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

The Call of Duty WW2 PC beta is now live, and we’ve got some handy tips to get you levelling quickly and nailing those objectives across the maps.

There’s admittedly a lot to take in with Call of Duty WW2, much more than we’re used to with Call of Duty. 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 beta 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.

Consider these beginner’s tips, and don’t shy away from sharing yours in the comments.

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 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 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 true. 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 the only way you’re going 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 callout 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 the beta, 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 one of these earns you a whopping 150 points, which is equivalent to three kills in objective modes. This will add up, and will allow you to reach scorestreaks faster. Just don’t stand in the open to try and shoot them.

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 get under the bridge in Operation Breakout

Once again, the bridge section of Operation Breakout proves to be the most contentious. But one thing many haven’t figured out is that you can go under the bridge as an attacker.

You can jump from any point to get there, and there’s a set of stairs to the left of your spawn that can get you there. Down there, you’ll be much harder to hit by snipers and other players whose only focus is movement on bridge.

You can easily lob a grenade into the MG nest on the left, but you can’t cross to the other side or you’ll be going out of bounds. What’s more, the left side of the enemy spawn (their right) often has players camping with little cover, easy kills.

This approach can help disorient the enemy, forcing them to focus less on what’s happening on the bridge and more about their survival, even for just a bit.

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