Skidrow

Skidrow is a multiplayer map in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Overview
There are many alleyways in Skidrow that serve as chokepoints as players can hide behind the crates in them or the windows at their ends. The main combat occurs in the larger apartment building. If too much fighting is occurring there, a good strategy is to go to the adjacent building and use the turret. Behind the bigger apartment building is a truck depot. Most combat here is close quarters.

The main building has several smaller alleyways and side streets that can be used for flanking maneuvers. This can be especially useful in Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, and other objective-based gametypes.

Tactics
The tunnel on the Ranger's spawn has a small hole in it to the left aside from the barrels. It is smart for a riot shielded to camp here. Or, place a claymore. The distance between the hole's back and the tunnel's pathway is at a distance to where the trip-wires can't be seen.


 * Skidrow is best suited for an Assault Rifle as it is a map with long, medium, and close ranged areas. It is suggested to have an Assault Rifle with good accuracy and rate-of-fire, like the TAR-21, ACR, F2000, and AK-47. The AUG-HBAR or the M240 can be used as an alternative. A Sub Machine gun such as the MP5K or P-90 also work well for these crowded halls. Running though the halls with a shotgun such as the SPAS-12 is good too. With these the player can take out others at any range.


 * Snipers are also welcome on the map with great sniping positions like the building with the Mounted machine-gun facing the first and top floor of the middle row of buildings (this can be a campers paradise). The best sniper spot would be on the Spetsnaz spawn point, as the Ranger team tends to funnel into the center building. If you do this right you can rack up a massive killstreak, so long as you watch your flanks occasionally.


 * The Riot Shield can be used very effectively on this map as a user can simply stand in a door way and force the enemy to enter melee range.
 * If you spawn on the Rangers side, then running into the tunnel is nothing short of suicide, there is almost always someone prone wielding a FAMAS, M16A4 or sniper trained at the other end. If you are the Spetznaz, this is an easy way to get First Blood.


 * This map has many alleys and turns so running into another player of the opposing team will normally mean getting a knife kill/killed, or open fire combat, therefore Marathon and Lightweight are not as effective in this map as others, while the Commando perk may be able to save your life in the tight alleyways. The main building has several smaller alleyways and side streets that can be used for flanking maneuvers. This can be especially useful in Capture the Flag, Search and Destroy, and other objective-based game-types.


 * If you spawn as the Spetsnaz a good idea is to use a sniper class and run into the Minigun building, go into the second room with the stairs, place a claymore or C4 and use the unbroken window. Here you can see all of the library room, the room above, The hallway with the crates behind the library and the the very front of the forklift garage. A good tactic for the rangers is to run up the right flank and reverse the spawns ASAP if you want to control the Minigun building. The only good place for care packages on this map that is concealed enough is atop of the containers at the workstation at the back of the U.S. Rangers spawn. If you do use the minigun don't stay on it long or you are likely to get killed fast.


 * Due to a majority of the fighting taking place indoors, the Chopper Gunner and AC-130 Gunner may have little effect. It maybe wise to change your killstreak rewards to UAV (counter and normal), Care Packages, and Sentry Guns. Predator Missiles suffer just like the Gunner rewards with fighting taking place indoors.


 * A very effective way to earn a high killstreak is to camp on the second floor of the office near the loading dock. This vantage point offers a very clear view of enemies heading through the tunnel as well as enemies trying to sneak through the garage or around the parking lots to the west. The tactic works even better on domination as the Rangers will usually capture A and hold it for the entire game, allowing you to stay in the office for the entire game and eventually achieve your killstreak. It is recommended that claymores are used to protect your flank and that you should be on the lookout for marathon/lightweight/commando players who can easily outflank you and get in the office if you are not vigilant.
 * Emergency Airdrops are not suited on this map, you will likely get one or two crates on the ground and the rest become inaccessible.


 * An excellent place to achieve FMJ bullet penetration kills is stood behind the bins looking up towards the apartment doorway where the mounted machine gun is. Shooting through the low wall in front of the doorway as enemies come out is very effective, especially as you can see them rounding the corner of the internal wall before they come out. Beware that you are very exposed from behind so a claymore or teammate are useful here.
 * Thermal Scopes are very effective especially when firing into the buildings as players are difficult to see in the dimly lit rooms.


