Tip of the Week #12: Akimbo Shooting Styles - Modern Warfare 2 (2024)

This Tip of the Week deals with Akimbo, more specifically the various ways to shoot with it. This guide is not an in-depth catch-all but a brief overview on the proper way to shoot your targets action movie-style as well as which guns are best used for each technique.

There are three viable akimbo shooting styles:

• Two-handed
• Alternate-handed
• Off-handed

They all offer individual strengths and weaknesses and knowing how to use each one properly can be the difference between life and death.

Two-Handed Shooting

Shooting two-handed follows the classic action movie style of firing both guns at the same time and somehow killing someone. Two handed shooting, more specifically, means you fire both your guns at the same time without alternating. This works best at close range with SMGs, shotguns, and machine pistols. Handguns can be used although out of experience it might be best to use off-handed (see below) due to the single fire nature of the handguns. SMGs and machine pistols excel at this style because it allows you to fire twice the lead without having to let go of the triggers. It also works with shotguns, in a more limited sense. Firing two shotguns increases the pellets and your chance to hit someone, however the time it takes to re-adjust from firing two shotguns can get you killed. The biggest drawback to shooting like this is that it’s limited to close quarters fighting. It’s hard to fire two guns and hit something at long ranges so you will mostly find yourself using this when you can see the whites of your enemy’s eyes.

Example: Dual P90s
A relatively common choice due to its high rate of fire and large magazine, however its stopping power might not be where you like it. You see, there are times when you land the shot but get killed because the gun’s damage wasn't high or fast enough to kill your opponent before they killed you. So, when you're using akimbo, you fire both guns at the same time to double the damage output and shorten the time it takes to kill someone.

Alternate-Hand Shooting

Shooting alternate-handed follows the way of shooting in the wild west. Alternate-handed shooting is when you fire a shot from one gun and the next shot is fired from the other gun. The great thing about shooting off-hand is that it doubles your number of shots. Because you have to alternate hands when shooting, each gun uses the same amount of ammo. Meaning your six shot 1887, when fired off handed correctly, can fire twelve rounds before reloading. This style of shooting works best with shotguns and handguns. Due to the handgun’s single fire nature, it’s probably faster to shoot this way than two handed because all you need to do is alternate triggers and not frantically pull both hoping your aim doesn’t go crazy doing so. Shotgun wise, this is probably the best style. The 1887’s lever action means that if you fire both there is a limited window of opportunity in which you can get killed easily. However, shooting it alternate-handed greatly decreases that window. On the Ranger it gives you four normal shots rather than the two double shots you get from firing both simultaneously – a hefty boost considering one normal shot from a ranger is more than enough to kill someone at normal shotgun ranges.

Example: Dual M93 Raffica

One of the best machine pistols in the game due to its low recoil and accurate three round bursts. However, firing both at the same time can cause your shots to go astray and the burst fire nature provides an opportunity for your enemy to kill you. But when you shoot alternately you can compensate for the burst and keep a constant stream of lead at your enemy.

Off-Handed Shooting

Off-handed shooting is more of the Halo style of shooting where you waste the ammo of one gun and, while you are reloading, use the other. This style is compatible with all akimbo firearms and is the balanced one of the three. Shooting this way is self-explanatory; shoot all ammo in one gun and use the other while reloading the first. A great thing about off-handed shooting is how quickly you can switch to the other two styles and back. For example: you start shooting someone with this style and when you close in, you switch to two-handed shooting. The main drawback with this style is that it doesn’t give you double the firepower offered by the other styles. You only shoot one gun and save the second for back-up. Couple that with the fact that you can’t aim-down-the-sights and you could find yourself killed. However, how balanced it is shooting and how you can quickly change to the other two styles makes up for its flaws.

Example: Dual Rangers

The Ranger is one of the most unique shotguns in the game. It has no magazine, just two barrels in which you place your rounds, so it has a relatively quick reload time. Shooting off one Ranger and using the other while you reload allows you to essentially cover yourself while you are vulnerable to attack. Doing this also improves your close quarters killing potential. If you find yourself swarmed by enemies, proper use of this technique will see you never without something to shoot.

• View other Tips of the Week
• Return to the Modern Warfare 2 Portal
• View the Modern Warfare 2 Forums
• Leave a comment for this tip in the Discussion Thread