With Infinity Ward’s latest entry in the Call of Duty series, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, topping multiple sales records across the series history, it’s safe to say there are a lot of players currently learning the ropes to the newly released FPS. While Modern Warfare has a fair amount of the series’ roots intact for veteran players to latch onto, there is still an abundance of new techniques implemented that are sure to keep the game feeling fresh.
Alongside many returning mechanics from the series’ past, one of the new mechanics introduced in Modern Warfare is the finishing move. Finishing moves are essentially special executions that instantly kill an enemy player. At first glance, finishing moves may seem pretty strong, but they’re balanced out so that they can only be executed provided the correct conditions are met. Here’s our guide on how to properly execute finishing moves in Modern Warfare.
Performing a Finishing Move
Performing the finishing move itself can be deceptively tricky. Since finishing moves are melee-based actions, players will have to use the melee button to pull off the execution. However, a finishing move can only be executed if a player is facing an enemy’s back. Once the player is in position, hold the melee button down for a couple of seconds and the finishing move animation will trigger and instantly execute the enemy player.
Executing finishing moves properly can be finicky since some very specific conditions have to be met. Especially on console, since the melee button is mapped by default to the right thumbstick it can feel a bit awkward clicking in on the stick to pull off the move properly. Using stealth-oriented perks like Ghost or Cold-Blooded can aid in sneaking up on unsuspecting players to more easily perform finishing moves. Additionally, stun or flash grenades can help to disorient enemy players, making it easier to get behind them for a quick execution.
The Benefit of Finishing Moves
There are plenty of benefits to performing finishing moves to offset how precise the conditions have to be to perform them. Finishing moves are actions tallied by the game that can unlock certain cosmetics. For example, the only way to unlock the operator, Krueger, is by successfully performing 25 finishing moves.
Finishing moves are also helpful in dispatching players who are camping in one location during a match. Since finishing moves instantly kill a player in a matter of a few seconds, they are one of the most efficient ways to quickly get rid of an enemy provided that they’re caught unaware and they’re close by. While finishing moves can be a bit risky to perform, they can be a helpful addition to any players looking to get ahead of the competition quickly.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare is out now for PC, PS4, and Xbox One.
