MW4 New Modes: Inflation, Hijack and Collateral

Modern Warfare 4 launched with three new 6v6 modes and a new Ground War mode, alongside the classics. Here is how each new one works, and which modes we would pick for leveling guns and grinding camos.

Inflation

A 10-minute respawn mode about cash. Eliminate enemies to collect their bounty, but the more cash you carry, the bigger the target on your back: reach the High Value Target threshold and your position is revealed to everyone. Eliminated players drop part of their cash, and an Overtime in the final minutes raises the multipliers. The team with the most cash at the end wins.

How to play it: stay with a teammate when you are carrying a lot, and hunt the enemy HVTs, since they carry the most.

Hijack

Teams fight over a single Data Spike that can be carried, thrown and passed. Take it to the enemy Comm Station and plant it to score points over time, with a bonus if the upload finishes, so you have to hold the area after planting. Rounds are 4 minutes, the score limit is 300, and teams swap sides each round. The spike resets to the center if it is dropped and left, thrown out of bounds, or defused.

How to play it: passing beats running. A thrown spike moves faster than any player.

Collateral

Search and Destroy with a buy phase. Everyone starts each round with a pistol and $800, earns cash for kills, plants, defuses and round wins, and spends it before the next round. There are no respawns and no custom loadouts: if you die, you lose what you bought but keep your cash.

The buy menu covers armor and perks, equipment, pistols, two tiers of weapons, and a team buy where everyone chips in for a UAV going into the next round. Paying extra adds attachments to a weapon. First team to six rounds wins.

How to play it: save in rounds you are likely to lose so you can buy a full kit when it counts.

Combat Outpost (Ground War)

Domination at 32v32. Capturing Outposts earns points and gives your team new spawns. Reinforcing captured Outposts unlocks team rewards, from a Local UAV and a JLTV airdrop up to a Light Tank delivered to your headquarters. Matches run 20 minutes, first to 1,500.

Also at launch, and coming soon

The launch list also has Frontline, Team Deathmatch, Domination, Hardpoint, Kill Confirmed, Free-For-All, Search and Destroy, Gunfight and Gun Game, most with Hardcore versions. Possession and Infected arrive at the end of October, and Season 1 brings back Grind and Drop Zone on 6 November. See what Season 1 adds.

Which modes level guns fastest?

This is our advice rather than an official ranking, and it comes down to how many fights per minute a mode gives you:

• For weapon XP: respawn modes on small maps. Team Deathmatch, Kill Confirmed and Hardpoint keep you shooting, and Shipment beats everything for volume.
• For camo challenges: respawn modes again, picked to suit the challenge. Objective modes like Hardpoint help with challenges that need kills in a certain place or while holding ground.
• Avoid for grinding: round-based modes like Collateral, Search and Destroy and Gunfight. One life per round means far fewer kills per hour, however good they are to play.

Our weapon leveling guide covers the rest of the grind. If you would rather skip it, weapon leveling and private bot lobbies are on site. Activision does not allow boosting or account sharing, and it can suspend, ban or reset accounts that break its rules. No one can honestly promise that will never happen; our Terms of Service say the same.

FAQ

What is Collateral in MW4?

A round-based mode that mixes Search and Destroy with a buy phase. You start each round with a pistol and $800, earn cash during the match, and buy weapons, gear and team UAVs between rounds. First to six rounds wins.

How does Inflation work in MW4?

Eliminations earn cash. Carry too much and you become a High Value Target whose position is revealed to everyone. Eliminated players drop part of their cash, and the team with the most at the end wins.

What is Hijack in MW4?

Teams carry, throw and pass a Data Spike to the enemy Comm Station and plant it to score over time, then defend it until the upload finishes. Sides swap every round.

What is Combat Outpost?

A new Ground War mode: Domination across 32v32, where captured Outposts give you spawns and reinforcing them earns rewards up to a Light Tank.

What is the best MW4 mode for leveling weapons?

We suggest fast respawn modes on small maps, like Team Deathmatch or Kill Confirmed, and Shipment above all. Round-based modes give far fewer kills per hour.