Stopping Power

Stopping Power is a Tier Two perk in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: World at War, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 that increases the amount of damage of a user's primary or secondary weapons by 40%. In almost all situations, this means that one less bullet will be required for a kill. Because of this fact, Stopping Power is significantly more useful on weapons with low rates of fire, where one bullet can mean a lot. Conversely, it is relatively ineffective on weapons with high rates of fire because for these guns one bullet does not mean as much. The effects of this perk are canceled out by the Juggernaut perk in Call Of Duty 4 and Call Of Duty: WaW. Stopping power will not increase the damage of explosives, such as C4, Satchel Charges, Bouncing Betties or Claymore Mines; as this is accomplished with the Sonic Boom, Fireworks or Danger Close perk. It also has almost no effect in Hardcore mode since most guns are one-shot-kills meaning it can be switched out by another tier 2 perk.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, Stopping power is most often used on the M16 and most sniper rifles, as it usually deals a one-hit-kill. It is also the most commonly used perk in the game. However, it is not advisable for use with shotguns, as they are already very powerful without it. Stopping Power is also more ammunition-efficient, as it decreases the number of shots required to kill a target (although this effect is less noticeable). One of the most overlooked guns, the M16, (due to it being the standard issue weapon), can also be one of the most effective. An M16 with a Red Dot Sight, Bandolier, and Stopping Power is a very deadly combo; as the M16 fires in three-round bursts, a simple grouped shot on a target will instantly kill it, and 1-2 shots will kill anyone with Juggernaut. Testing shows using this combination can massively increase your kill count, (but deaths are still based on your situational awareness), meaning for anybody who plays in the 'Assassin' style can use this in CQB to rack up points when out of their comfort zone. But beware, having a high kill count, high points, or a good K/D spread (in a particular game) will mark you as one of the primary targets for a helicopter.

Call of Duty: World at War
Stopping Power is completely unchanged from Call of Duty 4. It is very effective when combined with rifles and bolt action rifles. When used on any bolt action rifle, one shot can incapacitate an opponent if the shot hits at the stomach or above, with or without a Sniper Scope.

Call of Duty: World at War is the only Call of Duty game in which Stopping Power is useful in Hardcore game modes. The MP40, which is one of the worst weapons in the game for Hardcore because it has high recoil, a fairly low rate of fire, and is usually a two shot kill, becomes very effective when used with Stopping Power because it becomes a one shot kill at any range. The PPSh-41, which is somewhat underpowered in Hardcore because it kills in two to three shots depending on range instead of one or two like other guns, becomes extremely potent with Stopping Power, which makes it a one to two shot kill with a very high rate of fire and low recoil. The FG42, which is already very effective in Hardcore due to its mobility, low recoil, high rate of fire, and fairly long one shot kill range, becomes a one shot kill at any range with Stopping Power. These are the only three weapons in the game that ostensibly benefit from Stopping Power in Hardcore.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Stopping Power made its return again in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It belongs to the second tier and is unlocked from Level 4 online. It has an identical picture to that of the Call Of Duty 4 Stopping Power picture.

The Pro version is unlocked after you have got 250 kills with a class using Stopping Power. The Pro version allows the user to have increased damage with bullets against enemy vehicles such as Harriers and Pave Lows.

Once again, Stopping Power is most useful when used with single shot weapons, such as the Intervention. With no Juggernaut to counter it in Modern Warfare 2, Stopping Power is only hampered by someone using the Painkiller death streak. It has no extra effect on a riot shield.

It is notable that Stopping Power's only effect on the FN FAL Battle Rifle is to allow a one-shot headshot at close range. Otherwise the FAL will take 2 shots at medium range and 3 shots at distant range to drop a target, regardless of if Stopping Power is used or not. This is due to the FAL's initial damage being 55/35, and Stopping Power only provides a 40% bonus - Stopping Power boosts the long-range damage only to 49, which will still need 3 hits to kill a 100 HP target. However there is currently (as of 1/5/2010) a bug with the Holographic sight where the long range damage is increased to 40, making the FAL a 2 shot kill at any distance when combined with stopping power. Stopping Power also has no effect on the WA2000, and a minimal effect on the UMP .45; merely reducing the number of shots required for a kill at close range from 3 to 2, leaving the number of shots required for a kill at mid to long range at 3. Using the silencer attachment on the UMP .45 will virtually negate Stopping Power even at close range due to its short damage drop-off.

Using Stopping Power in conjunction with a silencer attachment on sniper rifles or LMGs will, for all intents and purposes, negate the other's effect on the weapon's damage. The silencer attachment on the aforementioned weapons will reduce their damage while Stopping Power will increase it to roughly normal levels.

Trivia

 * The name of this perk comes from the real-life colloquial term "stopping power", used to describe the ability of ammunition to sufficiently incapacitate its target. In general, caliber correlates directly with stopping power, though a round's design is also a factor (as is the case with hollow point or explosive-tipped ammunition).
 * Stopping Power seems to be the most commonly used perk in all 3 games which feature perks.


 * The perk picture was seen in the Teaser trailer in early 2009.
 * Stopping power is one of 4 perks to appear directly in the 3 games with perks.
 * Many players don't know how this perk works, and they use Stopping Power for weapons that don't have any effect (of weak effect) from it, like FAL, WA2000, shotguns and weapons with high rate of fire.