Call of Duty Wiki:Ask A Veteran/Camping

Camping is a tactic of waiting for enemies to come to the player, rather than actively seeking them out, for extended periods of time. Players usually camp in order to gain a tactical advantage over their opponents. Camping is a strategy that relies on a lack of patience in other players, counting on them to come after the player first, who would be lying in wait.

In several game types, camping is a legitimate style of play, often in defensive based games, comparable to 'turtling". In game types such as Capture the Flag, as well as Domination, it isn't nearly as detrimental to gameplay as it would be in game types such as Free-For-All and Team Deathmatch.

It often proves frustrating, particularly to new players, as it rewards those who are very familiar with the map (as it allows them to know the layout and which areas provide the best defensive position as well as heavily trafficked areas. Many players consider Camping to be equal to cheating, especially in deathmatch-type games. The most common reason for this is that if every player camps, there will be no opportunity for players to come into contact, and thus there will be no game at all.

Door to door camping
This method is really quite simple. One player will be camping near a door way with a high power close quaters weapon, usually a shotgun or Assault Rifle, and simply wait for unsuspecting victims to run by. Quite often they will go to the other side of the door every 2 or 3 kills to avoid players learning their positions every so often. This works best in mainly indoor maps where there are lots of camping spots, such as Terminal, Skidrow, and Highrise where the majority of the fighting is in small, indoor pockets of the map, which can quite often result in the camper getting easy kills, and will often be found on Deathmatch, FFA style modes. Like other forms of camping, they will often hide behind crates and walls that can protect them but still allow them to see players coming. Usually the only way to kill these campers is to go around the other way and kill them from behind. Another way is to travel in groups going through the doorway so you can check all sides of the room, however shotguns such as the AA-12 or Akimbo Model 1887 can make quick work of these groups. Some groups may use the "Turtle technique" to counter this.

Spawn Camping
Spawn camping is a form of camping when a player assaults the position(s) where opposing players just enter or re-enter (respawn) the map. The camper has the advantage in that they are able to kill players before they have a chance to get their bearings and sometimes can shoot them in their back. This may be difficult due to random spawn points in some game types such as Free-For-All, as well as killcams showing the players who get killed by spawn campers the camper's location and let them prepare for their next respawn.

Spawn camping is considerably easier in Domination as the game prefers to spawn players near flags they already own thus limiting the possible spawn points available. Note that enemies will not spawn at a spawn point if the player is looking directly at the spawn point, though looking through a chain link fence or glass does not count as direct line of sight. If the player turns his/her back to the spawn point or blocks his/her view of the spawn point by say, crouching behind a crate, enemies will spawn again. Thus, spawn killing is easiest through chain link fences or by popping up and down behind a crate that has view of the enemy spawn.

Sniping
Another form of camping is called sniper camping, or simply sniping. A player, or group of players, each acquire a high-powered, long-range, weapon with a scope such as a sniper rifle. The camper(s) then proceed to a safe area to snipe. Depending on the spot, the camper will have view of a portion of the game field, as well as ample cover against opposing players. And the ability to protect their flanks with other team members, or Claymores. The balancing methods in place are that there are killcams showing where the sniper killed you from (Non-Hardcore game modes) and the strongest sniper rifles have high recoil, loud muzzle report, although silencers can make their location harder to find.

Base Camping
The term Base Camping refers to camping at the base (or defensive objectives) of one's own team in Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, and possibly other types of games. One would sit in one's team base and wait for the other team to come. Though hiding in one's own team base, especially if done by a large group, makes it easier to survive enemy attacks, it is sometimes criticized. The general acceptance of Base Camping mainly depends on the map, the kind of game played. Game types in which one team is to defend its base, or protect a flag, naturally encourage this tactic. One acceptable situation is in Search and Destroy, when there is only one player remaining versus several players on the opposing team. The single player will often camp for periods of play in a location that is easy to defend or has only one entry way, because this enhances their survivability when faced with superior opposition numbers. The other team will usually go into active hunting mode, expecting the single player to be hiding somewhere on the map. This type of camping is more accepted by gamers, because there is a valid reason for the outnumbered player to camp. By convention, when both teams are down to single players only, continued camping is frowned upon and both players are expected to come out and confront each other, otherwise the round will be lost by the attacking side.

Advantages
The camping player gains advantages in many ways:
 * Camping players often watch choke points from behind cover. Good choke points protect the camper's flanks and give them only one place to watch for enemies. The cover protects them and makes them harder to spot. Conversely, a player moving through the choke is forced to be in the open and look over a wide area for potential threats.
 * Campers often remain in ADS mode, giving them extra zoom and saving the time it normally takes to enter ADS. Enemies moving through the area are rarely in ADS as ADS slows moving players down and lessens their situational awareness.
 * Moving players are often running. The camper, on the other hand, is in ADS with weapon drawn giving the running player almost no chance to raise stop running, pull out their weapon then raise it to ADS in order to accurately return fire.
 * Moving players are often forced to expose their flanks to fire. Unless moving with a team, certain map locations are simply impossible to "check the corners" in all directions. Campers, on the other hand, minimize this exposure.
 * Opposing players, due to their desire for revenge, will often repeatedly rush campers giving the camper multiple easy kills.
 * Since a camper usually aims one way they usually have a heartbeatsensor, this to see when the enemy is coming or in case of teamkilling (Hardcore matches)

Disadvantages

 * Camping requires immense patience.
 * Campers will rarely achieve objectives or get the most kills as much of their time is wasted waiting for enemies to come along.
 * Once a camper is discovered, they will often be quickly killed after being flashbanged or stunned or directly killed by explosives (launchers, grenades, semtex, C4.)
 * If a camper is getting lots of kills many players on the other team will "gang up" on the camper meaning it will be hard to get their killstreaks.