The Pit

The Pit is a Special Ops level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The objective is to clear all enemy targets, while avoiding all civilians, and get to the end while being timed.

The Infinity Ward best time for this level is 22.6 seconds.

It is based on the course featured in the first mission of the campaign, "S.S.D.D.".

Overview
The level takes place in a training area with both stationary and moving enemy and civilian targets popping up. The player begins the level with an M4A1 Carbine and a USP .45 (but can change weapons on the table at the beginning of the mission), and is tasked with charging through the level as fast as possible. There are 24 enemy targets to take out and 5 civilian targets to avoid. Simply hitting all enemy targets and getting to the end of the level will award the player with one star, regardless of how long it took them. Completing these objectives in 45 seconds and 35 seconds will reward the player with two stars and three stars respectively. If a civilian is hit, it will be impossible to obtain three stars.

Tips

 * A quick and easy to use load out for this level is to switch out the M4A1 Carbine for a pistol found on the table (preferably the M9) and use this pistol for the first half of the map. By the time the player reaches the staircase the M9's magazine will be close to empty (if the player has taken each target down with one shot) so switch to the USP.45 for the Tactical Knife. This will last the rest of the map. The pistols also use one round at a time; accuracy helps greatly when cutting the time down. The two pistols are an easier way to earn the Pit Boss achievement and to beat IW's time.
 * As targets are basically wood and only need one hit to be knocked down, try to avoid higher penetration weapons such as the SCAR-H.
 * Switch out the M4A1 Carbine for the MP5K Holographic Sight respectively as it has a faster moving speed while aiming down the sight.
 * If the player decides to equip a rifle and a pistol, they should keep the USP .45, as it has good accuracy and the tactical knife, with a decently-sized magazine (since all targets just needs one shot to be taken down).
 * Don't reload after an area is cleared, since the next area starts pretty fast.
 * If the player is saving ammo correctly, they should not need to reload.
 * Communicate with teammates. Tell them which targets each player is taking out, to avoid both shooting the same target. Work out a strategy: for example, one player could take the right side as the other takes the left.
 * When almost out of ammo, switch to the secondary weapon if needed; it's faster than reloading.
 * Go for collateral kills: using one bullet to down two targets by lining them up, one behind the other.
 * If the player only fires one round at each target and get a few collateral kills, an accuracy bonus will be awarded and remove a few seconds.
 * Beware of unintended collateral kills, as they can hit a civilian. By playing a few rounds, the player will be able to know which angles are to be avoided. Also, at the beginning it is important to take very weak weapons for the reason that if the player takes a Desert Eagle or a M4A1, collateral kills become very likely.
 * Avoid using the AA-12 shotgun, as it is very hard to control, it burns through the magazine and is very likely to unintentionally hit the civilian targets.
 * To get a good score on this, the player could have another player help by playing online. But make sure to communicate or else it will not work out.
 * Remember that you can switch to another weapon while sprinting.

thumb|right|300px|An example of a method used to obtain 3 stars. Other Spec Op mission guides can be viewed at this channel.

Trivia

 * Infinity Ward previously mentioned that one star would be awarded for completing a Special Ops mission on Regular, two stars for completing it on Hardened, and three stars for completing it on Veteran; however, this is untrue for this level, as there are no difficulty options available for it. Instead, the player's speed is the primary factor for the number of stars the player earns, with the 3-star award requiring no civilian hits.
 * This is considered the easiest Special Ops to get a single star in, but it's much more difficult if the player is attempting to get all three stars.
 * The level is virtually identical to the obstacle course in "S.S.D.D.".
 * Besides the Special Op called Race, this is the only Op where a player cannot decide what difficulty to choose because the amount of stars the player receives is determined after he finishes the level.
 * The player will not receive the Pit Boss achievement/trophy if he complete this Op in under 30 seconds, it must be done in the campaign.
 * It is possible to get out of the map in this mission.


 * The buildings in the background are modeled after the ones in the campaign level Cliffhanger, so there are icicles on the roof.
 * The Gadget Show, a British TV show, recreated this level in real life. The replica course was run by an actual SAS member, while the presenter of the show played the level on a console. The presenter won, but the test was not accurate. As most players do, he used the "run'n gun" tactic, while the soldier did it as real troops are trained - he crouched behind cover and fired at least 2 shots at each target, which increased his time drastically.
 * When using Tactical button layout on PS3, the hint is "Click (Circle) to knife" in lieu of "Press (Circle) to knife". This is most likely just using the "Click R3 to knife" text.
 * The sounds of S.S.D.D are heard in the background and you can see friendly choppers. However if you look on your map in the pause menu then there are no icons for friendlies.This is probably to save memory.