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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: World at War. The subject of this article appeared in Modern Warfare 2: Ghost. The subject of this article appeared in Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS). The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the Nintendo DS. 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: Black Ops Declassified The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty Online The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Ghosts The subject of this article appears in Extinction mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare The subject of this artcile appears in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare Exo Zombies The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: WWII The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops 4 The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Mobile The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War This article was previously featured
Knife F.N.G. COD4

The Knife is the standard close quarters combat (CQC) melee weapon in every main game since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, and also appearing in Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Modern Warfare 2: Ghost, Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS), Find Makarov, Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, Call of Duty Online and Call of Duty: Mobile.

Overview[]

Prior to Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the knife made only incidental appearances, and could never actually be used. Melee attacks in the games prior had used pistol whips and bashes with the stock of the gun. Since Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the knife has been the main melee weapon, triggered by pressing the melee button (default E or V on the PC, clicking the right thumbstick on the Xbox 360, clicking the R3 Button on the PS3, or pressing down on the D-Pad on Wii), as taught in the Missions "F.N.G." and "S.S.D.D."

Call of Duty 2[]

While the knife was never seen in the campaign, a couple of knives can be seen above Corporal Bill Taylor's journal during the loading screen for the American mission Bergstein.

Call of Duty 3[]

Cod 3 knife

Note the writing "Blut und Ehre!", meaning "Blood and honor!".

In "The Crossroads", a German soldier attacks Nichols with a knife in a scripted Close Quarter Battle. He is not able to stab Nichols, and after his death, the knife does not make a reappearance.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare & Modern Warfare Remastered[]

The knife in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare is the only knife featured in the game. However, in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered, the knife can be replaced by other melee weapons such as the Gravedigger. It possesses a range of 128 inches and has a slight delay between the stab and the actual hit. This is easily observed in multiplayer, where connection issues amplify this. However, it always kills an enemy in one slash or stab, except in Old School multiplayer matches, where two knife attacks are required to kill an enemy player at full health. This two-hit kill knifing also applies when double health is applied on Private Matches. In Campaign, the only NPC appearance of the knife is when Captain Price uses one to execute an Ultranationalist in "Ultimatum."

Call of Duty: World at War[]

The knife in Call of Duty: World at War shares the same statistics as its counterpart from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The "stab" animation is slightly faster and the hit "connects" when the player retracts the knife, instead of slightly after the player punctures the enemy. However, it can be rather inconsistent in its ability to connect and kill enemies. It also makes a very loud and distinguishable swinging noise, especially when performing the "stab" animation (observed from the knifer's point of view), which can easily reveal the knifer's presence. However, World at War is infamous in the community for having awful hit detection, and this also applies to knifing, where the attack frequently fails to register, even on a good connection. Knife kills are usually most successful when stabbing an unaware enemy that is moving slowly, as faster moving players can be nearly impossible to hit with the knife.

In Nazi Zombies, the knife is one of the starting weapons received in every map. Killing a zombie with it yields 130 points on Der Riese, 100 Points on Shi No Numa and 50 Points on Nacht der Untoten and Verrückt. The number of knife hits it takes to kill a zombie is generally equal to the round number (with the exception of level 4, in where it only takes 3 hits to kill). Because of the number of hits required to kill and its short reach, by the mid to high levels it is ineffective.

In the Zombies map Der Riese, players can replace their usual knife with the Bowie Knife (near teleporter C, just as the player goes through the courtyard) for 3000 points. Dealing a total of 1150 damage, it allows for one-hit kills up to round 12. The Bowie Knife upgrade remains with the player after being downed and if no one revives him/her, upon respawn, the player keeps the Bowie Knife, making it worth the points spent.

In multiplayer, the Bayonet is an alternative weapon for the knife, and can be attached on all bolt-action rifles (the Kar98k, Springfield, Mosin-Nagant and Arisaka), the M1897 Trench Gun, the M1 Garand, the M1A1 Carbine, and the Type 99 LMG. The Bayonet increases the lunge distance to 200 inches, and can be used to lunge over obstacles, but slows the speed of meleeing. Of the bayonets, all of them are knife or sword bayonets, except for the Mosin Nagant's, which is a spike one instead.

Call of Duty: Zombies[]

Codzombiesknife

The knife being used by the player.

The knife in Call of Duty: Zombies, is aesthetically similar to its Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops variants. It also features a special melee weapon called the Shovel, which is used for the Peter's Grave easter egg.

