Juggernaut (character)

The Juggernaut is a unique enemy type seen in Special Ops mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, and Call of Duty: Black Ops, while sometimes appearing as friendlies in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.

Juggernauts are heavily protected by explosive-ordinance disposal suits, requiring excessive amounts of damage to kill. When encountered, they are able to deal out massive injuries with a shotgun or a light machine gun (mostly with their LMGs). Juggernauts are first encountered in the Snatch & Grab Special Ops Mission. The Juggernaut was originally supposed to be a level 4 upgrade for the Juggernaut perk in Multiplayer, however this was replaced by Pro perks. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, players can wear Juggernaut suits obtained by strike packages in Multiplayer, in certain Special Ops missions (notably Toxic Paradise and Invisible Threat), and in the campaign mission "Dust to Dust".

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Juggernauts are heavily armored enemies that appear in several Special Ops challenges. A Juggernaut's tactics differ from a normal enemy in that they tend to approach the player head on and rarely take cover or aim down their sights, though in some missions, they do take cover (most notably on Armor Piercing). Juggernauts are quite fast despite their heavy armour, and will charge the player at a steady jog while constantly firing their weapon. They are usually accompanied by an ominous musical cue that plays just before they appear on screen. They do not appear in the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 singleplayer campaign.

Unlike regular enemies, Juggernauts do not lose their footing or become stunned while taking fire due to their heavy armor. Even a direct hit from an explosive will only cause them to stumble slightly. However, a direct hit from a sniper rifle will cause one to stagger or possibly fall over, interrupting its attack.

Juggernauts can survive an incredible amount of damage, requiring almost 80 rounds of assault rifle fire, at least five Intervention sniper rifle torso shots, around 14 shotgun blasts, or five-six direct hits from a M203 40mm grenade launcher to kill.

By far the best weapons with which to engage Juggernauts are the Barrett .50cal, which only requires three-five shots to kill, and the Thumper, which, if aimed right, can kill a Juggernaut with one hit to the head. One must note that the round must explode but not direct impact to one shot kill a Juggernaut. 10 claymores stacked together or a similar amount of C4 charges are also able to 1 hit kill a Juggernaut. Predator Missiles are very effective against Juggernauts and can kill then with just one hit (or at least a very close one).

The words "Get Sum!" and "Kick Me!" are graffitied on the front and rear groin sections of the Juggernaut's armor, a reference to the movie Full Metal Jacket. This is more easily seen in the Museum level. A decal of a skull can also be seen in the armor that covers their shoulders.

They appear in Special Ops missions Snatch & Grab, Estate Takedown, Armor Piercing, and High Explosive. When they do appear, a lone drumbeat sounds. In Armor Piercing and High Explosive, unharmed, newly spawned ones will stand still and move only after some time or after the player shoots at them. When dealing with multiple enemies, a Juggernaut should take top priority. While most enemies will stay behind cover and keep their distance, the Juggernaut will seek out and attack the player.

Little is known about the Juggernauts. It is probable they are Russians, as they speak Russian and are seen with other Russian forces in the Museum level. It is unknown who employed them or who they officially work for, but it is most likely they are mercenaries, as they are seen fighting alongside Shadow Company in Snatch & Grab, with Makarov's elite mercenaries in Estate Takedown, alone in High Explosive and Armor Piercing and with Russian Armed Forces in "Museum". This is also supported by the fact that they use the M240 and were supposed to use the Striker, but the concept was scrapped.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The Juggernauts appear very differently from their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 counterpart; they now look more like the Flak Jacket character model in multiplayer. They also wear balaclavas. They appear in the missions "Vorkuta" and "Redemption", and wield shotguns and Light Machine Guns, most commonly the KS-23, and the RPK. They can also be put into Last Stand, in which case they will pull out a Full-Auto CZ-75.

They are more resistant to bullets compared to ordinary enemies; and are also highly resistant to explosions. Where on lower difficulties they are easy to kill, on Veteran mode the player should try for headshots to quickly dispose of them. Nevertheless, they are not as heavily armored as their Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 counterparts, and can easily be dispatched by a single headshot on lower difficulties. In Vorkuta it takes approximately 2-3 KS-23 shots to the torso, one shot to the head although a full on close up shot will kill them without a headshot (confirmed on PS3), roughly 27-45 rounds from an AK-47 to the chest and approximately half of a magazine of the AK-47 to the head. Furthermore it is possible to gib the Juggernaut, although doing so is difficult.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3
"Yes, there are juggernauts returning from the previous games; there will be several different types of them, too."

