Call of Duty: WW2 tips for best loadouts, skills, Division choice and War mode

We've got some handy tips to get you levelling quickly and nailing those objectives across the maps.

Call of Duty: WW2 is a $500 million hit as it returns to the era where it all started.

There’s admittedly a lot to take in with Call of Duty: WW2, much more than we’re used to with Call of Duty multiplayer. Whether it be the new Divisions system, the confusing arrangement of universal and Division-specific perks, or any of the other quirks.

We’ve been playing the game and we picked up a few useful tips that’ll help make things less complicated, alert you to useful information, and generally make the transition to boots on the ground easier.

For more guides, find out how to rank up fast and hit Prestige in Call of Duty WW2, as well as how to kick off the hidden killstreak. You might also want to breakdown how Supply Drops, Social Score and Armory Credits work, as well as get a full debriefing on the different Divisions.

Updated: The first official patch has gone live for Call of Duty WW2 and includes a number of significant nerfs to weapons like the BAR, rifles and machine pistol, as well as the Espionage perk. Keep that in mind when tweaking your loadout.

Now, let's get down and dirty in the trenches...

It's boots on the ground, but you’re not glued to the floor

Call of Duty: WW2 brings the fight back to the ground, after fans showed they no longer want advanced movement or any form of jetpack-assisted gameplay. At first glance, it may seem like you don't have to worry about your surroundings as much. Movement is predictable, sure, but there’s still a range of moves you’ll need to relearn to anticipate.

Jump-shotting and drop-shotting are back in a big way and remain incredibly useful. Although they technically have always been there, even through the years of future Call of Dutys, players didn’t need to rely on them as much. Here, however, they’re kind of your only options of preventing combat from becoming too predictable.

For the unfamiliar, jump-shotting refers to the act of jumping around a corner, only firing on your way down. This has been, and continues to be, a great way to get around corners without giving the player camping that corner an advantage. For as old as it is, this trick still catches campers off guard because it makes it harder for them to track you. If you get good at it, it’ll buy you enough time to get the kill. Some in the community may frown upon jump-shotting, but no one can deny its effectiveness.

Similarly, drop-shotting is what happens when you go prone or crouch in the middle of a firefight. Shoot a few bullets, then quickly drop to finish them off. Like jump-shotting, it catches people off guard. This is easier to do with pro controllers like Scuf and the Xbox Elite, but you can do it on a regular pad, too.

Finally, Call of Duty: WW2 has a hit the deck / dolphin dive. To do it, simply hold Circle or B after a short sprint, and you’ll quickly hit the deck, lunging ever so slightly forward. This helps you escape grenades, but you can also use it offensively, around corners, or as a way of getting to cover faster.

You can use any weapon with any Division

This needs to be stressed: you’re free to use any weapon with any Division. The game actually tells you this, but the stylised recruitment videos make it look like you’re only limited to your Division’s weapon class.

This is not the case. You can use SMGs with the Infantry Division, or LMGs with the Mountain Division no problem. When you do this, you lose the unique Division bonus that you can only get when using Division weapons. Each Division is limited to one weapon class.

However, sometimes losing a Division perk is worth it because of what you may gain from the other Division. If you run an SMG with the Infantry Division, you'll lose the ability to attach an SMG suppressor mid-game, but you instead gain the ability to add extra attachments to your primary weapon, or move faster while aiming.

It’s important to read each Division’s Skill and Division Training descriptions to see what class you want to create. Some bonuses are unlocked at higher Division levels, which you can only achieve by playing as that Division.

Basic Training skills are available for all Divisions

This whole naming scheme of Division Skill, Division Training, and Basic Training can be harder to wrap your head around. To make matters simple, always remember that Basic Training – the ribbons-like icon – is universal across all classes.

You can customise it from the tile right below the Division selection one in create-a-class, but you can only have one Basic Training perk equipped at a time.

Basic Training perks include things like Launched – which lets you take a rocket launcher as a secondary, Lookout – which increases the coverage area of the minimap, Requisitions – which prevents scorestreaks from resetting upon death but increases their cost, and others.

Think of it as an extra layer of customisation available to all. Like we mentioned in the previous point, mixing and matching these with each Division’s unique traits is a great way to build a competent class.