Modern Warfare 2: Ghost[]

Simon Riley uses the Knife in Modern Warfare 2: Ghost to kill several enemy soldiers in combat. He also uses it to murder Marcus Washington.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the knife's appearance and range are changed since appearing in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

The game introduced two new knives apart from the default knife: the Tactical Knife (an attachment for handguns that allows faster knife stab and faster recovery) and the Throwing Knife (a ranged alternative available as Equipment). Besides their multiplayer appearances, they also make appearances in the campaign: the Tactical Knife is always used with the USP .45 (but it is not credited) and the Throwing Knife is used at the end of the game to kill Shepherd.

Also featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer is the tier 3 perk Commando, which greatly increases the knife's lunge range to 176 inches. This perk is often used with Marathon, Lightweight and the Tactical Knife to create a class capable of using only the knife effectively.

In single player, NPCs are able to knife, although they rarely do it. There are four scripted events where an enemy attacks the player with a knife. The first three occur in "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday", "Just Like Old Times" and "Loose Ends," where the player breaches a door and an enemy charges at the player with a knife. The other occurrence is when Shepherd stabs Soap in the chest after knocking him down during "Endgame."

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

The knife returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops with the same damage as its predecessors. In the Campaign, the knife sees a lot more use in scripted events and has a wider range for different uses, usually when stealth is required. Knifing has an important special effect in Gun Game, demoting players to the previous gun tier if they are knifed. Besides the default knife, there are seven other special variants featured in the game: four in the Campaign, three in Zombies, and one in Multiplayer.

When using a sniper rifle, if aiming at an enemy at close range, holding the breath, pressing the melee buttong and backing away, pressing the melee button again will cause a much farther knife lunge range than normal, resembling that of Commando.

Types of Knives featured in Black Ops[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops DS[]

The knife is used in all levels, and is a one hit kill in campaign and multiplayer. While it can be used in zombies, it is not suggested as it takes one hit by a zombie to down the player. The knife only takes one hit to kill a zombie, no matter what round, but if a zombie is running it takes two hits to kill. If the player uses the ADS function while wielding it, they are able to use it as a throwing knife.

Find Makarov[]

The knife is used by John "Soap" MacTavish and Shepherd.

Find Makarov: Operation Kingfish[]

When Shepherd hands over a dossier with a picture of Vladimir Makarov, John "Soap" MacTavish uses a knife to stab the photo.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

The knife appears again in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 as the standard melee weapon. It seems to have retained many visual aspects when compared to the knife in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.[1] If the enemy player is wearing Juggernaut armor, the knife is not a one hit kill. When using the Melee proficiency on a weapon, the player will knife faster while wielding that weapon. Also, the tactical knife on pistols will make the knife slash out earlier. In campaign, however, Sandman can be seen with a unique folding knife.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance[]

The knife appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance. It is an instant kill weapon and retains this status in multiplayer.

The knife now features a "return sweep": if the player swipes the knife and retracts it, the blade can still slash enemies and kill them while being put away. Like its predecessor it can be used as the throwing knife by pressing the ADS button.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]

The standard knife now has little to no lunge and unlike other installments, it receives no aim assist when stabbing, making it more difficult to use than previous installments. However, the knife can now be used as an individual weapon, the Combat Knife, which has a lunge similar to the knife in previous games. The Combat Knife is used when one slot in Create-A-Class in either Primary or Secondary weapons is empty.

In multiplayer, the knife can be customized with camouflages in Create-A-Class.

It is brought out as a weapon in "Suffer With Me" then used as a Throwing Knife later.

Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified[]

The Knife appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified.

Call of Duty Online[]

The knife in Call of Duty Online returns virtually the same as it did in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the knife's appearance is slightly different cosmetically, but all over the same.

Call of Duty: Ghosts[]

The knife appears in Call of Duty: Ghosts. Unlike previous games, which featured a slash attack, an animation is played out where the player grabs their enemy and stabs their target, slowing the player down and otherwise stopping them in their tracks. It is possible for the attacker to be killed mid-stab. The Combat Knife returns as an individual weapon as well. A gold variant was later added in a patch, in which it is executed with a full slash attack animation instead of the stop-and-stab animation, allowing players to melee faster when equipped with it.

Extinction[]

The knife is the default and only melee weapon in Extinction. It's available for all classes, although the Tank is the only class that can upgrade it's damage up to 200%. It's base damage is high enough to kill a Scout (Extinction) with a single critical hit or with 2 body hits. Unlike in the campaign and multiplayer, it does not have a stabing animation, so the only way of attacking is through normal slashes.

