E311: Call of Duty: Elite explained in detail

Connect

The connect section of Elite was designed to help strengthen the community by allowing players to join groups and clans. Groups are entities that player join based on a common interest (we were shown a group dedicated to the Lakers), and a player may join more than one.

Clan support will also be bolstered as one can finally reserve a clan name and clan colors (that no other clan would be able to use to avoid being impersonated). Clans can also be verified. For instance, if the SideQuesting staff wanted to make a clan and found that someone was squatting on the SideQuesting clan name, there would be measures taken to get that individual off the name and give it to us. We’d would also be able to make the colors red, black, and white exclusive to our clan as well.
Compete

The compete section allows gamers to compete in different challenges (banking a certain amount of headshots during the allotted time period, for example) for real prizes (like an iPad 2). This also involves different leagues where people can compete to be the best at a certain stat (such as getting assists).

Elite will also involve Facebook integration. You will be able to find people on your Facebook friends list who have Call of Duty (Black Ops or the upcoming Modern Warfare 3) across all platforms regardless of whether they are on your Xbox Live or PSN friends list.

Improve

Finally, the improve section will act as a clinic that will help players improve their game. Based on what we saw, there will actually be a tips section as to how you could improve based on your stats and play style. There will also be video guides for each weapon to explain the ins and outs of each firearm and how to most effectively use them.

Community discussions will also be available for players who are looking for advice from others on how to improve. Players who have better stats will have their comments bumped up higher in the comments list because their words will have more weight.

The regular version of Call of Duty: Elite will be free for everybody, and its beta begins on July 14th. Heller also noted that they are looking to make Elite accessible through four different methods: mobile phone apps (iOS and Android), in the games, tablets, and the internet. He also said that the mobile phone and tablet apps should be available upon Elite‘s launch. As far as prices go, there will be a Premium version of Elite that users will to pay for. This version won’t be available until Modern Warfare 3‘s first DLC pack is launched. He was unable to tell us what would be included with the Premium version.

Call of Duty: Elite is shaping up to be an important part of the franchise’s future. For most things in life, collecting data and networking seem to be the key to success. If that’s so, then Elite could be an important source of data and tips for the most dedicated Call of Duty players.