Desert Eagle

The Desert Eagle is a handgun in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

Singleplayer
The Desert Eagle appears in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare as one of the four side arms available in game, being the most powerful one. The only singleplayer level the Desert Eagle is available in is "Crew Expendable". The Desert Eagle can only be obtained during the campaign if the player runs ahead of the other S.A.S. members in the first cargo hold of Crew Expendable, at which point an Ultranationalist leaps out of a storage container armed with two Desert Eagles. It is also seen being given to Khaled Al-Asad by Imran Zakhaev to execute President Al-Fulani in The Coup, and is again seen being wielded by Imran Zakhaev during Game Over. It can also be obtained by using the "Give All" console command on PC during the levels Safehouse and Game Over.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the Desert Eagle retains its position as a very powerful pistol; it can kill in two hits at close range. Although the other pistols can do the same, the Desert Eagle is unique in that it does not require Stopping Power to achieve two-hit kills, making it a popular sidearm for players using Perks other than Stopping Power. The Desert Eagle has the highest hip-fire accuracy of any weapon in the game. Unlike other pistols, it cannot be fitted with a suppressor. The Desert Eagle is unlocked at Level 43.

The Desert Eagle is popular because of its sheer power. However, some people choose to avoid it as it has a low magazine capacity of just 7 rounds (and a backup of 21). It is also one of the loudest weapons in the game, and has high visual recoil.

Singleplayer
The Desert Eagle is now more common in the campaign than it was in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, appearing as the first sidearm used in the game, in the level "S.S.D.D." It is sometimes used in the hands of the Brazilian Militia. It can also be found in the makeshift hospital in "Of Their Own Accord", right next to Cpl. Keating's computer, and in one of the rooms with the resting soldiers on a small table next to one of the beds; "Just Like Old Times", in the control room just before Shepherd destroys it; in the armory in "Loose Ends"; and Akimbo Desert Eagles can be found twice in the level, "Takedown". Its rate of fire seems to have been slowed down compared to the rate of fire in the previous game, and accuracy seems to suffer if fired repeatedly, making it almost useless unless using akimbo.

Multiplayer
The Desert Eagle is unlocked at level 62. In multiplayer it appears alongside another powerful handgun, the .44 Magnum. Since the .44 Magnum is unlocked before the Desert Eagle, has more minimum damage and has less recoil, it is much more popular. Although the Desert Eagle's minimum damage is slightly lower than the .44 Magnum, if the player combines it with Stopping Power both guns will kill in the same amount of bullets. The .44 Magnum does, however, have a six round capacity as opposed to the Desert Eagle's seven rounds.

The Desert Eagle is somewhat similar to the one in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. One benefit is that it now accepts attachments. However, its recoil has been increased considerably, both by increasing the kick (and making it arc to the right) and reducing the speed at which it re-centers. The weapon now sports a titanium carbon nitride finish, as opposed to the polished chrome finish it had in the previous game. The Desert Eagle is seen with tactical rails on both the top of the weapon and the underside of the barrel, and it also has a tactical laser mounted underneath. However, this is all purely aesthetic, as the Desert Eagle cannot equip any attachments on the rails and players cannot utilize the laser. Another new feature is the addition of a white three-dot-sight setup, of which the front post is slightly off-center, this does unfortunately affect accuracy, as the shot does not land at the direct tip of the front sight. It is interesting to note that while using the Tactical Knife attachment, the Desert Eagle's sights become centered. It is one of the few small arms in-game that cannot accept a suppressor.

The Desert Eagle goes fairly unused online due to its high unlock level and high recoil. However, players that take the time to unlock the Akimbo attachment are rewarded with a powerful and easier to use close quarters weapon.

A way to fight the recoil is to aim for the groin. The player will get a shot to the groin, the stomach, and if he's lucky, in the head, considering that it takes two shots to kill when shooting in the first two places.

In Hardcore, despite the Desert Eagle's ability to kill in one shot at any range, it is usually passed over for other secondaries with the same ability, such as the M93 Raffica.

The Desert Eagle with a Tactical Knife can be an extremely dangerous weapon in the hands of an experienced user. If the player can learn to control the recoil, medium to even long range combat is a matter of correct timing; the close range combat is covered by the Tactical Knife.

Weapon Attachments

 * FMJ - Unlocked after 10 kills.
 * Akimbo - Unlocked after 50 kills.
 * Tactical Knife - Unlocked after 100 kills.

Gold Desert Eagle
The Gold Desert Eagle is a variant of the Desert Eagle with gold camouflage, that can be used in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare upon reaching level 55, and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 via modding. It has exactly the same stats as the normal Desert Eagle, with the only difference being the color. The golden color makes the Gold Desert Eagle generally preferred over the regular Desert Eagle by players. The Gold Desert Eagle is the only golden weapon which does not require any expert challenges to be completed.

The files for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 contain all the data for the Gold Desert Eagle, though it is normally inaccessible in game. Its implementation is almost entirely complete, and it can be used normally in game with a hack such as a Class Editor. This near-complete implementation suggests it was going to be a last-level reward like it was in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, but it was displaced by the AK-47 fairly late in development.

Trivia

 * On Infinity Ward's website, the Desert Eagle was voted the favorite handgun in Call of Duty 4.
 * Throughout the Modern Warfare series, the Desert Eagle's firing sound is often used during cinematic moments when a different handgun is actually fired, due to its louder and more dramatic report.
 * Contrary to popular belief, SSgt. Griggs does not use a Desert Eagle while saving Soap in the Call of Duty 4 mission Game Over, but a nickel-plated M1911 .45.
 * The Desert Eagle and .44 Magnum are the only two pistols in Modern Warfare 2 that have only three attachments (FMJ, Akimbo, Tactical Knife). The other attachments that are used with the USP.45 and M9 are silencer and extended mags.
 * In the multiplayer of Modern Warfare 2 the Desert Eagle's sights are off. They don't shoot accurately in the direction the player is aiming at, but with the Tactical Knife Attachment, the iron sights are positioned correctly.If you look closely when there is no tactical knife however you will notice the sight on the Pistols in Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer are off by a small amount.
 * In the Modern Warfare 2 mission S.S.D.D., Dunn holsters the Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare version at The Pit.
 * Although the Desert Eagle has large vertical recoil, if the gun is fired fast enough the recoil stops at a certain point. A skilled player could use this to their advantage in order to make the gun more accurate.
 * In Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, the Desert Eagle appears in the side holster of one of the U.S Army Ranger's player models.
 * The Modern Warfare 2 Desert Eagle's laser site module appears to have a logo reminiscent of the 'Aperture Science' Logo from Valve's hit game "Portal"
 * The Desert Eagle is often referred as the "Deagle" in many gaming communities.
 * During the empty reload animation, you can see the top of the magazine drop out through the open chamber with the slide back.

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Gameplay with Akimbo Desert Eagles