Forward Intel: The Most Underrated Black Ops Cold War Perk

The new Call of Duty game, Black Ops Cold War is home to dozens of new features not previously seen in other COD games. One of these new features is the perk Forward Intel. Being an essential part of every class, it is important to understand every perk in order to maximize your ability to play with the weapons you selected. So before you put it in your class, you might be asking just how good is this new addition?
Forward Intel is apart of the weakest of the perk slots: slot one, which only has two other perks worth using, which are Flak Jacket and the Tactical Mask. The in-game description of it is rather confusing, describing it as, “See indicators for enemy reinforcements on your minimap. Minimap shows a larger area.” Though the description does not make it seem all that good due to its odd phrasing, when broken down it reveals that it is actually one of the most powerful perks in the game.
When is says the minimap shows a larger area, it really isn’t kidding. According to TheXclusiveAce on Youtube, Forward Intel increases the minimap radius by a massive 60%. This means that it will cover the entire width of almost every multiplayer map, and cover almost the whole length of most maps as well.

This is not the most important part of the perk though. When it says that you see indicators for enemy reinforcements, what it means is that every time an enemy spawns, you will see where they spawn on the map, whether or not they are in the range of your minimap. While this may seem like not a huge deal, it is a game changer for multiple reasons.
Most good Call of Duty players are able to learn the spawn patterns of maps for the game modes they play the most. This perk makes it so that you do not have to memorize the patterns just so that you can guess when the spawns shift. Instead, it makes it so that anyone can be certain about where the enemy is spawning as it is happening.
While Forward Intel is irrelevant in non-respawn game modes such as search and destroy (unless you want it just for the larger map), it is incredibly useful in game modes like hardpoint and domination, as they can let you know where the enemy is coming from or which points you need to defend. This one perk can be the difference between getting shot in the back, and getting a jump on your opponents. Overall, Forward Intel is definitely the most powerful perk in the perk one slot, and is one of, if not the most overpowered perk in the game as of the first few weeks after release.