what it takes to hang with the Hardcore.
Try out Hardcore Ricochet with 2XP across all game modes throughout the weekend, and we’ll look you on the Hardcore field.
For more intel about Call of Duty: WWII, be sure to visit CallofDuty.com and follow @CallofDuty and @SHGames on Twitter.
