News - How The New Heartbeat Sensor Works Mw2 And Warzone 2. Modern Warfare 2 Equipment Guide

Intro

a brand new version of the heartbeat sensor has returned in Modern Warfare 2 multiplayer and War Zone 2, capable of revealing enemy position and greatly improving your in-game awareness, but many inconsistencies have left players wondering if there's been any hidden changes or nerfs. In today's article, we'll break down all the details, including some bizarre and unexpected behaviors of the heartbeat sensor, revealing exactly how it works in both Modern Warfare 2 and War Zone 2, and helping you decide if it's worth using in your go-to class loadout.

The in-game description describes the heartbeat sensor as a limited-use tablet that displays rough information about nearby enemies.

Sensor interface

The most notable change to the new heartbeat sensor interface is the battery level indicator, unlike the sensor from Warzone 1. This version is now time-restricted.

This means that simply leaving the sensor activated non-stop will give you about 60 seconds of continuous use, which is plenty of time for multiplayer but becomes much more problematic in war zones and the DMZ. It's worth noting at this point that all aspects of the heartbeat sensor, including the battery drain rate, function in the exact same way in multiplayer as they do in War Zone 2 and DMZ.

Of course, you can conserve battery power by using it sparingly; when it's not in use, it will preserve the current battery level and continue to drain when it's used again. It's important to note that the heartbeat sensor has a visual bug in which it briefly displays 100 charge whenever it's initially activated and then immediately changes to the correct battery level.

The visual sensor sweep is unimportant, and all the required information will be presented shortly after the sensor is activated, so in the interest of saving battery life, you can simply put away the sensor immediately after the range indication and position dot appear.

Battery replacement

Once the battery level is drained, the equipment icon will turn gray, indicating that the sensor is unusable. At this point, you'll need a new sensor, which can be obtained in several ways. In multiplayer, you'll respawn after every death with a fresh sensor battery. In Warzone and the DMZ, heartbeat sensors can be found in floor loot, looting an enemy backpack, or simply buying one from a buy station.

You can also get a new heartbeat sensor from a Munitions Box field upgrade, but it's important to note that you'll only get a new sensor if your current heartbeat sensor equipment icon is gray, indicating a dead battery. If there's any battery power remaining, your heartbeat sensor won't be replaced, and you'll have effectively wasted your munition box.

Completely draining the battery before using the Munitions Box will ensure you get a fresh sensor with a 100-charge. With resupply equipped, you can use the sensor almost continuously and no longer be concerned about dead batteries. The basic perk extra tactical allows you to spawn in with an extra tactical grenade; however, this has absolutely no effect on the heartbeat sensor.

You'll only spawn in with one sensor, and the battery will drain at the exact same rate with or without extra tactical equipment equipped, which makes this perk completely useless when using the heartbeat sensor.

Range and coverage area

In terms of range, the heartbeat sensor's performance is extremely poor and will only display enemy threats within a maximum range of 15 meters. This is a huge nerf to the sensor range when compared to the Modern Warfare 2019 version and is extremely noticeable in war zones and the DMZ, where we're normally dealing with much longer engagement distances.

When it comes to coverage area, the heartbeat sensor will detect all enemies within 15 meters in a full 180-degree semi-circle centered on the direction you're facing, regardless of walls or physical cover. As you can see here, the target is due north. By turning 90 degrees to the left and facing due west, the target will still appear, but turn any further and the target becomes undetectable.

It's interesting that the heartbeat sensor completely ignores verticality. Targets that are well above or well below will still be visible on the display, and the sensor will report the horizontal distance to the target. You won't even need to be aiming towards the target; you can aim straight down at the ground and still display the enemy.

This can be taken to extremes in war zone 2, where there's much more verticality to the map; as you can see here, the enemy is well beyond 15 meters away but is still detected because the horizontal distance is less than 15 meters.

Counters

The heartbeat sensor has several hard counters. The ultimate perk of ghost protects against UAV's portable radars and the heartbeat sensor; enemies with ghost equipped won't appear on the sensor even when they're completely motionless; the DDOS field upgrade scrambles enemy electronics; and your heartbeat sensor won't function if you're within range of an active DDOS attack; and finally, the suppression mine is a field upgrade that emits a sound wave disruption, obscuring vision and slowing movement.

Final thoughts

which distorts the screen of the sensor and makes it unreadable, The heartbeat sensor's limited battery life and reduced range have clearly taken a hard hit compared to its predecessor from Modern Warfare 2019; however, since its primary hard counter is the ghost perk, which is in the ultimate perk category and not readily available at the start of a match, the heartbeat sensor can still be quite viable, at least in multiplayer in Warzone and DMZ.

The battery life and low range are much more problematic, and in these game modes, the heartbeat sensor definitely needs a range increase to become viable and compete with the other tactical equipment.