Welcome to the Call of Duty Modern Warfare 2 Trophy & Achievement guide!
5/10 Estimated Difficulty
10-15 Estimated Hours to Completion. Co-op Trophies/Achievement times will vary.
1 Minimum Story Playthrough on Veteran Difficulty & Chapter Select if needed. + Co-op mission playthroughs
0 Missable Trophies/Achievements
The majority of this list contains of miscellaneous Trophies/Achievements. There are none for Warzone. The only multiplayer Trophies/Achievements on this list are based around co-op which cannot be earned yet as the servers are not live.
This list is a pretty quick and easy one to complete. If you want to get this done as quickly as you can, you’re going to want to play on Veteran difficulty for your first time through so you can knock out “Cutting Heads off Snakes.” Playing on Veteran will make a few of the miscellaneous Trophies/Achievements more challenging, but you can clean these up via chapter select on lower difficulties.
Speaking of chapter select, every miscellaneous Trophy/Achievement can be earned via chapter select. So that means nothing here is missable.
Online
There are six Trophies/Achievements tied to playing co-op online. These are tied to the Spec-Ops type missions in previous Call of Duty games. The difference here is that you cannot play these solo unless the other player quits out. So, unless they quit, you’re going to have to do these with another player. There is matchmaking for this just in case you don’t have a friend online to join you. These are also not possible in split-screen.
We are RTB
Collect all the Trophies
Crocodile
Shoot three enemies while underwater in ‘Wetwork’.
This can be earned at the very beginning of the mission. In order to earn this, the enemies you kill must be shot while you’re underwater. The throwing knives do not count toward this.
After getting a kill, you can come back up for air. Just make sure you are underwater when you get a kill.
- From the start, swim over to the enemy on the left and kill him with a throwing knife. Pick up his suppressed pistol.
- With the pistol, continue swimming forward and there will be an enemy on the right side. Go underwater and shoot him with the suppressed pistol.
- To the left of the previous enemy, there are three more enemies standing on the docks. Kill any two of them from underwater and this will pop immediately.
Must be Wind
Rescue the hostages in ‘Countdown’ without the enemies firing their weapons.
You’ll be dropped off via helicopter on the top of a building. You will then rappel down the side of the building and this is where the Trophy/Achievement will begin. You’ll need to free hostages floor by floor as you rappel down the building. I found it better to go down upside down so that you get a view on the enemies quicker without being seen.
The first floor will have two enemies. These enemies will be close to each other. Position yourself so that when you start firing, you’ll hit and kill both enemies right away. When they’re dead, move down to the next floor.
The second floor will have four enemies. There will be two enemies on your left near each other. Go to the left and kill those enemies first. Head over to the other side and there will be the other two enemies. The two enemies on the opposite side won’t be as close together as the previous enemies, but you can line up the shots to get them both quickly without having to take time to aim. Kill the enemy closest to you and then hit the one behind him.
The third and final floor will have five enemies. Go over to the right side and you’ll find two enemies. Take them out together and then move left clearing the rest of the floor. There will be another two enemies nearby. Line them up and take them out. Be careful to avoid shooting the hostages nearby. After they’re dead, move out of sight of the window as the last enemy will likely be alerted. Mover over to the left while remaining out of sight of the window. Slowly creep down and try to peek around to find the final enemy.
Kill the final enemy and the Trophy/Achievement will pop. If at any point you’re fired at, reload the checkpoint.
Gunless
Finish ‘Alone’ without firing a gun.
This is easier done on Recruit difficulty.
You’ll begin the mission with no gear and you’ll need to find some supplies as the mission progresses while making your way back to Ghost.
One of your objectives will be to acquire a shotgun. This is fine. You can pick up guns, just do not fire them. This also counts for the crossbow which is found in the safe in the garage. You cannot fire the crossbow either.
You can kill enemies with melee and throwable items, that will not void this. You just cannot use any guns. If you happen to fire off a shot, reload your checkpoint and try again.
