Estate Takedown

"Eliminate Ghillie Snipers, Elite Mercenaries and Juggernauts guarding the estate."

- Spec Ops description

Estate Takedown is a Special Ops level in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It is exactly the same as the campaign level "Loose Ends", and the objective of the level is to clear the estate of enemies.

The Infinity Ward best time for Estate Takedown is 2 minutes 59.6 seconds.

Overview
Estate Takedown takes place on a forest estate, swarming with enemy forces. The player starts off the level on the dock part of the estate, armed with a Barrett .50cal sniper rifle and M4A1 Grenadier. This level also features ghillied sniper enemies which take shots at the player and then displace, as to stay hidden in the foliage. The second enemy that the level features is the Juggernaut. Although the Barrett deals more damage to the Juggernaut, they are not impossible to kill with other weapons (Assault Rifle, SMGs, LMGs, etc.).

Once 6 enemies are left alive, these remaining enemies will rush from all around the map to surround the player. This becomes a very dangerous situation if one of them is a Juggernaut.

Estate Takedown is much more difficult and takes much longer to do if playing solo. The openness of the map plus the need to aggressively seek out hostiles in the tall grass makes it a much easier prospect if playing with a partner. Using a thermal weapon can really help to find hiding enemies.

Walkthrough
There are a variable number of Juggernauts and regular enemies (mixed bag of snipers and soldiers). Use the Barretts you start off with and listen to the music. You need to play most of the mission by ear since the enemies may decide to rush you in different spots.

Generally speaking, you can get the hostiles count down to about 10 or so by remaining near the starting boathouse. And by using a pair of .50 cals on Juggernauts when you hear the identifying ringtone, you insure you keep ahead. Switch to another weapon (maybe even the M240s the Juggernauts drop) to get rid of enemies at close and medium range. Remember that there's a veritable weapons cache in the cabin; the lowest level cache has the ammo crate (meaning you essentially have infinite ammo and grenades, but limited claymores) as well as an F2000 Thermal and a Walther 2000 Thermal on the Hitman 2: Silent Assassin weapons rack.

There is also an L86, a handy LMG with a circular magazine. The scoped version of this weapon is upstairs (second level of the cabin) and may be great for medium ranged encounters. There is nothing on the third floor (just some weapons and a good hiding place against regular enemies, but not Juggernauts).

Both players should stick together and use their claymores sparingly to sap the enemy's numbers. Trap the stairs and the laundry room of the lowest level of the cabin with one or two claymores (note, your characters do not set off your own claymores, even on Veteran) and dribble away the enemies slowly.

Remember that the whole cabin is permeable to bullets. While the walls break line of sight, bullets go through the floors and walls of the place like water through a sieve.

As for Juggernauts, retreat to the boathouse and take up sniping stations. The distance they need to cover means you can down them before they can get close (especially with 20 Barrett shots between two players). Once the number of enemies are down to about 10 or 11, you should be careful; if you haven't cleared the cabin, you need to do so while remaining alert to your escape route to the boathouse (or another cleared area where you can flee to and snipe) in case a Juggernaut appears (this is random).

While you can survive (barely) at the top of the stairs (very top of the cabin), it's much more preferable to team up and snipe Juggernauts before they come close.

Hand thrown and launched grenades can be tossed into the cabin through the windows and you have plenty of instances where a well placed explosive can nuke several hostiles. It was noticed that once the hostile count was down to 5, the remaining enemies decided to rush the boathouse. This could be an A.I. "trigger"; be wary.

If you're having trouble with the Juggernauts coming down the trail to the boathouse, place claymores behind the trees (just a few). Even if the mines aren't tripped by enemies, the explosions (from the mine being shot) should warn you which direction the Juggernaut is approaching from.

Guide

 * The safest place to make a stand in this level is the bottom of the boathouse, for several reasons. First, for some reason Juggernauts cannot enter the boathouse itself. When a Juggernaut reaches the boathouse, it tends to stay around and outside it; after a few seconds, a player hiding below the boathouse will hear the Juggernaut speaking in irate Russian and even see the Juggernaut making hand gestures taunting him to come out. In this way, a player under the boathouse can dispatch Juggernauts at close range using a sniper rifle with impunity, as their heads (distinguished by the white helmets) are usually visible though openings at the floors, doors, and windows. If other enemies are nearby, a very observant player can see that the Juggernaut will make hand motions urging them to come forward and flush out the player. This serves as a useful cue to prepare for attacks by other enemies close by (they only attack via the stairs to the bottom of the boathouse, a fact that the player can use to ambush them as they come down. Even enemy snipers, at close enough range, seem to prefer coming down the stairs after the player than to engage the player at range if the player is under the boathouse). Second, Juggernauts cannot fire their M249's straight down. Luring a Juggernaut to the deck on the left side of the boathouse, just before he reaches the stairs to the bottom, then going to a spot right below him will guarantee the player an excellent opportunity to shoot him repeatedly through the wood flooring without the Juggernaut being able to fire back. Finally, all approaches to the boathouse can easily be covered by claymores, making it relatively simple to pick out less resilient enemies, such as mercenaries and ghillie snipers, without breaking cover and exposing one's self to fire. This tactic is especially recommended when dealing with the last few enemies in the level.
 * The players should stay in the starting area for sometime. Then one player should go to a rock at the front right. After that they should plant claymore at the entrance and the players camp at the two side of the entrance.
 * The players should then grab any weapons they need in the house. (A thermal weapon is highly recommended). They should then camp at the top floor of the house, plant claymore for alert and snipe from different spots such as using a thermal at the window of the bathrooms.
 * If a Juggernaut is rushing and claymores are triggered, both players should sit behind cover and concentrate on the door. The Juggernaut can then be taken down quickly.
 * The starting equipment is fine. Don't change it unless you require thermal scopes.
 * The boathouse is a fallback point for Juggernauts, if all else fails.
 * Sap enemy numbers using your claymores on the stairs and laundry room.
 * Impact grenades are good if fired into the cabin's windows.

Trivia

 * Robert "fourzerotwo" Bowling (Infinity Ward's community manager) mentioned on the GameTrailers Special that there are 40 enemies to eliminate on the easiest difficulty of Spec Ops, and that the number should increase on higher difficulties, but on Veteran difficulty, the number of enemies is still 40.
 * There are three throwing knives stuck to the basement's arsenal wall. They can't be used, however.
 * One can find a Hitman 2: Silent Assassin poster close to the FN2000 Infrared Scope and Walter 2000 Thermal Sight in the basement armory. There is also an ammo crate, meaning infinite grenades.