 * In the southern apartments (default spawn point for the Russians) there is a mounted minigun. Players can zoom in with this and prespin it like all other miniguns and like all other miniguns if the cross hair scrolls over an enemy the gun will give a slight "pull". The interesting thing is that if scrolling across the brick walls of the offices the gun will still "pull" when an enemy player is moved over. This almost is like a sort of X-Ray vision tactic letting you blast through the walls and kill any camping players inside the office building. The only downfall to this is the player is left vulnerable to fire from the extreme right and left. It's wise to set up claymores near or on both sets of stairs for protection or early warning of enemy advancement.


 * The main hallway with green lighting going through the buildings, a major route, can be dominated by one player, who, by crouching at a window in the Southern apartments. Most players won't see the player of the dark wall behind him, for further effectiveness, a grenade launcher to the hallway can easily get multiple kills.


 * The Ranger spawn can be infiltrated/defended if the player goes to the corner of the map in the parking lot, where there is a vantage point via containers. This point can be easily defended, as there are 2 containers to shift from, and only one access point. This point is crucial in objective modes as Sabotage.
 * In the middle of the building, it can be difficult to maintain control, since there are a lot of possibilities of where the enemy can appear, it is very easy to get flanked.
 * Also you can get on top of the containers (Turn around when at Rangers Spawn point) By climbing up the small amount of stacked containers in the corner. This is a great point for a Tactical Insertion behind a open container. Here there is a great view of the main buildings outside area (presumably a roof area with a air-con unit) This is a great Search & Destroy point as the Op For teams usualy tend to move around the West Alley to flank the attacking Rangers.
 * In the lower and upper floors of the main building, shotguns are very useful due to close quarters. The Spas-12 and Model 1887(s) are useful here in particular.
 * Near C in domination, if your team is controlling A and B, it is a great place to spawn kill with a high magazine shotgun. Keep a Steady Ground and as long as you dont push too hard, they will keep spawing at that area


 * In Team Deathmatch, the Northern half of the map can easily be completely sealed by three people: One watching the West lot from cover or on the containers, one watching the garage from the office or cover and one watching the tunnel, again from the office or cover. With no possible flanking routes, disorganized oppononents will often keep throwing themselves at these fixed positions resulting in extremely lopsided games.



Trivia

 * Some of the shop windows contain posters displaying the Infinity Ward logo as well as the cover art for the Hardened Edition of Modern Warfare 2.
 * This level's office buildings outside the map suggest the map takes place in either Chicago, Illinois or New York City.
 * Displayed in some of the stores is a video game console dubbed "Gamestation 5", one of which can be found unboxed on Estate.
 * Near the Rangers spawn if you turn around and go through a courtyard there should be a building with a hole in the wall. This building can hold off from any direction and cuts off all choke points. A player here can earn great kill streaks as he is very hard to kill.
 * In some of the shop windows, there are models of the "GameStation", a possible reference to the video game retailer in the UK.
 * There appears to be an older model camera overlooking the courtyard from a building with a large hole in the wall. It doesn't appear to do anything, however.
 * The Ghillie Suits in this level are Arctic.
 * There are red numbers and arrows on the wall, as well as multiple cameras, indicating this could be a training course. The red numbers and arrows could also indicate a construction or demolition site.
 * Up near the train tracks there is a chunk of a building that says " ALEXANDER ROYCEWICZ 2009".
 * In the middle building hallway you can see several C4 set up stringed together, which may hint that the building may have been prepared to be demolished.
 * Outside the map, there is a deli store with Russian writing on it.
 * The library models in the middle of the map are exactly the same as the one in Terminal - even the books are the same.
 * Near the containers area, there is a sign, written on it, "Davy Jones Locker, Fish & Chips ".
 * Near the containers ares, you can see another sign, advertising Roycewicz's company.
 * In Hardcore Headquarters, the Ranger commanding voice will say "Hardcore Global Thermonuclear War" which is a playlist that was cut from the final copy.
 * On top of the Game Sports shop in the middle it has the titles "Reboot" and "Asass", most likely references to the sport companies Reebok and Adidas. Next to those is a GamerBattles sign.
 * In the Spetsnaz spawn, there are playground pieces that look identical to those from One Shot One Kill.
 * Skidrow is a combination of the words "skid", and "row", a term used to describe the slum of a city.
 * In the Rangers' spawn point, there is a torn up American flag above on a flag pole and near there spawn are three Army trucks which is probably how the Rangers got there. The same can be said with the Spetsnaz spawn, as there are three Soviet UAZ-469's there as well.
 * All over the map, you can find posters for a movie called Porter Justice 8: Final Justice.