Throwing Knife

For similar weapons, see Tomahawk, Combat Axe, Push Dagger, Hypno Knife and Bio Spike.

"The pinnacle of stealth and precision, the Throwing Knife kills instantly on contact."

— Call of Duty ELITE description

The Throwing Knife is an Equipment item in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS), Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty Online, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Call of Duty: WWII and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, as well as the Infected and All or Nothing modes of Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare. The Throwing Knife also makes a brief appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Black Ops II, and Call of Duty: Black Ops III.

Modern Warfare 2: Ghost

Simon Riley uses the Throwing Knife to injure Manuel Roba in his home in Mexico.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

Campaign

The Throwing Knife is seen only once in the campaign, at the end of "Endgame", where John "Soap" MacTavish uses it to kill General Shepherd. However, it uses a different model from the multiplayer version; it rather looks like the Combat Knife.

Multiplayer

In multiplayer, the Throwing Knife is unlocked as Equipment at level 7. It deals the same damage as the regular Knife; it is always a one-hit-kill unless in a private match with health set to double. It also bypasses Last Stand or Final Stand and immediately kills the player, just like the Knife.

Players will receive only one knife; however, any thrown knife can be retrieved, regardless of who threw it, assuming the player has selected the Throwing Knife as equipment. It can also be replenished with Scavenger.

After throwing the knife, a number of events can happen:

The knife hits an enemy player, scoring a kill and leaving the knife in the body.
The knife hits a friendly player, dealing no damage but leaving the knife embedded in the body, unless on Hardcore game modes, where the damage will be dealt back to the thrower or cause a Team Kill.
The knife hits the ground at a certain angle, causing it to clatter to a stop, where it can be retrieved.
The knife becomes embedded in a surface (walls, etc.) from where it can be retrieved.
The knife hits any surface at a certain angle, causing it to ricochet (as with the Grenade Launcher) and flip several extra feet. In this instance, the knife is still deadly and can kill, provided it does not stop moving.^[1]

The Throwing Knife is popular with stealth classes as it is silent, gives no warning (unlike grenades), and even if the player misses, there is a good chance the target will not notice (unless they see the knife go straight by or they hear it ricochet).

However, it has a short effective range, as it rapidly descends towards the ground the farther it is thrown. Thus, at longer ranges it is necessary to aim above the target for it to be thrown accurately. The throwing knife is considered one of the hardest weapons to master because it requires practice to aim at targets and throw it, usually in a quick succession and during movement.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

The Throwing Knife briefly appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops. During the mission "WMD", before approaching the main control room, Grigori Weaver opens a door and is immediately faced with an enemy. Weaver proceeds to throw a throwing knife at the soldier, piercing his neck, instantly killing him. Weaver then retrieves his knife. It is the Throwing Knife's only appearance in the entire game, as it is essentially replaced by the Tomahawk in multiplayer.

Gallery

Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS)

Throwing Knives appear in Call of Duty: Black Ops (Nintendo DS), first spotted in the launch trailer. Unlike the consoles, this DS throwing knife is used by converting the player's own knife in a ranged weapon, via the ADS button. It also has unlimited ammo, so recovering lost knives and losing a melee weapon isn't an issue. The throwing knife is always a one hit kill, except on zombie mode, where it is a three hit kill.

The throwing knife is available in the campaign and multiplayer for the player's use, available from the start as part of the knife. Like in the consoles, the DS throwing knife can also ricochet and bounce off/on objects or surfaces and still get kills. However, the only items the knife can get stuck in are enemies and other targets, as it ricochets off of everything else.

In Zombies, it is unlocked from default and kills a zombie in three hits in the body or one headshot at any range, making a good and effective weapon for accumulating points on early rounds. Interestingly, it gives 410 points per headshot on the first round, but adds 50 points each round it passes, giving 460 and 510 points on the second and third round respectively, and so on.