Surface Penetration is a feature that was first introduced to the Call of Duty series in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and has since been included in all major Call of Duty releases.
How It Works[]
Wall penetration is a game mechanic that allows players to engage targets through light cover. Damage done by firing through cover is less than that inflicted by firing on a player directly, and the damage lost by penetration depends on a number of factors, including the type and thickness of the material, the angle of incidence, and the penetration qualities of the weapon. For example, the penetration damage done by a Light Machine Gun through a plywood surface is much higher than that done by a pistol. However, firing through surfaces has no effect on the bullet's speed or flight path (see Hitscans).
In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: World at War, damage reduction by firing through cover could be reduced with the Perk Deep Impact.
A similar principle was carried over to Modern Warfare 2 in the attachment FMJ; which serves a function similar to that of Deep Impact with the addition of aesthetic changes to bullet impacts. Weapons using FMJ are recognizable as creating sparks and distinctly different sounds upon impact. However, because the damage bar on the weapon stats increases, this midleads many players to believe that FMJ increases the damage of the weapon, when in reality it only adds to lost damage when shooting through materials.
In Call of Duty: Black Ops, bullet penetration is augmented with the Tier 2 Perk Hardened.
In Modern Warfare 3, the lower damage of wall penetration can be slightly countered by using the Impact proficiency.
Black Ops II re-uses the FMJ attachment, serving the same effect for decreasing damage loss through surface penetration.
Call of Duty: Ghosts sees FMJ return under the name Armor-Piercing, which is integral with Custom Tungsten Rounds on the CBJ-MS.
Advanced Warfare has no attachment equivalent to previous games, but there are some weapon variants, namely sniper rifles, that can have increased surface penetration. If a sniper has an increased Damage stat, the penetration will be higher.
Black Ops III re-uses the FMJ attachment, serving the same effect for decreasing damage loss through surface penetration.
Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare re-uses the FMJ attachment, serving the same effect for decreasing damage loss through surface penetration. However, this attachment is only available to ballistic weapons, as energy weapons lack the ability to penetrate walls.
Trivia[]
- During Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare's beta, players originally thought that the ability to shoot through walls and thin materials, such as wooden fences and sheet metal, was a glitch, as it was not a common game mechanic at the time.