Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is a brutal game, both figuratively and literally. But what pushes that from the average to epic levels is the flourish that comes with completing finishing moves. Just like the Fatalities that are the hallmark of the Mortal Kombat franchise of games, Finishing Moves in Modern Warfare are non-essential.
A kill is a kill, regardless if you do it using a knife or a gun, and whether it’s done from close or long range. However, and again like the MK Fatalities, Finishing Moves add a finality and a level of satisfaction when you pull it off. Think of it as adding insult to injury. It’s like an exclamation point to the statement you just made!
Let’s take look at how to accomplish these Finishing Moves in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare and tips on how to best take advantage of them!
Contents
Equipping and Doing Finishing Moves
Finishing Moves have been added to the Modern Warfare, Warzone, and Black Ops Cold War iterations of Call of Duty (aka COD), and it is likely to be a fixture in the future installments. Every named character in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare has a Finishing Move. Generic Operators do not have Finishing Moves.
First, make sure that your Operator has a Finishing Move equipped. Go to the Operator’s menu. Check the Customize menu. There should be a tab for Finishing Moves.
Just choose the Finishing Move you want and it will be the one the Operator uses. The good news is all of them are executed (pun intended) in pretty much the same manner. Just follow these basic principles:
- Sneak up undetected as close to being behind an enemy as you can.
- On your controller, press and hold down the melee button.
- You will know it triggered a finishing move when it shifts to 3rd person and an animation begins.
It seems relatively simple enough, and it is. However, there are some caveats:
- While the animation for the Finishing Move is running, your Operator is vulnerable from another attack that you might not be aware of. It is actually possible to fail a Finishing Move even if the animation has already started if your Operator is killed while it is in progress.
- The environment can mess up the Finishing move execution (i.e. a box just beyond your peripheral vision that prevents it from being completed due to the collision mechanics).
- You only have 1 or 2 seconds to execute a Finishing Move. If it gets interrupted, either by the target or someone else, it is likely the window of opportunity is missed.
- If you don’t hold down the melee button at just the right interval, the Operator may just perform a slashing or swinging attack.
Like with anything, this takes practice. The more you do a Finishing Move, the more comfortable you will be with the timing and spatial awareness needed to perform it successfully.
Base Finishing Moves
The following is a list of the base Finishing Moves that every character comes with by default. These are the names of the moves and which character has it.
| Name of Move | Character |
| Achilles Heel | Wyatt |
| Axe You Nicely | Alice |
| Axe and Receive | Raines |
| Baton Dispatch | Charly |
| Cranial Carnage | Otter |
| Death Pirouette | Rodion |
| Disable and Decimate | Domino |
| Disable and Kill | Azur |
| Disdainful Destruction | Golem |
| Face the End | Minotaur |
| Foul Play | Syd |
| Hatchet Hitman | D-Day |
| Head to Head | Bale |
| Hobble and Slay | Yegor |
| Infiltration | Grinch |
| Knee Deep | Zane |
| Pierce the Jug | Coalition Mil-Sim |
| Riot Control | Thorne |
| Shanks A Lot | Allegiance Mil-Sim |
| Slideshot | Ghost |
| Take Down | Krueger |
Finishing Moves
These are special Finishing Moves for COD: Modern Warfare that can either be the base for a few Operators, but most are acquired through bundles and Battle Passes.
