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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is an ambiguous title: this guide covers the 2019 reboot’s single-player campaign, not 2007’s Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and not the later Modern Warfare II or Modern Warfare III. The 2019 campaign has four named settings—Recruit, Regular, Hardened and Veteran—plus Realism, which Activision describes as Veteran with a limited HUD. Choose Recruit for a low-pressure story run, Regular for the baseline experience, Hardened for a substantial test, Veteran for a deliberate high-difficulty challenge, and Realism when you want Veteran’s challenge with less on-screen information.
Which Modern Warfare does this guide cover?
The year matters. The campaign discussed here launched in 2019 as the rebooted Call of Duty: Modern Warfare. Activision’s October 24, 2019 campaign guide is the authority for the setting names and descriptions used below. The official game page identifies the campaign as part of the 2019 title and lists PlayStation, Xbox, Battle.net and Steam versions, although current platform availability and editions can change.
| # | Preview | Product | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - PlayStation 4 | $19.93 | Buy on Amazon |
| 2 |
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Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare - PS4 Legacy Edition | $24.49 | Buy on Amazon |
| 3 |
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered - PlayStation 4 | $28.25 | Buy on Amazon |
| 4 |
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Call of Duty Modern Warfare III - PS4 | $63.98 | Buy on Amazon |
| 5 |
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Call of Duty: Modern Warfare - PlayStation 4 (Renewed) | $16.49 | Buy on Amazon |
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Do not transfer menu behavior or difficulty details from later games. Modern Warfare II and Modern Warfare III are separate releases with their own campaign systems. Likewise, the 2019 game is not the original 2007 Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.
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Activision presents four conventional difficulty labels and describes Realism separately. The table preserves the publisher’s short descriptions while translating them into a practical choice.
#1 Best Overall
- In the visceral and dramatic single-player story campaign, the stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal tier one operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power.
- Experience the ultimate online playground with classic multiplayer.
- Squad-up and play cooperatively in a collection of elite operations accessible to all skill levels.
| Setting | Official description | Best fit | What to expect when choosing it |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit | “For players who are new to Call of Duty®.” | Newcomers to Call of Duty or first-person shooters, and players who mainly want the story. | The least demanding option in the published progression. It is the sensible starting point if combat pressure would distract from learning the campaign. |
| Regular | “Your abilities in combat will be tested.” | Players familiar with earlier Call of Duty campaigns who want the normal baseline. | A moderate test without choosing one of the explicitly high-challenge settings. It is the natural first choice for an experienced FPS player who does not want a relaxed run. |
| Hardened | “Your skills will be strained.” | Returning campaign players who have completed multiple Call of Duty games. | A clear step above Regular. Expect less margin for mistakes and plan to use the environment rather than treating every encounter as an open firefight. |
| Veteran | “You will not survive.” | Players deliberately seeking a serious challenge, preferably after learning the missions. | Activision warns that there is little room for error. It is a commitment to careful play, repetition and learning enemy positions rather than a casual first attempt for most players. |
| Realism | “Veteran with limited HUD.” | Players comfortable with Veteran-level pressure who want fewer on-screen prompts and indicators. | It combines the Veteran challenge with a reduced heads-up display. The official description does not establish a separate story, exact health values or a numerical damage modifier. |
What Realism means in the 2019 campaign
Realism is easiest to understand as a combination: Veteran difficulty plus a limited HUD. “HUD” means the information layered over the action, such as on-screen indicators and prompts. With less of that information visible, you must rely more on what the scene communicates instead of expecting every useful cue to remain on screen.
That wording does not justify importing details from another game. The 2019 guide does not publish a precise health number, a damage multiplier, a list of every hidden indicator or a completion-rate statistic. It also does not describe Realism as a separate campaign or an alternate story. Treat it as a presentation and challenge option built around Veteran, not as new narrative content.
Because the HUD is limited, Realism is a poor choice if you are still learning the campaign’s controls, objectives or visual language. It is better suited to a second run—or to a player already comfortable navigating shooters—who specifically wants less interface assistance.
Which setting should you choose?
Choose Recruit if the campaign is new territory
Recruit is aimed at people new to Call of Duty, including players who are new to FPS games. It also fits anyone whose main priority is seeing the story without combat becoming a repeated obstacle. This is not a lesser way to play: it gives you room to learn movement, aiming and mission objectives without making every mistake costly.
Rank #2
- Legacy Edition Includes: Infinite Warfare and Modern Warfare Remastered*;Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Blood and gore, drug reference, intense violence, strong language, suggestive themes
- Infinity Ward reaches new heights with Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare, which returns to the roots of the franchise with large-scale war, epic battles, and cinematic, immersive military storytelling and takes players on a journey from Earth to beyond our atmosphere.
- Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare delivers something for every Call of Duty fan with three unique game modes: Campaign, Multiplayer, and Zombies.
- Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is back, remastered in true high-definition featuring improved textures, physically based rendering, high-dynamic range lighting and much more to bring a new generation experience to fans.
- Team up with your friends with 10 of the iconic multiplayer maps from the online multiplayer mode that redefined Call of Duty introducing killstreaks, XP, Prestige and more in customizable, classic multiplayer modes.
Choose Regular for the baseline first playthrough
Regular is the publisher’s normal or baseline recommendation for people who already know the series. Pick it when you want combat to matter but do not want the restrictive margin for error associated with the upper settings. For many players with general shooter experience, it is the most balanced starting point.
Choose Hardened after several campaign completions
Hardened is described as a direct step up from Regular and is suggested for players who have completed multiple Call of Duty campaigns. It rewards deliberate positioning and attention to the surroundings. If you found Regular comfortable but still want the campaign to demand more planning, Hardened is the logical next step.
