Derail is a multiplayer map featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. This large map takes place around the site of a train derailment (hence the name) surrounded by a forest, in what is presumably Northern Russia. The map is covered in a thick layer of snow. There are several buildings for players to fight amongst as well as train cars which provide additional cover. There is also a vast "field" that has basically no cover to hide behind, along with several paths around the yard.
Derail is often considered a sniper-orientated map, though it can easily accommodate many different styles of play.
Fighting is generally centered around the two buildings on the far side of the map, on the opposite side of the two buildings with ladders attached. The smaller building is the more popular, due to an over-looking view of a large, empty field that is easy to shoot into and the fact that it has only two entrances. The other building is much larger, allowing snipers a good view to the opposite building, though it is hard to defend. The main fight takes place around the area where the train derailed (hence the name). Arctic ghillie snipers are invisible from afar and prove a dangerous threat if hiding in the snow. The most overlooked area of the map are the the either sides that are filled with white foliage and mounds of snow. Derail is a map of silence and limited gunfire where one shot (and a silencer) can mean life or death. Quick, powerful, and accurate shots are extremely important here. Running out into the open without caution and camoflouge can easily end your life. Consider taking 1 designated marksman and 1 sniper in a squad or consider having a team of long range riflemen.
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Derail is often considered a sniper-orientated map, though it can easily accommodate many different styles of play.
Fighting is generally centered around the two buildings on the far side of the map, on the opposite side of the two buildings with ladders attached. The smaller building is the more popular, due to an over-looking view of a large, empty field that is easy to shoot into and the fact that it has only two entrances. The other building is much larger, allowing snipers a good view to the opposite building, though it is hard to defend. The main fight takes place around the area where the train derailed (hence the name). Arctic ghillie snipers are invisible from afar and prove a dangerous threat if hiding in the snow. The most overlooked area of the map are the the either sides that are filled with white foliage and mounds of snow. Derail is a map of silence and limited gunfire where one shot (and a silencer) can mean life or death. Quick, powerful, and accurate shots are extremely important here. Running out into the open without caution and camoflouge can easily end your life. Consider taking 1 designated marksman and 1 sniper in a squad or consider having a team of long range riflemen.
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- The Thermal Scope is extremely unreliable here. While looking through the scope, the snow is white making it hard or even impossible to see enemy players on the ground. However, players with Cold-Blooded are much easier to see through the thermal scope, as they appear grey and thus stand out among the white snow.
- Using any colorful camouflage makes your weapon extremely visible against the snow.
- The Heartbeat Sensor or Claymore is suggested for snipers taking cover within the warehouse.
- It is suggested that players using the Arctic Ghillie suit not snipe from inside the many platforms or buildings, or from the train cars. The ghillie is intended for use in the snow; its white colour stands out considerably against nearby buildings.
- An ideal place for placing a Sentry Gun is looking out of the windows of the warehouse, as long as your team controls it.
- In the central warehouse, one can crouch and camp at the base of either of the staircases leading up to the second floor. This, although frowned upon, allows for quick and easy kills.
- Conversely, whenever assaulting the warehouse, throw flashbangs and stun grenades into the stairwell to blind the campers who might be hiding there. Dispatch them easily with your trusty knife.
- A decent spot for snipers would be overlooking the big snowy field on either side. The players in the field have very little cover and stand out in contrast to the white snow.
- Because of the size of this map, taking down AC130s is easy. The AC130 circles around the map but leaves some areas where the weapons cannot aim to. Use this to your advantage to quickly take out any enemy AC130s that are called in on this map. The best way to take down an AC-130 or Apache (chopper gunner) is to have the Cold-blooded perk and fire a Stinger from one of the windows of either warehouse (you'll be very hard to see indoors), then quickly relocate to another window when the gunner sees the smoke trail and fire again. In the case of AC-130s however you may need more than one person with Stingers or the Scavenger perk.
- Because of the vast distance that players are placed from the opposing team's spawn it is recommended to have marathon or lightweight perks to reach the enemy quickly, although this mostly suits impatient players one can also use marathon and lightweight combo to flank the enemy in the beginning quickly.
- Contrary to popular belief, the raised bushy patch on the eastern side of the middle building is a bad shooting position; many snipers and sharpshooters have been picked off by players near the generators to the south-west thinking they were hidden by the foliage.
- Within the ground floor of the railyard warehouse, there are stacks of boxes which provide well-covered vantage points for camping objective B (for Search and Destroy and Demolition) and also make an easy job of camping the main entrance of the warehouse.
- The single-story brick structures in the town area provide extremely good vantage points for snipers. The snow covered roofs make it easy to miss a stationary sniper wearing an arctic ghillie suit and the ventilation duct on the northermost building is high enough to see out under, making the shooter all but invisible until they fire. Best of all, any player can sprint fast enough to leap from one building to the next, making covering both flanks a breeze. Finally, guarding yourself from sneaky, vengeful players is extremely easy since both structures' rooftops are only accesible via two ladders apiece which are easily checked and/or claymored.
- Despite the massive distance between spawns on this map, it is very easy for the defense team to wipe out the attackers before they even reach them. To cover the bridge side, a sniper with marathon can run all the way to the third floor of the warehouse and bust the windows to access a snowy ledge which offers a perfect and shady spot to pick off attackers before they cross the bridge or run past it towards the northern flank. The southern approach is also easily defensible. The best spot is to climb the snow-covered boxes next to the cargo containers near the central office structure. From the top of the container, one can then jump back to the highest box and from there jump left to another container which overlooks the entire southern flank and the fence provides decent concealment with some fine adjustment of position. This particular spot is also out of line of sight from the infamous town rooftops which usually allow the attackers an early advantage. Having two skilled snipers to use these two spots forces the enemy to approach the railyard directly, which is an extremely uncomfortable position.
- The snowy ledge outside the windows of the the third floor of the railyard warehouse is an excellent spot for concealment and distance, but has a weak point. If a sniper enters the train car right before the bridge on the town side, they can get a good view of that spot from on top of the boxes in the back of the car. Also on the second level and third level are sets of windows that enemy snipers can take clean shots of you going up the levels.
- Most players don't realize that you can go inside the multi-story buildings in the back of the town. There are plenty of covered areas within them that provide shelter for players who want to use their killstreaks.