Test Drive
Drive five vehicle types in ‘Violence and Timing’.
- Fire on the enemies in the vehicles from inside of the helicopter. You’ll eventually reach a point where the the helicopter is struck by a rocket. You’ll then be hanging upside down.
Cut yourself down when given the prompt and you’ll land on an enemy truck. Crawl to the front and hijack the truck. This will be vehicle #1.
This needs to be five different vehicle types, not just five vehicles. Each one has to be different.
After you hijack the first enemy truck, pay attention to the right side of the road. There will be civilian vehicles parked along the side. Drive up to them, get out and get in them if they are different.
The first enemy truck is #1. There is also a civilian van, a civilian car, an enemy pick up truck and enemy long bed transport trucks.
As long as the back of the enemy transport truck is different than the first one you drove, it will count as a different vehicle type. So, the first one had a canopy covering the truck bed. If you were to hijack a truck that had crates in the back instead of a canopy, it would register as a different vehicle. My first and last vehicles for this Trophy/Achievement were the enemy convoy trucks.
You have a decent amount of time to do this, but you do need to stay somewhat close to the rest of the convoy. Getting too far behind will fail the mission.
- As for the “Keeping this One” Trophy/Achievement, restart the mission after getting “Test Drive.”
When you land on the first vehicle after cutting yourself down, hijack this vehicle and do not get out of it. You will need to keep this vehicle until Price tells you to jump to his vehicle.
The tricky part for this comes toward the end. There will be a truck ahead of you throwing mines down on the road. You’re going to need to dodge these mines and make your way up the truck. When you get close enough, shoot the enemies throwing the mines. It’s not just the mines themselves that are tricky, it is also the civilian cars. When they explode, they have tendency to fly over directly toward you. Be aware of that dodge them as best as you can.
Shortly after taking out the truck with mines, Price will drive up along side you and tell you jump to his vehicle. get next to him, climb on the roof and jump over. This will pop as soon as you land in Price’s truck.
Ghost-in-Training
Reach the penthouse in ‘El Sin Nombre’ without killing anyone or triggering the alarm.
The section for the Trophy/Achievement begins after your interrogation. After the interrogation, you’ll be taken in an elevator and given a mask. You’ll also be able to move around the building. If at any point you’re spotted, restart your checkpoint and try again.
Go to the backyard. Climb up a waist high wall and then climb up to a balcony where an open door can be found.
Go up the stairs and grab the bottle on the ground. Follow the hallway up here and take the second left and then go right.
Go down to the end of the hallway toward the statue and go through the door to the right of the statue. Make sure to close the door behind you as there is a guard patrolling the hallway.
From the door, go straight and take a right through a door that will take you to a balcony. Hop over the balcony and onto the roof. Go right.
Walk to the end of the roof and look to your right to see a ladder that you can climb. Climb it to reach another rooftop. Make sure to grab another bottle up. There is one on the roof near where you climb up and another near the chairs.
Wait for the enemy at the end of the roof to pass by and then go forward toward him.
As you pass the clearing on your right, look right and throw a bottle to distract an enemy around the corner.
Continue heading to the end of the roof. Turn right and there will be an enemy ahead of you looking toward where you threw the bottle. Go behind the counters with the grill and throw another bottle to keep the guard distracted.
Go behind that guard while he’s distracted and keep moving straight. The door on your left will be locked, but there is a ladder nearby that you can climb. Climb it and you’ll meet with Alejandro.
Alejandro will take cover. Go behind him to enter the elevator shaft.
Ride the elevator down just a bit to reveal an emergency door control. Use the control to open the door and exit.
Go down the hallway and this will pop.
Don’t touch the deck!
In ‘Dark Water’ advance 90 meters towards the front of the ship without touching the deck.
This is something that is easier done on Recruit difficulty. The waves of the ocean will be pushing the crates and containers on the ship back and forth. You’re going to need to hop from one to the next and make it a total of 90 meters without touching the ground. You’ll also have enemies firing at you while you do this. When you jump, spam 
/
so that you can pull yourself up if you land on the edge. This won’t count as hitting the ground.
