How Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s New Hardpoint Game Mode Works
The latest free update to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare didn’t just fix bugs and tweak balancing; it brought two new maps to the game, Shoot House and Krovnik Farmland, as well as a whole new game mode. This new Modern Warfare Hardpoint game mode is a team mode which focuses specifically on area control.
The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Hardpoint Game Mode
In the new Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Hardpoint mode, players must focus on capturing and holding specific map zones; the ‘hardpoints’ themselves. When a match starts, you will see a locked hardpoint, as well as the distance between you and the site on your HUD. The hardpoint remains locked for 15 seconds before it can be captured. When your team first captures a hardpoint, the team begins to accrue points, with 1 point earned for every 1 second that you hold the hardpoint. Your team wins the match once it reaches a total of 250 points.
Once it unlocks, the hardpoint remains for 50 seconds before it vanishes and a new hardpoint appears somewhere else. While you’re trying to hold the hardpoint, if an enemy enters the area, it becomes “contested” and you stop earning points. As such, you’ll need to ensure that you keep enemies out of the hardpoint while you hold it. Eventually, either one team reaches 250 points and wins, or the match timer ends, and the team with the higher point total wins.
Because the hardpoint is static and relatively small in size, the area (and anybody inside it) is vulnerable to certain forms of attack. All forms of explosives, for example, are perfect for clearing out defenders, as are certain Killstreaks. Attackers can also launch multi-pronged assaults to force defenders to fight on multiple fronts. It’s worth noting that you actually earn extra XP for taking down enemies while you’re capturing a hardpoint. You can also earn bonus XP if you’re the first to occupy a hardpoint, and when you score kills while holding a hardpoint. As such, the mode is well-suited to earning XP quickly.