Intel Card — Control

Control

// MULTIPLAYER: MODES // CORE

Stop that clock: On the attacking side, every second matters. There isn’t much time on the clock to capture both points, so get on the objective as much as possible. Not only is it essential to capture the Control point, but actively doing so stops the match timer, giving your team some breathing room.

Or run it down: On defense, you want that round timer to hit zero. Your first priority is to keep enemies off the Control point to prevent them from stopping the clock. The less time they have to complete the mission, the more desperate they’ll become, giving you the upper hand as you set up the perfect defensive position.

Team up: Move through the map alongside your allies. At the start of the round, 30 lives may seem like plenty, but over time the attrition adds up. Improve your odds by sticking with your teammates to keep the numbers in your favor.

Mode Details

Team Size: 1–6 Players

Mission Parameters: Teams alternate between attacking and defending two objective points on the map. The attacking team must fill all three sections of a Control point to capture it; each filled section is marked as completed and cannot be taken away by the defending team, making it possible to have a partial capture.

Each round begins with one minute, thirty seconds on the clock. If the attacking team captures one of the Control points, the round timer is extended by an additional minute. The match timer pauses when the attacking team is actively capturing a Control point.

The attacking team wins the round if they can capture both Control points within the round time limit, and the defending team wins if they prevent that from happening. Each team additionally gets a maximum of 30 lives. If those lives are used up, the round is lost.

Match Win Conditions: In Public Matches, the first team to win three rounds wins the match.

Main XP Gains:

Capturing Control points.
Defending Control points.
Eliminating enemies.

Key Terms and Definitions

Contested: The state of a zone when players from both teams are in it. When this happens, no capture progress is made.

XvX (e.g., 1v2): A quick way of saying how many players are alive on both teams. In Control, the total number of team lives is often cited, leading to wild situations like a 4v12.

Topline Tactics: A winning Control player.

Captures and defends the Control points.
Balances aggression with caution to preserve team lives.

Recruit Tactics

Watch the clock: It can be easy to lose track of time in a Control round, especially when you see that your team has an advantage in overall lives. The attacking team doesn’t have this luxury. Keep your eyes on the clock and remember that capturing the Control points is your key to extending the timer, even if you do ultimately win the round through eliminations.

Each section counts: It’s worth fighting for even one of the three sections making up a Control point’s capture progress. These gains can be substantial for the attacking team, especially as they get down to the last section. As the defending team, remember to step into any incomplete sections to revert the capture progress within that section back to zero.

Consolidate your forces: On the attacking side, it’s better to take one Control point and then the other instead of whittling away at both, thus maximizing your time in the round. On defense, it’s sometimes better to let one objective get captured as you set up an impenetrable defense on the other.

Advanced Tactics

Auto support: Consider taking along the SAM Turret Killstreak for its ability to knock enemy aerial streaks out of the sky while you stay focused on eliminating enemy Operators on the ground.

Area denial: Whether through lobbing Frag Grenades or launching a Mosquito Drone or Precision Airstrike, aerial attacks can be devastating when one or both Control points are located out in the open. There are plenty of options for bombardment, so take your pick.

As one: It’s often worth waiting a few seconds for your teammates to catch up before launching an attack on the objective. This is true for the attacking and defending side. You can branch off on your own after gaining control of the point, at least until it’s time to regroup for the next big push.

© 2024 Activision Publishing, Inc. ACTIVISION, CALL OF DUTY, and MODERN WARFARE are trademarks of Activision Publishing, Inc. All other trademarks and trade names are the property of their respective owners.

For more information, please visit www.callofduty.com and www.youtube.com/callofduty, and follow @Activision and @CallofDuty on X, Instagram, and Facebook. For Call of Duty Updates, follow @CODUpdates on X.