As your boat crashes onto the ship, do not touch the deck. Jump from your boat and up onto the shipping container next to you. When a crate slides close to you, jump to it and make sure you land on it. You’re going to have to jump from crate to crate to the very end of this section.
Take your time as best as you can to plan out each of your moves. Clear out enemies before jumping so that they don’t mess up a jump.
You’re going to have to make it to the end until there are no containers left. Even then, do not jump to the ground at the end. Instead, jump up from your last crate to either the left or right side railing. Walk along the top of the railing and then get down at the end of it. Don’t touch the deck at all on the same level where the crates are.
Keeping this One
Reach Price using the first vehicle you hijack.
See the “Test Drive” Trophy/Achievement above for more details.
Gentleman Thief
Open three safes in the Campaign.
The three safes are found in two different missions. If you miss any of the safes, you can get them via chapter select. You do not have to get these in a single play-through.
- The first safe can be found during the mission “El Sin Nombre” in a closet in Diego’s room. The combo is 02-02-19.
Go to the backyard. Climb up a waist high wall and then climb up to a balcony where an open door can be found.
Go up the staircase and go through the first left. Go to the balcony straight ahead from this doorway. Take out the guard.
Go right down the balcony and enter the doorway on the left to enter Diego’s room. This safe is near the bed behind black closet doors.
- The second safe is found during the mission “Alone.” The combo is 10-10-80
As you make your way through the mission, make sure to pick up Binding and Metal supplies so that you can craft a Pry Tool. After disarming the shotgun trap in a kitchen, continue through the house. As you walk through a hallway to a door, someone will be knocking on it. When you open it, a man will fall into the room and die. Continue straight and exit the room. Go left in the coffee shop. Take another left to a white door with a “No Entry” sign next to it. The door will be locked and you’ll need to pry it open with a Pry Tool. You can craft these in your backpack with Binding and Metal. The safe is behind the door.
- The third safe is also found during the mission “Alone.” The combo is 37-60-80.
From the previous safe, leave the room and go right. Drop down through the opening in the railing to the bottom floor. Go forward and go left. Go straight through an open door with a green light next to it on the right. You’ll need to be quick here as a group of enemies will be outside and will be on patrol through here. Go through the door and you’ll be outside. Go left and behind the parked car to the blue door. Open the door and you’ll be in a garage. Continue moving to the left in the garage and you’ll come to an office in the back corner. The safe is in that office.
Wall of Duty
Kill three Enemies with the Riot Shield in the Campaign or in Co-op.
This can be earned on the mission “Prison Break.”
You’ll encounter enemies with riot shields after rescuing Alejandro. Kill the enemies and pick up one of the riot shields.
Continue on to the next area of the mission and you’ll come to another combat encounter. Press in R3/RS to attack with the shield. All you have to do is take out three enemies with it.
Reload your checkpoint if you fail and try again. You can try using flashbang grenades to stun the enemies if you’re really having issues with this.
Daredevil
While affected by one Flashbang, kill two enemies in the Campaign or in Co-op.
This can be earned in the mission “Wetwork.”
After you clear the docks of enemies, you and Price will infiltrate a small boat. Clear the first level of the boat and then you’ll head downstairs where Price will investigate a dead enemy.
While he’s doing that, pick up a shotgun from a dead enemy and look to the right of where Price is. There will be flashbangs on the shelf on the wall. Pick them up.
Price will eventually open the door in front of you. Toss a flashbang down close to you and then start firing your shotgun when you’re blinded. The area is confined, so the three enemies will be close together in the next room. You can reload your checkpoint if you don’t get it. Two enemies need to be killed while you’re blinded.
Practice makes Perfect
Shoot all the targets in the training area in ‘Ghost Team’.
