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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: United Offensive. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Finest Hour. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 2: Big Red One. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Roads to Victory. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare for the Nintendo DS. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: World at War. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: World at War for the Nintendo DS. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS). The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the Nintendo DS. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Ghosts The subject of this article appears in Extinction mode The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops III. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare Zombies The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Remastered The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: WWII The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: WWII Nazi Zombies The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Vanguard The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III

Plot Armor (also known as Magic Bullet Shield, as seen in map scripts) is an informal term referring to a character's unusual ability to survive infinite damage, due to their importance to the story.

In the Call of Duty series, this can be seen when certain NPCs such as commanding officers and characters notable to the story can survive normally fatal attacks in combat. They typically stagger at any incoming fire and fall down as if they died when taking enough damage, but will soon get up and resume fighting.

Characters without plot armor (such as randomly generated soldiers) can die from any fatal event, including accidental death at the hands of the player.

In addition to friendly NPCs with plot armor, certain enemies throughout the series may have plot armor if their actions are significant to the plot.

Call of Duty[]

  • At one point during "Ste. Mere-Eglise- Day", Martin's squad is pinned down by Tiger tanks. Sgt. Moody is still visible to the enemy despite taking cover, and is repeatedly shot at by the second tank's machine gun.
  • After protecting Sgt. Moody in Brecourt, Pvt. Elder will also lose his plot armor and can be killed like any other NPC.
  • During Pavlov's House, Sgt. Pavlov has plot armor until the final defense stage of the mission. He loses his plot armor, but still has more health than the other Russian NPCs.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour[]

Call of Duty 2[]

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One[]

  • Andy Allen survives the German defenses and makes his way clearing the town along with Roger and the rest of the 3rd squad, until he loses his plot armor near the end when German reinforcements arrive, killing him and almost getting Roger killed by a mortar.
  • In the mission "Baptism By Fire", the Italian with Panzerschreck in the tower cannot be killed until he destroys the half-track.
  • In the mission "Desert Fox", the last Tiger tank cannot be destroyed until reinforcements arrive.
  • Bloomfield cannot be killed until his plot armor loses in the final mission, as well as Victor Denley that lost his plot armor in "Farewell to Friends".
  • Saunders and Blackburn cannot be killed when clearing the beachhead until both are scripted to die by mortar at Gela beach. Also, on the same level, Rutherford can't be killed until the point where they storm outside of one bunker. At this point he's scripted to die at the hands of an Italian soldier.

Call of Duty 3[]

  • In the level, Falaise Road, the randomly generated Canadians that come over the wall have plot armor.
  • Richter has plot armor until the end of the level where he is killed.
  • In Mayenne Bridge, a German in a house has plot armor until he finishes shooting away the railing that blocks the player's way.

Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare[]

Call of Duty: World at War[]

  • Sgt. Reznov and Pvt. Chernov both have plot armor, until Chernov's scripted death during "Heart of the Reich". However, if the player points his weapon at Chernov after being burned, his name will still appear.
  • Tom Sullivan has plot armor until his scripted death in Little Resistance.
  • The Japanese soldier that stabs Sullivan cannot die until he has done so.
  • The radioman who starts out with the player's squad in Hard Landing has plot armor since he radios command once the airfield is captured. He may die in the counterattack.
  • Pvt. Polonsky and Sgt. Roebuck both have plot armor. During Breaking Point, depending on the player's actions, one of them loses his plot armor and dies while the other keeps his plot armor.
  • When Sergeant Daletski is under MG fire in Vendetta, he just falls down and gets back up when he is shot.
  • The German flamethrower who burns Chernov cannot be killed until he does so.
  • Both Russian soldiers who are ordered to break open the farm doors by Reznov in Their Land, Their Blood have plot armor and cannot be killed by gunfire nor grenades until they stand on each side of the farm door and are blown off by a King Tiger's shell inside the farmhouse.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops[]

