Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare multiplayer guide – how to earn Scorestreaks fast

Know your mode, use the right modules and rewards, and kill stylishly with our Scorestreak guide.

Now we've gone over the basics of the new Exo suits in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and looked in detail at the best loadout for your style of play, let's concentrate on how to improve your at Scorestreaks.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare multiplayer guide – how to earn Scorestreaks fast

Starting in Modern Warfare 3 before being fleshed out in Call of Duty: Black Ops 2, the scorestreak system ditches the killstreak method of old and ensures that no matter what you do to help your team, you will always earn points towards your next streak reward. The process of achieving UAVS, care packages and other bonuses is no longer a matter of simply chaining kills, but being the best team player you can be.

Sledgehammer has given players a greater degree of control over how their scorestreaks work this time around, and there are now a few things you can do to speed up your point intake, as well as mode and skill-based rules that can help most players earn those heavy-duty rewards at speed.

Know your mode and kill well

One of the most irritating sights in any Call of Duty objective mode is seeing a team mate completely ignoring the win criteria and simply trying to farm kills to boost their kill-death ratio. This could be a player running right past dog tags in Kill Confirmed, or choosing to not help you when capturing a point in Domination. It's poor sport, and unfair on the team.

The game's scoring system goes some way to address this by lowering the points given for kills in objective modes and significantly raising the pay-out for fulfilling said objectives. Aside from Kill Confirmed's tags and point captures in Domination, you will also earn big by scoring long-range goals in Uplink, successfully activating or defusing the bomb in Search and Destroy, capturing zones in Hardpoint and returning the flag in CTF – to name just a few.

The trick is, you don't even have to be the one who captures a flag or territory to reap the rewards of solid team play. For example, simply killing an enemy near your captured area in Domination will net you a Defender bonus that is larger because you actively tried to defend your turf, instead of just running laps around the map to get bog standard kills.

All objective game types dole out extra score for those who participate in the mode as designed, so if you keep those criteria in mind and work towards winning the match instead of fixating on your personal K/D, you're going to find yourself much higher up the table, and with more scorestreak rewards at your disposal. In short: actually play the mode.

Scorestreak rewards, modules and the Hardline perk

Unlocked upon reaching level 47, Advanced Warfare's Hardline perk lowers the cost of all scorestreak rewards, and comes highly recommended for those looking to create chaos among enemy ranks with the game's heavy ordnance. This is also useful for getting ahead in Team Deathmatch mode where there are no high-scoring objectives available, or if you are unsure in your own ability to chain many kills in a single life.

If you look to the right of the Create-A-Class loadout screen, you will see your three active scorestreak rewards. Taking UAV as an example – this particular reward is given to players when they earn 400 points. However if you press triangle or Y, you will enter the Modules menu, which allows you to add up to three buffs to your reward at additional cost.

Whenever your UAV is active, you will earn ten points each time your team gets a kill. By adding the Extra Assist Point module you will earn 15 per kill, which will help you unlock your second Scorestreak reward much faster. This does bump up the UAV's initial cost up to 450 points however, but the pay-off is worth it. You can also do this with the System Hack reward, which raises its base cost from 600 to 650.

It's also possible to increase your chances of netting more points by buffing your reward's armour or firepower. For example, adding 100 points on to the Remote Turret arms it with rockets instead of bullets, which makes it more likely to get kills on your behalf, thereby earning you additional score.

Similarly, at 700 points the Missile Strike can be enhanced with a cluster bomb effect, which gives you the option of splitting the rocket into smaller explosives that rain down over a broader area, increasing your chances of getting a multikill, and jumping you ahead to your next reward.

"All objective game types dole out extra score for those who participate in the mode as designed, so work towards winning the match instead of fixating on your personal K/D."

The cheapest Scorestreak reward – the Aerial Recon Drone, might feel like a dud, as it has no offensive capabilities, only the ability to tag enemies on your team's HUD using racer rounds. While it feels weak, you will earn score for each enemy tagged, and then an additional bonus if a member of your team kills them. If your next reward isn't that much further up the score tree, you could get it quickly using this gadget.

You should also consider using the Care Package often, as it costs little to begin with, and may house some brilliant kit inside that helps sped you towards your third reward, or even your fourth if you have an extra streak equipped using the Streaker Wildcard. Bear in mind that upon death, any points accumulated by your streak reward will carry over to your next life, so you're not necessarily starting from scratch each time you die.

There are many other ways to bolster your score rewards to get your next unlock faster. The Aerial Assault Drone can be cloaked to help you get more kills undetected, the Bombing Run can be given anti-rocket flares so it isn't shot down, the XS1 Vulcan satellite can shoot three beams instead of one, and more. Experiment and see how you go.

What you need to be wary of is bolstering your streak rewards with so many modules that they become unattainable. There is a very real chance you will box yourself into a corner by doing this, so only pick buffs you feel are still achievable and those that will help you earn subsequent scorestreaks quickly. It's never fun going a whole game without earning any streaks.

Many ways to kill

Although objectives and scorestreak modules are useful in getting points faster, there's still a lot to be said for a stylish kill, and Advanced Warfare offers a suite of bonuses for pulling off incredible feats. Longshot medals are great in Team Deathmatch – achieved by scoring a significantly long-ranged kill with a mid to short ranged weapon like an assault rifle or SMG.

Headshots will also bump up your score, so be sure to compensate for any weapons that pack serious recoil. It's always advisable to tap the trigger fast when shooting a full-auto weapon, rather than just spamming bullets continuously. Fire smart and considered to ensure you hit that mark and speed towards your scorestreaks faster.

Skeet Shooter rewards will give you extra score for killing an enemy troop while boost jumping, so keep your eyes to the sky for any enemies leaping overhead. Always watch your mini-map for hollow circles to see where an opponent has just triggered an Exo ability. You can also earn more score by slaying the player at the top of the other team, coming back from a deathstreak or getting payback on the last player who dropped you, or for avenging a buddy who recently died.

As you can see, there are many ways to get those Scorestreaks faster, but everyone has their own method. Try out the tips above, see how you get on, and adapt them further to your personal play style. Happy streaking!