Kill streaks
Consecutive eliminations without dying unlock escalating rewards — score multipliers, powerful abilities, or game-changing killstreak rewards like airstrikes. Call of Duty's killstreak system (UAV, Predator Missile, Chopper Gunner) turns momentum itself into a snowballing advantage, rewarding skilled players with tools to extend their dominance, while Halo's medal-based streaks are purely cosmetic recognition. Designers use kill streaks to reward sustained good play with compounding power, to create tension around 'stopping the streak' as a defensive goal for the losing team, and to add a risk/reward layer (do you play safe to protect a streak, or push aggressively?). Key decisions: reward power level (game-changing killstreaks can snowball matches out of control, a chronic Call of Duty balance debate), whether streaks reset on death only or also on other triggers, streak visibility to the opposing team, and scaling for skill gaps in casual versus competitive modes. Pitfall: streak rewards powerful enough to end games single-handedly can make already-losing teams feel hopeless — this is one of the most contentious balance areas in competitive shooter design.
- Dev effort: Medium
- Timing: Real-time
- Common in: shooter