Veteran (difficulty)

"You will not survive."

Summary
Veteran is the hardest of the four difficulties that are in the Call of Duty series. The player will find they'll take much more damage and have very low health, with enemies having increased accuracy and deadly reaction time. Completing levels will often reward you with Achievements/Trophies. A combination of extreme caution, knowledge of the level, heavy use of cover, quick-saving and not getting frustrated is key to completing levels on this difficulty.

To "console" the player, a new feature was added during the later games that allowed the player to lower the difficulty level from the pause menu.

Call of Duty, United Offensive and Call of Duty: Classic
Call of Duty is possibly the hardest game in the series to complete on Veteran difficulty, due to the lack of health regeneration (or health packs, for that matter) and large number of enemies that can kill you with two shots (one if it's a tank or armed vehicle).You need to take some cover or victory is to be short lived. United Offensive is just as difficult, if not harder due to the greater number of large-scale battles. On Call of Duty: Classic, there is no manual save, and the checkpoints are relatively spread out and won't activate if the player has less than 33% health. It is also a good idea to check each area thoroughly since the compass deliberately does not indicate red dots, and to avoid being surprised by a hidden enemy. Use grenades often and wisely to force enemies out of cover (or simply to spot them), but be careful as they sometimes can throw it back. It is also important to have AI allies with you, especially in levels where they do not respawn, as they help considerably in thinning the enemy's ranks.

Among the hardest levels would be the Dam level, due to the fact that the player is completely alone, without any help from AI, Pavlov due to the large number of enemies during the attack and defence of the house and the truckride levels since the player cannot prone in the vehicle.

Call of Duty 2
In Call of Duty 2, the campaign is slightly easier than the original Call of Duty since the player's health can regenerate and the compass indicates red dots for enemies, yet it is still a very hard game to beat. Although there are 27 missions in all, some of them are extremely short but nonetheless extremely combat-intensive. Checkpoints are more frequent in throughout each mission and, unlike the original game, the player doesn't need to have at least 33% health to activate it since the health meter is taken out. Because the player still cannot throw grenades back at the enemies in this game, dying from grenades will be common, and it further causes the player to be flushed out of cover, exposing them to chaotic firefights.

Missions commonly thought to be the most difficult include "The Silo", "The Tiger", and "The Brigade Box," due mostly to their open-ended nature which usually causes the player to get ambushed and the enemies having the high ground. Like the other Call of Duty games in the series, there are infinitely spawning enemies which will continue to attack the player until a certain point has been reached or an objective has been completed. "The Tiger" is particularly difficult because of this system, especially when attempting to capture the HQ, because the game will not save until the player successfully clears out all of the Germans inside of the HQ.

However, because there are a limited variety of automatic weapons in the game, the player will not take damage nearly as often and swiftly like in the Modern Warfare series. Therefore irritating, split-second deaths are much more rare. Still, caution is strongly advised as the enemies tend to be extremely aggressive (especially in close quarters combat) and will strafe to avoid being hit. The cross-hairs disappear completely when the player is in motion, so hip-firing on the move while playing on Veteran is not recommended unless the player is caught in a desperate situation. There aren't as many explosives and destructibles in this game that will kill the player instantly, such as the RPG-7 and exploding vehicles. Bullet penetration is non-existent, so shots must be carefully placed in order to kill a partially exposed enemy. Also, enemies cannot kill the player in one melee hit (provided that the player is at full health)- it will actually require around three to four hits. Pistols can be very effective, as they kill enemies in one hit and make the player move much faster despite the lack of a sprint feature.

It is recommended that whoever plays this game on this difficulty takes their time, staying prone and making well placed shots. Because there are no time limits that require the player to complete any objective in a certain amount of time, the player can typically relax and move at a comfortable pace (except for missions that require the player to take out mortar crews, tanks, or panzerschrecks). Make sure to use smoke grenades when passing through an area that is under heavy fire, and try to conserve them on missions that require the player to place satchel charges on tanks- they can be especially helpful in destroying these tanks without easily getting ambushed or perforated. Only move out of cover to avoid grenades. When defending an objective, try to avoid the heat of the battle as much as possible. The player's teammates will take a good portion of the enemies, easing the burden on the player.

Call of Duty 3
Although it is slightly easier and shorter than its predecessors (14 levels instead of 27 in Call of Duty 1 and 2), the challenge is still not to be taken lightly. Like Call of Duty 2, health regenerates when in cover and the compass still recognizes enemy movements. The player now has the ability to throw back enemy grenades, even though the button sequence is a little complicated vis-a-vis the subsequent games.

The most challenging levels in the game are arguably Saint Lo (the first level in the game), Laison River, the Mace and Chambois (the final level), as enemies respawn relatively quickly. While the player has more smoke grenades and fragmentation grenades than Call of Duty 2, the player should expect many of the same challenges found in that game (i.e. no sprinting).

