What to Expect in Modern Warfare’s New Boots on the Ground War Mode
Today’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare patch was the largest since the start of Season 2 and included among the new bug-fixes and reworks were several new game modes. One of these was the cleverly-named “Boots on the Ground War,” mode; a new variant of Ground War which shifts the mode’s focus to be on high-stakes infantry combat.
Boots on the Ground War: What’s Different in the New Variant Mode
Ground War, which debuted in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare at launch, is currently the largest game mode in the title. (Although this is expected to change in the near future when Activision launches Call of Duty Warzone; Modern Warfare’s upcoming battle royale mode, which will also be its own free-to-play game.) Ground War offers up to 64 players combat on a larger scale than in other modes, featuring both infantry and tanks. However, as the name implies, this new variant focuses more on the ‘Boots on the Ground’; i.e., the infantry combat.
The first key change is that Boots on the Ground War removes tanks from the game mode. Although smaller vehicles will still be available, teams won’t be able to rely on the massive firepower offered by those larger vehicles. “No tanks will be available on the battlefield,” explains Activision; “instead your battalion will face-off against your opponents with smaller vehicles and on foot. Advance with your squad and do your best to hold the objectives in Infantry Ground War.”
The second key difference in the new mode is that Boots on the Ground War is a Realism mode. This means that the conditions present in the game’s Realism difficulty will also be present here. Players are more susceptible to damage, there is little to no HUD, and friendly fire is on, among other things. As such, teamwork will be even more important, as players will need to be careful not to get caught in their own squadmates’ lines of fire. Boots on the Ground War is available to play from today, providing you’ve downloaded the new patch.