Blast Shield (equipment)

The Blast Shield is an equipment item in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is worn on the face and provides a 0.65x damage reduction against explosives as well as immunity to Stun Grenades, but not Flash Grenades. Pressing the Use Equipment button toggles the mask on or off. The mini-map is lost while wearing the blast shield and the far edges of a player's screen are blacked out. It is not to be confused with the Riot Shield, which goes in the Primary Weapon slot instead of the equipment slot. However, if used correctly, The Blast shield and the Riot Shield can reduce the fatality risk from Semtex and other explosives unless the enemy is using Danger Close.

This equipment is most useful when the player must remain stationary in one place, either while camping an upper floor sniper position or during objective game modes such as Headquarters or Domination when the player is constantly being bombarded with grenades. It is also a useful option while aggressively clearing rooms and areas, this way you are less likely to be killed from an explosive and cannot fall victim to stun grenades — especially your own. When used with a Riot Shield, a player stuck with a Semtex can equip his/her blast shield and charge at the enemy who threw it, forcing them to suicide. Having either Lightweight or Marathon perks in this situation is recommended, as otherwise the target may reach a survivable distance or escape.

In Hardcore modes, wearing the blast shield constantly isn't a problem as the mini-map is off by default unless a UAV is airborne. In core modes, the mask can very quickly be flipped on when a grenade indicator appears. This technique will not work against stuns, grenade launchers or rocket launchers which explode instantly, although with quick reflexes the shield can be put on while said projectiles are still in the air.

Trivia

 * Using the blast shield does not change the appearance of your character.
 * Many players that use a Riot Shield often have a Blast Shield incase of grenades that are thrown at them. One major factor for this is that the default Riot Control class has the Blast Shield equipped.
 * The shield seems to have a mix between a desert and a digital camoflauge.
 * The Blast Shield holds a resemblence to a welding mask.
 * Blast Shield challenges can be completed by deflecting Stun Grenade hits.