Choose Veteran as a planned challenge
Veteran is not merely “a little harder.” Activision’s warning—“You will not survive”—and its note that there is little room for error are signals to approach it deliberately. The publisher suggests learning the missions first, often on an easier setting, before attempting a Veteran run. That advice is particularly useful if your goal is to finish rather than sample the opening missions.
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Realism makes sense when you already want Veteran-level pressure and also prefer a less cluttered screen. Do not select it simply because the name sounds like a more authentic story mode; the official description focuses on the HUD limitation, not on a different narrative or a published simulation model.
Rank #3
- One of the most critically-acclaimed games in history, Call of Duty: Modern warfare is back
- Entertainment Software Rating Board (ESRB) Content Description: Blood, intense violence, strong language
How to prepare for a higher-difficulty run
Activision’s guidance for difficult campaign play is straightforward: use cover, move tactically and watch the surroundings for enemy positions. Those recommendations are more useful when turned into a repeatable routine.
- Learn the mission flow first. If you are targeting Veteran, play through the campaign on Recruit or Regular so you understand objectives, routes and likely encounter locations. The publisher specifically recommends practicing and learning missions before a Veteran attempt.
- Use cover before returning fire. Move from protected position to protected position instead of standing in exposed ground. Cover gives you time to identify where pressure is coming from and to decide whether advancing or holding is safer.
- Move with a purpose. Tactical movement does not mean constant motion. Advance when the objective requires it, reposition when your current angle is compromised and avoid crossing open areas without a reason.
- Scan the surroundings. Look beyond the most obvious target. Activision’s advice to watch for enemy positions means checking flanks, windows, elevated areas and the next piece of terrain before committing to a push.
- Practice instead of repeating the same mistake. If an encounter stops your progress, change your approach: use a different piece of cover, wait for a safer opening or clear a position before moving forward. Higher settings are designed to punish an unchanged plan.
These are general publisher recommendations, not a guarantee that one tactic will solve every encounter. Mission layouts and objectives vary, so apply the principles to the situation rather than following a rigid script.
A practical decision framework
If you are undecided, answer these questions in order:
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- Have you played a first-person shooter before? If no, start with Recruit. If yes, continue.
- Have you completed earlier Call of Duty campaigns? If no, Regular is the safer baseline. If yes, consider Hardened.
- Is the goal a serious challenge rather than a smooth story run? If yes, Veteran is appropriate; if not, stay with Regular or Hardened.
- Do you specifically want less on-screen information? If yes, Realism is the relevant choice, provided Veteran-level challenge is acceptable.
The choice is about the kind of experience you want, not about proving that one setting is the “correct” way to play. Recruit and Regular are sensible first-run options for many players; Hardened and Veteran are progressively more demanding choices according to Activision’s descriptions.
Rank #4
- Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III - Cross-Gen Bundle
- Pre-Order and Receive Early access to the Open Beta - first on PlayStation*
- Some features may require an internet connection and an online subscription
What the official information does—and does not—tell us
The 2019 campaign guide names the settings, gives each a short description and offers broad advice about cover, movement and awareness. It does not provide a numerical comparison of enemy health, player health, damage, accuracy, completion time or completion rates between settings. No authoritative figure in the cited material supports claiming that one level changes a particular value by a stated percentage.
That limitation matters when reading unofficial difficulty charts. A precise number may describe a different Modern Warfare game, a particular mode or an individual player’s observation rather than an official 2019 campaign specification. For this title, the dependable distinction is the publisher’s progression from introductory play to a severe challenge, with Realism defined by Veteran-level difficulty and a limited HUD.
Changing difficulty and avoiding sequel confusion
The available 2019 guidance does not establish the exact menu behavior for changing difficulty during an active campaign. Do not assume that instructions written for Modern Warfare III apply to this game; that later title has its own official campaign guide and is a different release. If you need to change the setting, use the options shown by your installed 2019 campaign and follow the wording on that screen rather than relying on a sequel guide.
The same caution applies to Realism. A later game may describe its HUD or health behavior in more detail, but those details should not be attributed to the 2019 campaign unless the 2019 documentation states them.
Best Value
- In the visceral and dramatic single-player story campaign, the stakes have never been higher as players take on the role of lethal tier one operators in a heart-racing saga that will affect the global balance of power.
- Experience the ultimate online playground with classic multiplayer.
- Squad-up and play cooperatively in a collection of elite operations accessible to all skill levels.
Platform and edition checks
The official 2019 game page lists PlayStation, Xbox, Battle.net and Steam options. Store catalogs, regional availability and edition names can change, so verify the platform and year before buying or downloading. A listing that says only “Modern Warfare” may refer to a different release in the reboot series or to the original 2007 game.
For the difficulty question itself, the platform does not create a separate set of campaign labels in the cited guide: the named settings are Recruit, Regular, Hardened and Veteran, with Realism described as Veteran with limited HUD. Platform-specific menus, installation requirements and current store inventory are separate questions and are not established by those setting descriptions.
Bottom line for a first run
Start with Recruit if you are new to Call of Duty or want the story with minimal combat pressure. Use Regular if you have some FPS or Call of Duty experience and want the standard test. Move to Hardened when you have completed several campaigns and want your skills strained. Reserve Veteran for a deliberate challenge with little room for error, and choose Realism only when you also want Veteran difficulty with a limited HUD. Whatever level you select, cover, tactical movement and careful observation are the publisher’s core advice for surviving the harder encounters.
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