Afghan



Afghan is a multiplayer map in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is set around an accessible C-130 Hercules crash site in the middle of a desert canyon in Afghanistan. The east and west parts feature cliffs and bunkers, perfect for snipers. A cave inside the mountain is often filled with intense close range battle, the large entrance to the cave being a great spot for overlooking the plane crash below. Around the other side of the mountain, there is a pathway that leads from the bunker, around the back of the cave to the high-up ledge. This path is great for flanking your opponents, alongside the pathway through the bunker and across the fields planted with opium poppies.

Due to its circular walkways and design patterns, every place has two or more flanking routes, making it perfect for team deathmatch, it cuts out 'campers' too as staying prone or staying stationary will get you killed, being mobile and aiming down sights round corners gives you the edge on this map. However there is a solution to these flanking routes in one of the most open and undefended place on map

Tactics
All edges of this rocky desert wasteland are fairly defensible, but the open and narrow avenues of maneuver between positions of cover make it easy for even an entire team to become pinned down. Even the very center of the map offers effective multidirectional cover inside the enclosed openings of the C-130 wreckage, but again, advancing between positions of cover or even getting to them after a respawn can be impossible if any of the map's overwatch positions are taken by enemies. The map is therefore structured to reward the player(s) that take patient advantage of the best overwatch positions and wait for their opponent to dart from their cover; however, as all overwatch positions have a number of directions for enemies to come up behind them, it is essential to ensure that your teammates are always guarding against this before you focus downrange from one.


 * Thermal Scopes are particularly effective on this map, as the monochromatic and low-light conditions of the interiors of both the two pillbox bunkers and the large central cave make it very hard to spot enemy marksmen in them. Additionally, dust clouds which blow across the map sometimes make it hard to spot details at longer ranges outdoors, which Thermal Scoping can help with. The only downfall to thermal scopes is that it is difficult to see enemy players jumping off or sniping on the cliff, due to the bright background of the sky.
 * The upturned wing of the crashed C-130 is a possible fighting position, relying, as all such positions do, on your enemies not looking for you there (and it is therefore most practical for Hardcore games due to the lack of a killcam). It is also possible to jump down from the cliff (the highest point on the map) onto the top of the plane's tailfin.thumb|300px|right|Owning On Afghan.
 * The multiple pathways toward all fighting positions make Domination matches particularly hectic, as the offense will often be able to find an unguarded approach.
 * The most obvious sniping positions - the high cliff and the two bunkers - are often camped to such an extent that they are useless, even if their rear approaches are secure. When they aren't being watched by any mobile enemies, they are often simply squaring off against each other as snipers.
 * There are mattresses below the high cliff that will negate almost all fall damage and can always be jumped down onto safely from the cliff above. To land successfully on them, walk of the cliff rather than jumping from it.
 * The small and completely enclosed interiors of the pillbox bunkers make those inside particularly vulnerable to explosives, particularly rockets from afar.
 * The small doors into the pillbox bunkers are particularly easy to secure with Claymores. However, the bunkers are small enough that an enemy can often shoot anyone inside from just outside the door.
 * The tall poppy plants in the northeast corner make for superb concealment, even without a Ghillie suit (which, being set in a desert on this map, doesn't blend much with the lush green plants anyway).
 * The entire map is surrounded by deadly falls and radiation; however, they should be far away from any avenues of approach you may take, with the possible exception of the northwest corner.
 * There are a lot of dips and a rock where a prone sniper can be effectively concealed near Demolition Site B. The dips are even large enough to conceal care packages, but it is possible for a package to roll off the edge of the map from here.
 * The plane's cockpit is an effective, though extremely obvious and open, fighting position.
 * It is possible to hide under the tail portion of the crashed C-130 and conceal oneself from enemy aircraft.
 * Chopper Gunner rounds can penetrate the fuselage of the crashed C-130.
 * Despite the openness of the map, there are several out-of-the-way dead ends with large vehicles as hard cover which are ideal for activating killstreaks from. Three of these positions are in the southeast, the direct south, and the direct west.
 * Sandstorms periodically flare up and reduce all visibility, even while using thermal scopes. Visibility is perfect in between these storms.
 * It is possible to jump from the tip of the crashed C-130's upturned wing to the pipes sticking out of the mountain or the small grassy ledge to the right of the pipes. The jump's success is much more likely if running speed is boosted.
 * When playing Demolition, the attacking team's spawn point is extremely vulnerable.
 * When playing Demolition, the defense has an observed tendency to focus on point A. Point B can be reliably defend by just one player, however, who is either sitting on top of the rock adjacent to the cave exit (the one in the shadows) or sitting next to the pile of rocks on either side of the concrete catwalk (you don't have line-of-sight to the bomb from this location, but you almost always have LOS on someone interacting with it).
 * When playing Demolition, the offense is often at such a disadvantage that neither team will successfully bomb both targets, the game will go into overtime, and whoever is lucky enough to defend will win. Estate is similar in this regard.
 * Hiding in between the two stalagmites in the cave and to the back of the eastern bunker make you very hard to see from outside, especially if you're wearing a Ghillie suit, which eliminates the slight shine on all players. As stated earlier, this is why thermal scopes are particularly valuable on this map.
 * There are trucks on this map. It is possible to jump on top of them and crouch in the hole on the roof. Doing this in the Humvee in the southeast is an effective way to defend point A in Domination.
 * In Domination matches, fighting gets furious around A and B, so be prepared. Some people may camp in the tall grasses behind A, so make sure you clear out this area as well as the surrounding bunkers. Also, C is right by one of the most popular sniping spots, so don't try to snipe.
 * The cave can easily be secured by a team using Claymores. The rear entrance is particularly effective, as setting a claymore near the pipes can cause a much larger explosion, often resulting in a multi kill.
 * Claymores prove invaluable in several areas of the map, and can be planted between the hydrogen tanks near the high cliff sniping spot, as well as the two choke points leading down from there to the left, through the poppy field.
 * An experienced sniper can camp in the small bunker with a claymore and hold off a few enemies before moving.

