Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 continues the expansion and growth of the franchise in interesting ways. It has a stellar campaign, Special Ops co-op, battle royale in Warzone 2, an extraction mode in DMZ, and now it’s adding raids.
In CoD lore, Raid is just a classic map that was first introduced in Black Ops II. Now, raids in the gameplay sense are coming to the franchise for the first time, borrowing a type of mission from massively multiplayer games like World of Warcraft.
In raids, a number of people on a team group up to take down difficult enemies, complete specific objectives, or one very powerful boss fight. It’s not exactly something that directly translates to CoD, so community speculation about the new mode is high.
Here’s the skinny on the new mode in CoD.
What are raids in MW2?
The first raid in MW2 is called Atomgrad, and it was first revealed during The Game Awards on Dec. 8, 2022.
Gameplay details were scant until players got into the game and play it for themselves, and that’s by design. Raids are meant to be a cool experience on a first-time playthrough. There are difficult enemies, the gameplay requires coordination and skill, and also features puzzles
Players who have been taking on AI opponents in Special Ops, Warzone 2, and DMZ will have an idea of what to expect when it comes to the enemies in raids. There are juggernauts, riot shield foes, and everything in between. The challenge is high.
To access raids, players need something called a raid key. Activision says these are acquired in one of a few ways:
- Complete a specific daily challenge either in multiplayer or Special Ops.
- Place within the top 20 in any Warzone 2 battle royale Playlist.
- In DMZ, use the final extract helicopter with at least $30,000 in cash.
Activision suggests players warm up for the raid by playing Special Ops missions, including how enemies fight, how kits work, and general strategies for the completion of those missions. Raids use the kits leveled up inside of Special Ops, so that’s important to be accustomed to.
When is the next raid episode in MW2?
Atomgrad was just the beginning, as there are “new raid episodes on the way” in the coming months. This likely means there will be new raids or some kind of expansion of the original raid.
On Feb. 8, Infinity Ward confirmed that Raid Episode 02 will be coming in-season in season two.
“Atomgrad was just the beginning,” Infinity Ward said. “Price, Farah, and Gaz will be back later in Season 02 with Episode 2 of the Raid, a continuation of the Modern Warfare 2 Campaign. Prepare to squad up for whatever gauntlet lies ahead — even if it means finding unlikely allies to help tie up those loose ends.”
This likely means the second episode of MW2 Raid will be coming in the midseason update, currently lining up to launch sometime in March, likely on March 15 or 22 unless there is a delay.
