War Pig (mission)

"Command, this is Lt. Vasquez. War Pig is on route. We're not missing this party..."

- Lt. Vasquez

War Pig is the ninth campaign level in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare.

Plot
This level starts in the bog in which "The Bog" ended. War Pig has been fixed by engineers and now the squad has to push forward into the enemy territory. After defeating a counterattack on their position, War Pig and Lt. Vasquez's squad move down the street. After clearing the main street, the team eliminates the enemies which have gathered in two buildings which are heavily guarded with troops and machine guns. After killing all enemies and destroying an enemy tank, Vasquez and Sgt. Paul Jackson leave to finish off Khaled Al-Asad.

Starting Weapon
In this level, the player starts with a M4A1 Carbine with an M203 Grenade Launcher and Holographic sight, and an M9 as a starting sidearm.

Behind the Car
There is a Dragunov and a M249 SAW machine gun behind the car at the starting point.

Getting Started
The player will spawn just behind a destroyed car at the southern edge of the Bog. Since the OpFor is assaulting the area, the player will be pressed into action fairly quickly. Duck down underneath the car for some cover to work with. Running straight to the enemy lines won't do too much good here, so stay low for at least a minute or so. Beside the car on the left is a Dragunov and on the right side of the car is a M249 SAW. The Dragunov should be best as a secondary weapon, for the time being at least. It should be easy to pick off a few enemies. Be sure to get the ones on the far right and in the bus straight ahead. When the coast is clear on the right, swap out the Dragunov for the M249 and mop up the rest.

About half way to the bus, a Marine will inform the squad that an enemy air assault is moving in. As soon as this is said, sprint the rest of the way to the bus and swap the secondary out for an RPG. Take out the first one to fly in, and then proceed to do the same with the other. If done correctly and quickly, resistance in the bog should be negligible at this point. Swap the RPG back to the M249, finish off any remaining hostiles and move up to the building complex with the squad.

Complex (Sector 1)
The remainder of the firefights will take place in this building complex, which can be divided into two sections. The squad will be entering the first one, and it is easy to get decimated here if the player isn't careful. Use the tank as a shield, but avoid getting too close to that right side. It won't be long before those cars catch on fire and explode, and no one wants to be anywhere near there when it happens. Be watchful of the enemies on the rooftops to the north and north east. They should spawn about 10 or 20 seconds in, and they can really put a fix in the plan if not taken out fast. There is a small break in a stone wall off to the left side of the tank, and a lot of the squad will try to get through there. Get a good vantage point, and gun down the tangos in the surrounding area, the first floor of the building, and the second floor of the building. It may seem like a lot, but remember that the tank is there for cover.

Once Marines start to take control of the wall ruins area, War Pig should state that a tank is moving up. Make sure the M249 is ready and head on over to the building on the opposite side of the street. Once at the top of the stairs, unload some lead into the door, which will kill the tango and cause the door to open. Another hostile should be inside that room, so kill him too. It's not over yet. In the room off to the left, there is a hostile in the closet and another that will rush forwards from the balcony. Gun down one and knife the other. The building will be clear for the time being, so use this time to swap the secondary out for the Dragunov on the balcony. Head over to the balcony in the other room, and pick off some enemies in the building to the slight right. It's possible that another hostile will come running up the stairs if the player isn't fast enough. Get two or three kills and be prepared to knife him if he comes. Check the stairs to see if there is any more and resume your snipe fest. There is little resistance from this balcony, so it truly is easy pickings. Once all are dead in the building straight ahead, change the angle of attack and kill the remaining hostiles in the bus. These guys in the bus will be on a respawn for awhile, so just kill two or three and move up with the squad.

Complex (Sector 2)
The next building will be straight ahead if you jump off the balcony facing the north west. Kill the sitting ducks on the first floor, and instead of heading through the doorway, veer right and head up the stairs of the building. You might want to throw a flash through the door through the door at the top of the stairs to make the job a little easier. There will probably be a lot of hostiles on the second floor, so be ready. Clear the rooms and enter the room immediately right of the stairs you came in. Take out any resistance on the lower floor of the building straight ahead by taking a position on the balcony or windows. Once the ground floor is clear, switch to your M4A1, take the stairs back down and head around to that building. You can also gun the hostiles on the ground from the balcony in the north west room of the building. Either way, make sure you somehow end up at the small wall where most of the marines are at. Throw a flash inside the building and charge up. Mop up any foes that stand in your way and plow your way to the second floor stairs. Head up, put some lead in the door, and gun down the rest of the hostiles on the second floor. You might also want to wait for the tango to drop a grenade outside the closed door, as you can throw it back at them when the door reopens for some devastating results. Pick up an RPD for you secondary while you're here since your M249 is likely running out of ammo.

Go down the stairs and move up with your squad. This is your nightmare if you get killed by exploding cars easily. Since two MGs will be laying down quite a bit of fire, crouch behind the dumpster that Vasquez will kindly push forward. Use some grenades so that the cars are already in pieces BEFORE you start making your way towards the building. Be sure you take out the MG gunners too. Once the area is clear, move up and enter the building. Reload while you are heading up the stairs and pick off the final hostiles moving up in the street. There's nothing you can do about the tank, but you can watch War Pig make some nice fireworks out of it. After you've enjoyed the display, jump down the ledge and follow your squad to the extraction zone where your helicopter is waiting.

Tips

 * The tank actually does little to oppose enemies outside of the scripted events.
 * Enemies on rooftops can pose a greater threat than those on the street.
 * The best way to clear out the building with machine guns is to approach while taking cover at every non-burning car, then throwing a Frag grenade inside. The right side of the street (when the tank is firing shells) is good cover as well.
 * Three grenades from the M203 grenade launcher attached to the M4A1 will destroy a helicopter. However, landing one directly into the back of the crew compartment (through the open back hatch) will register as a critical hit.
 * Don't get too close to the tank when it fires; the character will suffer from shellshock and be unable to hear well for a little while. Basically it has the same effect as a flash grenade or a stun grenade.

