Rearranging Modern Warfare 2's Perks

I'd say that perks are good. I like them. They add spice to game and give you a nice bit of extra customization. The problem I--and many others--have with Modern Warfare 2 is that the perks are no longer the garnish complimenting a wonderful meal, but more like a heavy steak sauce that dominates all other flavors. MW2 had some of the best primary weapon balance I've ever seen, but unlike the game's predecessors, it wasn't so much about finding the right gun as finding the right perks. You could argue that the perks are too powerful--and I wouldn't say you were wrong--but I submit that the core problem is that the perks are stacked in such a way that certain combinations yield exponentially increased benefits. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty:World at War had a categorizing philosophy to how the perks were organized so as not to provide too many benefits to a single aspect of the game. These categories were essentially "extra supplies" (blue), "combat augmentations" (red), and what I call "spice of life" (green). The red and green perks didn't fall exactly is this line of thinking perfectly(Last Stand and UAV Jammer come to mind), but they did a good job of making sure that perks were not overpowering.

Then they threw all of that out the window with Modern Warfare 2. In fact, I would certainly say that they made sure there were certain combinations that when used together, augmented the effectiveness of each perk. The most glaring example is Lightweight, which is exponentially better when combined with Marathon and either Commando or Ninja. So, in order to re-balance the game so that people will actually use bullets to kill one another, I suggest the following grouping of perks:

Improved Mobility
Marathon
Lightweight
Commando
Ninja
Cold-Blooded
Scrambler

Improved Longevity
Stopping Power
Danger Close
Scavenger
One-Man Army
Last Stand

Spice of Life
Hardline
Bling
Sleight of Hand
Steady Aim
SitRep

There are two important changes with this organization; the first is that each player gets exactly one perk that helps them move around the map either more quickly or unnoticed. A player with good awareness should always be given some sort of clue as to other players' location. No longer can players dart around the map at blazing speeds or move around without a hint of their existence. All of the perks in the first group are designed to help you be in a place where the enemy doesn't think you are, and now you can only choose one. The second is that players only get one perk that significantly increases their chance of survival, whether that be by getting stopping power, extra ammunition, or a second chance. Last Stand Pro essentially awards you extra health, and that needs to be balanced against extra damage. Also, by moving Scavenger and One-Man Army to the same group as Danger Close, no one gets an infinite arsenal of high-impact explosives.

The "Spice of Life" category is mostly perks that people use less frequently and shouldn't stack particularly well with others. While SitRep is still as useless as ever, Sleight of Hand, Steady Aim, and Bling all still function as nice little additions that don't overpower. However, there may still be cause for concern.

There's a reason that Hardline and Cold-Blooded were matched against Stopping Power, and I worry that they may become over-powered when used with it. This is especially true for Hardline, which may become a clear favorite over the rest of the spices of life.

In any case, using these groupings should cut down on the wackiness of playing Modern Warfare 2 online. This arrangement emphasizes actually using your guns, and makes finding the right weapon for you the most important aspect of building a class. Now, as a disclaimer, I have no way of play-testing this, so it is entirely possible that there are exploitable combinations I haven't thought of. I also came up with schema solely in the context of standard play, so it may have negative effects on Hardcore modes. It's also possible that with the decreased emphases on perks and mobility, that the game will become even more camper-friendly and even more dominated by Killstreaks, especially if Hardline and Stopping Power can be used in tandem. However, I can only tackle one problem at a time.

--Chilly P