Juggernaut's face?
Comparison of juggernaut and Bomb Squad armor
The Juggernaut is a unique enemy type found only in the Special Ops game mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (also found in the Museum level in the campaign). The Juggernaut is first spotted in Snatch & Grab . His armor is based on that of the real-life E.O.D. uniforms designed to block shrapnel, but is heavily modified for high damage resistance.
In-game
Juggernauts are heavily armored and equipped with powerful weapons, most often light machine guns but have been seen using Strikers, AK-47s and SCAR-Hs in certain missions. Because they are armored, they rush the player head-on rather than take cover. You will know when a Juggernaut is coming when an ominous theme starts playing. There are an infinite number of Juggernauts in Estate Takedown, though they spawn at random times. If dealing with multiple enemies, the Juggernaut should take top priority as while most enemies will stay behind cover most of the time, the Juggernaut will continue to advance towards you. Once he's in your face, there's often little you can do to stop him.
Some weapons are more effective than others; a high caliber rifle such as a M82 or Intervention can kill a Juggernaut in a few shots, as do explosives. Smaller weapons aren't very effective, though they will do damage or distract the Juggernaut. If you use a flashbang on them it blinds them for 4-5 seconds and causes them to go down on their hands and knees occasionally. This can be used to deliver a single, fatal RPG rocket to the top of their heads. Knife attacks between the armor and to the face can do damage, though at most it will cause him to flinch temporarily before he resumes attacking. A single, well-aimed Thumper round to the face will kill a Juggernaut in one hit; essential for completing High Explosive. Both the Barrett .50cal and WA2000 may be used to ambush a juggernaut at close range. Approximately 5 shots fired from the hip from either weapon will kill a juggernaut while rendering it staggered and harmless until dead. Beware though that when a Juggernaut is stunned by high-calibre rounds they would become invulnerable to gunfire momentarily, so time your shots carefully when sniping them. They can withstand an entire magazine of an AA-12 at near point-blank on normal without going down.
Always try to keep a distance from an incoming Juggernaut, as you have no chances when he closes up to you. However, as a last resort, you can throw flash-bang grenades to stun him for a little bit and run away. Using any automatic firearms such as MGs and SMGs against him will have almost no effect, so your top priority is keeping him away and snipe him before he gets closer.
In Museum level, it can be seen that the groin guard of the Juggernaut says "Get Sum!" ; his rear section says "Kick Me!"; and the helmet reads "Born to Kill", a reference to the film Full Metal Jacket. Additionally, if you wish to practice with a Juggernaut, it would be recommended to kill all the characters in the museum other than the Juggernaut and press the red button that says DO NOT PUSH. He will be armed with a M240, and you can experiment with the effects of various weapons on him If wanting to practice with a Juggernaut, using a Riot Shield can be very effective; because it can block the Juggernauts bullets, the only problem is that it takes 14 bashes to kill it.
Another way to chip away a juggernauts armor is if both players unload at the juggernaut constantly at the same time. (Assault rifles, LMG's, Shotguns etc.) Last stand is also a slightly effective way to kill a juggernaut. If one player is downed by a juggernaut and another firing on the juggernaut, the person downed can fire upon the juggernaut with an M9 (or what ever side arm chosen) while the other player is shooting away at the juggernaut with whatever weapon. Only if the juggernaut doesn't shoot the downed player into limbo.
They appear in Special Ops missions Snatch & Grab, Estate Takedown, Armor Piercing and High Explosive. When they do appear, a lone drumbeat sounds.
Recommended weapons
Juggernauts can absorb a ridiculous amount of damage and will usually continue attacking without responding to damage. Certain weapons are more effective at neutralising Juggernauts, especially those that can stagger or stun.
- All sniper rifles are effective against Juggernauts. In particular, the semi-automatic snipers can continuously stun the Juggernaut while doing massive damage.
- The Thumper, AT4 and RPG-7 can do significant damage to a Juggernaut. However, they recover quickly from direct hits and it can take many shots to kill one. A direct hit to the head will instantly kill. This is essential for the High Explosive mission.
- Flashbangs are very effective tools to help kill Juggernauts. They can stun a Juggernaut for up to five seconds, allowing the player to unload with other weapons or find cover.
- High-damage output weapons, such as the AA-12 and M240, will quickly chip away at the Juggernaut's health, although Juggernauts don't respond to light damage, making these weapons risky in some scenarios.
- Explosives such as Claymores, C4 and Grenade Launchers can stun a Juggernaut, but they need to be positioned in their path and will only do minor damage.
- Weapons not to use, SMGs (these fire pistol rounds), explosives (understand that the Juggernaut's armor is for defense against explosives), still a thumper shot should kill, Assault rifles.
Trivia
- The Juggernaut's walk is the same as Makarov's forces during No Russian.
- The achievement/trophy that is obtained after killing a Juggernaut in Special Ops, "I'm The Juggernaut..." refers to a viral video called "I'M THE JUGGERNAUT, BITCH!", as implied by the ellipse.
- Strangely, when you kill a Juggernaut carrying the M240 with Red Dot Sight, if you walk over the dropped weapon, a message saying "Press and hold (reload button) for M240", instead of "M240 Red Dot".
- Juggernauts won't react to light fire unless heavily damaged - only higher-caliber weapons will cause a larger effect.
- Knifing a Juggernaut is not recommended unless he has taken sufficient damage or an escape route is nearby - otherwise, once the Juggernaut recovers, the player will die a quick, painful death.
- Oddly enough, the Juggernauts fight alongside both Shadow Company and Makarov's Elite Mercenaries. For example, in "Snatch and Grab", they are part of Shepherd's soldiers, but in "Estate Takedown" the Juggernauts fight with the Russian mercenaries, but they are inevitably Russian considering they shout and yell in Russian in all missions, regardless of allegiance (resulting in Russian being shouted alongside English).
- Oddly, the Juggernaut will not melee the player - instead he will shoot you at point blank range with his gun. The only time you can see a Juggernaut using hand to hand combat is in one of the displays in the museum where he is seen beating up a U.S. Army Ranger while being cheered on by some Russian soldiers and one OpFor sniper.
- It takes roughly 19 hits with a Riot Shield to kill a Juggernaugt.