An upgrade called "Electric Knife" can be bought from the armory for 30 Teeth. When a Cryptid is hit, an arc of electricity will jump to nearby enemies, stunning them and dealing minor damage, much like the effects of Stun Ammo. However, the Cryptid that was hit does not get stunned by the electricity. Once used, it has a cooldown of 4 seconds. Because of all of this, it is not a popular upgrade for purchase, as it's only useful on very specific situations, and the player can do much better with 30 Teeth.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare[]

The knife is only used in some instances in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, because the standard melee attack is now performed with a powerful punch due to the new exoskeletons. The Combat Knife and the Tactical Knife are still fully available in multiplayer, however.

Campaign[]

The knife is only used at certain points of the campaign, whereas in normal circumstances the Exo Melee is used instead:

  • In "Aftermath", melee attacks are performed with a knife during the stealth part.
  • At the end of "Manhunt", a knife is used during the confrontation with Hades.
  • At the start of "Utopia", after the fire sprinkler system is triggered, melee can be briefly done with a knife before saving Ilona, though it is useless, and the waste of time in using it will cause a mission failure.
  • In "Sentinel", a knife is used during some Grappling Hook attacks. It is the same model that is used by Sandman in Black Tuesday, minus the lacks miniature Delta Force logo.
  • In "Bio Lab", melee is done with a knife during the cloak part.
  • In "Captured", if Mitchell's currently equipped weapon is empty, he will drop it and draw a knife (in a similar fashion to the Combat Knife from multiplayer) until he picks up another weapon, due to his disabled prosthetic left arm.
  • At the end of "Terminus", a knife is used during the confrontation with Irons.

Exo Zombies[]

The knife is available as the standard melee weapon at the start of each match in Exo Zombies, but once acquiring the exo suit, the Exo Melee is used afterwards.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

The standard knife is only available in Zombies mode as the standard melee weapon (although it makes some brief scripted appearances in the campaign). In other game modes, the player will melee with the butt of their weapon. In multiplayer, six knife-based weapons are available as standalone melee weapons: they are the Combat Knife, the Butterfly Knife, the Fury's Song, the Carver, the Malice and the Path of Sorrows.

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare[]

The standard knife is only available for use in campaign, Gun Game, Infected and All or Nothing (thus allowing one-hit melee kills); in other circumstances, the weapon butt is used for melee attacks like in Black Ops III. In campaign, the knife is available for use via a suit upgrade, replacing the butt attack. Once again, the Combat Knife is available for use as a stand-alone weapon in usual gameplay.

The knife is used during some scripted parts in the campaign. In the mission Operation Black Flag, the SDF sleeper agent Akeel Min Riah uses a knife to stab himself in order to remove a transponder within him before shortly using the Knife to destroy the transponder. The knife that he drops after dying cannot be obtained by the player. Another instance where the knife is used is when Nick Reyes points a knife at the dying Salen Kotch during the same mission, at which point he can use it to stab him or let him succumb to his wounds.

Call of Duty: WWII[]

The knife is used at certain scripted parts of the campaign in Call of Duty: WWII, firstly seen in the hands of Robert Zussman during the knife game sequence in the level "D-Day". It can also be used by the player to perform silent kills on enemies during the stealth sections of missions like "S.O.E.", "Liberation", "Death Factory" and "Ambush", as well as during a quick-time event in "Collateral Damage". Knives are also holstered by various characters throughout the campaign such as Ronald "Red" Daniels, Frank Aiello and Howard.

Call of Duty: Black Ops 4[]

The standard knife makes a return in the Zombies Mode of Call of Duty: Black Ops 4, being used by both players and bots.

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

"A close-range melee weapon."
— Description

The Knife returns in Call of Duty: Mobile. It is available as a standalone weapon, alongside the Base Melee and other melee weapons. It can also be used in a similar fashion to previous games when not selected in the loadout. When the player encounters an enemy in close quarters, a melee option pops up, allowing them to quickly use the knife.

Blueprints[]

Epic[]

  • Moonstone
  • Cyberspace
  • Eruption
  • Enchanted Carbine
  • Heatstroke
  • Natural Hunter
  • Zero G
  • Bloody Vengeance
  • Contamination
  • Hot Spot
  • Chrome Wave
  • Gag
  • Oil Spill
  • Wrath Black & Gold
  • Tourmaline
  • Third Rail
  • Nuclear Fallout
  • Championship Purple
  • Living Rust
  • Radar
  • Visceral
  • Meltdown
  • Echolocation
  • Meteor Shower
  • Revolt
  • Cosmos
  • Snake Bite
  • Bubblegum
  • Sakura Storm
  • Floating Lotus
  • Stampede
  • Dangerous Waters
  • Target Lock
  • Ready to Blow
  • Nightwind
  • Barrier Break
  • Down Range
  • Static Discharge
  • Quartz
  • Spilled
  • Sapphire Burst
  • Defibrillator
  • Bleeding Rose
  • Crane's Battle
  • Ice Crystal
  • Dog House
  • Demolition
  • Peak Light
  • Tuning Frequency

