Predator Missile

Predator Missile
Appears in	Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
Used by	U.S. Army Rangers, Ultranationalists, Task Force 141
Weapons	Hellfire Missiles
Found in	Wolverines!, Contingency, Sniper Fi, Homeland Security

For the similar vehicle of Modern Warfare 3, see:Reaper

The General Atomics MQ-1 Predator Missile is an unlockable killstreak in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. Once unlocked, the player can remotely control one AGM-114 Hellfire (Air-to-Ground Missile) that is deployed via Predator UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) and attempt to guide it towards enemy players. The missile will explode upon impact.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

The Predator Missile is acquired after a 5 kill streak (or 4 with Hardline). The player controls an AGM, shifting viewpoint to that of the camera on the head of the missile until it hits something solid. Enemy players and vehicles will be outlined with a red square on the missile's camera. In Multiplayer, however, enemies using the Cold-Blooded perk will not be outlined by a red square, but they can still be seen. The Predator Missile is shown on both teams' radars, green meaning friendly, red meaning enemy.

Pressing the fire button while the missile is traveling to its target ignites the secondary thrusters, making the missile move faster but decreasing its steering ability. This is somewhat more noticeable in Campaign rather than in Multiplayer. Using the boost can be crucial when many targets are close together, as they may scatter or find cover. However, using the boost immediately is inadvisable as it can prevent the player from getting a good view of the battlefield and accurately selecting the best target zone.

If a player turns the missile in one direction from the moment of launch, then they can travel sideways until the missile explodes on its own, or until they hit something. It is possible to destroy an AC-130 using this tactic.

Campaign Uses

Friendly

The player has to enter a Russian-occupied diner and pick up a control rig to acquire a Russian missile-equipped Predator Drone during the level "Wolverines!" to help maintain a defensive perimeter in order to protect "Raptor".

The Predator is also later seen in "Contingency", where Roach uses AGMs to terminate hostile guards in the submarine base while Price sneaks onto the submarine to launch the nuke.

Enemy

During "Wolverines!", an enemy Predator will fire AGMs at the player if they stay in the open for too long until the player eventually steals it. The player cannot use Stingers to bring down the UAV (unlike in Multiplayer) as doing so would leave the player with no way to take out the BTRs, unless the player captures an RPG, or throws a Semtex on them, which destroys a BTR in a single shot.

Special Ops

The Predator appears twice in Special Ops, neither the player nor the enemy can shoot down the Predator Drone.

Friendly

• Sniper Fi

Enemy

• Homeland Security

The laptop used to control the missile.

The Predator Missile used in Multiplayer in the map Highrise.

Multiplayer

Predator Missile
Category	killstreak
Unlocked at	Start
Console codename	predator_missile

The Predator Missile is the third default Killstreak in Multiplayer, along with the UAV and Care Package. A player can unlock a Predator Missile by achieving a Killstreak of 5, or 4 with the Hardline perk. Calling in a Predator Missile gives a reward of 150 XP.