  • Bowman, Reznov, Sergei, Dimitri Petrenko and his squad-mates, Dragovich, Kravchenko, Steiner, Swift, Harris and Clarke have plot armor until their canonical death.
  • Woods, Hudson, Weaver, Brooks and Carlos have plot armor that lasts throughout the game.
    • Woods briefly loses his plot armor when Alex Mason is hit by a mortar at the top of a enemy infested hill in "S.O.G.", until he is saved from the NVA soldier.
  • Reznov's plot armor is a subversion, as his character is a hallucination in the mind of Alex Mason, excluding "Vorkuta" and "Project Nova".
  • The Viet Cong soldier who stabs and kills Swift cannot be killed until he does so.
  • The Spetsnaz soldier who destroys the walkway in WMD (which causes the death of Harris) cannot be killed until he performs this action.
  • The U.S. Marine in Crash Site has plot armor until Mason eliminates multiple Viet Cong guerillas and a NVA boat, where he is killed.
  • The Spetsnaz Operative in Payback cannot be killed when the player pulls out the gun from the VC Bookie's holster. He can only be killed when Mason and Woods see him trying to escape out the wooden door.
  • All the Marines in "Rebirth" have plot armor during the tank ride, and the two operatives accompanying the player during the Nova Gas fight are also invincible. The plot armor is removed after leaving the Nova Cloud.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

Campaign[]

Special Operations[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops II[]

Call of Duty: Ghosts[]

  • Hesh, Merrick, Keegan, Kick, Rorke and Collins all have plot armor that lasts throughout the game.
    • Rorke lacks his plot armor at the end of "Birds of Prey", though killing him will result in a mission failure.
    • Hesh and Merrick briefly lack their plot armor while breaching the common room in "Atlas Falls". This can be proven by trying to let them kill the enemies in the room in order to get the Trophy/Achievement Piece of Cake. The player will get a mission failure message saying "Hesh [or Merrick] was shot and killed".
    • Hesh also lacks his plot armor when he is downloading the intel in "Clockwork"; if the Federation soldiers manage to kill him, the player will get a mission failure message "Hesh was overrun and shot".
  • Riley always has plot armor, except when Logan takes control of him in "No Man's Land".
  • Elias Walker always has plot armor until his canonical death, except when he is playable in "Legends Never Die".
  • Kyra Mosley and Ajax have plot armor until their scripted deaths.

Extinction[]

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare[]

Call of Duty: Black Ops III[]

Zombies[]

Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare[]

Call of Duty: WWII[]

Nazi Zombies[]

  • Peter Straub has plot armor when appearing in the maps due to his Geistkraft experiments. This is cancelled out in The Shadowed Throne, when he is killed by his own creations.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

  • John Price, Griggs, Hadir Karim, Nikolai, and Yegor Novak have plot armor throughout the game.
  • Kyle Garrick, Alex, and Farah Karim have plot armor when they aren't playable.
  • Hoyt, Davis, Gonzavi, Randolf, Myers, Omar "The Wolf" Sulaman, and Roman Barkov have plot armor until their deaths.
  • Jamal "The Butcher" Rahar has plot armor during the chase in Old Comrades. Kyle can decide his fate during interrogation.
  • In The Embassy, Davidson, Mikey, Stacy Davidson, and all of the Marines (minus the two who assist Kyle and Hadir to eliminate the mortar teams) have plot armor until their scripted deaths.
    • Davidson is killed by a mortar, and the other Marine on the roof with the player can't die until the Al-Qatala fighters breach the compound, at which point he can be killed.
    • Mikey has plot armor until he runs toward the destroyed gate, after which he is shot, and dies shortly after.
    • The Marine attempting to save Mikey will also be killed by the AQ fighters, however he can be killed by the player without penalty.
    • The two Marines with Hadir and Alex on the rooftop have plot armor until they are both killed by sniper fire.
    • The two Marines assisting Hadir and Kyle to kill the mortar teams can be killed before the player reaches the mortar house, however if they are still alive by the time that the player reaches the Ambassador Residence, they can possibly be killed.
    • Stacy can be killed at any time when directing her to safety using the cameras, however this reverts the player to the last checkpoint, as Stacy isn't scripted to die yet. She can be killed (either by the terrorist holding her hostage, or by the player) near the end of the level.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare II[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III[]

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