Kill/Death ratio (KD) was previously the go-to measure of skill in Call of Duty, but now Score Per Minute (SPM) is widely considered the most important stat.

SPM rewards players for killstreaks, objectives, and pretty much any contribution to your team, while KD is a piece of the bigger picture. One player might have the best Kill/Death ratio with a low Score Per Minute because they spend most matches playing it safe for the sake of less deaths. However, that doesn’t always mean high KD players lack high SPM. No matter which metric you track, the best of the best will remain at the top regardless of if you’re playing Modern Warfare or Black Ops Cold War. 

In modes like Fireteam: Dirty Bomb, Combined Arms: Domination, and Hardpoint, it’s more important to rack up points rather than dead bodies. Here are seven tips for how to improve your SPM and get better at COD.

Play objective-based game modes to earn more score

Multiplayer modes like Domination, Kill Confirmed, and Hardpoint are where you’re going to get the most bang for your buck when it comes to improving SPM. 

For example, capturing an objective in Domination nets as many points as two kills. Don’t just prioritize objectives over kills or vice versa. Go for both. Always aim to capture objectives and then go for kills while defending crucial lanes, lines of sight, and spawns. Eventually the spawns will swap, giving you the chance to earn more points and do it all over again.

An easy way to boost your score is to grab dog tags in Kill Confirmed. All too often players treat the mode like Team Deathmatch, leading to a surplus of tags and an extra serving of points.

Hardpoint is fairly straightforward. Capture the objective and stay inside while defending it. The bonus points add up fast. Get a head start on the next Hardpoint rotation to maximize your time in the objective. It’s easier to defend the position, so don’t let the enemy team get too comfortable.

Play smart regardless of the mode. That means don’t focus on one aspect of the game via tunnel vision. 

Control the flow or momentum of the game to boost morale

Whichever team is in control of the match impacts everyone's performance. Even if a squad is down 100 points in Hardpoint, they can still gain enough momentum to make a comeback. You never want to feel like you’re playing at a disadvantage, so wipe out the enemy, secure their objective, take different routes, or switch loadouts to throw them off their rhythm. Maintaining momentum is crucial for high scores.  

Coordinate with teammates to improve situational awareness

Understanding the opponent’s tendencies and your teammates’ tactics sounds insignificant, but the more information you have, the easier it is to improve your score and get better. This comes down to paying attention, knowing lines of sight, and realizing when spawns will flip.

While communication helps, it isn’t necessary to coordinate. That’s where situational awareness comes in. Ask yourself where are your teammates dying, what weapons are they using, which routes do they take, are they going for the objective, and how are they performing? Simply knowing their habits when it comes to getting around the map will make the level feel smaller because you’ll have a much better idea of the enemy’s location.

As a result, you can more confidently aid squadmates, sprint across the map, and secure objectives with less concern over enemies lurking in a random corner or crevice.

Use perks and wildcards that actually improve your KD / SPM

Perks and Wildcards are fun twists on custom loadouts. You might love running around with extra Gas Mines and Smoke Grenades, but need to strike a balance between effective and fun if you want to maintain a high score per minute. 

• Failing to flank enemies? Try Ninja to more quietly sprint. 
• Running into stray equipment? There’s always the Engineer perk.
• Overwhelmed by enemies during Spy Planes? Go for Ghost.
• Killed by too many Scorestreaks? Equip Cold Blooded.
• Can’t decide on the right perks or need more to build the best loadout? There’s a Wildcard for that: Perk Greed.
• Likewise with Gunfighter, the Wildcard for extra weapon attachments.
• Law Breaker is great if you want multiple perks from one category and two primary weapons. The extra firepower helps you excel at short and long range in a variety of situations.

Use secondary weapons to complement your playstyle

Secondary weapons are more than just hotswaps when you need to reload during a shootout, they’re ways to complement and improve your playstyle. It can be as simple as packing a Melee weapon to improve your mobility or a shotgun to compensate for your sniper rifle at short range. Never estimate the power of a secondary. There’s a reason why some people use them as primaries.

Make the most of Tacticals, Lethals, and Field Upgrades

It’s possible to play well without any equipment, although why handicap yourself? Equipment is designed to help keep you alive in tough situations like one-on-twos.

• Smoke Grenades conceal and distract, Stuns make it difficult to do anything, and Decoys mislead. 
• On the more offensive end you have the ability to one-hit kill with the Tomahawk, get enemies out of cover with grenades, and block routes with the Molotav Cocktail. 
• Field Upgrades like the Jammer can make opponents struggle around key choke points via a lack of mini-map visibility, while the Field Mic alerts you to enemies in the vicinity. You might find more success with the Trophy System if the other team constantly throws equipment. Mines are less consistent and at the very least work like alarms to alert your team, assuming the enemy triggers it.

Pick realistic Scorestreaks that help your entire team

It’s tempting to select three extremely powerful streaks like the Chopper Gunner, Gunship, and VTOL Escort. However, the better move is to pick a few that you’re more likely to get multiple times. For instance, all of your hard work getting a single Gunship can be ruined with one Air Patrol.

Spy Plane and the H.A.R.P. are two great choices because they help your entire team. You’re also almost guaranteed to activate multiple Spy Planes in one round. Even if you don’t reach the H.A.R.P. (advanced UAV that puts every enemy on the radar without sweeps) you can use combinations like Spy Plane and the War Machine to become a massive threat on any map.