| Name of Move | How to Acquire |
| 1, 2, 3 | Base for Alex |
| Belly Flop | Bundle Ghost Pack: Oil Rig |
| Between The Ribs | Bundle Deathbringer |
| Brass Boxer | Bundle Emerald Ranger |
| Brass Tactics | Bundle Mother Russia |
| Brassed Off | Bundle Lone Marauder |
| Brick by Brick | Base for Lerch |
| Carver | Iskra Operator Bundle |
| Chest Pains | Base for Mara |
| Close and Personal | Bundle Night Operations |
| Clubbed | Bundle Arms Dealer |
| Cold Blooded | Bundle Nightstalker |
| Counterplay | Bundle The Huntsman |
| Deft Dispatch | Bundle Battle-Ready |
| Do The Spadework | Base for Nikolai |
| Down to Size | Bundle Out in the Bush |
| Electrifying End | Bundle Full Metal |
| Face the Adze | Bundle WMD |
| First Degree | Bundle Amphibious |
| Go Clubbing | Bundle The Unseen |
| Grave Digger | Bundle The Bodyguard |
| Herding | Season One Battle Pass Tier 100 Operator Mission (3/4) |
| Hold This | Bundle Enlisted |
| Ice Breaker | Bundle Cleanup Crew |
| Ice To Meet You | Bundle Gaz Operator Bundle |
| Icy Veins | Bundle Air Assault |
| Join the Club | Bundle Cloak And Dagger |
| Knife To Meet You | Bundle Mad Chemist |
| Laid To Rest | Bundle Urban Avenger |
| Leg Sweep | Bundle Tactical Human IV |
| Lined Up | Bundle Infiltrator |
| Lose By A Neck | Base for Farah |
| Mace to the Face | Bundle Mace Operator Bundle |
| Martial Law | Bundle Heavy Hitter |
| Misdirection | Bundle Chill Confirmed |
| Payback | Pre-order a digital copy of Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War (Universal) |
| Pew Pew Pew | Bundle Fourth of July Pack (Universal) |
| Pinned | Bundle Guerrilla |
| Precision Point | Bundle Tactical Human III |
| Queen of Spades | Bundle Mara: Kawaii Cat |
| Run Through | Bundle Mace: Guns Blazing |
| Say Watt | Bundle Cold Blood |
| Sick 'Em | Bundle Talon Operator Bundle |
| Slice and Dice | Bundle Ronin Operator Bundle |
| Spine Snapper | Bundle The Texan |
| Staying Frosty | Base for Price |
| Step Aside | Bundle Sgt. Griggs Operator Bundle |
| Stick 'n' Knife | Bundle Outback Relief |
| Take a Bow | Bundle Velikan Operator Bundle |
| The Fix | Nikto Operator Bundle |
| Trick Shot | Bundle Stone Warrior |
| Turnover | Bundle Tactical Human II |
| Walk Into It | Bundle Snow Cover |
| Wall Breaker | Bundle Close Quarters |
Legendary Finishing Moves
This list is for Legendary Finishing Moves in COD: Modern Warfare that can only be acquired through Battle Passes and bundles. These are Universal, meaning they can be equipped on any Operator in the game.
| Name of Move | How to Acquire |
| Bush League | Battle Pass Season Four Tier 19 |
| Chip Shot | Bundle Lumber tactical |
| Crick in The Neck | Bundle Pyromaniac |
| Edward | Battle Pass Season Six Tier 18 |
| Fangs Out | Bundle Arachnid |
| Gutted | Bundle The Kodiak |
| Hellhound | Bundle Undead Forces |
| Hello Stranger | Bundle Ghost Pack: Contingency |
| Low Rise | Bundle Asanbosam |
| Nevermore | Battle Pass Season Five Tier 20 |
| Perforate | Bundle Lights Out |
| Riley | Battle Pass Season Three Tier 20 |
| Sasquatch | Bundle Wendigo |
| Snafu | Bundle Roze Operator Bundle |
| Spin Cycle | Bundle Covert Operations |
| Sputnik | Bundle Nikto: Take No Prisoners |
| Three Strikes | Bundle Wasteland |
| Toto | Bundle Mara: No Place Like Home |
| Tuco | Bundle Morte Operator Bundle |
| Watch This | Battle Pass Season Two Tier 100 |
Tips to Execute Modern Warfare Finishing Moves
Performing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Finishing Moves use the same command parameters, there are useful perks and situational awareness tips that can improve your chances. These can help you to consistently accomplish them:
- Remember that there is a distance required. If you are too far, it will not trigger a Finishing Move. An arm’s length is the rough benchmark.
- Ghost Perk. Get it. It makes the Operator virtually invisible to most detection like Sensors, Drones, Snapshot grenades, and UAVs. This improves your ability to sneak behind the enemy.
- Grab Dead Silence. This Field Upgrade improves your Operator’s move speed and completely silences your footsteps. Note, however, that this is only good for one kill.
These can help enhance your ability to do Finishing Moves. But ultimately, it’s your skill and experience with using them that makes the most difference. Practice makes perfect!
