Wasteland



Wasteland is a large-sized map in Modern Warfare 2

Overview
Wasteland is set in the wilderness somewhere near the Chernobyl Nuclear plant. It contains some elements from the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare level All Ghillied Up, and features radioactive zones around the perimeter. A large, multi-entrance bunker sits in the middle, and once a team is settled in, it is tricky to root them out. A large hedge sprawls over the center of the map. Many trenches criss-cross the map, complete with heavy-duty manual sentry guns. A few buildings, low walls and a helipad are scattered around the edges but seldom see any notable combat.

Gameplay
Despite being a perfect sniping map, many people also like to camp in the bunker. Anything that makes players stealthier is ideal such as going prone or using a silenced weapon. Thermal scopes and Cold-Blooded are both essential for rooting out snipers although it can be hard to find those that are prone, due to the undulating nature of the map. A sniper wearing a ghillie suit is practically invisible if they are prone. Smoke grenades will have some benefit when crossing open ground, except most snipers on this map prefer to use thermal sights to spot enemy ghillie snipers. This makes Cold Blooded effective; because of the grey-tone nature of the map, the player is practically invisible even when sprinting in the open if someone is using a Thermal scope, and especially while running through smoke.

The Bunker
The bunker can be quite troublesome to control as there are many entrances. Grenade launchers work wonders in this area as well as Semtex and Claymores, as do grenades due to their tendency to roll to the lowest point. Also, RPGs are useful for clearing bunkers when used with Scavenger and Danger Close. Placing a Sentry Gun at the back of a wall can assume control of multiple of entrances. One technique is to let the other team take control of the cave, and then firing an RPG-7 or AT4 into the cave. This is advisable with Danger Close and Scavenger, and is an easy way to get multi-kills.

In the bunker it is very useful to have a Blast Shield almost always on, as it is usually obvious where the enemies are so the minimap is unnecessary, and it is common for a lot of explosives to be used in assaulting the bunker. This is always a switch off, lossing offencive power to gain defencive power. Just remember: If the player is using Blast Shield, they will be at a severe disadvantage if assaulting the bunker.

With proper coordination and skill, players with air support kill streaks can encourage the enemy to herd into the bunker, allowing teammates to get multikills with grenade launcher, RPGs, Thumpers or AT4s. Also within the bunker, there is a small crack that gives a view from the other side, it is big enough to just squeeze a grenade, but small enough to keep the player safe from most fire without FMJ.

Commanding Killstreaks
The houses and bushes offer perfect hiding spots to control killstreaks. It is advisable to not cross open ground without moving slowly or hugging the hedgeline, as snipers tend to aim for easy targets instead of those partially concealed. Air support can decimate a team on this open map, especially AC-130s so it is advised to take them out fast.

Almost every killstreak is effective here, with that being said, Emergency Airdrops, Sentry Guns, Chopper Gunners, AC-130s and Care Packages work better here than almost any other map, thanks to it's open nature. If an enemy gets a Chopper Gunner or AC-130, try to take it out or get inside. These killstreaks are extremely deadly here since there is virtually no cover from above except for the bunker, but the AC-130's 150mm cannon can kill almost anyone in there as well. The miniguns can be a good alternative to taking down killstreaks, just make sure the player assaulting the gun ship is using Cold-Blooded.

The Stealth Bomber can devastate an enormous portion of the map, try setting the direction length-wise through the map.

Mini-guns
The mini-guns scattered around the map offer many opoutunities to gain a signifagant advantage over an enemy team. These very well could be the top 2:


 * 1) They can be used to easily take down enemy killstreaks, be sure to have Cold-Blooded equiped.


 * 1) They can be used for suppressive fire to keep snipers down while team-mates take them out.

There is a mini-gun within the broken cars on a jersey barrier. While the turret itself is helpful, the surrounding cars and rusting metal provides great cover for snipers, and the cracks between the metal and cars can be used to take out enemies if they are within view. It has a view of the chopper and the fence area near it and can be used with great ease.

Another turret is located by the broken church; however, it is open to half the map and invites sniper fire. There are also two turrets in the middle left side of the map when playing Domination at point Bravo. They are very useful while playing Domination, but players can be easily spotted by snipers.

Snipping
There are many great snipping locations within this map, one of the most elusive is the helicopter in the bottom left of the map, if the player jumps on the front nose, then jumps left on to the exhaust, then jumps onto the cockpit, the player can then get on top of the rotor blades or to the top of the tail. Although be careful when snipping from this position, as any sniper on that half of the map has a line of sight on that position.

Bling Pro can be very useful on this map combined with Cold-Blooded Pro and Ninja, giving the player the ability to use a silenced sniper rifle with thermal scope and a good silenced sidearm, like the PP2000 or the G18, with one other attachment like red-dot sight or Akimbo. With the Ghillie Suit, Cold-Blooded Pro, Ninja and the silencers equipped, make the player very difficult to detect while the thermal scope will give away enemy snipers' positions.

On the outskirts, it has been known that it is possible to place a Tactical Insertion halfway or more, into the Radioactive area. Once the player dies, he/she will re-spawn and continue from there, past the radioactive area, to a safe area to snipe from.

Sniper rifles, particularly the Barrett .50 Cal and the WA2000, can be used very successfully inside the bunker. By going prone inside, the player can easily pick off numerous enemies as they enter the bunker from the east.

