Care Package

 is a multiplayer killstreak reward in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. After achieving a killstreak of 4, or 3 with the Hardline perk, the player will be given a special Smoke Grenade that emits red smoke. A helicopter drops a large crate at the point designated by the smoke. This crate can contain a full ammo restock, or any killstreak except Emergency Airdrop, Tactical Nuke, or another Care Package. This helicopter can be shot down before dropping the care package, although it's relatively difficult to do so.

The killstreak has led to harsh criticism of the game due to exploits that allowed a player to run extra fast while holding the care package marker (combined with Marathon, Lightweight and Commando) could make the player an unstoppable knifing machine), as well as attaining infinite care packages by a glitch. A patch to fix the problems was finally released on PC and PS3 on 29 January, and on Xbox 360 on 12 February.

Advantages and Disadvantages
Care Packages can be quite advantageous in that they have a chance of giving the player a killstreak reward that otherwise would take more kills to earn. However, they will often contain lower killstreak rewards or ammo resupplies, making the care package a gamble.

However, any player, including enemies, can take the care package. The player that calls the care package in can capture it almost instantaneously, but any other player will take five seconds to pick it up. If an enemy captures a powerful killstreak reward, the results can be disastrous.

The care package itself can also be deadly. If it lands on top of any player or rolls onto them after touching down, they will be killed, although it's rare to get a kill that way and hard to use tactically.

Caution must be exercised when throwing the smoke grenade to ensure that the care package lands in a place where it is both reachable and safe to pick up, as the package can be dropped outside the map or on top of inaccessible buildings, considering the fact that the game doesn't consider the actual location where it drops the package.

Care Packages appear on the radar. Both friendly and enemy care package smoke is red. If the helicopter is shot down before the drop zone it will fall out where ever it is shot down.

You can kill an enemy with the care package marker with direct impact. Any kills gotten with whatever the Care Package gives to the player do not count towards a player's killstreak, except if the care package falls on a player in which case that kill counts towards whoever called in the care package.

Content Probabilities
The probability of any given item is as follows (according to PC code):
 * 14.78% - UAV
 * 14.78% - Ammo
 * 13.04% - Counter-UAV
 * 10.43% - Sentry Gun
 * 10.43% - Predator Missile
 * 9.57% - Precision Airstrike
 * 6.09% - Harrier Airstrike
 * 6.09% - Attack Helicopter
 * 4.35% - Pave Low
 * 4.35% - Stealth Bomber
 * 2.61% - Chopper Gunner
 * 2.61% - AC-130
 * 0.87% - EMP

Infinity Ward has confirmed that there is a very small chance to get a tactical nuke in the emergency air drop.

Tips

 * Leave a package for a teammate to take since it will give you more XP than if you needlessly retreive it yourself.
 * Watch the surroundings, a player might sneak up on the player with the care package and kill them, then take the package for themselves.
 * Consider leaving a crate with UAV or ammo alone and ambush opponents that try to get it. Claymores are really effective since the enemy is probably focused on the crate.
 * Care Packages can smash through glass. This is very useful in maps like Terminal or Highrise, most of the inside in Terminal has a glass roof and in Highrise the building with the office cubicles and computers has a glass skylight.
 * Look up before the care package marker to make sure there is nothing above the player that the package will get caught on.
 * If a UAV or Counter-UAV is obtained, leave it for the team as the player will get more points and still get the benefits.
 * Care Packages, and Emergency Airdrops are a good way to level up, let your other teammates get them unless it is an AC130 or Chopper Gunner, if the player lets them take the EMP you rack up a good 750 EXP.

The Infinite Care Package Glitch
For the majority of January-February, a glitch was discovered by many players that enabled the player to call in infinite marker-controlled killstreaks such as Care Packages, Sentry Guns and Emergency Airdrops. The player had to take out the Care Package Marker, and quickly jump up or over an object or structure, whilst pressing right on the D-Pad a few times until the player took out the Care Package Marker after completing the jump. The Player had to collect the killstreak from the package and then he/she would be granted another care package. The same process would follow. If ammo was given from the package, the player would have to be killed or kill themselves in order to be given another one.

This glitch soon became out of control and many online players were using it in game modes, dominating them with high-power killstreak rewards. It was also widely used to obtain the animated killstreak emblems. It was patched at around 3:00PM GMT, 7:00/8:00AM Pacific Time on February 12th unexpectedly, making players online at the time be disconnected from PSN/Xbox Live, losing their current progress.The care package glitch has recently been patched.

