In most first-person shooter games, players love having the ability to make changes to weaponry. Customization is high on every gamer's wishlist, ranging from simple changes like weapon color to more specific improvements such as the number of rounds in a chamber. Call of Duty, a pioneer in the first-person shooter industry, has played the leading role in satisfying the average gamer's needs. For the 2019 release of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Activision and Infinity Ward rolled out a feature to address this popular fan demand called the Gunsmith. It was a huge success, and the company received a lot of plaudits for its innovation. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward has somehow improved upon an already best-in-class customization model, making upgrades to the Gunsmith that fans did not even know they needed.

Where the previous Call of Duty editions had only featured fast and extended mags as customization options, the Gunsmith in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare took it to a whole new level. The Gunsmith enabled gamers to build out their weapons in a way that had previously never been done. Players were able to personalize both their primary and secondary loadout weapons with attachments and gun perks such as Bandolier. The Infinity Ward team worked hard to bring this much-appreciated feature to gamers, building as many as 30 attachments for pistols and 60 for weapons in the Assault Rifle, SMGs, and LMG classes. Players could select a muzzle, optics, rear grip, barrel, and pretty much any option they could think of to enhance their weaponry. In the sequel, there is a new attachment type and a fresh approach to unlocking attachments.

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The New Options in Gunsmith 2.0

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For the latest installment of the Modern Warfare series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Infinity Ward went above and beyond to rework the Gunsmith system more realistically. A brand-new customization option - called the Receiver - has been added to the game in Gunsmith 2.0, a new unlock in the progression path of a weapon known as Blueprints. When a new weapon gets unlocked, a Weapon Platform becomes available.

This Weapon Platform consists of several weapons belonging to the same family. This new feature means that the player level no longer unlocks new weapons in Modern Warfare 2. Instead, new weapons are gotten when upgrading certain weapons to gain a new Receiver. For instance, an upgraded M4 unlocks a Receiver attachment which can convert the M4 into other weapons in the same Weapon Platform, such as the M16 or the 556 Icarus. Here, the M4 is considered the base weapon.

It is noteworthy that all Receivers do not become available at one specific level. Each Receiver is unlocked through the player's progress in the Weapon Platform. In the M4's case, when a player upgrades the weapon to level 13, a Receiver capable of converting the M4 to an FTAC Recon is unlocked. To convert an FTAC Recon to an FSS Hurricane, the player will need to obtain another Receiver by upgrading the FTAC Recon to level 16.

Weapons belonging to a particular Platform share the same attachments and do not need to have their customizations unlocked over and over for each weapon. A player gets attachments for multiple weapons featuring on the same Weapon Platform at once. These attachments don't have to be supported by every item on the platform to work, making the new Gunsmith 2.0 the ultimate customization feature on the market. The Weapon Platform presents a significant upgrade to the mechanics of the previous edition. Gaining access to individual attachments for every weapon was a chore for players, as unlocking these attachments could get quite repetitive. With these new changes, this daunting task is now a thing of the past. Infinity Ward's goal was to paint a better reflection of how weapons perform in real life, and it seems poised to succeed.

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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Brings UI Changes and Vaults To The Gunsmith

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Apart from the customization changes, there have also been a few technical tweaks to the appearance of the Gunsmith. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, while the Gunsmith brought some much-needed customization to gamers, it posed a challenge for the average gamer to wrap their heads around. The design appeared convoluted, taking players quite some time to get to grips with the workings of the feature. For the upgraded Gunsmith 2.0, the user interface has gotten a makeover, bringing a neater design that eases player navigation. While Modern Warfare 2's overall UI has been met with criticism, the Gunsmith menu in particular seems to be an improvement once players get into it.

In addition to Blueprints, a new feature is coming to the Gunsmith 2.0 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Weapon Vaults are a special feature designed to improve quality of life, as upon unlocking a vault, every weapon attachment becomes available instantly. The attachments also follow the same design and color scheme as the original Blueprint, matching the weapon style. The Weapon Vault brings design uniformity to a weapon, solving the attachment theme problem from previous Call of Duty entries.

The detail in the new Gunsmith system is very appealing to enthusiasts who have been looking for a more realistic experience in their games. While some fans are skeptical about the Gunsmith 2.0, claiming the new system is even more confusing than its predecessor, the general sentiment in the gaming community is positive.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is set to launch on October 28, 2022, on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X.

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