For the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 and Black Ops II equivalent, see Dead Silence.

Ninja is a Tier 3 perk appearing in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Edit

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Tier 3 Perk
Unlocked at	Level 29
Pro unlocked at	50 close quarters kills
Console codename	ninja

Ninja prevents users from appearing on Heartbeat Sensor attachments, and is unlocked at Rank 29.

The Pro version of this perk is unlocked after players kill 50 players in "close-quarters" while using the perk. The pro version reduces the movement noise volume (footsteps, mantling and climbing) by 75%, effectively replacing Dead Silence. The actual distance that constitutes "close-quarters" needed for the challenge is unknown, but it is approximately the range at which the Tier 3 Perk Scrambler completely Scrambles the radar of enemies - Scrambler Pro is unlocked similarly by making "close-quarters" kills. It also may be the distance at which a Heartbeat Sensor can detect players.

This is useful to players who like going lone-wolf and sneak behind enemy lines. A complete custom stealth class often comprises silenced weapons, Cold Blooded Pro as their Tier 2 Perk (no red cross-hairs when aimed upon), and Ninja Pro (silent footsteps are needed) as their Tier 3 Perk. As mentioned in Dead Silence, though it removes all "high-profile" movement (sprinting, climbing onto an obstacle/platform) noise, a player can imitate this quiet manner by moving while crouched or in ADS (aiming down the sight).

Ninja is most useful in games such as Sabotage and Search and Destroy as players with Heartbeat Sensors often wait by the objectives (or people using headsets or even alert hearing), but it is often useless in other game types due to the rarity of Heartbeat Sensors. Earlier in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer there were more Heartbeat Sensors used as players were trying out attachments, so the Ninja perk was more useful.

Ninja Pro is more often used in all custom classes by players that use gaming headsets, which help them to hear other players' movements without being disrupted by their own movement noise. This has also stopped some players from Prestiging as they find it difficult to play the game without their footsteps being silent.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Edit

Call of Duty: Black Ops
Tier 3 Perk
Price	2000
Unlocked at	Level 4

Ninja returns as a Tier 3 perk in Call of Duty: Black Ops. It is roughly equivalent to the Dead Silence perk from past Call of Duty games and shares effects with SitRep Pro in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

OverviewEdit

Ninja reduces all player noise by 75%. Its pro version completely silences the player and doubles the volume of enemy sounds. Teammates without Ninja will be heard normally by the player.

Unlike in past Call of Duty games, Ninja Pro is not limited to footsteps alone. Ninja Pro silences falling, mantling, weapon switches, equipment deployment, and more. It also more than doubles the sound of enemy footsteps, as well as amplifying enemy callouts, reloading, and equipment deployment. It is useful to know the language of the player's team to distinguish friend from foe.

The November 18th patch balances audio levels making player noises much easier to detect. This makes Ninja and Ninja Pro much more useful. However, even with Ninja Pro, enemies do not make nearly as much movement noise as they do in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The volume of footsteps varies widely depending on the ground surface; on some surfaces footsteps are nearly silent. Additionally, while sprinting on some surfaces footsteps seem to make noise only every third or fourth step, again minimizing the usefulness of this perk.

Ninja Pro seems to let the player pick up on enemy footsteps from slightly further away but not necessarily louder. Having a line of sight definitely lets the player hear the footsteps easier than if the player is around a corner.

Even with Ninja Pro, players will hear themselves mantling. This may be so that the player isn't playing in an awkward silence.

The 1.04 patch further adjusts Ninja Pro: "Additional sound mix tuning for Ninja Pro users – increased ranges and volume of enemy footsteps, and removed player footstep sounds on concrete material types."

*Pro ChallengesEdit

• Silenced Kills – Get 150 kills using the Suppressor attachment.
• Back Stabs – Get 5 Backstabber Medals.
• Plants – Plant the bomb 10 times in Demolition, Sabotage, or Search & Destroy.

Trivia Edit

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2Edit

• Even with Ninja Pro, players will still make a loud crunching sound when falling from an elevated height, just like its predecessor Dead Silence. Players with Ninja Pro will also make noise if they move through branches or bushes.
• Ninja Pro actually reduces footstep sounds to a quarter of their original volume, but this is still extremely quiet and will almost never be heard.
• SitRep Pro has no effect on Ninja Pro.^[1] Players using SitRep Pro will not be able to hear Ninja Pro users more easily than players who are not using Sitrep Pro.
• Friendlies using Ninja do not appear on Heartbeat Sensors.
• Dead Silence was originally going to be an ability of one of the four planned multiplayer character abilities. However, the character models were scrapped and it was added as the Pro ability of Ninja.^[2]
• When the player earns the pro version, the effect will not work until their next life.

Call of Duty: Black OpsEdit

• A great way to get the Pro version of Ninja is to play Demolition. When defending, the player can backstab the enemies that are planting the bomb, and when on offense, the player can plant the bomb to get the bomb planting challenge.
• It may be useful to get the Pro version while trying to get Flak Jacket Pro, as Flak Jacket Pro also requires the player to plant (or defuse) the bomb 10 times.
• Ninja Pro is useful in Search and Destroy. The player can hear where the enemies are, and get an opportunity to sneak up on them.
• The achievement, Stand Down, uses the same Ninja logo.
• The last challenge for getting Ninja Pro, which is planting 10 bombs, is absent in Combat Training, since the player cannot play bomb related gametypes, such as Search and Destroy and Demolition.
• The Backstabber challenge can be tricky with a simple melee and oftentimes the player will not get credit for a Backstabber medal after completing a melee from behind. A good way to ensure a Backstabber medal is to melee while using the Ballistic Knife. This will ensure a direct stab to the back.
• Ninja Pro is the first perk to be canceled out by itself, instead of by something else.

ReferencesEdit