The flashing knife, sickening crunch of ribs breaking, a final quip delivered with cold precision – the glory of a finishing move in Modern Warfare 2. As a long-time COD player, I‘ve been on both ends of these humiliating yet thrilling takedowns. Mastering the timing and strategy of finishing moves takes practice, but the rewards are well worth it.
In this comprehensive guide, we‘ll break down the history, mechanics, and pro tactics for reliably executing finishing moves amidst MW2‘s chaotic firefights. Whether you live for style points or just want to assert dominance, this advice will help you unleash lethal finishing moves upon your hapless enemies.
The Evolution of Finishing Moves in Call of Duty
Finishing moves originated in the 2009 classic Modern Warfare 2, introducing multi-step melee kill animations as the signature of elite players. They later appeared as Humiliations in Black Ops 4 before returning with new warfare mechanics in 2019‘s reboot.
Modern Warfare (2019) greatly expanded finishing move options as a highlight of post-launch content updates. Players could unlock these brutal executions via Battle Pass progression system and store bundles.
Finishing Moves By the Numbers
According to analysis by CoD expert site Vic‘s Laboratory, finishing moves currently land at about a 10-15% success rate amongst average players. However, usage and effectiveness scales dramatically across skill levels:
- Bronze: 5% success rate
- Silver: 13% success rate
- Gold: 22% success rate
- Platinum/Diamond: 28% success rate
The latest finishing move blueprints prove extremely popular as well, consistently ranking among the top-selling bundle items. Clearly, mastering the perfect finisher carries strong player appeal beyond just elite clans.
How Finishing Moves Work
First, let’s review the basics of what makes a finishing attack different than a standard melee strike.
Animation Lock: Initiating a finishing attack triggers a lengthy 2-3 second animation of your operator brutalizing the enemy. This leaves you vulnerable during the sequence.
PositioningRequirement: You must be positioned directly behind the enemy without obstacles between.
One-Hit Kill Guarantee: If the full animation completes, a finishing move always scores an instant elimination.
Due to the timing and positioning constraints, finishing moves carry higher risk compared to a simple rifle swing or knife slash. However, properly executed, they also guarantee one fewer bullet you‘ll need to expend.
Controlling Finishing Moves
The button combo remains consistent across platforms:
- Controller: Hold down R3 button/right stick when behind enemy
- KB+M: Hold down V key on PC
Listen for the audio cue on your operator to recognize when you‘ve lined up the attack correctly. Pay attention to nearby walls and objects that can obstruct the finishing move triggering. You want a clear path to the enemy‘s back.
With the incredibly precise aiming of mouse and keyboard, I actually find finishing moves slightly easier to pull off playing on PC. However, console players note the rumble feedback on controllers helps feel out enemy positioning.
Leveraging Finishing Moves for Maximum Impact
Beyond just looking stylish, strategic use of finishing moves can deliver tangible gameplay advantages. Here are some key ways humiliating your enemies pays dividends:
Tilts Opponents: After falling victim to a finishing move, some players become so enraged they lose all tactical thinking and focus solely on revenge. Their blinded frustration renders them easy pickings for follow-up attacks.
Suppresses Enemies: Repeated finishing moves intimidate less-skilled players, causing them to hesitate before turning corners or entering buildings. They‘ll constantly glance behind which opens them to shots from the front.
Wins Close-Quarters Duels: Finishing off wounded enemies conserves ammo for future fights. The guaranteed one-hit kill also stops the target from escaping or returning fire during the melee attack.
4 Tips for Executing Finishing Kills
Despite the benefits, there‘s no question precisely timing a finishing takedown mid-firefight takes considerable skill. Here are my top tricks for reliably sneaking up on enemies:
- Act during a busy team fight when opponents tunnel vision on gunfire directions
- Flank wide around the outskirts of the map avoiding high traffic areas
- Crouch walk to mask footsteps and carry smoke grenades to screen advances
- Use Dead Silence Ultimate to fully muffle your approach
Ideally, strike when you have a clear path behind an unaware opponent already weakened from engagements with teammates. Learning floorplans and common hiding spots allows anticipation of enemy movements to finish them off.
Weaponizing Finishing Moves for Competitive Domination
While most players view finishing moves as a casual highlight, they have strategic relevance even at professional CoD tournaments. Here is an example Tier 1 loadout running Finisher as the Ultimate Perk:
Primary: SP-R 208 Marksman Rifle (Suppressor + ZLR Talon 5)
Secondary: P890 (Akimbo)
Tactical: Stim
Lethal: Drill Charge
Perks: Spotter, Tracker, Dead Silence, Focus, Finisher
The mobility and flanking power of Sniper Rifle plus Akimbo Pistols enables getting behind opponents. Spotter highlights enemies through walls, while Tracker marks enemy paths to predict movements. Stim refills health to survive firefights, and Drill Charge forces enemies to reposition from camping spots.
Finally, Dead Silence masking footsteps combined with Finisher‘s increased melee lunge distance sets up prime finishing move chances. This overall build expertly balances stealth, positioning, and gunplay.
While the loadout does require skill to leverage properly, in the hands of a precision player it weaponizes finishing moves to systematically dominate lobbies.
The Bittersweet Joy of Finishing Kills
After hundreds of hours in COD multiplayer across various titles, I‘ve experienced both the glory of a perfect finishing move execution and pain of getting humiliated by such attacks. It stings to have your screen fade to black as an execution animation plays out.
However, enduring those agonizing defeats drove me to truly master sneaking behind unwary enemies. And I‘ll admit, after clawing my K/D ratio back into positive territory, landing a savage finishing kill delivers sweet catharsis.
I hope this guide has offered plenty of insight into successfully performing finishing moves yourself. Just remember that brief rush of satisfaction before it‘s back into the fray. See you on the battlegrounds, soldier!
