A bizarre bug with the finishing move mechanic in Modern Warfare and Warzone has left some players totally dumbfounded, after the tables were turned and they were killed by their own execution attempt.
Finisher moves are an awesome feature added in 2019’s Modern Warfare for the first time in a Call of Duty game.
Approach an enemy from behind and hold the melee button to see your character perform a brutal takedown of the enemy for extra style points, all done in a snappy third-person view. Unless you get caught with this rare bug, that is.
After a number of odd sightings of this bug, players began to put together a pattern of why it happens.
Most notably, prominent Call of Duty League caster, Clint ‘Maven’ Evans, was left utterly perplexed after “winning” his Gulag with an assassination, only to realize he had been denied his victory in the cruelest manner.
Performing the execution on his unsuspecting foe, Maven was convinced he had done enough to get back to his teammates, not even realizing that a bug had actually given his enemy the win instead.
Incredible game we are playing here pic.twitter.com/HN48Su0Eqy
— Clint "Maven" Evans (@Maven) July 13, 2020
After his initial confusion, other Twitter users explained that is a rare bug that occurs when your enemy is carrying a throwing knife in their hand.
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For some unexplained reason, which is surely unintentional on the part of the developers, an enemy wielding a throwing knife will inexplicably counter the execution.
apparently if you have your lethal in hand it counters the assassination lmao
— Clint "Maven" Evans (@Maven) July 13, 2020
Only with throwing knife I think as it’s an insta kill
— Max (@maxwmosc_) July 13, 2020
This presumably happens because, like dying with a grenade in your hand, the lethal will simply drop to the ground. But, if you have a throwing knife, it will simply “insta-kill” the would-be executioner.
This is certainly something the developers at Infinity Ward will want to look into, but at the time of writing it’s not listed as known issue on their public Trello board. It’s not the only bug they’ve had either, as sometimes finishing moves simply don’t finish the opponent at all.
In the meantime, you might want to use this trick to your advantage. If you’re ever hiding in a spot, and fearful of a possible execution, just sit with a throwing knife in your hand. If this bug happens every time, it will render you immune from finisher moves.