Trivia

 * If you enter free roam in spectator mode you can enter the church by going through any window.
 * This map is a remake of the Call of Duty multiplayer map: Brecourt, similar to how Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's Chinatown was a remake of Call of Duty ' s Carentan multiplayer map.
 * This map contains the church seen in the mission: All Ghillied Up (although it is inaccessible), the statues holding the PPSh-41, and other similar buildings. Even the things inside these buildings are still the same(chairs, tables, posters etc.).
 * The church is the same design as the one in All Ghillied Up. As all the features from the church in All Ghillied Up are in this church, except from the Stinger missiles and the ladders that went up to the lookout towers.
 * Chernobyl nuclear reactor number 4 (the reactor which caused the disaster), can be seen in the distance.
 * Apartments can be seen in the distance when using a thermal scope.
 * This map is open with very little cover making it a Sniper's heaven and a CQB nightmare. Although there are ways around this using stealth-type classes.
 * This map features such little cover from overhead that air support becomes very valuable in getting kills, and creates a good chance of getting the nuke.
 * This map is not recommended for small groups of players such as split-screen because the player has to walk all the way around the long hedgerow to get one kill.
 * It is likely that "Wasteland" is right outside of Pripyat as the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant can be seen close by and several Bloc style apartment buildings can be seen in the distance.
 * A teddy bear is in the tunnel with the RPGs and a laptop.
 * What were land mines preventing curious players from leaving the battlefield in the Call of Duty version are now radioactive zones.
 * There are several mounted miniguns on this level, although they are lightly used since they offer little cover from the many snipers, and seeing people in this tall grass and semi-hilly terrain is difficult.
 * There are several dead cows located all over the map, because of the lack of visible wounds they were most likely killed by radiation from Chernobyl.
 * Inside one of the buildings are some Soviet propaganda posters.
 * There is a glitch where the player can get out of the map but it is very difficult to do. The player must use the Painkiller deathstreak and Lightweight. If sprinting directly through the radiation patch and getting to the edge of the map, the player will be able to get out of the radiation section, and will also be able to run through the radiation on the border of the map without getting hurt. But reentering the map will result in damage from the radiation again if player wishes to go to the edge again.
 * It is best to go around the side of the map where the broken tanks are this way both spawns are visible and is very good for capture the flag and headquarters but the player must keep on going around each side to get the best out of it
 * Using any sort of explosive, (grenade launcher or grenade) can make quick use of enemies hiding inside the bunkers, as they are typically packed in in groups.
 * When achieving the Tactical Nuke, look towards the nuclear reactor designated "4". It will explode there. A possible joke from Infinity Ward.
 * The church in the map is orthodox which is a common religion in eastern Europe, this is possible because of the Cross shape, and the dome on top.
 * If there is an enemy predator missle in Multiplayer, try going under the helicopter's missiles on the wing where the C flag spawn is. The screen might say that your prone is blocked. This means the player is most likely safe. Being under the missiles of the wing on the heli will most likely save the player even if it hits the wing or the ground.
 * If glitching out of the map, there is virtually no cover or grass, so it would be unwise to snipe from there. But if the player goes out of bounds on the side of the small scrapyard, there is a small bush on the right that can be used to conceal oneself, although it possesses a very small field of view.
 * One tactic that works well is to have a class with Marathon and/or Lightweight during objective matches. Running along the perimeter road leads to most good vantage sniping points. This not only takes a lot of snipers by surprise but also makes the player a target. A disregard for most players (both essential for objective matches).
 * English words and phrases can be seen on the helicopter at C flag spawn. This is unusual as it is a Russian helicopter. It reads, "AMERICAN EX-PRISONERS OF WAR, DEPT. OF FLORIDA, DEPT. OF MARYLAND, DEPT. OF NEW HAMPSHIRE."
 * It is unknown how and why there is a destroyed American Humvee next to the helicopter, this could possibly be where the minigun mounted on the nearby wall came from.
 * Recently, it has been said, there is another glitch involving 'climbing trees'. There are 3 trees on the board where the player performs a series of jumps and maneuvers to climb a tree. Although a few headshots might be able to be pulled off while camping, it won't be long before the players position has been compromised.
 * With a total of 5, Wasteland has more mounted guns than any other map.
 * Inside the bunker area, if the player shoots the cardboard boxes the contents will fly out; this includes bananas, oranges and packs of gum and candy.
 * There is a tail of a Hind Helicopter in the Tank Graveyard; there is also a rotor.
 * In the school building on the southwest side of the map there is a poster of a man who looks similar to Malcom X hanging from the ceiling.
 * Near the North Gate is a cow and if the player shoots it mud will splatter from it.
 * There is a total of 16 destroyed BMPs in the map
 * The tarp that covers the B flag in Domination will protect the player from Predators if stood under.
 * Near any entrance to a bunker, lay down in the corner so you can peek in and shoot targets with your rifle or grenade launcher without being seen as easily.
 * This map is a good place to complete the "Survivalist" (5 continuous minutes alive) and "Flawless" (a whole match without dying) challenges. There is an area behind the helicopter with tall grass where the player can lie down and not be seen. Make sure to use Cold-blooded Pro and Ninja, the chances of survival are good. Be sure to bring an automatic weapon with a Heartbeat Sensor just in case.

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