Enemy Intelligence

 * Laptop 12 is found on the second floor of a building at the right turn at the end of the street.
 * Laptop 13 is near Laptop 12, but in the building on the left corner.
 * Laptop 14 is lying on a bed in the second story of the building containing all the machine gun nests which shoot onto the alley of cars (where the dumpster is pushed forward).

Xbox 360 Achievements

 * The Bog (40 points) is obtained by completing both The Bog and this mission on Veteran difficulty.

Trivia

 * The title of this mission is taken off the name from a real M1 Abrams that is currently in active service in the US Marines.
 * After escorting War Pig out of the Bog, the troops board a helicopter and leave War Pig stranded in the middle of a street blocked by a wrecked T-72 with no apparent way out.
 * This mission is set in the Saudi Arabian province of Riyadh in a fictional city though it is never named. Strangely though, the previous mission ended in Makkah, while "War Pig" begins far off in Riyadh.
 * There's a significant difference between the two skylines between 'War Pig' and 'The Bog'. While there are approx. 3 tall buildings in 'Bog', there are 7 in 'War Pig'.
 * This level can be useful sniper training for online play on the higher difficulties.
 * During the opening cut scene of the level, when it shows the schematics of War Pig, it says that the tank was made in Lima, Ohio where there is a tank factory in real life.
 * This level is a good opportunity to get the 'Four of a kind' achievement, as many of the enemy soldiers take refuge in a bus at one point, staying almost completely still.
 * When War Pig says, "I'm taking the shot", the shot goes through both sides of the building into the enemy's tank.
 * This is the only mission that the M16A4 appears in campaign, and it is in a fully automatic variant. This means it would be a hybrid of an M16A3 lower receiver (giving fully automatic fire), and an M16A4 upper receiver (giving the rails on the barrel and under the carrying handle).
 * There is also another M1 Abrams tank found in this map if you use the "noclip or ufo" cheat but it doesn't do anything, probably just a map prop.
 * If you have the infinite ammo cheat grab an M16A4 grenadier with infinite ammo on and use the M203 grenade launcher and you'll have a rapid fire grenade launcher. It also works for the M4A1 Grenadier / SOPMOD and GP-25 AK47 Grenadier but not as fast. Best is the M16A4 if you can find it as it is very fast when firing full auto.
 * After War Pig destroys the T-72, you can jump onto the flames coming out of the turret hole and take no damage.
 * At the end of the mission, it is possible to be killed by the chopper if you stand directly underneath it while it is descending.
 * At the end of the mission, there is a glitch where you wait until the chopper comes near the ground, and you can run through the bay door before the chopper hits the ground.
 * At the end of the mission, when you fire your weapons at the incoming helicopter you won't get a screen that says friendly fire will not be tolerated.
 * Griggs is in this level but he is not physically in the next level, "Shock and Awe". SSgt. Griggs ends up fighting alongside the main assault force while Paul Jackson and Vasquez rescue the recon team elsewhere.
 * Although the helicopter in the end of the mission is "Outlaw", the same in which you are in the beginning of the next mission ("Shock and Awe"), when you first enter in it to end the mission it's not possible to see the Mk 19 Grenade Launcher or the window which you shoot the enemies through it.
 * At the end, if you go to the front of the chopper you see the pilot, in Shock and Awe there are different pilots. And also in the chopper you cannot see Lt. Volker, Outlaw's Crew Chief instead sometimes a Private Volker will board. The pilot in this level looks like a normal marine with the same battle gear as random generated marines.
 * At the end of the level, if you jump down onto the street before the T-72 is destroyed, you will instantly be gunned down by the tank's machine guns. A screen will appear, saying "Watch out for the enemy tank's machine guns."
 * There is a noticeable glitch at the beginning of the level. When you take out an enemy with an RPG he will fall but he will end up stuck in mid air. You may try to play the level over again, but it will not work because it is a permanent glitch in the game.
 * This is the only level without background music.
 * You cannot destroy the T-72 tank, even with an RPG if you take one, it will only shake slightly, with no actual damage done. Even 50 or so and it will do no damage.
 * When you're at the part with the T-72, if you look at the right side of the room at the edge, you will see part of the ground has a chunk missing, and you can stand on the wall. If you quickly go on it and quickly get off, the T-72 will still shoot at you, even if your behind any wall. Apparently the game thinks that you fell to the ground.
 * There is a glitch on the Wii port where the player loses the majority of their M203 grenades early on.
 * The picture of the crazy pig on the side of War Pig features on an emblem in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
 * Sometimes, there will be a soldier in your squad named Pvt. Kriegler.
 * The name "War Pig" may be a reference to the song "War Pigs" by Black Sabbath.
 * The Shell from War Pig hit the turret of the T-72, which, realistically, caused a large explosion, as that is where all the ammunition for the T-72's main gun is kept. This would instantly kill anyone inside.
 * There is a glitch that when the marines push the dumpster (VERY rarely), they will not push it and the player cannot get around it. He will just stand there looking like he's trying to push and no one else comes along. The only way the player can win this level is by having the door on the building with the machine gun at the end of the ally way opened. The only way to beat the level after that is to restart and try again.
 * On Arcade mode, the helicopters at the start will fly away faster than on normal mode.
 * Sometimes, a Sgt. Hawkings will spawn. Sgt. Hawkings is a soldier from Call of Duty 2 And CoD: Big Red One.

Transcript
See War Pig (level)/Transcript.