Last Stand


 * For the similar perk in Call of Duty: World at War and Call of Duty: Black Ops, see Second Chance or for the deathstreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, see Final Stand.

Last Stand is a Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Tier 3 perk. Before being a perk, it was an ability available to severely wounded AI in singleplayer, first seen in Call of Duty 2.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
In Call of Duty 4, it gives a player the ability to survive a normally instant death by disabling the player to the ground in a supine position. Last Stand will not come into effect if a player is killed by a headshot, knife, impact (a Grenade Launcher grenade that doesn't explode), or an explosion (grenades, C4, RPG rockets or Claymores). This perk is unlocked at level 8.

A player in Last Stand can only fire a pistol and use the knife melee. The pistol a player uses in Last Stand is the pistol that was selected as the sidearm; players with the Overkill perk or who have switched their pistols in game for a second primary weapon will use the standard M9 pistol when put into Last Stand. 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 tapping the use key twice.

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 (called the "Coward's Way Out"); this does not result in a suicide. Players holding a grenade when put into Last Stand mode can commit suicide by holding on to it, preventing the enemy who shot them from getting a kill without the death counting as a suicide. 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.

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 becomes temporarily invincible during the transition into Last Stand. This accounts for players who survive nearby grenades and bullet shots when put into Last Stand. Hits against a player in invulnerability mode register as normal shots on the firing player's screen. 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 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.

Tactics

 * When going into Last Stand after losing a short-range firefight, it is imperative that the player knows where he want's to shoot and begin doing so immediately. Any delay will allow the enemy to realize that the player is not dead and correct that oversight, or, more embarrassingly, allow him to run off unscathed. At longer ranges, it is better to take a moment to make sure the player's aim is good because shooting at the enemy is definitely going to tip him off. If the player succeeds, reloading is highly recommended as the player never knows how many enemies will stumble across him unsuspectingly. Getting three kills in Last Stand is not unheard of.
 * In Hardcore Team Deathmatch, it may be advantageous to kill allies in Last Stand so the opposing team does not acquire the points for killing the player, although the team is penalized for killing its own. 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. Last Stand may be especially useful in Domination, as the player can still capture flags while in Last Stand.


 * Typically most popular among players who haven't unlocked many perks yet. Not many experienced players use it, because like Martyrdom it is not useful when the player is alive. However, for players that are very good, confident, and trust their pistol, or who feel that they often die right before managing to get the enemy and/or get a killstreak reward, Last Stand can be very helpful.


 * Last Stand is superior in many ways to Martyrdom, because its effective range and duration are much larger. However, it takes time for the player to use Last Stand that could be used instead to respawn and begin again.


 * A common tactic used against someone in Last Stand is to throw a special grenade at the user, since all types of grenade do a small amount of damage upon direct impact, which in the case of Last Stand is invariably fatal. 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 the player's 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 also be advantageous to use Last Stand if the player is often killed by sniper shots, as unless the sniper gets a headshot the player will fall to the ground, forcing them to waste another bullet. If the player is trying to counter-snipe them from a building, or behind cover, they may have to waste even more to kill the player, as they have to guess the player's 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 the player at all, allowing him to wait for another enemy player to discover the player, and attempt a kill. Since snipers do not have an incredibly large ammo count to start with, this can be a viable strategy. More skilled or better positioned snipers are, however, more likely to get headshot kills, thus completely negating the perk.


 * A person with the Last Stand perk equipped should consider their choice of handgun with this in mind; choose a powerful gun for quick kills at the moment of going into Last Stand, or an accurate gun for aiming, or a fast gun to pop off lots of shots so the player doesn't have to rely on one shot alone to kill the enemy. The M9 may be weak, but it has almost negligible recoil and very high Rate of Fire; on the other hand, the Desert Eagle and Magnum are much more powerful, but have HUGE recoil and slow Rate of Fire. Try each and see what works the best.

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: Modern Warfare, enemies pull out a pistol and shoot while trying to crawl away. (sometimes they crawl for a wall then take a grenade and drop it) 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 (renamed in this game to Second Chance) if shot in the abdomen. Sometimes, though, enemies will stay propped up against a wall, reaching for their sidearm, only to die before being able to operate it. Also, at the end of Semper Fi, Miller is put into Second Chance due to a Katana-wielding Japanese soldier. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Soap enters Last Stand in Endgame after Shepherd stabs him in the stomach.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Last Stand is mostly the same as in the Call of Duty 4, but the player can crawl slowly now. 20 kills in Last Stand are required to upgrade to the pro version of the perk which allows the player to use equipment while in Last Stand, such as a primary grenade, this allows the player to essentially commit suicide by cooking a frag/C4 or even throwing a stun grenade/flashbang in front of them, or planting a claymore which would deny the opposing team of points. This is not to be confused with the deathstreak Final Stand, which is activated after the player dies four times in a row (3 times with Hardline Pro) which is virtually the same as Last Stand Pro except the player can stand back up after a period of time, has a slightly higher amount of health and that the player can use all his or her weapons. Similar to the Call of Duty 4 version, if the player has any Handgun or the M93 Raffica machine pistol on them when they are put into last stand, it will be their weapon. This means Akimbo may be suited for those using this perk for quick kills at close range, however this becomes less useful at longer ranges. Also similar to CoD4, the player will pull out an M9 with no attachments if the player's secondary weapon is anything other than a handgun or M93. Last Stand is unlocked at level 41. In cooperative Spec Ops, players go into last stand when they take too much damage. However, they may be revived by their teammates, making this version of Last Stand similar to World at War's Second Chance perk. Also, there are two stages for last stand a player can enter: aside from the first stage, where a player falls down and pulls out his pistol, they go into a second stage when they are damaged again. When this happens, they lose the ability to use any weapons and their vision becomes blurry. Also, they suffer an even greater reduction in speed.

