How to Find Hardcore Modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare

Wondering how to find Hardcore modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare multiplayer? This guide shows you how to find it and what differences you can expect.
Wondering how to find Hardcore modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare multiplayer? This guide shows you how to find it and what differences you can expect.

Wondering how to find hardcore modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare? So were we. 

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The soft reboot has more game modes than you might think. Not all of them are unlocked at this point, but modes like Hardpoint, Headquarters, and others exist in the game. So do several Hardcore game types, particularly Team Deathmatch and Domination. Trouble is, they aren’t immediately apparent in the menus.

This guide will walk you through how to find the Hardcore game modes and give a quick rundown of what’s different in Modern Warfare‘s Hardcore mode.

How to Find Hardcore Game Modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare

From the main screen, you’ll want to open the Filter menu next to the QuickPlay button.

Call of Duty Modern Warfare hardcore mode filter in multiplayer menu.

 This will open the QuickPlay Filter. There isn’t any clear way to open or even select a Hardcore match. Instead of a clear menu button allowing you access the mode, you have to change the Selected Category at the top of the menu:

The top selection in the filter menu lets you select hardcore modes.

Once you press the corresponding button, your QuickPlay Filter menu will change completely, showing you all your options for Hardcore.

QuickPlay filter menu showing Modern Warfare's hardcore modes.

That’s it. Select the Hardcore game mode(s) of your choice, click QuickPlay, and you’ll load into the next available lobby.

What’s Changed in Hardcore in Call of Duty Modern Warfare?

There are a lot of changes to the multiplayer experience in Hardcore, but there are several that make a huge difference.

Reduced Health

If you thought you died quickly in core, Hardcore’s about to show you a whole new world of pain. Historically, core game modes have your health capped at an even 100. In Hardcore, that’s reduced to 33. 

That means one hit from almost any weapon results in a kill from medium distance and closer. SMGs suffer slightly from longer ranges, but the meta weapons  by which I mean the M4A1  are a one-shot from almost any range.

Reduced HUD

There is no minimap, score counter, ammo counter, or red player names. You will have your compass, but that’s about it. You can check the score by pulling up the full scoreboard, of course. Just don’t count on knowing where your enemies are half the time or if you even have enough bullets to fight.

No Killcams

Wondering where that guy at the edge of the map killed you from?

Keep wondering. 

On death, you’ll zoom out above the map, then quickly respawn wherever the game feels like putting you. Your foe still has their hidey-hole, and you’ve got to reenter the fray.

Embrace the Camp

Because everything is riskier in hardcore, neither you nor your enemies have any incentive to play aggressive. Crouch walking is everywhere, holding sightlines is the power play, and claymores rule the day (even more than usual). You need to check your corners, hold angles of your own, and generally keep a close eye on every direction.

Everybody else is.

That’s all you need to know about how to find hardcore modes in Call of Duty Modern Warfare, as well as some tips to help you survive. While you’re here, check out our other Call of Duty Modern Warfare articles:


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Author
John Schutt
John Schutt has been playing games for almost 25 years, starting with Super Mario 64 and progressing to every genre under the sun. He spent almost 4 years writing for strategy and satire site TopTierTactics under the moniker Xiant, and somehow managed to find time to get an MFA in Creative Writing in between all the gaming. His specialty is action games, but his first love will always be the RPG. Oh, and his avatar is, was, and will always be a squirrel, a trend he's carried as long as he's had a Steam account, and for some time before that.