Old and new COD players are perplexed with the Weapon Platforms and Receiver system introduced in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The new system can get a bit hectic to get used to, but it isn't that difficult once you've understood the general idea of how the Receivers work.
In summary, each new Weapon Platform has weapons of different categories (Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, SMGs, etc.) in that single platform. By default, one weapon within each platform is already unlocked. You can unlock the rest of the weapons by leveling up the default weapon to reach a specific level, at which point the Receiver for the next weapon will unlock.
The Receivers essentially convert your weapon into a completely different weapon. Some weapons require you to unlock weapons in a different Weapon Platform before you can unlock them. This going back and forth between platforms can be confusing.
The new UI in Modern Warfare 2 doesn't make it any easier to navigate the weapon platforms. In this article, we've listed all the weapons and their respective Weapon Platforms, Receivers, and unlock requirements, so you can easily identify what weapon you must level up to unlock the weapon of your choice.
We've separated each table into a specific category (Assault Rifles, Battle Rifles, SMGs, etc.). The tables will be updated as well get more weapons in the future seasons.
Assault Rifles
Weapon | Unlock Requirement | Weapon Platform |
M4 | Unlocked by Default | M4 |
M16 | Reach 556 Icarus Level 14 | M4 |
TAQ-56 | Reach Level 19 | Tactique Verte |
STB 556 | Reach Level 41 | Bruen Bullpup |
Lachmann-556 | Reach Lachmann-762 Level 12 | Lachmann & Meer |
Kastov 762 | Reach Level 23 | Kastovia |
Kastov 545 | Reach Kastov 762 Level 13 | Kastovia |
Kastov-74u | Reach Kastov 545 Level 13 | Kastovia |