What is snaking in Call of Duty and how does it work?

Snaking is a popular term in the Call of Duty community and has always been a hot topic of debate among professionals and esports fans. It may seem like a harmless movement mechanic that players can master to gain an advantage over their enemies; however, there's a fair reason why a huge section of the competitive community doesn't endorse snaking.

This article will elaborate on how the controversial movement mechanic works and why Call of Duty players don't prefer its existence.

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Exploring the snaking movement mechanic in Call of Duty games

Snaking is when a player rapidly switches between the prone and crouch positions while stationed behind a cover. However, one must use the Sprint button to perform this mechanic impeccably. Not doing so will make your movement slower, making it less effective.

When mastered well, snaking lets players dodge bullets, take gun fights advantageously, and gather intel, all of which are essential for winning a Call of Duty match. It also gives players a massive peeker's advantage and makes decision-making pretty easy. This makes it harder for the enemy to win.

There are two types of snaking that one can perform in a majority of Call of Duty games. Players can either crouch or prone snake, depending on the size of the cover they have.

To crouch snake in CoD, use the 'Crouch' button/keybind to enter the position and then press the 'Sprint' button immediately. Keep hitting the crouch and sprint buttons to perform the quirky movement. When done behind the cover, enemies find it extremely hard to hit the player's hitbox.

Similarly, you can prone snake by using the 'Prone' button and 'Sprint' button together. You can also cycle between the prone and crouch positions to recreate a snaking movement. However, it may not be as effective as using sprint to get up.

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Is snaking banned in Call of Duty?

The snaking advantage is difficult to tackle from an opponent's perspective. A player performing the movement mechanic can gain game-winning intel on an enemy who is pushing openly and has no cover to fall back. It is pretty much undefeatable unless the 'snake' commits a mistake.

Many esports professionals support the notion of imposing restrictions on the snaking mechanism in CDL. The latest CoD title launches (Modern Warfare 2 and Warzone 2.0) and the erstwhile CDL Major I triggered the discussion further.

That said, the mechanism is not technically banned in tournaments or Call of Duty games. Players can use snaking to combat situations and win matches freely. However, the community may not give you enough credit for 'snaking' your way to victory.

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Hardcore gamers will always manage to find advantageous tactics like snaking and the infamous head glitch in every competitive game to gain an edge. This is exactly how a fast-paced multiplayer game grows in tactical meta.

One can expect the mechanism and the never-ending debate to keep prevailing in the CoD community for the time being.