Movement

Movement is your most basic player action, but it's an important concept to master if you want to stay alive. Moving forward with the left thumbstick or the W key puts you in a light jog. Using the right thumbstick or the A and D keys while moving allows you to strafe to the left or the right.

You can also sprint in short bursts. Use your sprints wisely, as you'll need to rest after sprinting continuously for a few seconds.

While not a key component of the Campaign, you can jump and climb over obstacles. These are mainly used to advance through missions rather than serving as defensive tactics.

Stances

When you're not moving, you have three basic stances: Standing, Crouching, and Going Prone.

• Standing – This is the game's normal stance. If you're crouched or prone, pressing the Jump button will return you to standing.
• Crouching – Ideal for most combat situations, crouching makes you a smaller target, and therefore, makes you harder to hit. You can also move while crouched, allowing you to advance to cover or sneak up on an enemy.
• Going Prone – Press and hold the Crouch button to go prone. Similar to crouching, going prone makes you harder to kill, but it also limits your movement. Going prone is best suited for long-range attacks, as the position greatly increases your weapon's accuracy.

Using Weapons

Movements will only get you so far under the onslaught of enemy fire. You'll also need to incorporate weapons and equipment if you want to survive.

Almost every ammunition-based weapon can be fired two ways: aiming down sights and hip firing. Aiming down sights (or ADS) is much more accurate and generally more effective. That's not to say hip firing isn't useful, but for less experienced players it should be used sparingly.

Weapon Types

There are six basic weapon categories in the Call of Duty: WWII Campaign, and you should learn how to use each one. Not only do certain weapon types give you an advantage in various combat situations, there might also be times where you have only one weapon type at your disposal.

Note that weapons in each category vary by damage, accuracy, and reload speed, among others, so it might take some experimentation before you find the weapon you like the best.

• Rifles – Among the most versatile weapon type of the bunch, rifles deliver high damage from medium and long ranges, allowing you to kill enemies while remaining at somewhat safe cover distances.
• Submachine Guns – Best suited for up-close-and-personal engagements, submachine guns (SMGs) typically fire more rounds at a higher rate while inflicting less damage at a reduced range.
• Light Machine Guns – Best used from medium to long ranges, light machine guns (LMGs) offer high-capacity ammo clips in exchange from slower reload speeds. You'll usually find LMGs mounted to structures at Allied or Axis hardpoints but can be removed from their mounts and carried into a firefight.
• Sniper Rifles – The weapon of choice for long-range soldiers, sniper rifles include scopes, adding range to regular rifles. Sniper rifles also come with higher-caliber rounds compared to standard rifles, but with fewer rounds in the clip.
• Shotguns – Effective at short ranges only, shotguns are much less common in Campaign than the weapon types mentioned above. If you find yourself stuck with a shotgun, it might be helpful to find another weapon type.
• Handguns – Like shotguns, handguns are rare in Campaign and should only be used with you have no other option. When equipped with a handgun, you should always aim down sights and aim for the head.

Grenades

Soldiers are also armed with frag grenades in Campaign, and they can serve two purposes.

The first one is obvious: blowing up the enemy. Pressing the Lethal Grenade button tosses the grenade in the direction you're facing, so be sure you're looking in an enemy's direction before throwing a grenade.

Grenades have about a five-second window between the time you throw and the explosion, which gives the enemy a bit of time to flee. You can cut down this time by "cooking" your grenade before throwing it. To cook a grenade, hold down the Lethal Grenade button, aim, and throw. Cooking a grenade too long causes it to explode in your hand or your proximity.

A grenade can also be used to flush out the enemy. If enemies are behind cover, tossing a grenade in their direction will cause them to scurry and give you and your fellow soldiers a chance to take them out.

Heads Up Display

The Heads Up Display (HUD) provides vital information about your weapon and equipment, your health and first aid kits available, and your current Objective.

Campaign Objectives

At every point in the game, you have an active objective. Almost all active objectives are marked with a star to indicate the general direction of the objective. If you press the Objective button, the objective will highlight on-screen with an arrow pointing you in the proper direction. If the objective location is unknown, or it covers an unspecified area, it is possible you may not have an active objective star onscreen. If this occurs, pause the game to read your current objective.

Game Difficulty

The Call of Duty: WWII Campaign has four difficulty settings: Recruit, Regular, Hardened, and Veteran. You'll need to choose your difficulty setting at the beginning of the Campaign, and if you find the setting too easy or too difficult, you can change your difficulty in the Settings menu.

On the harder difficulty settings, your soldier has less health and can take much less damage. On the flipside, enemies toss more grenades, use cover more effectively, and fire more accurately.

First Aid Kits

In recent Call of Duty games, the only way to replenish depleted health was to avoid taking damage for a few seconds. In Call of Duty: WWII, you can use first aid kits to heal yourself. Note that first aid kits only refill your health meter and do not give you extra health beyond your set amount.

First aid kits can be found scattered around the battlefield, and you can pick up and add up to four first aid kits to your inventory. You can also call in first aid kits from a squadmate named Zussman by pressing the button indicating on screen.

Heroic Actions

Heroic Actions are just that: epic accomplishments you perform on the battlefield. Each of these three Heroic Actions gets you closer to unlocking a Squad Ability.

• Combat Save – Save an Allied soldier who is struggling against an Axis soldier.
• Medical Save – Locate a wounded soldier on the battlefield and drag him to safety. Wounded soldiers are indicated by a red cross, and safe zones are highlighted on the HUD.
• Enemy Surrender – At certain points in the story, enemies will admit defeat. Aim down sights at an enemy to force him to give up. Do not shoot surrendered enemies or you will not earn a Heroic Action.

Squad Abilities

You're rarely alone in Call of Duty: WWII, as your Big Red One squadmates will often accompany you and sometimes help you complete missions. As you progress through the story, enemy kills and Heroic Actions will unlock Squad Abilities. Each squadmate has a morale meter that tracks your progress toward unlocking each ability.

• Zussman – Delivers first aid kits.
• Pierson – Briefly highlights all enemies in the area and allows you to use Focus with any weapon.
• Turner – Carries extra ammo for weapons you have equipped, including rocket launchers.
• Stiles – Carries extra Lethal and Tactical grenades.
• Aiello – Gives you a special smoke signal grenade used to call in Allied mortar fire.

Note that Squad Abilities are not available on every mission level. You'll know a Squad Ability is available if you see the squadmate's portrait in the bottom-right corner of the HUD.

Stealth

Parts of several missions require stealth. When you're in a zone that requires stealth, each enemy will have a stealth meter above his head indicating your level of detection to that enemy. If the stealth meter is empty, you're undetected by that enemy. If the stealth meter is white, you're in danger of being seen. When the stealth meter turns red, you've been spotted by the enemy and will have about one second to take out the enemy before he sounds the alarm.

Mementos

Each mission level includes three hidden Mementos, which include items from the era. Mementos glow when you are nearby to help you collect them all.