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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The subject of this article appeared in Zombies mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty Online The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Heroes The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Mobile The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone
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For the Killstreak with a similar effect, see EMP.

The EMP Grenade is a Special Grenade that appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, Call of Duty OnlineCall of Duty: Advanced Warfare, Call of Duty: Black Ops III, Call of Duty: Mobile and Call of Duty: Warzone. It is a hand-held, thrown grenade capable of emitting an electromagnetic pulse, disabling all electronics within its blast radius for a short period of time. It functions similar to the EMP killstreak. It will effect all electronics, up to and including drones, sentries, electronic sights, Exoskeletons and the player's HUD, making it an incredibly useful tool in objective game modes, such as Domination, or even more so in Drop Zone, where there will be (literally) dozens of killstreaks being used throughout a match, many of them being ground-based. This can lead to the player getting thousands of points with minimal effort.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

When thrown, it disables enemy equipment and electronics within the blast radius, also lightly stuns enemy targets. The severity of the effect depends on how close the enemy is to the explosion. It explodes about a second after throwing.

It will instantly disable enemy Recon Drones, Sentry Guns, Remote Sentries, SAM Turrets, I.M.S., Trophy Systems, and even depletes Assault Drones of their ammo. It may be used for painting a group of enemies when the player has the Recon perk equipped. It will take multiple EMP grenades to destroy AH-6 Overwatches. The throw time is faster than all other grenades in Modern Warfare 3, similar to the stun and concussion grenades featured in previous Call of Duty titles. 

Equipments and killstreak rewards destroyed with the EMP grenade count towards SitRep Pro and Blind Eye Pro respectively. Using Assassin Pro will cancel the effects of any thrown EMP Grenade.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]

Campaign[]

The EMP Grenade is available in campaign as part of the customized loadout.

It is very useful when it comes to disabling enemy turrets and drones so the player can destroy them in relative safety in the effect's duration. It is also useful for disabling enemy cloaking. 

If the player is caught within its blast radius, his/her HUD will be scrambled for a short duration.


Multiplayer[]

"Disables enemy electronic systems."
Create-A-Class Description.

The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and is visually identical to its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 counterpart. The EMP Grenade is physically similar to a Flashbang or Concussion Grenade, as the user pulls a pin, the throw can be cancelled, the player can hold the grenade indefinitely without it exploding in their hand, and the EMP Grenade has similar size, throw speed, weight, aerial throw speed, direct impact damage, and explosion damage as the Flashbang and Concussion Grenades.

The EMP grenade will destroy all enemy equipment caught in its radius, along with the Sentry Gun, Guardian, MQ-27 Dragonfire, Hunter Killer Drone, and the Hellstorm Missile (although it is highly unlikley that a player will be able to destroy an incoming Hellstorm Missile with an EMP grenade; even more so if it's split up, as the EMP Grenade has no effect on the split missiles). The A.G.R. will require 2 EMP grenades to be destroyed.

Similar to the EMP scorestreak, any players affected by the EMP Grenade will be unable to call in scorestreaks. This will not, however, affect currently active scorestreaks unless they are also within the EMP Grenade's radius. Players affected by the EMP Grenade will lose all HUD elements for the duration of the EMP effect, and if present, any electronic sight attachments on the affected player's weaponry will have their reticles wiped out. On the Dual Band Scope, not only will the reticle be wiped out, but the thermal overlay will not work either.

Unlike its Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 variant, EMP grenades in Call of Duty: Black Ops II are omnidirectional and unaffected by cover. This means that the player can destroy equipment and affect scorestreaks through any cover as long as it is within the EMP grenade's radius. Combining this with the Engineer perk can be very useful, and the player can disarm a room full of equipment without ever entering it. This can lead to the player getting hundreds of points with one grenade if the room is filled with Claymores, Shock Charges, etc.. However, a Trophy System will still destroy the incoming EMP Grenade, so it may be useful to listen for the characteristic whirring sound of the Trophy System. Trophy Systems won't perfectly counter EMP Grenades though, as a player can still throw the EMP Grenade to an area where the Trophy System is unable to shoot at it and destroy it, but the EMP Grenade will still affect it and destroy it. The EMP Grenade's ability to work through walls makes it incredibly effective to use in densely populated indoor areas where players are more likely to be bunched up, thus increasing hit probability.

The EMP Grenade will also shortly blind people and very briefly block out noise upon detonation, making for an improvised flashbang/concussion grenade. Unlike the aforementioned grenades, the EMP Grenade's blinding and noise suppressing effects will always have the same intensity regardless of how close the EMP Grenade detonated next to the target. In addition, the user will receive fifty points and an EMP assist should a teammate eliminate a hostile who was affected by the grenade, much like the EMP scorestreak, and this applies so long as an enemy who remains under the effects of the player's EMP Grenade is killed.

The EMP Grenade's effects can be detrimental to the user and their equipment. If the user's placed equipment is nearby when their EMP Grenade goes off, that equipment will be affected appropriately, which can make pairing Bouncing Betty, Claymore, or Shock Charge risky with the EMP Grenade, as this opens the user up to destroying their own equipment with their own EMPs. The player will also very briefly have the effects of an EMP Grenade applied to them if they are too close to the detonated grenade, but the effects are very brief for the user.

In Hardcore game types, great care should be used when using EMP Grenades, as it can be used against teammates to negative effects, not only to teammates, but also any equipment they are using. In addition to this, most HUD elements are not present in Hardcore anyway, making the EMP Grenade much more effective and safer to use in Core game types than in Hardcore game types.