A popular tactic with Last Stand Pro to prevent the other team from winning in a Team Deathmatch is to commit suicide via equipment/flash/stun grenades to prevent the other team from getting the winning point, or for any points at all.

If the player does not have Last Stand Pro, another way to commit suicide to stop the other team from scoring in Team Deathmatch is to crawl in front of a claymore that he has planted. Once the player is in front of it, shoot the claymore. Keep in mind, the player's claymore needs to be fairly close in order for him to shoot it in time. Semtex works too, but the player also has to be very close. If the player does not have any explosive equipment, use the environment (I.e. cars and explosive barrels). A player can also crawl over a ledge and fall to their death, or into a radioactive zone, but this would depend on the player being very close to these areas when they were downed.

When using a class with last stand and one man army if the player is currently changing their class using one man army and is shot into last stand they will not pull out their M9 but instead continue to change class. When the change is complete they will be allowed to use the primary of the class they switched to and its equipment (with pro). This can be very advantageous if the player is shot down behind cover and allowed to change as they can then use the perk more like final stand. While in this glitched last stand all kills still count toward the perk, the 10 second life span and low health still apply.

If the player is carrying a care package marker when put into last stand he will switch to the handgun/M93 and then immediately switch to his primary weapon. Kills with the player's primary still count towards Last Stand Pro.

Trivia

 * The picture in the Last Stand perk's description is the silhouette of a Glock pistol, but none of the Glock pistol models are available in the game until Modern Warfare 2 with its G18 (Glock 18). However, the player cannot use the G18 in Last Stand as it is a Machine Pistol, and not a Handgun. It is, however, possible to use the M93 Raffica. However the player can use the akimbo G18s in Last Stand during Bomb Squad.
 * In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Last Stand was originally going to be a Tier Two perk (shown by the perk's red color in the image above and to the left).
 * Last Stand may be an allusion to the war movie, Saving Private Ryan. In the final battle sequence, Captain Miller is shot and props himself up against a destroyed motorcycle, pulls out his M1911, and continues to fire at a upcoming Tiger 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. Enemies in Single Player campaign and Special Ops who are in Last Stand will also fire at the rate Miller fired.
 * It is possible to get an assist with a knife when facing an enemy using Last Stand, the player must knife the player while they are making the transition to Last Stand (falling to the ground) and then if a teammate kills him, the player will be rewarded with an assist.
 * In the first-person perspective of a player in Last Stand, the sidearm used is held by two hands, but in the third-person perspective for other players, the sidearm is held with one hand.
 * In Special Ops, Second Chance, which is essentially Last Stand but with a different name, is used as either player can revive the other as long as they are standing. If shot while in Second Chance, in first person the player lowers their weapon but if viewing the player, it appears as through they are holding nothing but are acting as if they are holding a pistol. Also, if the player uses all of the pistol's ammunition, he or she will switch to their other weapon regardless of what it is.
 * Unlike in Call of Duty 4, the Modern Warfare 2 version of Last Stand makes it hard for the player to do a complete 180 degrees turn because of the high sensitivity setting on his or her controller. There is a constraining factor that slows down spinning maneuverability.
 * Flash or stun grenades can also allow a player to commit suicide, thus denying the points to the other team.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 enemies in campaign will fire their Machine pistols semi-automatically when they are in last stand and sometimes on rare occasions, the enemy will prop themselves up against a wall and drop a live grenade; however, this is extremely rare.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, Akimbo remains while on the ground. It is wise to use a strong handgun and Akimbo (Akimbo .44 Magnums or Desert Eagles) when trying to achieve the Pro version.
 * In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 it is possible to use the player's main weapon in Last Stand without using Final Stand. If the player is holding a Care Package marker or has the M203 (Grenade Launcher) attachment or the Masterkey Shotgun attachment selected for their current weapon and is shot into last stand, they will switch to their primary weapon regardless of what weapon it is.
 * If using akimbo handguns while in last stand, if the player throws equipment, it will seem to fly from the player in third person.
 * In CoD4 and Modern Warfare 2, if the player enters Last Stand while doing a melee attack, they will swap first to their primary weapon and then to their handgun after the melee animation finishes. This can be very annoying, as the crucial seconds wasted in readying the pistol could have been used to shoot the player's the opponent he were originally attempting to melee.
 * Rarely, in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare Multiplayer, a player put into Last Stand will instead go into a sitting position.
 * In Modern Warfare 2, if the player is shot into last stand as they, too, fire their weapon or tosses a grenade, then the player will be awarded a Last Stand kill.
 * Any kills with the default M9 used in Last Stand will count towards that handguns weapon challenges.
 * A.I teammates & enemies can be seen in Last Stand in various Call of Duty games since Call of Duty 2. Some animations are different, like the AI Last Stand in Call of Duty 2: Big Red One.
 * If changing classes with One Man Army as the player enters Last Stand, when it finishes changing classes, they will pull out the primary weapon of the class they had been changing to.
 * In Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, when the player gets a head shot on another player who is in Last Stand, the player gets 100 points instead of the usual 50 when the player gets a headshot, and it says "Execution" instead of the regular headshot bonus.
 * If the player is in Final Stand, using One Man Army and changing to a Last Stand class then kill people it will count as Last Stand kills even though the player isn't crawling on the ground.
 * There is an unconfirmed glitch where if the player is using his sidearm, then get shot while switching to the player's main gun, he will use his main weapon.

Glitches
There was a glitch in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare if in the process of picking up a primary weapon/secondary weapon off the floor (swapping weapons), and put into Last Stand, the Last Stand user will pull out the weapon they were going to pick up off the floor