AK47 Guide

Background:
The AK-47, first produced in 1947 as the premier Russian assault rifle, is has a well-deserved reputation as one of the most reliable battle rifles ever produced. There are currently over 30 million of these rifles in service around the world, making it the most widely distributed battle rifle. This firearm was designed by Russian inventor and soldier  Mikhail Timofeevich Kalashnikov who was born in 1919. The number of various Kalashnikov models, clones and copies could fill a book. No matter what the variations on the basic models are, the firearm’s function remains the same.
 
Intro:
The AK47 is one of the most popular weapons in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for a good reason. It has one of the fastest killing rates of all the assault rifles (second to the M16 which is unwieldy by comparison); this fact along with its easily controlled recoil and great walling capabilities makes it a very powerful weapon among both public players and professionals. It has great accuracy at long range compared to its brother, the AK-74u, so any assault rifle user will find this weapon second nature.
 
Sights:

Iron Sights:
The AK has, well, amazing sights. The end only consists of a central targeting post which doesn’t detract from your peripheral vision at all. Tracking a moving target with these irons is just as easy as with a RDS. As such, the AK’s irons totally circumvent the need for a RDS in more ways than one.
 
Red Dot Sight :
When equipped with the RDS, the AK’s “coding” is bugged (this remains unfixed by Infinity Ward). It reduces the minimum damage of the weapon to 20, the same as an M4, whereas it’s 30 at stock. At long ranges, your generally slow rate of fire and decreased damage will severely hinder your ability to kill enemies efficiently. Since the AK has excellent irons, there’s absolutely no reason to have the RDS equipped.
 
ACOG:
The ACOG does what it’s intended to. It works fairly well on the AK if you can get used to the moderate kick that comes with the recoil but I do not recommend it over the iron sights. The zoom afforded by iron sights (yes, it’s noticeable) is enough for most situations and if you fail to tag a target with stock sights at long range, it’s because it’s too long. If you must use the ACOG, fire it as a single shot weapon or in two shot bursts to counter the sway and view kick. However, I’ll always recommend the iron sights for the AK-47 over either of these attachments.
 
Recomended Perks:
Stopping Power:

Stopping Power is very powerful when applied to the AK. By bringing it from a three shot kill to a two shot kill, you are shaving off a third of the default killing time. Considering range decay and your ability to consistently hit a target in its critical areas, SP makes more of a difference than you may think.

Juggernaut:

Juggernaut allows you to survive one more shot (generally) than normal. Essentially the same as SP which allows you to kill with one less shot, the two cancel each other well. Since the AK isn’t bound by burst fire, feel free to use whichever perk suits you best. If you’re a competitive player, don’t worry about this as most mods either don’t allow Juggernaut or have a standard set of perks.

Deep Impact/Steady Aim:

Again, unlike the M16, the AK-47 can wall. It won’t do the job as well as an RPD but it will do it in a pinch while retaining a better degree of mobility. This is the better choice in the third perk level, however once in a while you may prefer Steady Aim. SA improves the hip-fire accuracy of the AK. Since looking down your sights considerably slows your movement compared to an SMG, it may be wise to include this perk to allow for full mobility when firing at close range

Credits:
This post was contributed once again by Tom, his PSN is Tom1210. Thanks!

M16 Guide

INTRODUCTION:
 

The M16A4, more commonly known as the M16, is the first Assault Rifle players are able to use when they start, available in the default  class section under the name “Assault”. It is seen both in public and competitive play, due to its great long-range accuracy which makes for a versatile yet offensive play style. The M16 fires in bursts of three bullets and its fairly low recoil combined with high rate of fire per burst makes the M16 a very effective gun over medium-long ranges and with a bit of luck, will still dominate at close quarters due to the damage it deals per shot. One pull of the trigger is usually all it takes for a kill, with stopping power. Conversely, the M16 can fail epically at close range when hipfiring if the required amount of bullets to land a kill don’t hit your opponent, forcing you to wait before firing another burst. players with poor aim may find it hard to use due to its awkward firing mechanics but if you are able to consistently hit with the first shot you fire, this may just be the gun for you.
 
SIGHTS: 
 
Iron Sights:
The M16’s iron sights are fairly awkward to use as they obscure a lot of your vision in the middle of the screen. It can be difficult to effectively track moving targets at medium range, but if you are going to use the silencer then you will just have to get used to them.
 
Red dot sight:

The red dot sight performs its task of increasing field of view over iron sights while retaining the zoom of regular iron sights. If you play competitivly then I highly recomend you use these sights.
 