- Rubin discussing Juggernauts in Modern Warfare 3.

Juggernauts reappear in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, once again taking the form of enemies in Special Ops mode. Compared to Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Juggernauts in this game are noticeably slower, moving at a steady walk instead of running. Juggernauts are extremely tough enemies, with the basic Juggernaut capable of withstanding at least 70 assault rifle rounds at close range and around 100 rounds at long range, while the Armored Juggernaut is significantly more durable.

Juggernauts appear in three variants: the regular Juggernaut armed with a PKP Pecheneg, the Riot Shield Juggernaut armed with a Riot Shield and a PKP Pecheneg, and finally the Armored Juggernaut which begins to appear in later boss waves and possesses heavier armor (identical in appearance to the Juggernaut suit seen in campaign and multiplayer) which allowing them to sustain even more damage than a regular Juggernaut. Juggernauts will not drop their PKP Pecheneg when killed, although Riot Shield Juggernauts will only drop their Riot Shield. Because of their heavy protection, Riot Shield Juggernauts are best dealt with using tactics like flanking, explosives, Predator missiles, and airstrikes. Additionally, stunning a Riot Shield Juggernaut with a flashbang will stun them for a few seconds and force them to permanently drop their riot shield. Armored Juggernauts bear resemblance to the ones from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 ' s Special Ops, as they wear more or less the same outfit with a slightly different paint job. They are extremely lethal, as even a Predator missile or an airstrike won't kill them, it will just get their attention and wound them. However, the wounds they receive in the aforementioned manners are extremely beneficial to a player, as they can eliminate Juggernauts faster this way.

The player gets to wear a Juggernaut suit in the Special Ops missions Toxic Paradise and Invisible Threat. Price and Yuri also wear similar armor in the last level of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 campaign, "Dust to Dust". It is noted that unlike an enemy Juggernaut suit, the Juggernaut suit worn in these levels are vulnerable to melee and explosives damage, as a single enemy melee hit will drop the player to critical health on Regular difficulty, and they can still be killed outright by an overcooked grenade.

In Survival Mode, on Easy difficulty, they mostly appear in waves 10 (1 Juggernaut), 15 (2 Juggernauts), 20 (3 Juggernauts), and 26 (2 Armored Juggernauts and 1 Riot Shield Juggernaut). They enter the map via an Mi-8 helicopter (which can't be destroyed). Once the helicopter is in position, a smoke grenade will be thrown and the Juggernaut will rappel down into the smoke. They will destroy any Sentry Turrets if seen by them or if attacked by the turret. The most effective weapons to kill a Juggernaut are explosives (C4 can be deployed under the rope they rappel from and used for an easy kill), shotguns (specifically a Striker) and LMGs. Some types of assault rifles are usable against the Juggernaut, but only high damage ones are able to eliminate a Juggernaut with any success, examples would be the CM901 and the MK14, as both posses high damage, and the CM901 is capable of eliminating a Juggernaut at close range with one magazine if the player lands most of the shots in the head, or two magazines if hitting the body, the MK14 can be used if the player is fast enough, and more often than not, will eliminate a Juggernaut about as fast as any other effective weapon for killing Juggernauts. Flashbangs are also extremely useful as they can incapacitate a Juggernaut for several seconds and can give the player's team a chance to take it out. Predator missiles and airstrikes are also highly effective against these enemies due to their potential to kill multiple Juggernauts at once. Note that the airstrike will deal much more damage than a Predator, and won't require a direct hit on higher levels, although it is more difficult to use without risking being killed by the airstrike due to the wait-time before the AC-130 fires upon them.

The Hardened Edition of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 includes a Juggernaut suit for Xbox 360 Avatars.

