COD: Modern Warfare 2 'Riot shield' broken or overpowered according to players

Here’s the crux of the article in video form:

COD: Modern Warfare 2 is the most recent installment in the sub-saga that underwent a reboot in 2019. The game seeks to offer the best of the previous installment, but adding new elements and improvements.

However, the game has not been without problems. Players have been reporting issues like campaign crashes, various connection errors, and more.

One of the fundamental elements in multiplayer games is the weapon balancing. After all, a good balance across all weapons and items will bring enjoyable and fair matches for everyone.

That said, several Modern Warfare 2 players report that, in its current state, the Riot shield is broken or overpowered.

According to multiple reports, the MW2 Riot shield is in need of a rebalancing.

In shooter games, the Riot shield allows players to protect themselves from many types of shots, although it also brings certain disadvantages (less movement capacity, not being able to hold long weapons with the shield, etc.).

However, it seems that the Modern Warfare 2 Riot shield does not have enough drawbacks to make up for its advantages. One of its problems is being extremely resistant to practically all kinds of shots.

This means that the Riot shield cannot be damaged or pierced even by armor piercing rounds (AP bullets). For comparison, this type of ammo can damage vehicles and killstreaks.

Potential fixes for the riot shield epidemic going on

It’s really bad in SND 90% of teams I play against have at least 3 ppl on them running cdl skins w riot shield 74-u. Keep in mind the 74-u was nerfed post launch.

I think it’s a well known issue and I presume most if not all really do not like this meta playstyle.
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Riot shields are something special…

Think about how awesome they are, I mean I can’t lift a 4 or 5 pound SMS fast enough with my gun tuned for complete ADS. Yet if you have a riot shield you can toss that thing on your back in a millisecond and kill someone with a throwing knife, what better broken system could you ever ask for?
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Another problem is that the player doesn’t even have to use the Riot shield to be protected. The simple fact of having it on the back generates enormous protection to the player’s rear zone, without penalizing his movement.

The situation is causing a ‘Riot shield META’ to form where almost all players carry the item with them.

Multiple MW2 players are offering suggestions to balance Riot shield. First, they believe that players who equip it open should have a movement penalty while carrying it on the back (because of the extra weight).

Also, they suggest that armor piercing rounds should be able to pierce the shield. Another suggested idea is that the Riot shield is not infinite, but instead has support limited to damage taken.

Should armour piercing rounds go through riot shields?

IMO it’d be a nice counter to have as opposed to having to run with drill charges all the time. If they can do more damage to vehicles and killstreaks, then I see no reason why we shouldn’t also be able to either pierce or heavily damage riot shields with them.
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So, taking points from Warzone 2’s AP rounds-armor damage, I sincerely think AP ammunition should pierce through/ignore shields, maybe even shatter the upper glass part of the shield with enough shots so one can aim for the slightly more exposed head.
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There is still no official word on this situation from the Modern Warfare 2 developers. We will update this story as events unfold.

NOTE: You can also check the COD saga bugs/issues tracker.

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