This is done during the section of the mission where you need to destroy the tank with C4. Do not destroy the tank until you have earned this as destroying the tank will end this mission. You will also need to avoid being killed by the tank as you do this.
There will be 33 targets through out the area and you will need to shoot each one. Comb through the area shooting each one as you go. It does not matter what side of the target you hit as long as you hit it. They will also drop when shot, so you don’t have to worry about keeping track of what you have and haven’t shot.
The targets are in the buildings, on the roof tops, around the perimeter of the area, near cars and containers. None of them are overly hidden, but the challenge here comes from avoiding the tank. Try keeping structures between you and the tank at all times. You really need to be cognizant of where the tank is as you’re shooting the targets. The tank will one hit you with the cannon if it has a clean shot at you.
A Crappy Way to Die
Kill the enemy in the porta-potty.
This is earned during the mission “Dark Water.”
Shortly after beginning the mission, you’ll eventually stack up with your squad go up a narrow staircase. As you approach the top of the staircase, look to your right and you’ll see two porta-potties. Shoot the door of the one on the left and you’ll kill an enemy that is inside of it. If you’re too slow, the enemy will leave and you’ll need to reload your checkpoint.
Nessie
Reach the barge without being seen in ‘Wetwork’.
The section required for this Trophy/Achievement takes place at the very beginning of the mission while swimming.
You will need to get through this section without being spotted by anyone, but you also can’t leave anyone alive. So you will need take the enemies out as stealthily and carefully as possible. If you’re starting to be spotted or you need to get away quickly, duck underwater to take cover and swim away.
If you see yellow on your compass, that’s okay. If it turns red or you’re fired on, you will need to try again. You can reload checkpoints to try again if you’re spotted.
They’re will be enemies sometimes standing close to each other. When this is the case, don’t kill anyone until they are not looking at each other and be ready to quickly get the other to avoid detection.
- The first enemy is in front of you to the left. Swim up to him and use your throwing knife to take him out. Pick up the pistol he drops and move on to the next.
- The second enemy will be ahead of you on the right side standing near the edge of the dock.
- From there, swim to your left. There are three enemies on this next dock on the left.
- Swim under the dock the two enemies and move forward. You’ll want to stay to the sides as there will be a patrol boat coming toward you down the middle of the area with two enemies aboard.
- Swim under the next dock and boats straight ahead of you. There will be two enemies on the far side of the area. You can try to take them with headshots from here, but it’s tricky.
- Swim forward under a third dock and there will be two enemies ahead of you. Take them out and swim to the right side. There will be a two more enemies on this back dock.
- Swim to the far right side of the area and look back, if you didn’t take the enemies out from a distance on the right side dock, take them out here.
- All that should be left are the two patrol boats. I found it easier to use the throwing knives on them as quickly as you can. Swim up behind them and take out the back enemy first and then the other. Each boat will have two enemies each.
This will pop shortly after every enemy has been silently killed.
No time to lose
Complete the CCTV sequence in four minutes.
This is earned during the mission “Prison Break.”
You’ll eventually come to an area where you’ll need to interact with a CCTV to help escort Price.
What you need to do here is command Ghost where to go and who to kill by selecting points or enemies via the CCTV. You can switch cameras to get different views as well as use distractions to disrupt enemies. If you’re taking too long or make too many mistakes, you can restart the mission and try again. This takes place in the beginning of the mission, so you can try again quickly.
Some of the enemies here are armored, so you’ll need to use the knife to kill them. Don’t shoot them. The enemies also appear to have reduced fields of vision during this. This also applies to the angle at which you approach an enemy for a knife kill. As long as you aren’t coming directly at them from the front, you can approach undetected at just about any angle. It’s pretty forgiving.
In fact, you can actually do a practice run or two in order to learn the layout of the area and the behaviors of the enemy. When you think you’re ready to go, restart and go for it.
Just keep Ghost moving as quickly as you can by taking advantage of the darker shadowy areas and some not so smart enemy AI.
