Last Stand

For the similar perk in Call of Duty: World at War, see Second Chance

Last Stand is a Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Tier 3 perk that gives a player the ability to survive a normally instant death by disabling the player to the ground in a reversed prone position. Last Stand will not come into effect if a player is killed by a headshot, knife, (melee), puncture (an unarmed Grenade Launcher grenade), or an explosive weapon (grenades, C4, or RPG rockets). This perk is unlocked at level 8.

In Game
The player may only fire their pistol or use their knife melee. The pistol a player will use in Last Stand is the pistol that was equipped; players with the Overkill perk or who have switched pistols in game will automatically use the standard M9 pistol. The player will also have maximum ammunition and a full magazine in the pistol, regardless of whether the pistol's magazine was empty or not prior to going into Last Stand. In addition, if a player is put into Last Stand while cooking a grenade, the player will still be able to throw it. Players can also detonate any deployed C4 by double tapping the use key. Last Stand will end if the player takes a single hit from an opposing player (or any player if in Hardcore mode), after 10 seconds has elapsed since the player was put in Last Stand, or if the player ends it his/herself by holding the use key which is called the "Coward's Way Out;" this will not result in a suicide. Players holding a grenade when put into Last Stand mode can commit suicide by holding on to it; if the grenade explodes before the player is killed, they can rob their killers of their kill at no cost to themselves, and possibly even take nearby enemies with them. Also, players that were holding on to flash or stun grenades at the time they were put into Last Stand will automatically throw the grenade, which instantly turns into a frag grenade, killing them and everybody nearby.

Last Stand is also one of the most irritating perks for enemy players because of the vulnerability of the person in Last Stand. It is quite common (and infuriating) for a friendly player to "kill steal", to shoot the person in last stand, therefore taking the kill for themselves. Some players use Last Stand in conjunction with a modded controller and a Desert Eagle to get multiple kills while in Last Stand, though it is rare.

Any kills a player achieves while in Last Stand will count double towards their earned XP, though the extra points only count towards match bonus and are not factored into the displayed individual score or the team's score. For instance, in normal Team Deathmatch, a player getting a last stand kill will receive 10 points as match bonus in addition to 10 points for the kill that's counted on his and the team's score. This applies for any kill the player makes while they are in Last Stand; for instance if the player throws a grenade, gets put in Last Stand before the grenade explodes, and then that grenade kills an enemy player, the last stand player will receive the bonus points.

A player put into Last Stand mode is rendered impervious to all harm for a short while. This allows him/her to survive grenades going off when Last Stand goes into effect, or a significant amount of bullet shots. Hits against a player in invulnerability mode register as normal shots on the firing player's screen.

Tactics
In Hardcore Team Deathmatch, it is advantageous to kill allies in last stand so the opposing team does not acquire the points for killing the player. In Sabotage it could be disadvantageous to use the perk as sudden death approaches because should the player be in Last Stand when it begins the game will not grant the player any amnesty and all they will be able to play during the sudden death period is their brief last stand. In addition, Last Stand may be a liability in Headquarters, given that the player's team may capture the Headquarters while the player is in last stand and will thus have to wait until the HQ is destroyed or 65 points are earned in order to respawn again.

Typically only seen on lower leveled players since nothing deemed better is available. Not many experienced players use it, because it is not advantageous to use a perk that will not help a player when they are alive, similar to Martyrdom. A common tactic used in good humor is to throw a stun grenade at the user since stuns do a small amount of damage killing the player. Most experienced players are not fooled by Last Stand, although the small pause between getting shot and performing the stance can confuse less experienced players that the player has died. The player placed on Last Stand is highly unlikely to get retribution if they have to do significant turning. This perk may give an advantage to your teammates since the enemy has to lower their weapon to deal the final blow. Combined with Juggernaut, Last Stand will put enemy players with low-powered weapons at a significant disadvantage, because the enemy player will have to waste time and ammo compared to killing a player with neither the Juggernaut perk nor the Last Stand perk. It can, however, be advantageous to use Last Stand if you are often killed by sniper shots, as unless the sniper gets a headshot you will fall to the ground, forcing them to waste another bullet. If you are trying to countersnipe them from a building, or behind cover, they may have to waste even more to kill you, as they have to guess your position behind the wall/cover, and in some instances (such as through trees, oil barrels and concrete pillars) they may not be able to shoot you at all, allowing you to wait for another enemy player to discover you, and attempt a kill. Since snipers do not have an incedibly large ammo count to start with, this can be a viable strategy. This does not tend to work on more skilled snipers though, as they can often achieve headshot kills.

Due to only being able to use the pistol as a firearm, it is difficult to shoot at long range or through walls when the killer has fled unaware of the perk.

Campaign
In campaign, the player cannot go into last stand, but enemies can. This can also be seen in previous Call of Duty games. In Call of Duty 2, Germans sometimes pull out a Luger, firing slowly (and usually ineffectively) for a few moments. In Call of Duty 3, Germans use whatever weapon they had and fire a few times at the player. In Call of Duty 4, enemies pull out a pistol and shoot at the enemy trying to crawl away. Soap enters Last Stand at the end of Game Over after Captain Price slides him an M1911. In Call of Duty: World at War, Japanese and Germans will be put into Last Stand if shot in the right spot (most likely the lower ribs). At the end of Semper Fi, Miller is put onto Last Stand due to a Katana wielding Japanese.

In Nacht Der Untoten, Verruckt, Shi No Numa and Der Reise, your character is put into Last Stand whenever you are hit by two consecutive zombie hits (six with Juggernog) or whenever you blow yourself up.

You may actually see an Allied soldier on Call of Duty: World at War go into second chance, however, this is rare. They are usually found grasping at the wound, or if the do pull out the gun, they only succeed in fumbling with it and then die.

Trivia

 * The picture in the Last Stand perk's description is the silhouette of a GLOCK pistol, but there are no GLOCK models available in the game.
 * It is possible through a glitch to pick up a nearby primary weapon when you are falling down into last stand
 * Last Stand was originally a Tier Two perk (according the image below).
 * Last Stand may be a reference to the war movie, Saving Private Ryan. In the final battle sequence, Captain Miller is shot and props himself up against a destroyed motorcycle, and pulls out his M1911, and continues to fire at a upcoming tank. Captain Miller is in almost the same position as players in last stand during Call of Duty, where he is holding the pistol with one hand and both his legs are spread out.
 * You never see friendly AI go into last stand which is strange because it happens to the enemy.
 * It is strange how in the first-person perspective of a player in Last Stand, the sidearm used is still held by two hands, but in the third-person perspective for other players, the sidearm is held with one hand, possibly because Activision never programmed in a one handed gun hold into first person.