• As it is with any controllable Killstreak reward, finding a spot to hide is important when calling in the Predator Missile, but because it takes only a few seconds, players do not need to find out-of-the-way spots as they do with Chopper Gunners or AC-130s. A player can simply crouch or go prone behind cover, and this can help if in the middle of a firefight, to quickly eliminate the opposition.
• The Predator Missile has a very large blast radius and only needs to land somewhat close to targets in order to eliminate them. This also allows it to kill enemies that are not exposed from the air, as long as they are near an opening of some kind that the Predator Missile can land next to.
• The Predator Missile is not actually called in until the camera switches to its perspective, so it can be canceled while taking out the laptop or just before the camera transitions.
• Unlike in single-player, which allows the player to survey the area from the Predator Drone before firing, the Predator Missile is fired immediately in Multiplayer. This prevents players from using it to locate enemies for extended periods of time and prevents the missile from being easily fired at ideal locations. However, players can briefly look at enemy positions while controlling the missile.
• Pressing the fire button activates the Predator Missile's rocket boosters, which greatly increases its speed. However, it loses almost all of its steering ability.
• A common strategy is to pair the Predator Missile with a 6 or 7 Killstreak reward in order to call in two Killstreak rewards in a short window of time.
• The Predator Missile can be used to destroy any type of enemy helicopter in a single hit. It can also do the same thing to Harriers. Although it cannot damage teammates' air support, it can destroy other air support called in by the same person that is controlling the missile.
• In Sabotage, the player can get many kills by firing the Missile on the bomb. Considering the map, the player should get at least one kill. Unless it is hardcore, the player has nothing to worry about in terms of damaging teammates.
• A Predator Missile can easily kill many targets at once if it is called in during the very beginning of a round in a round-based gametype other than Search and Destroy, which has a seven second delay between the start of the round and when certain types of air support can be called in. This is one of the easiest ways to complete the "Grim Reaper" challenge which involves killing five enemies with one Predator Missile.
• The Predator Missile's explosion kicks up quite a bit of smoke and dust, which can be used as visual cover. The Thermal Scope can see through this.
• Enemies retrieving crates from Care Packages and Emergency Airdrops make for easy targets.
• If the player is killed while controlling the Predator Missile, he can keep guiding the missile until it hits, and then respawn/wait to respawn accordingly. If the player is playing Search and Destroy and the player is killed while using the Predator Missile, the player will drop the laptop and the Predator Missile will continue to fall straight to the ground based on where the player was last aiming it, and can still potentially kill.
• The missile can be relatively difficult to guide on the multiplayer map Estate due to being fired at a slant. This means the missile can easily hit a tree (or other obstruction) before even hitting its target. Although with this in mind, it is also possible to get the missile inside the estate mansion possibly killing multiple enemies considering the mansion is the concentration point of the map.
• Another useful tip is to use the Predator Missile in Hardcore Team Deathmatch. This can be an advantage because of the wave respawn delay, where all players that have died will spawn at roughly the same time. Right when the player respawns, call in the Predator Missile and the player should be able to see the enemy team respawning in one location. Guiding the missile to this point will pretty much guarantee a triple kill, or higher.
• It is possible to destroy an AC-130 with the Predator Missile. To do this, the player should memorize the small icon of where the AC-130 is, when the player pulls out the Killstreak, bank sharply towards its direction and the player should see the AC-130 circling the map. Accelerate towards it to stop its rampage.

Avoiding the missile

• Avoid teammates and head for cover. Most players direct their missiles to the largest group of outdoor players.
• Enemy missiles appear on the radar as large red circles, which can be used to help predict where the missile will land.
• The concentric circles represent the missiles blast radius, it is advised that if the player cannot find cover, avoid this area.
• The missile cannot pierce buildings, but its splash damage can come through openings like doors or windows.
• Cold-Blooded will not help much if its user is standing near teammates that are not using Cold-Blooded.
• Watching the KillCam of an enemy Predator Missile can be used to find the enemy, who is marked by a green plus sign, and can even be used to find other enemies with keen enough observation. Additionally, the KillCam will briefly display the missile user's surroundings as the player closes the laptop.
• Look into the sky to see where the Missile is coming from and where it is being directed. This can give the player a hint where it is going to strike and gives the player a chance to find cover or to run out of the blast radius.
• Predator missiles are not announced by the enemy team so if it is called in simultaneously with a Counter-UAV then the only method of detecting it is by the distant sound of its firing.
• A player equipped with Marathon and Lightweight will have a greater chance to run away from the missile's target blast radius and survive. Even with these perks it can be difficult, but it never hurts to try.
• It is possible with a Riot Shield and Blast Shield to survive the Predator Missile however for this to occur, the missile has to directly hit the shield.
• If a player is on top of a tall building, they can run and jump off before the missile hits, thereby avoiding the splash damage.
• A strange way to dodge a missile is to jump or climb onto raised areas such as fences, low walls or counters at the right moment. If the missile hits the ground, the player will not be killed or even damaged, but if the missile manages to hit the raised area it will still result in a kill. This tactic should be used as a last resort as timing needs to be perfect and the chances of surviving are slim.
• One way to dodge the Predator missile is to wait that the missile is close and then quickly run around a corner so it will explode on the other side of the corner and the player will survive. However, many players will strike the missile to the corner so that splash damage is going both sides of the corner.

Trivia

See Predator Missile/Trivia