Armor Piercing (Special Ops)

"Kill all fifteen Juggernauts on the oil rig. This probably isn't even possible."

- Spec Ops description

Armor Piercing is the third mission in the Echo set of Special Ops mode, and is the 23rd and final mission of the mode.

The Infinity Ward best time for this level is 4 minutes 12.25 seconds.

Overview
True to its name, Armor Piercing pits the player against 15 enemy Juggernauts, which is an enormous challenge to overcome should the player not be prepared with the proper strategy. Taking place on the oil rig from the mission "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday", a typical play through would involve the players slowly reaching the top of the rig, taking down the Juggernauts that confront them along the way. An Ammunition Crate can be found on the second floor of the oil rig. If the player chooses to wait at a specific point on the map, the Juggernauts will slowly come to them anyway, leaving the players no easy way out of the situation. Thankfully, most of them come one at a time, but the final few come in two and even three at a time. If the players proceed far toward the top of the oil rig, there is a possibility that Juggernauts may spawn behind them rather than in front - it is important to bear this in mind, and using the Claymores given at the start of the level as a warning system is usually a good tactic.

Hide and Snipe
An effective tactic is to hide at the top of the scaffolding (near an ammo crate) at the beginning of the level and snipe the charging Juggernauts with large caliber sniper rifles. A Dragunov can be found on this scaffolding.

Once the players start, head over to the weapons carpet and swap the Thumpers for the Thermal Intervention or Barrett .50cal (the Barrett is recommended as it is a much more effective weapon, as it has a larger magazine and higher rate of fire) while keeping the LMG's. With well aimed shots, this magazine can be used to bring down two Juggernauts without reloading. Head up the steps and sprint through the first room and up the flights of steps to the outside of the rig. There is often a Juggernaut around here, and if that is the case sprint back towards the platform right above the first breach room from The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday and snipe the Juggernaut as he is about to come down the stairs. The height difference from the stairs should provide the players with sufficient cover before the Juggernaut is taken down.

After going to the outdoor area of the oil rig, turn right and there should be a scaffolding with a ladder leading up to it. There is a good view of the long section of oil rig the Juggernauts have to pass through on top of this scaffolding, which allows some distance to snipe them down as they charge through. Furthermore, underneath the scaffolding is an ammo crate so there is no need to worry about the ammo supply.

From that point, just sit patiently and wait. A Juggernaut should appear every minute or so, so just take them down one at a time. At some point of the mission there will be multiple Juggernauts simultaneously, so it is important that the team can snipe one down as quickly as possible. If they slip past the players sniping they will have to climb up the ladder to get to them, allowing plenty of hits in before they are able to even start shooting (an LMG to the face is recommended in this situation).

Note that although this method is extremely effective, it is not foolproof. The biggest problem is when there are about five Juggernauts left, they often start to come in pairs and in quick succession. Adding to the trouble is that even if the players go prone on top of the scaffolding the Juggernauts can occasionally hit the players with their LMGs, which although does not kill the player outright can be enough to throw off the players aim. As there is a big column close to the right side (from the players point of view on the scaffolding), if a Juggernaut somehow makes it past the "corridor" towards the backside of the column there is nothing that can be done except to wait for him to climb up the ladder and try to kill him there (which may not always work out). Another problem is that there is a room (the second breach room in the level The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday) on the right side (again from the player's point of view) of the "corridor". Sometimes Juggernauts will run into this room and completely evade the players line of sight. If this happens, the players have to run the risk of needing to kill them on top of the scaffolding.

It is also advisable that at least one claymore is place on the bottom of the ladder as an alarm that a Juggernaut is about to climb up, since it is often quite possible to miss a newly spawned Juggernaut during the assault of multiple Juggernauts. If that claymore is detonated during one of the Juggernauts' assaults, plant another one whenever it is possible. If the player believes a Juggernaut is fast approaching (particularly when there are only a few left, there is a stronger chance that they come in quick succession) and do not feel there is enough time to go off the scaffolding and then climb back up, just put one on top of the ladder.

Also, if the players somehow need to deal with two (or more) Juggernauts on the scaffolding consecutively, there is a chance that they will need to reload the Barretts in the middle of the fight. If that happens, make sure to throw a flashbang right at the Juggernaut to buy time.

Combined Barrett 50cal/Intervention fire (Co-Op)
A good location to perform this would be the wooden structure. Using this strategy, the player hides in an attempt to ambush the enemy with C4 strapped to their bodies; fighting there will be a bit more difficult but combining the player's and his partner's fire will take a Juggernaut down quickly. Once there they may stop coming, depending were they are spawning from but someone can lure them out after the player, just simply run back the wooden structure to the player's friend and concentrate the fire on the head of the Juggernaut and continue to do this in order to take down all 15 Juggernauts. Thumpers are a good secondary when coming into close range into a Juggernaut using this tactic, simply stun it with a powerful blast if there is enough room between the player and the Juggernaut. Using the Thumper to stun the Juggernaut should give the player enough time to run back to his partner.

A foolproof strategy involves hiding behind the large vertical pipes in the first room of the oil rig. The location is precisely behind the player when he first enters the room. The player will see the two chain link cages containing tanks. The vertical pipes are 180 degrees behind. The player will have to jump over a short chain link fence. This is the safe spot and fall back location where the Juggernauts cannot harm the player, even when multiple Juggernauts attack. Before going up the stairs, the player must take the Intervention with the thermal scope along with the Barrett. From the safe spot it is often very difficult to see the Juggernauts through the chain link fences, stairs, and railings.

The key is to lure the Juggernauts into the trap. Carefully go up the two sets of stairs to the first ammo crate, wait for a Juggernaut to spawn and run back down the stairs, immediately jump the railing being careful not to over jump through the big hole into the ocean. After the player lands, he can position himself to look up the stairwell staying to the right for good cover. If the player misses the Juggernauts as they first appear, or if the player takes some damage, the safe spot behind the big pipes is close by. If the player is quick to the safe spot, the Juggernauts will fire from the higher lever. If the player is slow, the Juggernauts may get to the far stairs and fire from a distance. They will not press the attack to the safe spot. Again, they may be hard to see, so use the thermal scope.

Video
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ntxF_Y0snI Video: Solo version of the hide and sniper strategy.

Armor Piercing solo on Veteran

Trivia

 * Although the description for this mission states that it "probably isn't even possible", most players find "High Explosive", Homeland Security", "Wetwork", "Wardriving" and "Snatch & Grab" to be much harder.
 * It is possible to reach an area intended to be inaccessible by jumping off the stairs leading up from the first deck onto the railing and from there jumping to the left of the gas tank. In one of the rooms in this area is a scoped M14 EBR, the only one in the mission.