Boosting

"Boosting" (also known as "Padding") is the act of 2 or more players who repeatedly kill each other in order to complete challenges and/or gain killstreak rewards. It is usually heavily frowned upon by other players, even some who are boosters themselves.

Overview[]

One of the main "rules" of boosting is that at least two players are required.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[]

In Call of Duty 4, boosting is usually centered in Cage Match, but can be accomplished en-masse in Team Tactical, with two separate parties. For the PC version, one other way is to play in TDM (gives more experience points than Free for All, and higher frag limit) with a vote ability, and kicking every new player (with a vote). When the timer is almost over or if you almost reach the frag limit, just relaunch the map with a vote to keep the current map without reloading

Due to it's very small size, the map "Shipment" is the best for boosting. The other player will ALWAYS spawn at the opposite point from the one you shot him. So if you play with one or more bot players, gun, run, gun, run, gun.... This gives extremely fast killing. Playing in Shipment with one bot can give a Red Tiger camouflage, if starting at zero, in less than 20 minutes. It is also a great experience boost as weapon challenges are very worthy : a "standard" weapon which has 3 levels of normal kills, when starting to zero to 150 headshots, gives 3,200 xp in challenges, as well as at least 1,500 xp in kills (in TDM), therefore giving almost 5,000 xp per weapon. (120,000 xp is required to be promoted to level 55 from level 1.)

It is also possible to boost with "real" human players, by moving to the center of the map (between the containers), but this is a slower technique.

It is also possible, of course, to boost challenges, to get a few more experience : most challenges give 250xp, so boosting can quickly give you thousands of xp very quickly.

Call of Duty: World at War[]

Treyarch does not tolerate boosting, and hands out level resets to exposed boosters, and as such, boosting is extremely rare. Also, there are no rewards for Headshots, apart from challenges, therefore adding to its rarity.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, boosting has become much easier due to exploiting the Tactical Insertion. Allowing players to respawn where they want (next to their partner), boosters are very commonly found in the game, especially in Free-for-All and Barebones, where friends' sessions can now be joined on Xbox 360 as well as PS3.

3rd Person Cage Match was removed from the game due to nearly all players who joined the playlist to boost. After this removal, boosting became more popular in objective games, especially Team Tactical, where less players are needed to fill the lobby.

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

The Tactical Insertion returns, but Treyarch has made precautionary steps to prevent boosting.

Tactical Insertions is disabled in Free-for-All .
Players can no longer invite friends into certain game modes where boosting is common.
Boosting is almost impossible in Wager Matches, as the players are randomly selected, except Ante Up, where parties are allowed, but low money count is rewarded.
Players can report boosters to Treyarch with the Theater feature.
Many boosters now have to do hacks in order to really achieve a level. Players can also report hackers with the Theater feature.
Boosting is mostly done in Domination and Search and Destroy, because players gain more XP from these game modes, and therefore rank up faster.
Boosting is still possible in Black Ops, but due to the reporting system it is rare. In Free-For-All, one player can hide in a secluded area of the map, while his partner runs to said area to get killed by him multiple times. In other modes, they can still use the Tactical Insertion to their advantage like in Modern Warfare 2.

Detection[]

There are many signs of boosting in a game that can identify boosters for their actions. Something to note is that playlists with a lower max player count are more prone to boosters, for these cheaters often vie to get all of their friends in a game to boost. Another reason may be as simple as the fact that there are fewer hostiles.

In free-for-all games, spectators can rapidly scan for boosters, catching them in the act. However, spectators will be booted once a minute's time has passed.
The SitRep perk has impressive range, allowing venerable players to more easily search for hostile Tactical Insertions, a possible indicator of the presence of boosters.
All of the Tactical Insertion's sound effects are very distinct. If someone hears these sounds, they can be sure that the player who used it is close by. Multiple insertions and suppressed shots/knifing sounds in exactly the same area is a sign of boosting.
A player repeatedly killing the same hostile over and over again is usually an indication that the two are in cahoots, although an easier method is to check the scoreboard and see if someone has a number of kills and no deaths, and another with no kills and the same number of deaths as the first person's kills.
If you suspect there are nuke boosters in a game, keep an eye on the killfeed, as there will usually be multiple headshots and/or knives.
Make sure to pay close attention to your enemies' classes! Boosters commonly have all stealth perks, silenced firearms, and a Tactical Insertion.
This may not always be a booster, but a player in an aforementioned game mode with many kills and no deaths is cause for alarm.
If 2 people join a Free-For-All lobby at the same time, they could possibly be boosting.

Prevention[]

Boosting is very easily stopped - many players know about it and will do their best to bring an end to it.

The booster hunter's best friend is knowledge of a map's layout. Any alcove away from the action should be investigated if [[1]] are found to be afoot.
Using the perk combination Marathon, Cold-Blooded, and Ninja with a silencer and an explosive, along with a Rocket Launcher as a secondary is an excellent way to take out boosters, as you won't get killed by their air support, and people wont hear you running towards them and you can shoot your launcher to take both them out and smash their tactical insertions.

The Tactical Insertion respawn noise is very loud and distinguishable, so players joining in late and boosting are also easily found.

On Xbox 360, booster's sessions can constantly be joined, which is often used by people to stop boosters.

In Free-for-All, the best way to stop nuke boosters is killing the booster at 5 or more kills. This will prevent the booster from obtaining the Tactical Nuke.
If the booster hunter uses Cold Blooded Pro he/she can trick the booster into thinking its their friend and after 6 kills the player can kill them, though this is rarely tried.
When joining a match, instead of choosing a class and joining the game, press Circle(PS3), B(X360) or Escape(PC) twice to go in the spectate mode. Switch between the players to find the boosters.

Tips[]

Since the removal of 3rd Person Cage Match (replaced with Barebones), it has become very easy to boost because parties can join a Free for All Barebones match but the downside is you can't use killstreaks.
Boosters try to "lock" lobbies when boosting to have no unexpected interruptions.
Players who boost generally use a class set up which includes, Silenced weapon for head shots, Scavenger Pro/Marathon Pro, Cold Blooded (Not seen on enemy radar), Ninja (Not seen on Heartbeat Sensors). Equipment would be either claymores for the player boosting to prevent enemy players from coming from behind and the other player would use a Tactical insertion.
If the boosters are caught, they should try a different spot on the map. Returning to the same spot is asking for more interruptions.
Rundown is an excellent map on Modern Warfare 2 for boosting, as it has numerous places people rarely go, such as the abandoned petrol station, up near the town hall and numerous places along the creekbed. Inventive boosters will be able to find potential boosting spots all over the map.
Quarry has some decent places for boosting as well, but the best of these are well known. Boost on htis map with caution.
Attempting to boost on the map Rust is probably the worst idea a booster could have. Do not do it.

Trivia

Infinity Ward tolerates boosting, but Treyarch continues to hand out level-resets to exposed or possible boosters in World at War. However, many modders have set up "de-ranking" lobbies in order to punish players looking to boost. Each time an invited player gets a kill, his XP will go down and his rank will be reset to 1. He will lose all of his titles and emblems, as well as camouflages and completed challenges.
Boosting has caused players who have legitimately reached the high Prestige levels, and/or unlocked high-end camouflages (such as Golden, Red tiger, or Fall), to be looked at as boosters.
Some players boost to gain Tactical Nukes not for the XP, but for the spinning nuke emblem or the 2 titles unlocked by calling in 10 nukes.