Checkpoints are relatively more spread out in comparison to Call of Duty 2; for instance, in Night Drop and Laison River, a checkpoint does not activate until the player disables all three flack cannons. As in previous games there's no time limit unless it consists of destroying a tank or other armored vehicles, but nonetheless the fast respawning in many areas encourages the player to hurry up.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The Veteran difficulty in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is much easier to beat than its World War II predecessors. As in Call of Duty 2 and 3, enemies will keep infinitely respawning until the player moves forward, albeit the respawning happens at a slower rate, giving the player more time to maneuver before moving on. The new sprint ability makes this game easier and faster to complete in comparison to the previous three games, but the player should not abuse it as he/she cannot shoot, reload nor throw grenades while running. The missions that are considered as being the most difficult on Veteran difficulty are One Shot, One Kill", "Heat, "No Fighting In The War Room", and the non-canon "Mile High Club, because the player has a time limit to complete the mission and therefore makes the player impatient, or as in One Shot, One Kill, when the player has to wait for the Big Bird with tons of enemies closing in. When this time limit is paired with the infinitely spawning enemies, these missions require a lot of skill to accomplish. Completing a block of either 1, 2, or 3 missions on Veteran award the player an achievement worth 40 gamerscore.

Call of Duty: World at War
The Veteran difficulty in Call of Duty: World at War is possibly one of the hardest because of the enemy AI's tendency to throw many grenades at the player at one time (known as grenade spamming in gamer communities) and the respawning happens at a frighteningly fast pace, giving the player a smaller window of opportunity to move forward than other games. This will force the player to run away from the grenades, causing them to run away from cover and most likely run backwards or into the firefight. Grenades with the indicator barely showing will not instantly kill them but it will stun and weaken them. Most of players agree that Downfall, Heart of the Reich and Blowtorch & Corkscrew are the hardest levels, given that on TrueAchievements.com, they comprise the lowest percentage of users who have that achievement (with 21%, 21% and 23%, respectively).

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Veteran difficulty is still challenging, but it is considered the easiest game in the series as the enemies don't consistently throw grenades or respawn very quickly. The AI enemies have increased accuracy and they will rush the player. In addition to all of that, the player will have about 1/2 of their normal health, and gain about 1/4 of all the checkpoints available on the other difficulties (with the exception of "S.S.D.D." and "Museum".) The Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 missions considered to be the most difficult on Veteran difficulty are "Takedown", "The Hornet's Nest" and "Loose Ends". The reason for this is mostly because the player will be shot at from multiple directions at once. Completing a block of either 1, 2, or 3 missions on Veteran award the player an achievement worth 25 gamerscore on the Xbox 360, or a silver trophy on the PS3.

Special Ops
In addition to Veteran being available to players in campaign, it is also available to players in Spec Ops. This is the hardest of all three available difficulties, but will award the player with 3 stars, if the mission is finished (and the other player is also on Veteran, if there is another player). Since stars are stackable in Spec Ops it is advised to try them all on Veteran at first to save time, although trying to complete the mission on Recruit is advisable, as the player can then know the map. There are a total of four achievements that require the player to beat a certain number of missions on Veteran difficulty worth 160 gamerscore total on the Xbox 360, or one bronze trophy, two silver trophies, and one gold trophy on the PS3.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Call of Duty: Black Ops once again incorporates infinitely spawning enemies at some locations in the levels, although grenades are not as rampant. However, it is a considerable challenge to complete even the first set of missions on Veteran, and there are even a couple of achievements not related to mission completion that require Veteran difficulty to be selected, such as Light Foot, which requires the player to escape the ship in "Project Nova" within 45 seconds. It is arguably harder than the Modern Warfare series due to the fact that checkpoints are more spread out than those games, yet not as much as in Call of Duty 3. Enemies tend to be much more accurate and more agile in this installment than in previous ones. Although they're not thrown as much as in the previous games (excluding Modern Warfare 2), grenades are still thrown casually by enemies, and are very dangerous as usual.

Tips

 * It is advised to complete the campaign on a lower difficulty first, so that the player can get a good view of the level, such as knowing where to go and which way, when there will be enemies etc.
 * Don't bother sprinting to a grenade and throwing back. Just sprint the opposite direction from it (if one is ahead of you, turn around and sprint back into cover so you're not in battle).
 * Always cook your frag until the last two seconds before you chuck it. Try to get packs of hostiles with the grenade to save as many as you can.
 * Crouch as much as possible, so you don't have as many chances of instant death.


