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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.

"Deep cover CIA operative Farid has penetrated Menendez' inner circle and is poised to capture him during a JSOC assault on Menendez' HQ in Yemen."
— Mission description


"Achilles' Veil" is the eighth campaign mission in the Call of Duty: Black Ops II single player campaign. It involves Farid infiltrating as a Cordis Die agent and gaining Menendez's trust in order to get a chance to capture him along with support from the JSOC.

Characters[]

Plot[]

Deep Cover CIA Operative Farid is working alongside Raul Menendez in an attempt to see what he is planning. In the start of the level, Farid is talking to Harper via internal comlink, saying to not blow his cover. Menendez is then seen next to a fire, thinking there is a traitor. He does not give it much warning, as he claims he is one step ahead of him. Farid, Menendez, and DeFalco (depending on player's actions in earlier missions) walk out on an outdoor stage with other militia members shouting, "Cordis Die!" A VTOL then comes out behind the stage, and DeFalco (or a militia member) takes it down with an FHJ-18 AA launcher. Quadrotors then come in and open fire on the militia. Menendez then tells Farid to meet him at the Citadel, and Farid has to fight his way through enemy soldiers and drones. Later, Menendez appears halfway to the Citadel, in front of a VTOL with Harper in it. He takes it down, and Harper is dragged out later. Menendez, suspecting that Harper knows the traitor, asks who it is, but doesn't answer. Menendez gives the player a Five Seven pistol, and tells him to kill him. The player can choose to either kill Harper or shoot Menendez.

If the player chooses to shoot Menendez, he avoids his attack, and kills Farid with an Executioner revolver, but Harper is spared. As Section, he orders Salazar to call for Medevac to extract Harper back to the Obama, and the player loses communication with Harper, and eliminates the militia with a VTOL's minigun.

If the player chooses to kill Harper, Harper gets shot in the head with the player's Five Seven, sparing Farid, as an allied VTOL comes up behind them and kills off the militia. Farid feels devastated since he had no choice but to kill Harper.

The player then takes control of Section and acquires Quadrotors to assist him. After the player reaches the Citadel, an allied VTOL is waiting, with Menendez captured. The level ends with the Navy SEALs securing the inside, saying that Menendez will be interrogated.

Outcomes[]

  • CIA undercover operative Farid survives
  • CIA undercover operative Farid is dead
  • Strategic Defense Coaltion allied with US military - Strike Force complete

Video Walkthrough[]

Challenges[]

Completing 2 challenges unlocks the DSR-50 for the single player loadout. 

Completing 5 challenges unlocks the FHJ-18 AA for the single player loadout. 

  • Destroy enemy quad drones (x20).
  • Eliminate enemy personnel (x20) with sword.
  • Melee enemy personnel (x20) while using optical camouflage. (stacks with previous challenge if player has the sword)
  • Destroy enemy quad drones (x8) with turret.
  • Eliminate enemy personnel (x5) by exploding vehicles.
  • Destroy enemy ASD (x4) while disabled.
  • Eliminate enemy personnel (x5) as VTOL gunner.
  • Direct quad drones to eliminate enemy personnel (x25).
  • Collect intel (x3).
  • 100% survivability rating.

Achille's Veil is the only level in the game whose challenges do not unlock perks.

Weapon Loadout[]

Recommended Loadout[]

Found in Level[]

Access Kit Usage[]

Pulwar Sword - After Menendez instructs Farid to go to the Citadel, go through the largest exit in the center, next to the tall sheltered houses in the second open garage to the left.

Optical Camouflage - After Menendez instructs Farid to go to the Citadel, go towards the right hallway, and there will be a stairway leading up to a room. There is a set of Optical Camouflage there.

Alternate Path - Near the Citadel, there is a locked gate which can be opened, revealing an alternate path leading up to the balcony of a building. This path can be used to avoid gunfire, plus there is also a Sentry Gun which can be controlled by the player. This path is required for the "eliminate quads with turret" challenge.

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

  • This level's name again refers to the poem "Ulysses", which Menendez recites to his Cordis Die followers. The final line of this poem reads "...And see the great Achilles, whom we knew." It is possible that the name of this mission references a "veil" which is stopping Menendez from "seeing the great Achilles" - a traitor in his midst, stopping him from achieving his final goal.
    • The title is a play on "Achilles' heel", a weak spot in someone, and veil, referring to Farid being undercover. The weakness is that Farid must kill his friend to maintain his cover.
  • The day this mission takes part in is the 18th of June, but strangely the intro text says 19th of June. This is likely that they moved ahead of time to keep Menendez from executing his plan (which failed) and another part being Admiral Briggs told Section he had "two hours".
  • Due to an oversight, the obtainable Optical Camouflage does not work, but the player can still complete the challenge "Melee enemy personnel (x20) while using optical camouflage".
  • The challenge "Eliminate enemy personnel (x5) as VTOL gunner" can only be completed by choosing to shoot Menendez.
  • If the player does not decide which character will die, after some time, Farid will automatically attempt to shoot Menendez.
    • Oddly enough, if the player chooses to shoot at Menendez, when taking control of Section, Farid's dead body cannot be found anywhere. Where Farid's body should have been is a sack with an icon of a hand holding a tree. The words "A SIGN OF HOPE" is on the sack.
    • If Harper dies, the cutscene will show Section closing Harper's eyes in respect, but after the cutscene ends, if the player looks at Harper's body, they can see that Harper's eyes are open again.
  • If Harper is shot, when Section is seen, he is holding an MP7, despite the default loadout having a Skorpion EVO.
  • All of the Yemeni Army VTOLs have United States Air Force markings on them despite belonging to the Yemeni Air Force.
  • During the cutscene, Admiral Briggs mentions "You contact Farid and the Yemeni Militia". This is a mistake due to the Yemeni Militia being aligned with Cordis Die. Briggs means the Yemeni Army.
  • Despite already being armed when he shows up, Section somehow acquires the exact same weapons as Farid when control is switched to him, right down to the pulwar sword and optical camouflage.
  • When controlling Farid, it is possible to kill other Cordis Die soldiers without any consequences or the "Friendly Fire will not be Tolerated" fail screen. 
  • Some of the Cordis Die militiamen spawn frequently without magazines for their AN-94s, which are heavily noticeable during the beginning, during the VTOL assault after the speech and after Harper's VTOL crashes.

Achievements/Trophies[]

Transcript[]

Main article: Achilles' Veil/Transcript

References[]

  1. https://youtu.be/bVEbYbYd2ZE?t=9m51s Treyarch's Black Ops Timeline
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