Recently, players have discovered a new Infinite Care Package Glitch. In which, the player must hold the package smoke screen, climb over a structure, but while doing so, pull out a special grenade. Then they had to press right on the D-pad and discard the special grenade. Although it can be done a minimum of two times (x2 Stuns or Flashes) players find it better to use One Man Army to restock on grenades.

While climbing over objects, players are left vunerable, so some use a Tactical Insertion to respawn near the package.

Soon this glitch too, will be over used and then patched.

Players find it useful to call in unlimited Emergency Airdrops in long alotted objective games where others pay more attention to the task at hand than repeated airdrops.

Trivia

 * Any kills scored though the reward gained from a Care Package will not count towards earning additional killstreaks (with the exception of getting a sentry gun in a care package). However the Care package can add kills towards killstreaks if it crushes a hostile player by landing on him.
 * Though a difficult feat due to the small amount of time it spends on the map, the care package delivery helicopter can be shot down. However, no points are awarded to the player that manages to do so, but will count toward challenges that involve destroying killstreaks (I.E. Cold Blooded Pro). Care package delivery helicopters can also be shot down before they drop their load. This feat is most easily pulled off if the player positions himself on a high area with a full 360 degree, unobstructed view of the skies. The player will need to pay close attention to his map and respond quickly to the incoming delivery helicopter. If lucky, the delivery helicopter will take a longer route than normal and cross over more of the map than necessary before dropping off its care package. This gives the player an opportunity to shoot it down. When shot down with the care package still attached, the care package detaches from the helicopter and falls down. No points are awarded for this either. Having to concentrate on this one task ruins your game however, and since there are no awards it is usually never attempted by anyone. However if an EMP is detonated while the Little Bird is in the air it will be destroyed.
 * Like Tactical Insertion, the player can choose to forgo using the package, and instead use it as bait for ambushing an unsuspecting enemy. However, the player may be killed by the intended victim(s), who may then take the package for themselves, or even teammates might steal the package.
 * A player can be killed if the care package hits them when coming down.
 * The radius from which players can open a care package actually forms a sphere - allowing some lucky players to capture a care package from underneath it. This can commonly be done in maps like Favela, where Care Packages can land on roofs or other structures.
 * It is generally inadvisable to use the Care Package killstreak on Hardcore game types, as particularly malicious teammates will simply kill the player and steal the package (Unless playing on one of the "Ricochet" game types). This is even more applicable towards Emergency Airdrops for the same reason.
 * A player cannot survive even if the care package hits their riot shield.
 * It is generally frowned upon attempting to take a teammates care package unless they are killed before capturing it.
 * There is a nice tactic for safely obtaining the Care Package. When the player throws a marker, he or she should deploy a Tactical Insertion near it. Thus, if they are killed by the enemy, they will respawn near the Package, with high chances of killing a foe and obtaining ammo or killstreak.
 * There is a Challenge to be completed when later unlocked under Finishing Moves to drop a care package on a hostile and winning the match as per last kill.
 * If one knifes an opponent while the care package canister is in hand, the knife will still knife, but make a different noise, noticeably softer than the normal knife sound. It sounds very much like the melee sound from Call of Duty 2.(NOTE: This has been patched. It used to increase running speed and you were generally harder to hit. Now you actually use your knife, and you run your normal speed).
 * On gametypes that have rounds, like Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy and Demolition remember to watch the timer to see if there is enough time for you to retrieve your care package. If you do not have enough time save it till the next round.
 * When a player knifes while holding a care package, they bend over in a strange way.
 * The killstreak icon for the Care Package sees it dropping down with a parachute attached. However in game the Little Bird drops it straight down with no parachute. This may be because the Little Bird was meant to be a different killstreak and the Care Package could have been dropped with a parachute. Or another theory is that there was a Little Bird and a parachute but the game developers decided it would take too long to reach the ground so they removed the parachute.
 * The challenge "Droppin' Crates" (Obtain the Game Winning Kill by dropping a crate on an enemy) is a possible reference to the Disturbed song "Droppin' Plates"
 * There is a glitch where a Care Package cannot be called in. (Confirmed on PC)
 * While taking the care package, if you jump and start to take it (better of with a teammate because they take a little longer) you will float. When you finish obtaining it, you fall back like normal.