Scavenger is a Tier 1 Perk appearing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that partially restocks a player's weapon loadout if they walk over 'Scavenge Packs' dropped by enemy corpses, regardless of any loadout differences between the player and the dead player. The Scavenger perk is unlocked at rank 13. This perk also acts as a replacement for the X3 or X2 perks from the original game (such as Frag x3), since it allows the player to restock on equipment (hand grenades,C4s, etc.), special grenades, M203 and GP-25 grenades, and secondary weapon rockets and grenades, as well as regular ammunition. "Spam" is not a large problem with this perk because grenade throw range has decreased in Modern Warfare 2, and players must complete these steps in order to spam grenades and equipment:

-    Expend any equipment they intend to spam, since players cannot pick up more equipment than the max amount allowed they have when they spawn

-    Kill an enemy or locate a fallen teammate with a "Scavenger Pack".

Since running around blindly in Modern Warfare 2 does not generally lead to a long lifespan (thereby lowering the all-important kill-death ratio that motivates "spam" techniques), "shooting and scooting" in search of replacement equipment will be less than optimal. Additionally, since a fallen comrade is likely to be within a kill zone staked out by opposing players, and since a fallen enemy is likely to be followed by more enemies, Scavenger will most likely be useful to acquire extra ammunition following a skirmish and less a source of unlimited equipment.

NOTE. With Scavenger, bodies will still drop weapons. With or without Scavenger, running over a same caliber weapon to your current weapon will NOT pickup ammo unless the weapon on the ground has the same camouflage and attachment as one already in your possession. For example, if you have a standard M16A4 and you run over an M16A4 with Arctic Camouflage your ammo count will not increase. Indeed, even picking up the Camo M16A4 will not increase the ammo for your standard M16A4. You will instead have two separate ammo counts, one for each weapon, even though the cartridges and magazines are the same; this seems to be intended to make Scavenger more useful. Without Scavenger, this often means you will be the only one able to pickup ammo from your own dead body as it is unlikely anyone else will be using the same weapon permutation. Well organized teams such as clans may consider standardizing their weapon camo and attachments to facilitate ammo transfer.

If a player using Scavenger has the Javelin or AT4 unequipped, Scavenger will not replenish the Javelin's or AT4's ammo. However, when either weapon is equipped its maximum ammo can be exceeded by picking up a spare rocket. However, resupplying these secondary weapons do not resupply the player's primary weapon. This is most likely a glitch.

Scavenger is usually the preferred perk in the first tier slot amongst players with higher killstreak setups. (i.e. Harrier Strike, Chopper Gunner, Tactical Nuke. This is most likely because players need more kills before obtaining any killstreaks, which necessitates the need for more ammo replenishment.