Backpack Guy
Kill gassed or blinded enemies using a Molotov, Semtex and Frag in ‘Prison Break’.
You’re going to need to get kills with a Molotov, Semtex and Frag on an enemy while they are stunned from either a gas grenade or a stun grenade. This does not have to be done any specific order and it is okay to die between kills.
This can be earned after you rescue Alejandro from the cell. Shortly after that, you’ll be able to refill the devices in your back pack.
After refilling your back pack, there will be enemies coming toward you down the next hallway. Throw a gas or stun grenade at them and then throw any one of the three required throwables.
If there are no more enemies in the hallway, continue on to the next combat encounter and repeat the process except with whatever explosive you still need.
Cutting Heads off Snakes
Finish all Campaign missions on Veteran or Realism difficulty.
If you’re looking to complete this list as efficiently as possible, you’ll want to play on Veteran. Veteran is obviously not as hard as Realism. Realism will also not be unlocked right away like Veteran is. You will need to complete the story first in order to unlock Realism.
There are 17 story missions to complete on at least Veteran.
Just like other Call of Duty games on these difficulties, the enemies will take more damage and you will take less. Stay behind cover and pick your shots carefully.
When working your way through on these difficulties, you should refill your ammo and throwables as often as you can. Be sure to use your throwables as well. The enemies on these difficulties are very accurate and deadly. Stunning them with gas or stun grenades will really help take some fire off of you and give you time to breathe.
One aspect of this game that will cause headaches on these difficulties are the armored enemies. These enemy types will take A LOT of body shots to kill. You really need to focus on the head when it comes to these types. It only takes a few shots to the head to kill, so make that a priority.
Other than that, this game isn’t too bad on Veteran. The game is pretty forgiving with checkpoints. The game will throw them at you.
Use corners to peek around and take out enemies. There are a lot of sections where enemies will surprise you by quickly jumping out from behind door or wall. You’ll likely get killed several times by these encounters. So, if you’re going down a hallway or entering a room, assume you’re about to be ambushed and be ready to fire.
Time for Pints
Finish the Campaign on any difficulty.
All you have to do here is finish every story mission on any difficulty. You’ll need to finish the game at least once on Veteran or higher anyway, so this will come one way or another.
Nobody was There
Never trigger the alarm in ‘Recon by Fire’.
The required section for this Trophy/Achievement begins when you reach the actual base. If you trigger an alarm, you can reload the checkpoint and try again. Reloading the checkpoint does not void the Trophy/Achievement.
The required section will begin as you overlook the base from a ridge near a park area. You’ll be tasked with sniping enemies from a pretty good distance. Listen to Price as he instructs you on what mil-dots to use when aiming as you will need to account for bullet drop at this far distance. Look through your thermal scope at an enemy and Price will instruct you on what to do.
After all of the enemies are killed, make your way down the hillside. As you approach the base, Price will tell you that there are vehicles headed your way. Immediately go prone and put your rifle away. Lay still and the enemies will get out of the vehicles and inexplicably patrol around where you are laying. Do not move unless you are laying in their path. Carefully and slowly move over to avoid them and then remain still. Wait a bit and they will eventually get back into their vehicles and leave. Price will tell you when you’re clear and free to continue moving.
Enter through an opening in the gate in between two vans. Climb up the crates outside of the warehouse directly in front of you to get on the roof. Interact with a vent on the roof and throw a gas grenade into the vent.
As soon as you throw the grenade in the vent, turn around aim for the ground. Enemies will run out of the garage doors. Switch to your other weapon and kill them as quickly as you can. Even though they will fire at you, the alarm will not be triggered as long as you can kill them quickly. When they’re all dealt with, drop down and interact with the shipping container. After that, there will be five armored enemies that come toward the warehouse from the South West. Climb back onto the roof and use your sniper rifle to pick them off.
When the five armored enemies are dealt with, make your way for the next warehouse.
