Search & Destroy
Teams take turns defending and destroying an objective.
The premiere no-respawn mode in Call of Duty, Search & Destroy challenges both teams to attack and defend bomb sites, planting and detonating a bomb to win as the attackers, defusing it to win as the defenders, or killing the entire enemy team to secure a win as offense or defense.
S&D is round-based, with teams trading off offense and defense, so practicing routes to each of the bomb sites in both roles is important.
Stealthy setups and informational gear are highly valued in S&D, but expensive scorestreaks are much less useful, because it is hard to rack up the necessary score to use them even if you do survive multiple rounds.
S&D is a tense game mode because you only get one life, and if your teammates go down, the entire match hinges on your actions—while they’re all watching you. Don’t choke!
That said, S&D rounds are quick and deadly, so don’t sweat fast wins or losses. You play plenty of rounds, and there’s always time for a turnaround even after a blowout round or two.
On offense, there is only a single bomb, so if you’re playing with a group, make sure you know who is carrying and what bomb site you’re pushing.
Likewise, on defense, you need to decide if you’re going to split, or try to push and intercept the team if you suspect they’re all heading for a single point.
Bomb-planting position does matter on offense, because defenders can only defuse the bomb near where the bomb is actually planted. Try to plant the bomb on the target in a position where you can cover it from a distance.
Ignoring the bomb and rushing the enemy team is a valid tactic, but usually only a good idea if you’re playing with a full or nearly full group. A single player planting and having the bomb defused because they have no cover can lose a match, even if you’re killing everyone else on the other team.
Search & Rescue
Teams take turns defending and destroying an objective. Recover dog tags to allow or deny respawns.
S&R is a variant on S&D, with limited respawns. A mix of Kill Confirmed lets players drop dog tags upon death, and if you can recover a teammate’s dog tag, they are brought back to the fight. If you secure an enemy dog tag, they’re out for good.
Because dog tags have to be picked up to stop a respawn, traveling in a group is highly recommended. It’s much harder for the enemy team to secure a kill if a teammate is always nearby to recover a tag.
Just don’t group up too closely, and don’t fall for obvious dog tag traps if one is sitting out in the open with no enemy in sight.
Long-range combat is slightly less effective in this mode, just because landing a nice long-range snipe often results in a teammate simply picking up the tag with a quick slide from cover.
Demolition
Teams take turns defending and destroying an objective.
Demolition is the fast-paced, action-oriented version of S&D. With full respawns and two bomb sites that must be destroyed by the offense to win, Demolition often has very high body counts. Defenders can call in high-end scorestreaks if the offense is too sloppy on the attack, so Demolition matches tend to be filled with payloads and streaks.
Unlike S&D, all players on offense can plant the bomb, so even a single player sneaking past the defense can plant at either bomb site (or both!).
If both teams manage to destroy the bomb, an overtime round is played with a single bomb target that can be planted by either team. Whichever team manages to detonate it first wins.
Be sure to pack your defensive toolkit if you’re planning on planting while on offense. Smoke and/or Trophies are a very good idea. Likewise, when you’re on defense, bringing an explosive loadout can be very effective, as are defensive and mid to high-end scorestreaks, which you can earn fairly reliably if you’re patient on defense.
