Wasteland

Wasteland is a large-sized map in Call of Duty: 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. The map has a similar layout to the Call of Duty 2 multiplayer map Brecourt.

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. Usually, the team that controls this area controls the game. 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, and it is common for a lot of explosives to be used in storming the bunker, but it wouldn't protect you from flashbangs. This is always a switch off, losing offensive power to gain defensive power. If the player is using Blast Shield, they will be at a severe disadvantage if they assault the bunker.

When the bunker becomes the war zone, it helps a lot to flank the enemy, especially if your team mates are maintaining and taking control of it, and the enemy charges on one entrance.

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 Gunner, AC-130s and Care Packages work better here than almost any other map, thanks to its 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 overhead cover other than the houses and bunker, but the AC-130's 105mm 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 is using Cold-Blooded, though continuous fire leaves the gunner susceptible to sniper fire or even by another minigun, and they are not as effective as their M249 mounted counterparts in CoD4 (which destroy helicopters in around 5 seconds) and the Stinger.

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

Mini-guns
The mini-guns scattered around the map offer many opportunities to gain a significant advantage over an enemy team. For example:


 * 1) They can be used to easily take down enemy killstreaks (be sure to have Cold-Blooded equipped).
 * 2) They can be used for suppressive fire to keep snipers down while teammates 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.

Sniping
There are many great sniping 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 sniping from this position, as any other 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 a thermal scope and a good silenced sidearm, like the PP2000 or the G18 with another attachment like a Red Dot Sight or Akimbo. With the Ghillie Suit, Thermal Scope, Cold-Blooded Pro, Ninja and the silencers equipped, the player will be 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 .50cal 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

 * 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 Dutys 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.).
 * Chernobyl nuclear reactor number 4 (the reactor which caused the disaster), can be seen in the distance.
 * If you go behind the reactor, you can see black and white pictures of the area around the real reactor.
 * Apartments can be seen in the distance when using a Thermal Scope.
 * This map features such little cover from overhead that air support becomes very valuable in getting kills, and creates a good chance of getting a Tactical 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 the 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 easily get out of the map (although still bound by an invisible wall at some point). The player must use the Painkiller deathstreak and Tactical Insertion. Simply tactically insert next to the border and run into the middle of a gunfight until painkiller is achieved. Then enter the radiation at any pace. The painkiller will keep the player alive before the radiation causes death. But reentering the map will result in damage from the radiation again if player wishes to go to the edge again. The only effects after achieving the glitch are the radiation warning constantly going off and the player's screen blinking for around a minute.
 * 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 known because of the Cross shape, and the dome on top.
 * If there is an enemy Predator missile in Multiplayer, try going under the helicopter's missiles on the wing where the C flag spawn is. The screen might say that 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.
 * 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 and also a rotor, however no body of the vehicle can be seen.
 * 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 Predator missiles if stood under.
 * 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 and/or silencer just in case.
 * There is a glitch where if you call in a Care Package by the helicopter tail in the graveyard, and it lands on it, it has no pickup icon and it won't show up on radar.
 * The desert, woodland or fall camouflage works well on this map.
 * To get on top of the helicopter, the player jumps on the the gun the nose of the helicopter. Then, jump on to the gun with two barrels. From there, the player can jump on to the lower cockpit, then on to the upper cockpit, then onto the rotor casing's top. This is one of the best vantage points on the entire map.
 * On the "eagle's eye" veiw of the map shown below, it states that the two factions are OpFor/TF 141.