Use the same tactics at this warehouse. Climb to the roof and use tear gas in a vent. Kill all of the enemies as they run out of the warehouse. When they’re taken care of, go in the warehouse and interact with the maps on a table against a wall. Exit the warehouse and meet with Price.
Follow Price up to another vantage point. Aim at the lighthouse and this section will work the same as before when you were picking off enemies in the base from a distance. Listen to Price’s instructions and carefully clear the area. The enemies in this area will be wearing armor, so be sure to aim for the head.
The Trophy/Achievement will pop when the last enemy is killed.
Night Fight
Earn three Stars in ‘Low Profile’.
Multiplayer Trophy/Achievement.
There are three different co-op missions to complete. These have to be completed with another player online. The only way to play through these solo is if your partner quits the game.
Two of the co-op missions will require you to beat them in under certain time limits to obtain three stars. For these, you’re going to want to focus on the objective and get to each one as quickly as you can. Don’t spend too much time killing enemies unless they are directly blocking your path to the objective. Dying is okay as long as you’re still under the time. If you select “Retry.” you’ll spawn at the most recent checkpoint. Dying does not reset or stop your timer.
- Three stars on Low Profile = 15:00
- Three stars on Denied Area = 16:00
The other mission is Defender: Mt. Zaya. You wont have to worry about time on this one. Instead, you’re going to have to stop enemies from planting bombs.
- Three stars on Defender: Mt. Zaya = 3 Bombs or fewer planted by enemies.
In Mt. Zaya, you’ll have to defend three objectives from six waves of enemies. Stay around the objective and kill enemies as they approach. Enemies will plant bombs on the objectives if given enough time. You will be given the chance to refill your ammo between waves. You’ll also be able to purchase AI reinforcements, armor plates, turrets, missile strikes etc. These are purchased with money earned from killing enemies.
Turrets and strikes will be really useful in the later rounds as you will need to defend multiple objectives at the same time. Wave 6 will require you to defend all three objectives. So make sure you have money to spend on wave six. You’re going to need every advantage you can get.
Hellride
Earn three Stars in ‘Denied Area’.
See the “Night Fight” Trophy/Achievement above for more details.
Kings of the Mountain
Earn three Stars in ‘Defender: Mt. Zaya’.
See the “Night Fight” Trophy/Achievement above for more details.
Going Dark
Complete ‘Low Profile’ without triggering any alarms.
For this mission, you’re going to want to play as stealthily as possible and take your time moving through the mission. This is a Trophy/Achievement that is going to require some communication with your partner. Doing this with a random via matchmaking will make this difficult.
One thing to keep in mind is that the objectives are found in random rooms. They will be in the same buildings, but in different areas inside. Hold 
/
to search by detecting radioactivity in the area.
Each time you collect an objective, you’ll be given a checkpoint. So, if you’re spotted at one of the other objectives, just die and retry. If enemies are firing at you, it’s time to try again.
Alternatively, this appears to be glitched in a positive way. You can actually run through the mission as loud as you want until you have all three objectives. Once you have the third and final objective, die and retry. This seems to erase the alarms from earlier and it is possible that this will pop as you spawn back in.
Only the Beginning
Earn at least one Star in Co-op.
This will be automatically earned as you go for three stars in each co-op mission.
Full SSE
Find 20 intel fragments in Co-op.
There are intel fragments found in each of the three co-op missions. These are found by searching the areas where the objectives are usually inside of buildings and on desks. These will be hard drives, USB Drives and folders.
- Low Profile – 20 Intel Fragments
- Denied Area – 20 Intel Fragments
- Defender: Mt. Zaya – 10 Intel Fragments
As you can see, there are more than 20 intel fragments across the three different missions. Fortunately, you do not need them all. You only need to find 20 of the 50. It doesn’t matter which ones to collect. Just pick up 20 of them.
For some reason The Daredevil trophy wouldn’t pop when i earned it. It was delayed by roughly 30 minutes after i had actually earned the trophy. The Nessie trophy glitched on me as well and didn’t pop until after restarting the game.