ACOG

The ACOG scopef increases the zoom of the weapon but adds sway, as with all weapons it is added to. Only use this if you are struggling to hit targets as they become obscured by the red dot on a regular basis as the sway that is added makes it a lot harder than it has to be to hit with all three (or two) bullets(although It can be efective on Hardcore modes)  Even if you are in that situation, I recommend practicing at hitting long ranged targets using the red dot since the disadvantages the ACOG brings at close quarters will force you to hipfire, potentially causing a lot of deaths at the hands of automatic weapons.
 
Recomended Perks:
  
Perk 1
Bondolier – Recomended if you are skilled at using this weapon so you can get high kill streaks.
 
Claymore – Recomended if you are less skiled with this weapon or tend to camp alot, as you can stay in a window and pick off the guys running out in the open.
 
Frag X3 – Recomended if you play S&D or Clan matches as you can get a few quick kills at the start of the game.
 
Perk 2
Stopping Power – I recomend this as this perk was practically made for this weapon. Reducing its time to usualy one burst unless you come across a juganaught. It also cancels out its weaknesses at long range.
 
UAV Jammer – You should use this along with the silencer of if you play Hardcore game modes as you can stay hidden throughout the game.
 
Perk 3
Steady aim – Recomended in close quarter maps when you need to fire from the hip
 
Effective Maps:
Ambush – Very
Backlot – Very
Bloc – Very
Bog – Very
Countdown – Very
Crash – Very
Crossfire – Very
District – Very
Overgrown – Very
Downpour – Medium
Pipeline – Yes
Shipment -  Poor
Showdown – Yes
Strike – Yes
Vacant – Medium
Wetwork – Yes
 
Evaluation:
The M16 is an extremely good choice in both public matches and clan matches. A certain degree of skill is required to use it effectively but you will dominate all other players once you get skilled at it. Stay away from this weapon if you have poor aim as it will bring you countless hours of frustration should you be seeking a quick boost to your endgame results or are plying in a close quarter map. It’s obvious weaknesses can be cancelled out quite effectively with Steady Aim and above par reflexes or even just a little bit of luck.

Credits:
This post has been contributed by Tom1210 – His PS Name, a reader of the blog. This is top quality stuff, thanks! I hope that he and some others will continue and begin contributing to the blog!

Use your Ears!

This is going to be a quick post but that does not mean that it is any less relevant! This is also an opinionated piece but I think that it will hold true for those without headsets.

Unless you are on a team that you know and you are communicating about what is happening in game you should mute the other players. Why’s this? It’s because you need to hear the footsteps of the enemies, the missed attempts at a knifing and bullets whizzing overhead.

You will notice that you are more alert in the game if you don’t have any uneccesary distractions around you. Your reaction time will improve and so will your K/D

Update: Writers Wanted

I have already been contacted by a person who would like to write for the blog on tips on COD4. I have decided that it would be better to extend the search to those who would like to report on news of COD4 and more  importantly MWII (Modern Warfare 2)

MWII will be exactly what all who love COD4 are looking forward to and I think that we need to cover that topic aswell. I will include some topics about it but untill it is released COD4 will remain the primary focus of this blog.

Strafe Kills

This type of game play for COD4 really only applys to closer combat that required by a LMG or, well a sniper. Although you can still employ this tactic if you are using an LMG close range.

What you do. If you turn a corner and are face to face with an enemy, several yards in between the two of you. What do you do to make sure that you get the kill and that you are not the one killed. You strafe

It’s quite a simple tactic and yet, I have found that many people can not deal with you moving. Remember you will have about 2 seconds max to do this. Any longer than this and one of you will be dead

So when I say that people can not deal with this you have to keep in mind that they are not expecting you to move to the left or right while shooting. What I tend to do is move to the side that is more open. Basically, if there is a wall a few yards to my left I will move to my right where there is a wider space.

You will have to learn to compensate this movement with changes in your aiming. If you are strafing to the left then you will have to keep slightly moving your aimer to keep it on the enemy. Trust me, this simple tactic of strafing will begin to improve your kill death ratio.

What I am trying to tell you is not to run directly at your enemy while shooting. This means that the person with the highest stopping power or who shoots first will win. You have to shift the odds in your favour. Another possible benefit of strafing is that if you are standing on a ledge, with a 2 or 3 foot drop, then you could drop of this (deliberately) while maintaining your aim on the enemey. They will have no chance!