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. It has a reputation among fans of the series as being one of the hardest difficulties conceived in video games, and thus completing it is a noteworthy accomplishment.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
The Veteran difficulty in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is more difficult than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, but not as difficult as Call of Duty: World at War. What characterizes the difficulty level is the enemies will keep infinitely respawning until the player moves forward. Rushing is impossible here. The missions that are thought of as being the most difficult on Veteran difficulty are "One Shot, One Kill", "Heat", "No Fighting In The War Room", and "Mile High Club". "One Shot, One Kill", "No Fighting In The War Room", and "Mile High Club" are excessively difficult because the player has a time limit to complete the mission. 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 the hardest due to the enemy AI's tendency to throw many grenades at the player at one time. 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 "Burn 'em Out", "Heart of the Reich" and "Blowtorch & Corkscrew"(In order of easier to hardest) are the hardest levels in the whole game on Veteran difficulty. Completing a single mission on Veterans award the player an achievement worth 30 gamerscore.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's Veteran difficulty is hard but not nearly as hard as Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as the enemies don' t consistently throw grenades like in the last two games. 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 agreed 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 has no assistance from friendly AI. 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 save time by trying them all on Veteran at first to save time. There are a total of 4 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 and Call of Duty: Classic
Call of Duty is possibly one of the hardest campaigns on Veteran difficulty, due to the lack of health regeneration and immense amount of AI. On Call of Duty: Classic, there is no manual save, and the checkpoints are extremely far away.

Call of Duty 2
In Call of Duty 2, the campaign is undoubtedly more difficult than Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's campaign, but not as hard as most of the other games in the series. Although there are 27 missions in all, some of them are extremely short and are therefore not very difficult to beat. Checkpoints are usually frequent in throughout each mission, so dying in this game won't be nearly as punishing as other games in the series such as Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. Because the player 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. 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 succesfully 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. The crosshairs dissappear 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. The player also heals a little bit faster than the later games of the series, making it much easier to survive bullet wounds. 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. 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 out most of the enemies, anyway, so the player can rely on them.

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.
 * Though it is the toughest difficulty, it's also the most rewarding (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 gamerscore for completing the game on Hardened or Veteran difficulty on the Xbox 360, or a gold trophy on the PS3.)
 * It is best to move slowly and deliberately with care; "bum rushing" will almost certainly result in death. Exceptions to this are Breach & Clear, Race, and Time Trial.
 * "Going loud" in stealth sections results in 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.
 * Have your allies do as much work as possible, especially the invincible ones.
 * Avoid "taking point", or leading the group, if at all possible.
 * Check your corners!
 * Use your flashbangs and frags 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.
 * Switching from heavy to lighter weapons will often enable you to run faster and longer.
 * Use the map in the pause menu to get the location of any enemies that you can't see.
 * Always be aware of your surrounding. 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.
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * 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. Enemies can see you from very far away, and due to the increased accuracy, they will have you into Swiss Cheese faster than you can say "Is that an enemy?"
 * 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.
 * 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.
 * Rocket Launchers can be helpful, but don't rely on them heavily, as they usually have limited ammo and can hurt you if shot close to you (If an RPG hits you, one bullet from any weapon will be fatal).

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, similar to Uncharted 2: Among Thieves where the "Crushing" difficulty has to be unlocked by completing the game on a lower difficulty first.