Search & Destroy Overview!

Search & Destroy I believe is the the nation’s favourite gametype. Here, the objective is for one team to plant the bomb at either the A or B bombsites, and the opposing team to either defuse the bomb, or prevent it from being planted in the first place. Once the offensive team plants, then the bomb counts down to detonation. It is therefore the defensive team’s job to defuse the bomb, and so the roles are reversed, as it is now the defensive team who have to attack the defenders, so to speak.

It takes around 5.5 seconds to defuse the bomb, so be aware of that when attacking the bombsite. As the defender of a planted bomb, I suggest to find a good camping spot, where you can see the bombsite, and shoot anyone that tries to get near to defusing the bomb. If you hold off the enemy team for the designated countdown, then you win the round. The bomb detonation also inflicts damage and can kill enemies near the bombsite.

It may be an idea as the player carrying the bomb to rush one of the bombsites, for a quick plant. This therefore, gives your team the advantage, as the opposing team now have to attack you, whilst you can just sit and defend.

The class for search
With search & destroy being a tactical gametype, I believe that a silenced weapon is very important, but also a powerful weapon is needed too. I therefore feel the most suitable primary weapon for the average gamer would be, the SCAR – H silenced. The reason for suggesting a silencer, is because this allows you to be discreet both if defending or attacking the relevent bombsites.

With the SCAR – H as your primary weapon, you can afford to use some bullets for pre fire at the start of a round, to see if you can get an early kill, because this not only has very good accuracy but a high range also. Depending on how you feel with using this particular iron sight, the silencer is important, however, the bling perk does allow for two primary attachments, so the silencer can be used with a red dot sight or holographic sight for example.

Glock 18
As a secondary weapon for this class, the G18 would be perfect. I feel again the silencer would be the right attachment, as this keeps you under the radar so to speak, and allows you to flank the enemy if their looking to plant the bomb, or get behind the defensive line if their defending the bombsites.

Also with using the G18 you can move quickly, so to catch your enemy unaware, and pick up a simple kill.

Claymore or Semtex?
For the custom class I think both of these options can be selected depending on which side you start on. I feel that if your team is to defend the two bombsites then the claymore would be the right choice. You should survey your surroundings and find a good place to plant your claymore. Identify the chokepoints leading to the bombsite your defending, place the claymore at one, and defend the others yourself.

The claymore also acts as an audible warning for an enemy being close by. Listen for it to go off whilst you watch the other points surrounding the bombsite. The claymore is a wise choice to make, as if placed correctly is likely to get you a kill. Another useful point, is that if you are killed by an enemy, your claymore doesn’t disappear, so there is still a chance to gain a kill.

I would choose the semtex on the otherhand when your team has to plant the bomb. You will already have an advantage when using the semtex in that the enemy will be in or around the bombsite. Therefore, use this wisely, and throw it to a spot where you feel someone would be watching over the bomb. However, be careful when using the semtex, because it will stick to the first thing it touches, so throw it when you have a clear line of fire.

Perks for search
For perk one, I believe the most useful perk would be either bling or sleight of hand. Bling pro allows you to have two primary weapon attachments, and also two secondary weapon attachments. For the SCAR – H this may prove vital for players who aren’t familiar with using the iron sight. I would suggest using the silencer and the red dot sight, as this combination has a good overall balance and therefore, reduces the recoil on the weapon.

On the otherhand, sleight of hand for the SCAR in a search and destroy situation could prove very important. It seems that generally this gun takes a while to reload bullets, and therefore, using this perk allows for a faster reload, which could mean the difference in gaining a kill or infact being killed. It is often the case that when playing S&D, I find myself in a situation where I need more bullets, and fast, so I would chose this over bling.

Cold blooded vs Lightweight
It seems that most search and destroy players use cold blooded, where you are undetectable by UAV, air support, sentries and thermal sights. I believe that this is the most important perk out of the class for many reasons. Firstly, it is likely that your enemies killstreak rewards will be 3, 4. 5, so using this perk gives you the advantage of being invisible on the enemy radar at all times even when they use a UAV.

Also, if an enemy acquires air support from a care package, then again you will be very difficult to see from support such as an attack helicopter.

Lightweight however, gives your player the ability to get around each map quicker, which if rushing a bombsite for a plant, can deem vital. I would stress however, that it may not be a useful perk for this particular class, as you are likely to benefit more from using a sub-machine gun than an assault rifle like the SCAR. The UMP45 being a good example.

The pro version of this is also very effective, with your player gaining quicker aim after sprinting, which could give you a slight advantage over the opposing player.

Ninja vs Last stand
Ninja will only be useful in search and destroy when you have completed the pro challenge, as this allows for your footsteps to be silent. This can be very important when entering a bombsite for a defuse or plant, as you could succeed in doing this, even with an enemy nearby.

If you chose lightweight as your perk two, then ninja pro would combine nicely, as you could flank enemies with great ease, and maybe pick off a few enemies early on in the round.

Last stand however, can be very effective, in that it allows you to draw your pistol and fire when crawling. Last stand’s pro version includes the use of equipment, so in this case means you could either try to stick your enemy or place a claymore in a suitable postition to kill the player attacking you.

Smoking the sites
You should always choose smoke grenades as your special grenade for S&D. Use smokes to make your way to the relevent bombsite’s for an early plant, or to lure your enemy away by throwing one nearby the site so they are attracted to this, and attack from a different direction.

Killstreak selection
It may seem like common sense, but I believe you should choose low killstreak rewards for this gametype, due to the fact it is a round by round setup. I suggest using UAV, care package, and predator missile. Your kills however, do carry over each round, so if you go 3 – 0 in one round, then you would only need one more kill to acquire a care package.

Summary
Search and destroy is a very enjoyable gametype when your team is winning, however, it can get very frustrating when your team is being dominated. The class I have suggested should deem very successful, however, choose your perks wisely, for example, use lightweight and ninja pro together.

Remember, it is a good idea to use claymore’s when defending the bombsites, and semtex when the objective is to plant the bomb. Try using your smoke grenades as a curtain to mask your movement.

Tip: The slower you move, the tighter your crosshairs get, improving your aim.

Like this post? Why not subscribe to our RSS feed, or receive Modern Warfare Tips via email.