Due to the score provided from eliminating equipment and EMP assists, EMP Grenades can be very effective at building up score towards a scorestreak. EMP assists alone are very easy to get thanks to the large blast radius, ability to hit enemies through cover, and the long-lasting effects of an EMP Grenade, and the EMP Grenade becomes even more rewarding when it destroys pieces of equipment. Even if the enemy has a class set up in such a way that they are minimally affected by EMP Grenades, they still lose their HUD and ability to call in available scorestreaks, making EMP Grenades very rewarding overall, even in their least rewarding scenarios. Compared to similar tactical grenades, it is very easy to earn assist score with the EMP Grenade due to its very long EMP status duration, in addition to its increased ability to earn score against hostile electronics. Perhaps the EMP Grenade's greatest asset is its ability to destroy light scorestreaks instantly for large rewards, especially ground based scorestreaks. The EMP Grenade's biggest downsides are that it is completely useless against any enemies using Hard Wired, it can negatively affect teammates and their equipment in Hardcore game types, it can be destroyed by Trophy Systems without careful placement, and they aren't very debilitating to an enemy player's functions in the way a Concussion or Flashbang is.

Zombies[]

The EMP grenade only makes an appearance in Green Run. If the player has the Monkey Bomb at the time and gets the EMP grenade, it will replace them. The EMP can affect Zombies and players alike: Zombies hit by the blast will be pacified, staying still or moving slowly and aimlessly until a player goes too close to them, sprints or shoots. This can be used to buy time indefinitely for other activities without having to kite a live zombie, given that nobody does any of the aforementioned. Zombies affected do not have a blue glow in their eyes. Should a player be hit, their HUD is disabled for the duration of the EMP, and any optical gunsights are nullified. If used while the Mystery Box or the Pack-a-Punch Machine are in use, they will abruptly stop giving/upgrading a weapon. Perk-a-Cola machines (except Quick Revive when playing solo) are also disabled momentarily, and their respective perks are not in effect for any players carrying them until the machine is powered again (these perks are transparent on the HUD). It also causes Monkey Bombs to disappear, as well as any power ups on the ground. It is advised to refrain from using the EMP Grenade in close quarters or near entities affected by the pulse, as it could have deadly consequences. Due to the fact that it gives players essentially an infinite amount of free time to do what they please, it is a very important piece of equipment in games with more than one player, whereas in solo, it isn't as useful, as Monkey Bombs will tend to save the player's life more often. However, it will not protect the player from Denizens.

In TranZit, it is required to finish Tower of Babble, and it can also instantly kill the Avogadro. Max Ammo power-ups can make the Avogadro significantly easier to deal with. The EMP effect on humans also makes it useful on Grief in order to weaken the enemy, and potentially drain them of points spent on the Mystery Box or Pack-a-Punch Machine as well as remove them from their weapons should the timing be right.

Achievement/Trophy[]

The Lights Of Their Eyes (5 Gamerscore/ Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon) - In Green Run, pacify at least 10 zombies with 1 EMP.

Call of Duty Online[]

The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty Online, and is funtionally identical to its Call of Duty: Black Ops II counterpart.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare[]

"Disable enemy equipment and exo movements. Can be manually detonated."
— In-game description.


The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. It can also be used within the Variable Grenade in both campaign and multiplayer. In campaign, it can be used to eliminate groups of enemy drones and ASTs. In multiplayer, it can disable an enemy's Exosuit for three seconds and distorts their HUD, similar in effect to a System Hack.

Achievements/Trophies[]

  • Where Are You Going? (10 Gamerscore/ Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon) - Stop an AST with an EMP grenade.
  • Fly Swatter (15 Gamerscore/ Bronze Trophy Bronze Trophy PS3 icon) - Knock 25 Drones out of the sky with EMP grenades.

Call of Duty: Heroes[]

EMP Grenades appear as a Hero Skill for Yuri. It disables turrets for 9 seconds. It has a performing range of 7 tiles and an effect range of 3.5.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

"Disables nearby enemy electronic systems."
— In-game description


The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. It functions very similarly to the past versions but has the added bonus of disabling enemies with active Specialist Abilities and reducing the effectiveness of Thrust Jumping and Power Sliding. Enemies with Hard-Wired are completely immune to EMP grenades.

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

"Damages and disables nearby mechanized enemy units and equipment."
— Description


The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty: Mobile and it works the same way than their previous counterparts.

Call of Duty: Warzone[]

The EMP Grenade returns in Call of Duty: Warzone. It was added as part of the Season Four content of Call of Duty: Vanguard. It functions similarly to its previous iterations and affected players will be stripped of their HUD and vehicles will be powered down momentarily.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • On the Nintendo Wii version of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, one EMP grenade can destroy a Pave Low, AH-6, or an Osprey. However, this is difficult due to the height at which these aircraft fly, except for the AH-6, which (usually) flies very low to the ground.
  • The Flashbang, Concussion and Shock Charge effects can be canceled when the player is blinded by an EMP Grenade.
  • In Black Ops II, strangely, destroying a Sentry Gun or Guardian will not count towards the prestige challenge for destroying enemy equipment. This is also true for destroying other scorestreaks such as the Dragonfire or Hunter Killer.
  • In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in the files there is a cut perk called "EMP Grenade x3"
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