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

"CQC tactical knife. Standard military issue, employed for fast, quiet, and deadly wetwork."
— In-game description

The Knife returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, the standard knife is only available in some game modes including Gun Game. Equipping the Throwing Knife as the lethal equipment in your loadout allows the player to preform a typical knife attack instead of meleeing with the gun that is currently equipped. The Combat Knife is also able to be equipped as a secondary weapon.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War[]

"Lethal melee weapon. Military-issue combat knife with a straight-edge blade that kills enemies with a single deadly strike. Trusted by the U.S. Military since the early 40's."
— In-game description

The Knife returns in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War where it once more has been changed to be a separate Melee Weapon.

Overview[]

Campaign[]

Both Alex Mason and Bell use the knife in some of the takedown animations, and it becomes Mason's primary after he loses his weapons in "Echoes of a Cold War". In "Ashes to Ashes", Russell Adler attempts to kill Bell with a knife for their treachery.

Multiplayer[]

The Knife is unlocked for used in Create-A-Class in both Multiplayer and Zombies at Player Level 13. It allows for one-hit melee kills while equipped in a slot, as it replaces the gun butt melee strike if equipped in conjunction with a gun.

Zombies[]

The Knife can be brought into any map via Create-A-Class, at Loadout rarity and can be found at any rarity via the Mystery Box for 950 Essence. Unlike prior games, the Knife can be Pack-a-Punched, becoming the Closing Argument, doubling the damage with each Upgrade level. It can also be equipped with Ammo Mods but the mod will not appear on the Knife itself.

The Knife can be an extremely powerful and effective tool for dispatching singular targets and dealing heavy damage to special and elite enemies, but at the major cost of risks of retaliatory hits and the general slowness of the Knife itself.

If the player has the first rank of the Aetherium Crystal "Melee" skill, their standard melee will be replaced with a different knife that will be weaker but will still be overridden if the Knife itself is in the player's possession.

Blueprints[]

Blueprint Image Rarity How to obtain
Assassins Blade AssassinsBlade Card BOCW Epic Anime Assassin Bundle
Banana Blade BananaBlade Card BOCW Epic Elite Forces Bundle
Boonie Boonie Card BOCW Epic Season Two Combat Pack
Currency Cutter CurrencyCutter Card BOCW Epic Bank Heist Bundle
Finishing Touch FinishingTouch Card BOCW Epic Zeyna Operator Bundle
Fury Fang FuryFang Card BOCW Legendary Wolf Operator Bundle
Ghost Blade Ghost Blade Card BOCW Legendary Tracer Pack: Scream Operator Bundle
Pincer Spike PincerSpike Card BOCW Legendary Battle Pass Season Five Tier 89
Rambo's Knife Rambo's Knife Card BOCW Epic Tracer Pack: Rambo Operator Bundle
Republic Impaler RepublicImpaler Card BOCW Epic 30000 Total Squad Damage in the armored train on The Battle of Verdansk event
Stake Stake Card BOCW Epic Most Dangerous Hunt Bundle

Gallery[]

For camouflage images, see Knife/Camouflage.

Trivia[]

  • In some multiplayer maps in World At War, it is possible to find unusable Hitler Youth knives.
  • A HUD icon can be found in the files for Call of Duty: World at War.
  • On the Wii version of Call of Duty: Black Ops, there is no knife lunge unless the player is using a Classic Controller.
  • In Call of Duty: Black Ops (DS), sometimes when knifing a zombie there will be a delay before they die.
  • The ending knife in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 has less damage than the original knife, and can hit through riot shields. This is noticeable in the level Museum, by using the console command give ending_knife.
  • On Modern Warfare 3, if the final KillCam is with a knife, a blood splatter will appear out of nowhere once the knife leaves the enemy's body.
  • On Modern Warfare 3, the Infinity Ward logo and name is writen on the knife.
  • Knifing is the only way for a Juggernaut and Juggernaut Recon to gain a M.O.A.B.
  • In Call of Duty: Ghosts, the height level at which the character swings the knife differs between some weapons.
  • In Call of Duty: Ghosts, the KillCam refers to it as the Combat Knife, just like the stand-alone version.
    • In Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare's multiplayer, the KillCam refers to the Exo Melee as the "Combat Knife" as well.

See also[]

References[]

  1. 402 on twitter: It is different, no lunge and removed commando as a perk.
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