Pay attention to teammate and enemy callouts

Call of Duty: WW2 has an amazing and very subtle feature that essentially helps you spot enemies without relying on the minimap. Friendly teammates will often call out the specific locations of enemies they see or are firing at. You’ll hear things like “in the trench” or “they’re by this [object].” This is incredibly useful and doesn’t even require a glance at the minimap.

The same applies to enemies. A lot of the time when an opponent is being shot at by one of your teammates, they’ll shout expletives or generally announce their unhappiness of being under attack. The sound design is really good in the game, and it’s capable of doing more than just amplify footsteps.

With that said, you’ll note that teammates and enemies are very chatty in general, so it’ll take you a while to filter out the moans and grunts, but once you do, you’ll thank us.

Sprint out times are long, and it’s going to feel weird

Sprint out time – the time it takes for your character to be able to shoot after a sprint – is longer than in previous Call of Duty games. This means that you’ll feel a bit of a delay every time you stop running to take aim.

It’s nothing you can’t get used to, but it’s going to make running and gunning a bit harder.

One way of counteracting this effect is equipping the Gunslinger Basic Training perk, which lets you shoot while sprinting, and even while dolphin diving. Being a Basic Training skill, Gunslinger is available for all Divisions.

You can shoot down planes with any weapon

Recon planes, formerly UAVs, can be shot down by any weapon, primary or otherwise. This includes pistols and SMGs, though it’ll be harder to do.

Not many players have realised this yet, but it’s obviously a great way to deny your enemies precious minimap data. You can also use the Launched Basic Training skill to bring a rocket launcher as a secondary, but your primary weapon will do just fine.

Shooting down UAVs takes longer in the full game compared to the beta, but you should always do it when you get the chance. You'll obviously earn points for it, which could be enough for the next scorestreak. Just don’t stand in the open to try and shoot them.

The FG42 and the Waffe 28 are top-tier weapons

The FG42 is one of the late assault rifle unlocks in Call of Duty: WW2. Although it lacks the high rate-of-fire of the STG44, it more than makes up for it in damage and low recoil.

Even without any attachments, the FG42 can three-shot kill at almost any range. The iron sights are also not terrible out of the gate, but you can really do work with a red dot and a rapid fire attachment later on. The only problem is that it’ll take you a while to unlock the weapon. If you pre-ordered the game, you should have a permanent unlock token for one weapon. We suggest using it on this one.

If you're not a fan of assault rifles, you should go for the Waffe 28 SMG. It has the highest rate-of-fire of any of the SMGs currently in the game, and just melts people at close range. You won't find any use for it beyond the medium range, but if all you do is run into the action, it'll let you take down two opponents with one magazine easily.

Use the Espionage Basic Training skill

Espionage is a Basic Training skill available to all Divisions. It allows other teammates to see enemies and scorestreaks you've done damage to, but not killed. Enemy players will be highlighted in a pretty visible red outline.

Think of it as spotting from the Battlefield series, only it's easier to see here. Espionage is great because, more often than not, your teammates will finish the job, getting you regular assist points. On top of that, you get another 35 Espionage assist points for every enemy they finish off.

A lot of the early Basic Training skills are worthless, so keep Espionage on until you find something you really like later on.

Suppressors don’t decrease damage

Though it may feel like you’re doing less damage with a suppressor on, likely because that’s more or less how it worked in past Call of Duty games, suppressors do not actually reduce a weapon’s damage.

What they do cut is the weapon’s effective range, meaning your SMG will do a lot less damage at range with one on. However, SMGs are typically used in close range, especially if you have one with an insane rate-of-fire like the Waffe 28 so the loss isn’t that big of a deal.

Suppressors, of course, will prevent you from showing up on the minimap. In Call of Duty: WW2, SMGs are the only weapon type that get suppressors. So, if you like to run and gun, avoiding wide sightlines and keeping to the alleyways, you should definitely keep it on. You’ll be surprised how much attention players pay to the minimap and not their actual surroundings.

Make a habit of starting your day in Headquarters

The first thing you should do every time you launch Call of Duty: WW2 is head to the Headquarters social space. Your first order of business is checking your mail, where you can claim your payroll for some free Armory Credits.