Weapons

 * PKP Pecheneg (Spec Ops and Singleplayer only, primary weapon)
 * Riot Shield (Spec Ops, and primary weapon for the Juggernaut Recon Pointstreak)
 * M60E4 (primary weapon for the Juggernaut Pointstreak)
 * MP412 (secondary weapon for the Juggernaut Pointsteak)
 * USP .45 (secondary weapon to the Juggernaut Recon Pointstreak)

Trivia

 * Getting a Game Winning KillCam with a Riot Shield earns the player a comic Juggernaut head emblem and the "Owned" title.
 * In the museum, before one presses the button, the Juggernaut can be killed with one hit from anything, even a direct hit from a flashbang (as with all other characters). Pressing the button reverts him back to his regular health and durability.
 * They were originally planned to use the Striker in combination with an M240.
 * Juggernauts are not bulletproof, as rounds can pass straight through them and kill enemies behind them.
 * If the player looks closely, the Juggernaut appears to hold the M240 as if it has a grip.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the Juggernaut's helmet says R7130.
 * At the Call of Duty XP event, attendees were able to sumo wrestle in Juggernaut suits.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the Juggernaut's weapons can have a ACOG Scope, Red Dot Sight or a Red Dot Sight with a Heartbeat Sensor or other attachments.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, when Juggernauts use their Riot Shield, they hold their PKP Pecheneg in one hand.
 * When Juggernauts holding Riot Shields take enough damage, they drop their riot shield and continue fighting with their main gun.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 Survival Mode, it is impossible to shoot down the helicopter transporting them.
 * They do not drop their weapons in Survival Mode, other than their Riot Shield. This is to prevent a player from taking their PKP and using it against the enemy on later rounds.
 * In the later waves of Survival Mode, Juggernauts may actually sprint for short periods of time, and occasionally even try to melee players, if the player is too close. However, they will sprint regardless of round if they were deployed a far distance from the player, usually accomplished via calling in a Delta or Riot Team at the same time they come in, or if the player has managed to put distance between them. They do melee, but will only do so after firing their weapons at point blank range for quite some time.
 * Juggernauts can be knocked off their feet by Riot Shield squads in Survival Mode, however they will merely sit up and shoot at the particular soldier that knocked them down. They can also be knocked down with C4, but this will only work with 5+ C4 blocks, and it has to be an indirect hit from behind or the sides, as a direct hit to a Juggernaut on early rounds with 5+ C4 blocks will kill them. Later round Juggernauts will require at least 10 blocks to kill them.
 * Juggernauts have gained the ability to hip-throw (judo flip) and execute friendly AI (Delta Squads and Riot Squads) at melee range in Survival Mode. There is a chance, however, that a Riot Squad member will do the same to the Juggernaut, tackling the latter with the riot shield and shooting him. Delta Squad members cannot execute Juggernauts. This can be best observed on close quarters maps like Resistance.
 * Juggernauts will spawn as close to the player as possible. Unless an allied chopper (not Perk Care Package Chopper) is in the airspace, they will always spawn in the immediate area of the player. This will apply if a player is on one end of the map, and the other player on the other, one Juggernaut will go after whichever one is closest to it, if it is a 2+ Juggernaut Round, one Juggernaut will go after the player each, with the other one (if on a 3 Juggernaut round), going after the closest player.
 * Juggernauts are the only enemy forces who have bomb armor in use consistently in the Modern Warfare series. They are also the only enemies who always will have an LMG in some form, in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, the M240, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, the PKP. They also use Riot Shields, and are the only enemies who will use them in Survival Mode.
 * Juggernauts appear to be capable of flexible movements, as they can jump over obstacles, run, judo flip friendly AI (Delta/Riot Teams), melee with their LMG, and climb ladders. Interestingly, the Juggernaut who appears in Toxic Paradise, if lured back to the first ammo crate, near the GAZ truck, will not be able to come back after the player via climbing the ladder.
 * Only 3 Juggernauts will be present on the battlefield on any particular wave. However, their health will increase whenever they are deployed.
 * Riot Shield Juggernauts will always be a regular Juggernaut, never an Armored Juggernaut.
 * Juggernauts can be killed by a dropping Perk Care Package in Survival Mode.
 * Captain Price and Yuri are presumed using Armored Juggernaut model on "Dust to Dust" based on Juggernaut's armor. Developer decides to disable supressing melee attack because it will be too advantageous on Campaign.