Throwing Knife

The Throwing Knife is an equipment choice in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The Throwing Knife is a one-hit kill weapon (dealing 135 damage) regardless of where it hits the body or how far away the target is. However, if in a private/offline match where the health is set to double - 200 - the knife becomes a two-hit kill, rendering it almost useless.

In Multiplayer
Players receive only one knife - however, any throwing knife can be retrieved after throwing by pressing F (PC), Square (PS3) or X (XBOX 360) where the knife has landed, as long as the player has selected the throwing knife as their equipment.

After throwing the knife, a number of events can happen:


 * The knife hits an enemy player, scoring a kill and leaving the knife in the body


 * The knife hits a friendly player, dealing no damage but leaving the knife embedded in the body


 * The knife hits the ground at a certain angle, causing it to clatter to a stop, where it can be retrieved


 * The knife becomes embedded in a surface (walls, etc.) from where it can be retrieved


 * The knife hits any surface at a certain angle, causing it to ricochet (as with the Grenade Launcher) and flip an extra several feet. In this instance, the knife is still deadly and can kill, provided it does not stop moving.

The throwing knife is popular with stealth classes as it is silent, gives no warning (unlike grenades), and even if the player misses, there is a good chance the target will not notice (unless they see the knife go straight by or hear it ricochet off a wall). It also has great popularity with Search and Destroy players, as the skill required to score kills with the knife makes for good final killcams.

However, it has a short effective range, as it rapidly descends towards the ground the farther it is thrown. Thus, similar to the Grenade Launcher, at longer ranges it is necessary to aim above the target for the throw to be accurate. The throwing knife is considered one of the hardest weapons to master because it requires practice to aim at targets and throw it, usually in a quick succession. Many user-made throwing knife montages exist on the Internet.

Tactics
Though sometimes considered something of a novelty, the Throwing Knife is particularly useful in several scenarios:
 * It is useful to use the Scavenger Perk where you can automatically pick up a new knife rather than taking the time to locate and pick up the knife, which another player could kill you.
 * As a ranged, silent, one-hit kill for any class, useful either during infiltrations (in which using a "loud" weapon would give the player away) or when a standard knife attack would be difficult or impossible.
 * As a ranged option that does not consume ammunition for classes that do not have the Scavenger perk (Bling or Marathon classes, typically). For such classes, using the Throwing Knife literally as an alternative to standard weapons allows the player to extend their useful lifespan well beyond what would be considered typical if they were using ammunition constantly.
 * As a counter for "witch" classes. (Marathon, Lightweight, and Commando) that can kill them in one hit outside their knife range (though this takes practice against such a maneuverable target). Conversely, the Throwing Knife can be used by such "witch" classes to eliminate a target that is outside of knifing range quickly and easily.
 * As an indirect form of attack over obstacles or down staircases. This tactic can be used to great effect in narrow staircases such as the small, cramped staircase in Skidrow, where one can throw a knife straight forward and it will automatically curve down and hit any opponent that is anywhere on or near the staircase.
 * As a ranged weapon for Riot Shield classes due to the speed at which the throwing knife can be directed at an enemy, allowing the riot shield user to expose him/herself for a minimal amount of time.
 * As a method of quickly evening the odds in pitched gunfights: if a player is confronted suddenly with multiple opponents, a well-placed Throwing Knife can significantly reduce the odds against the player. This is not as difficult as it might seem: when opponents are bunched up and when the player is firing from the hip (particularly when using a shotgun) at close range, it becomes much easier to hit at least one opponent with a Throwing Knife, thus taking one opponent out of the fight instantly and giving the player better odds of finishing off their opponents. Conversely, the throwing knife can be used instead of reloading to kill one last opponent, though this is a risky proposition: by delaying a reload, the player runs the risk of missing his throw and then being unable to reload in time to finish said opponent.
 * As a last-ditch weapon to use when all ammunition is exhausted.
 * As with all equipment, throwing knives may be used while climbing over obstacles or on ladders.
 * To kill unsuspecting or distracted enemies quickly.
 * Even if a knife throw is a little bit too short, it can still bounce off a wall or object and kill. This is helpful in taking out enemies hiding behind riot shields, since flanking a shield user is difficult but knives to the legs kill.
 * The throwing knife has the same arc and range as the frag grenade. Players who have become accurate with grenades may be able to use the throwing knife more extensively.
 * Throwing knives will become stuck into a riot shield if the player manages to hit an enemy carrying one. It is possible to pick up the throwing knife back up when it is stuck into a riot shield.
 * Don't expect the knife to ricochet all the time; more often than not, throwing knives simply stick to whatever surface they're thrown at.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The throwing knife is confirmed to appear in the single player level "WMD", when one of the player's teammates kills an enemy with a throwing knife.

Trivia

 * If you shoot one shot with the Intervention and quickly press and hold the equipment button while wearing Throwing Knife your screen will tilt a little bit to the right. Proof here.
 * The Infinity Ward logo can be seen on the side of the throwing knife. This is most easily seen with a sniper scope.
 * The throwing knife's image in the Create-A-Class menu is a cartoonized version of the Tactical Knife's image in the Create-A-Class menu.
 * Sometimes, if a knife is thrown at an enemy's hands or feet while they are near a wall, they will be pinned to the wall.
 * If a teammate hits another teammate with a throwing knife and fixes it to the player while he has a throwing knife equipped, he will be able to retrieve the knife from the body at any time once the first knife is thrown.
 * If the player goes on to Terminal and throws a throwing knife through one of the metal detectors, it will light up as if the player had walked right through it.
 * On the throwing knife, there are the words Ryan Lastimosa.
 * When using the throwing knife with the Riot Shield, the player throws the knife with the same hand that holds the shield with. This would require the player to put the shield down, throw the knife, then pick the shield up again. This would be nearly impossible to do, especially if moving.
 * The throwing knife can only hit one person: it cannot go through one or more people.
 * A throwing knife can still kill a player after it bounces on the ground, it can bounce more than once, as seen in MW2 Mythbusters, where it bounced off the Terminal Airplane and then on a box crate, into the player, killing him.
 * The Create-A-Class icon for the throwing knife shows the Call of Duty 4 knife rather than the Modern Warfare 2 knife.
 * Throwing Knives can eventually cause a car to explode if a player has the patience to keep throwing the knife off of a car and retrieving it
 * It is possible to destroy air support with a throwing knife. However, the aerial vehicle must be damaged enough for the throwing knife to finish it off. Proof here

Video
thumb|left|300px|Throwing Knife montage thumb|300px|right|A video demonstrating how to effectively use the Throwing Knife at all ranges