This stream of free Credits refreshes every few hours, so you should definitely make a trip to Headquarters later on in your session. Headquarters is also where you can pick up Orders, which, as we pointed out before, are a great way to earn supply drops and XP.

You can hold up to three daily Orders, and three weekly Orders. Even if you don’t plan on fulfilling an Order’s requirement, you should pick it up regardless, you never know when you’ll next feel like challenging someone to the 1v1 Pit. Best of all, you can claim the rewards by clicking on the Order you finished without having to head back to Major Howard.

Contracts can also be picked up from the Quartermaster in Headquarters, but the same can be done through the lobby menu so there’s no need to go there just for that. Contracts are like bets and they’re very time-sensitive so only pick one if you know you can do what it wants. Otherwise, you’ll lose the Armory Credits investment.

Prestige is a must in Divisions because of the extra unlock

Although hitting the reset button and going into Prestige mode has been a constant in Call of Duty games for years, with the arrival of Divisions, you now have one more thing to Prestige.

However, unlike weapon Prestige and soldier Prestige, the benefit to Division Prestige goes beyond just camos and unique emblems. The final weapon for each Division can only be unlocked by prestiging at least once. The good news is that levelling up a Division is actually among the easiest things you can do in the game.

Even without XP boosts, you earn quite a bit of Division XP simply by playing as that Division. Also, because Divisions don’t lock you into specific weapons, you can make use of a Division’s skill and keep using the weapon you like. It’s not going to be optimal, but it’ll save you from having to use sniper rifles with the Mountain Division if you really hate them, for example.

In the case of the Airborne Division, the final unlock is actually a really solid weapon in the MP-40, so definitely go into Division Prestige as soon as you can.

Play War mode

War is the most interesting mode Call of Duty has had in years and actually feels like a throwback to the Call of Dutys of old. You should really dedicate some time to playing it instead of queuing for TDM all day.

War is Call of Duty: WW2’s attack/defend mode where each team gets one chance to push or defend four different objectives as you move through the different sectors of the map.

The mode brings new mechanics such as building a bridge to cross to the next part of the map, creating MG nests to provide covering fire, blowing up walls to open flanking routes, and more. It focuses the fight on three or four entry points, and it’s quick enough that you get to try out different approaches to any given scenario. It’s also the mode where teamwork really does matter, in a way no other mode can provide.

You’ll even get a nice in-game cut-scene with your own avatar at the start and another one at the end that varies depending on the result. It’s sort of like the cut-scenes DICE had in Battlefield: Bad Company 2 multiplayer.

Use smoke grenades in War mode

Throwing a smoke grenade to cover an entry point and allow your buddies to push forward as an attacker is the single most productive use of this thing in Call of Duty: WW2.

Unfortunately, many simply won’t - or don’t know they can - bring them out and use them for cover. There’s already a pre-made loadout you can pick that has a smoke grenade, so you really have no excuse.

The bridge section of Operation Breakout in particular can be the most frustrating because you’re literary throwing yourself at a repair point that’s exposed to the entire enemy team. I’ve been in many matches where players either didn’t push for fear of sniper fire, or the progress bar moved 1-2 percent at a time because those who tried to repair got sniped a second later.

Both are frustrating to see, but smoke grenades make this part a lot more manageable. One smoke grenade thrown every 20 seconds or so is enough to encourage players to push and repair.

You can shoot the bomb you attach to obstacles in War mode

As an attacker in War mode, when you come up to a wall you need to blow up in order to advance, you can attach a bomb to it and wait for it to go off. Everyone knows this, but what you may not know is that you can just shoot the thing after starting the timer.

You don't have to wait for it to go off automatically. This is perfect because it gets you into the objective faster, and it'll take anyone waiting to ambush you by surprise because of how quickly it'll go off.

You don't have to fully build every wall in War mode

As a defender in War mode, you sometimes get a chance to build walls and other obstacles to slow down the attackers' advance. Most people typically build the entire wall, but you actually don't have to. If you only want a waist-high wall, stop building when it reaches the desired height.

This doesn't work with barbed wire as well, but for brick walls overlooking entry points, it's golden. It's also especially helpful in some sections where the wall doesn't have a window for you to shoot out of. It's dangerous, sure, but perfect when you want to have the drop on attackers coming in.