 * On Safehouse, while searching the buildings, use a shotgun.
 * Though it is the toughest difficulty, it's also the most rewarding (In Call of Duty 2, finishing levels at this difficulty equals a total of 600 gamer points coupled with the other 400 being for completing the game on any difficulty 150 and on veteran 250 meaning that you can get all the gamer points on the Xbox 360 by completing the game on veteran; in Call of Duty: Black Ops it is worth 100 gamer points on the Xbox 360 or a gold trophy on the PS3; In Call of Duty 3, it is worth 125 gamerpoints; In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: World at War, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 each have an achievement worth 90 gamerpoints for completing the game on Hardened or Veteran difficulty on the Xbox 360, or a gold trophy on the PS3.)
 * When running to cover, try to pick out certain spots where you can attack without changing stances (furniture items on virtually all Call of Duty games won't allow you to attack when crouching, but standing will expose a large portion of you). If you need to stand to fire, try to wait off the intense firefights and stay down while your allies try and pick off the enemies.
 * Let your friendly Allies deal with hostiles (on rebirth in black ops, let reznov clear the hallways in the labs.)
 * It is best to move slowly and deliberately with care; "bum rushing" will almost certainly result in death. Exceptions to this are Breach & Clear and strictly timed missions, such as Mile High Club.
 * Even when you are in cover and recuperating, stay sharp. Some levels where there are a lot of enemies and very little space will have a lot of them rushing around corners.
 * "Going loud" in stealth sections results is almost guaranteed death on this difficulty.
 * Always have cover nearby except for short dashes between cover; the enemy is able to fire accurate 2-3 shot bursts which result in instant death. Being able to duck down or get behind cover before the second or third shot lands will usually save you.
 * In the tank section of rebirth, memorize the hostiles spawn points well, and rely mostly on the grenade launcher, where you can`t crouch or prone to regenarate health.
 * Have your allies do as much work as possible, especially the invincible ones.
 * Avoid "taking point", or leading the group, if at all possible.
 * Although allies are crucial in some missions, don't go to a rampage and try and protect them. You'll easily be knocked out, and more often than not, your ally might (ironically) survive.
 * Check your corners! This especially goes to the original Call of Duty, as the absence of health regeneration makes you more susceptible from being hit by an enemy you've overlooked.
 * Use your flashbangs, smokers and fragmentation grenades strategically, but don't be afraid to use them.
 * Staying crouched while moving through "hot zones": It will reduce your vulnerability, but it will also slow you down and protect you. Using smoke grenades or flashbangs are strongly recommended here
 * Switching from heavy to lighter weapons will often enable you to run faster and longer.
 * Use the map to get the location of any enemies that you can't see.
 * Always be aware of your surroundings. Should there be a "frag fest" from the enemies, it is best to know an escape route so that the player doesn't run blindly away from the grenades (many times going right into enemy fire). Even if the player isn't necessarily bombarded with numerous grenades, it is still best to have a definite escape route as the enemies can easily down the player if they don't make smart decisions at all times.
 * Try and find pieces of cover that allow you to fire while crouched or (especially) prone, but keeps you well protected from massive volleys of fire.
 * Always be wary when friendly soldiers are avoiding an area and many seem to be running from it as there might be an unseen grenade there. However, there are times a friend coming from the AI spawn point will run into it (so it is also advisable to move up cautiously even when the friendly AI is moving up).
 * When available, riot shields can come in handy on Veteran (or any other difficulty), since you can sit in a corner and allow your allies to kill off enemies.
 * If you are in a level where you know there will be teammate support, and you know the route well, stay at the start at the level for a while if you can until you need to do something or you think your allies have made it easier for you, and just walk through.
 * If the player is hit by any shot, they should immediately get to cover, as subsequent shots will quickly finish them off.
 * Remember that your friendly AI have a tendency to run in front of you just as you toss back a grenade. Throw high if possible.
 * Try and use grenades to get your AI (especially when they're invulnerable) to dash out and run towards the enemy. More likely than not, they will take out a good portion of the enemy. Make sure that the grenade you throw, especially in the later Call of Duty games, doesn't roll towards you and make you a self-flambe.
 * In Call of Duty: World at War, friendly AI will sometimes "push" you out of cover. Choose your spots carefully, and avoid taking spots where friendly AI have been shot; new spawns will return to them, and sometimes force you out into enemy fire.
 * Certain areas of the map that appear open are actually bounded by invisible barriers. Usually the only areas you can run to for cover are ones your friendly AI are seen traveling through.
 * In Call of Duty: World at War, Japanese forces are often hiding in the grass, and even grenade hits to areas won't "kill" them. They will only pop-up when you get near them, so stay alert and be ready to gun them down.
 * If you have to make a retreat (e.g. the end of The Defector), make sure you have an important AI (an important person in the campaign, like Woods or Reznov) behind you, as they take all the damage, but they never die.
