Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare has ‘YOLO mode’ permadeath

Developer Infinity Ward is giving Call of Duty diehards an extra level of challenge with two new difficulty modes for Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. One of those modes eliminates Call of Duty’s regenerative health mechanic, among other difficulty tweaks, while the other gives players just one life for the entire single-player campaign.

On the Activision blog, the publisher detailed Infinite Warfare’s new Specialist Mode, which will unlock after beating the campaign on any difficulty. Described as “intensely realistic,” Specialist Mode cranks the challenge beyond what we’re used to in the Call of Duty series.

Here are the details, from Activision:

• You can only heal with Nano Shots, there is no health regeneration in this mode.
• Helmets are your only protection from headshots. They will take permanent damage and will need to be replaced.
• Both Nano Shots and helmets take up equipment slots, so remember to equip them in your loadout on the Retribution before each level.
• Master the lean from behind cover mechanic, which will be critical for your survival. Approach the edge of cover while standing or crouching, and aim down sights when you see a chevron appear on the side of your crosshairs. You will auto-pop from behind cover as you ADS.
• If you get shot in the legs, it will impact your movement. If you get shot in either arm, it will impact your ability to use equipment or aim down sights. Note: Your weapon can be shot out of your hands.

If you have the skills and patience to survive Infinite Warfare on Specialist Mode, you’ll unlock YOLO Mode. You only live once, Activision says, and if you die, you’ll have to start over fresh. That type of permadeath mode in a first-person shooter is something we saw earlier this year with the release of id Software’s Doom. Although the developers at id reportedly were unable to beat the game on Ultra Nightmare difficulty, one player managed to do it just two days after the game was released.

The race to be the first to beat Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare on super hard difficulty without dying starts Nov. 4, when the game is officially released on PlayStation 4, Windows PC and Xbox One.