hardcore modsrenamed Level 1 for multiplayer in Modern Warfare 2are a collection of playlists that have earned fan-favorite status in Call of Duty over the years.
Modern Warfare hardcore modes should not be confused with Realism mode, which is an entirely separate thing.
While you might be eager to jump straight to Tier 1 at launch, you might have to wait a little longer than expected, but we’ll go over everything we know about Hardocore, AKA Tier 1, modes in Modern Warfare 2 below.
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How to Play Tier 1 Hardcore Modes in Modern Warfare 2
While still generally referred to as Hardcore, these hard playlists have been renamed Tier 1, but that’s not the only reason you can’t find Hardcore in multiplayer right now.
With Tier 1 not showing up in multiplayer playlists, you might be wondering if Modern Warfare 2 even has Hardcore mode in multiplayer. Luckily, you’ll eventually be able to play Hardcore, but unfortunately that’s not available at launch.
Although developer Infinity Ward didn’t specify when it would be added, it did note that Tier 1 would be “coming soon.”
For anyone wondering, Tier 1 isn’t in the game at launch, but will be available soon.
Stay frosty 🫡
— Infinity Ward (@InfinityWard) October 28, 2022
Disappointing if Hardcore is usually your go-to for multiplayer in Call of Duty, but there are still plenty of modes you can play right now while waiting for Tier 1 to drop, including:
- Team Deathmatch
- Domination
- kill confirmed
- Free for all
- Headquarter
- Hard point
- search and destroy
- Moshpit in 3rd person (in Team Deathmatch, Domination and Hardpoint)
- Invasion
- land war
- Rescue of the prisoner
- knock out
When Tier 1 is added to multiplayer, it may be clear to access it from the multiplayer menu, or it may follow the same process as the original Modern Warfare restart. This was done by selecting the “Filter” option in the main multiplayer lobby.
When you pressed “Filter”, you could select and deselect the modes you wanted to play. Then you had to reveal Tier 1 Hardcore playlists by pressing “Square” on PlayStation or “X” on Xbox.
Hopefully it’s a little easier than that in Modern Warfare 2, but we won’t know until Tier 1 is released.
Everything we know about Tier 1 Hardcore modes in Modern Warfare 2
Level 1 (AKA Hardcore) will be much more difficult than the traditional multiplayer modes of Modern Warfare 2.
Operators have less health and limited HUD elements, and friendly fire is enabled. These gameplay changes are consistent across all game modes that support a Tier 1 variant.
What exactly these game modes are, we’re not sure, but based on the playlists included in Modern Warfare 2019, we might expect the following Tier 1 Hardcore variations:
- Tier 1 Team Deathmatch
- Level 1 cyberattack
- Level 1 Domination
- Tier 1 Search and Destroy
- Tier 1 Headquarters
Based on how it worked in previous Call of Duty games, it’s also likely that you’ll be able to track your rank against those of your friends in the “Rankings” portion of the multiplayer lobby.
