If skills are the currency of online shooters, experience points are the crack cocaine. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is the perfect example, in that it constantly strings you along with with new weapons, tools and special abilities, provided you’re willing to put in the hours and level up. Fortunately, there are some tips and tricks you can rely on to level up faster in Modern Warfare 2, even if you’re not a pro gamer. We won’t help you cheat — that’s immoral, and it’ll get you banned — but we will give you pointers on getting to level 70 in the latest Call of Duty (or at least approaching it, depending on your resolve) without being the best shooter in town.

Hint 1: Try Every Weapon and Attachment

At least initially, you’ll get big experience point bonuses for getting a certain number of kills with each weapon in the game. So instead of lingering on one weapon for too long, switch to another weapon when you hit the milestones of 25 kills, 75 kills and so on. As you progress, you’ll also unlock attachments; start cycling through them as soon as they’re available. While you’re doing all this, pay attention to which weapons and fighting styles best suit you.

Hint 2: Always Check the Barracks

An extension of the first hint, immediately check the Barracks from the multiplayer menu while your next round is loading. Glance at the weapon and attachment you’re using to see if there’s other gear you could be using to get faster bonus points, then head to Create a Class to switch your loadout. The faster you level up, the more weapons and perks you’ll unlock, which in turn will let you collect early bonus points on the new gear faster.

Hint 3: The Right Perks at the Right Times

Starting out, you’ll definitely want to use “Stopping Power” for all of your weapons. This gives you a damage boost that should help you get more kills. Later, especially after you’ve unlocked “Stopping Power Pro,” switch to “Hardline,” which requires one less kill to initiate killstreak rewards (doing so gives you even more experience points, plus bonuses). As with weapons and attachments, keep tabs on your other perks, too. You can pick up easy experience points from Scavenger, which lets you resupply off dead foes, and Sleight of Hand, which improves your reload speed. Also, at level 21, you’ll get “Bling,” allowing you to equip two attachments at once. See Hint 1.

Hint 4: Cherry Pick the Easy Challenges

Look up “Basic Training” in the Barracks. The easy ones are Vandalism (for destroying a car), Goodbye (fall 30 feet to your death) and Base Jump (fall 15 feet and survive). Look for opportunities as you play. Forget about the remaining Basic Training bonuses; you’ll pick them up naturally over time, and they don’t provide a ton of points anyway.

Hint 5: Forget About Operations

Compared to weapons and equipment-based challenges, the bonuses for winning a certain number of each game type are stingy. Your time is better spent focusing on specific game types that reap the best rewards, which we’ll cover in the next point.

Hint 6: Headquarters Pro for the Noob and Beyond

Headquarters Pro, which requires opposing teams to fight for one periodically moving control point, is the most consistent gametype for picking up experience points. Even if your team loses, and you have a terrible match, you’re still looking at about 2,500 points per game, not counting any bonuses you collect. Win the match and you’ll get 3,500 points or more. What makes Headquarters Pro better than other territory-based game types is that all the players are moving towards one central location. That means less skulking around in crouch mode and more killing, creating a perfect opportunity to work on experience bonuses for different weapons. It’s also pretty fun.

Hint 7: Free-For-All For the Experienced Player

Once you find some favorite weapons, perks and attachments, try playing Free-For-All. You’ll only get 50 points per kill (the same as Headquarters Pro and other objective games, but half the rate of Team Deathmatch), but the tempo is quick, so you’ll have more chances to score. The real kicker, however, is the bonus for winning: Take first place, and you’ll get roughly 7,500 points. No other game type comes close, but if you’re obsessed with stats, beware: If you don’t place first, the match will count as a loss.

Hint 8: Search and Destroy for the Pro

Search and Destroy can be frustrating for newbies, because once you die, you sit out until the next round begins. However, skilled players can milk this game type for 500 XP per kill and 200 XP per assist. Because of the elimination setting, it’s also among the fastest game types to play through, so if you can get six kills per game, you’ll level up faster than you would with Headquarters Pro.

Hint 9: Periodically, Forget All These Hints

Just as money can’t buy you love, a high ranking can’t secure your happiness. Play all the game types, mess around with silly weapons and party up with friends even if they’re dragging you down. Because no one wants to deal with a crazed experience point addict.