Trivia

 * The Army Rangers, which should have been one of the most appropriate factions for this map, are not playable on it. The name "Afghan" and the Humvee and Stryker wreckages relate to Army lingo and arsenal.
 * This map seems to be set near the location of Site Hotel Bravo, as the stone road structure visible from the cliff at the north end of the map is the same as in Just Like Old Times.
 * On the concrete bridge along the cliff face, there is a small alcove. A teddy bear is on the floor there, along with door scrapes on the ground leading to the bomb shelter, implying that the owner dropped it outside the door before it closed, and died inside the shelter. There is also a concrete slab next to it that says "ALEXANDER ROYCEWICZ 2009"
 * Afghan is the map featured in the original multiplayer gameplay trailer, in which host migration is first shown and the player throws a Throwing Knife at a sniper positioned over the cliff as soon as the migration is complete.
 * The Infinity Ward logo can be seen on several of the cave system's heavy steel doors.
 * The UAZ-469 in the western portion of the map, behind the high cliff, has blood on the driver's seat and dashboard, implying a fight has already taken place. Shooting this blood splatter actually produces the same sound as bullets impacting a human body.
 * The player is able to jump to the gunner's position in the Humvee, the same position taken in the first part of Invasion.
 * If the player stands next to the building in the farthest northeast corner, he can hear dogs bark.
 * The crops found in this map are actually poppy plants which are cut open before they flower to harvest a white fluid which is used to make opium and various other opiates. This is appropriate to Afghanistan, as its largest crop has been opium for many years.
 * Although the map seems to be set in Afghanistan, the player's wrist GPS places him somewhere in the Nevada Desert.
 * Just like in the accessible plane on the map Terminal, there are no seats for either the pilot or co-pilot in the crashed plane.
 * The C-130 Hercules is identical to the crashed plane in Exodus.

Glitches and Tricks

 * IGN's series Map Recon has a video for this map, available here.