 * If one is near, the ammo crates in Modern Warfare 2 can be very useful if the player is low on ammo, as this gives full ammunition, also replenishing the current mag, which is very useful with light machine guns as they tend to have a slow reload, some even at nine seconds.
 * Use weapons in Veteran difficulty that are easy to find ammo (most likely enemy weapons), and blast away at the enemies without pausing. The AI may get down to avoid the blind fire, and this gives you a short (very short) respite to get to cover.
 * In Call of Duty: World at War, you can stop enemies from respawning by either killing enough off them (usually 2-10 per spawn point) or by moving up to a certain area (when your allies move up with you, pushing "the line" further up).
 * You can avoid grenade spamming in Call of Duty: World at War by remaining in the back of your squad, picking enemies off from afar.
 * When you use grenades, use them sparingly and cook them when throwing them. The enemy may pick up your grenade and throw it back at you, often leading to an instant death due to the shorter fuse.
 * Choose your cover carefully, certain cover won't protect you from grenades.
 * After clearing an area and your allies move up to the next area of the map (usually followed by a scripted dialogue) tread carefully as there may still be enemies hiding nearby.
 * Though Ghillie Suits are good for stealth on other difficulties, it should be advised that enemies will see you more frequently. Try moving whenever you know all enemies are dead. Crawling with a Ghillie Suit when enemies are around may not be safe.
 * Sniping is rather dangerous unless it's a stealth mission or you have a perfect view from above.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, possibly the two hardest missions are "Takedown" and "Loose Ends." This is due because you have little AI help, practically none in Takedown, as in Loose Ends the considerably hardest part is getting to the extraction point and the only AI is Ghost who doesn't help much. In Takedown, you have AI help only in the beginning where you, Meat and Royce clear the favela, but both of them die very quickly. Be very wary and don't give up, and restarting the mission will just cause more frustration and failure.
 * Enemies using Flashbangs will be your worst enemies, as they will blind you, then quickly rush you, and proceed to make you a puddle of blood. However, even when you are blinded, try and face the direction you were moving towards or the direction of your objective, and fire full-auto. Your enemies will rush you, but moving to cover blind makes you an out-of-control bullseye.
 * LMG's such as the M240, RPD, and M249 SAW will be very good, as the high rate of fire plus a large mag will allow you to take out a group of enemies, but still be wary as they will be nearly impossible with them.
 * Master the use of smoke grenades and flashbangs. Throwing them where it provides you with a distraction or cover will be a lifesaver.
 * Rocket Launchers can be helpful, but don't rely on them heavily, as ammo is scarce and have a large blast radius that can hurt you. Use them mainly to destroy vehicles, enemy artillery or a large group of concentrated enemies from a distance.
 * If possible, use AI to check corners for you. If they are all killed in very quick succession, be careful when following their path.
 * Use the aim snap feature to your advantage. If you can't poke your head out of cover long enough to get an idea where the enemy is, try aim snapping rapidly and see if the cross-hairs move to a position, as soon as they do, shoot.
 * Standing up in a firefight is a death sentence, but going prone restricts your movement and you will be almost instantly killed if you don't get to cover in time. For this, try going crouch when moving about to protect yourself but also give you mobility to move quickly to cover.
 * When picking off targets behind cover, it's best to not simply dash out and start firing, as the enemy AI may have locked on to you even when you're out of sight. Easier on the XBOX and PS3, slowly nudge around corners, picking off enemies as you go.
 * Corridors are a crucial part of surviving Veteran. You'll find that the enemy is usually concentrated in one area, and it's usually well protected or too far to aim-snap. Try and move slowly, sprinting out of cover and rushing to parallel objects.
 * Foliage doesn't work at all unless it's scripted to (such as certain stealth missions like "All Ghillied Up"). Cover is always a higher priority than foliage.
 * Keep your distance from allies who aren't invulnerable. You tend to be targeted by the AI more frequently than friendly AI, but some still fire at your allies. This could mean twice the amount of fire heading your way.
 * Don't attempt to get ammo from dead enemies during a firefight, even when you're low. Unless it's a clear sign that they will be infinitely re-spawning, wait till much of the action has passed.
 * When your allies tend to move forward, try to stay a bit behind and stay near cover. Once the firefight begins, immediately dash to cover.
 * Even if you may have to wait for minutes behind cover, this can be a life-saver. Never attempt to rush anything.
 * Blind firing works, but it is advised not to extensively use this, as this exposes you to even small amounts of gunfire which prove lethal.

Trivia

 * In Call of Duty: World at War's splitscreen multiplayer, there is a set class known as the "Veteran".
 * In Call of Duty: World at War there is a game mode called Veteran. It is essentially a Team Deathmatch mode, but is supposedly for higher level players, as the mode is unlocked later.
 * The Veteran difficulty in Call of Duty 3 has to be unlocked by completing the game on any other difficulty first.
 * A common myth that starting a level on Veteran and lowering the difficulty down to Hardened or below will make the game register the level completed on Veteran difficulty. This is false, even if you lower it down a second before the next level begins.