Call of Duty 4 Perk Descriptions/Guide

Here is complete guide to the perks found in Call of Duty 4, as well as some personal tactics gleaned from my first few days with the games, as well as from talking to others. The perks are a very satisfying addition to CoD in my opinion, and add another level to the game, making it very addictive as you try to collect all the perks that completely change the way you play the game. The levels needed per perk are listed after the perk name.
Perk 1:
Bomb Squad (14)
The Bomb Squad perk allows you to detect explosives planted in the map. This is useful if you are up against people who just love using bombs, and have C4 and Claymores hidden throughout the map. The Bomb Squad perk is unlocked at level 14 – Staff Sergeant I.

C4 Explosives x2 (2)
The C4 Explosives perk gives you two C4 explosives that you can detonate remotely using the fire button, or if you are using your primary weapon you can detonate them by double tapping the “use” button (the default mapping is F). In Call of Duty 4, there are no binoculars, so make sure you are aware of your enemy’s location before setting them off – I find this also a bit difficult, but on some level night vision comes in handy. C4 Explosives are unlocked as soon as you unlock the Demolitions Class – level 2, Private I.

Claymore x 2
Claymores are basically a mine that you can plant in the game to blow people up when they are in range. The calymore packs use light sensors, and typical will be visible before you stumble upon one. The explosion is very directional, and because of this the Claymore perk isn’t very useful in situations you would typically use mines. That said, I’ve had good luck hiding these things just around corners out of sight where people can’t see the garish red beams emanating from these things. Claymores are unlocked at the onset of the game.

RPG-7 x 2
The RPG-7 x2 perk gives you two ground-to-air missiles that are very useful for shooting down helicopter air strikes. It should also be noted that they can explode cars and other destrutible objects on the map, and are very fun to shoot at spawn points, followed by a cooked nade.

Special Grenades x 3
This is my favorite among the Perk 1 group – this one gives you 3 special grenades as opposed to just one. Why is it my fave? Well, combine this with stun grenades, the radar, and the “x” indication that you’ve hit someone, and it’s a great way to find out where people are, run up to them, and knife them with your hobo knife, even from far away! The Sepcial Grenades perk is unlocked by default.

Frag x 3 (41)
The Frag x3 perk gives you three frag grenades – simple huh? Not really, once this is unlocked, you’ll find the maps littered with grenades – try as you will to pick them up and throw them back, more are on the way! This perk is unlocked at level 41 – Colonel I.

Bandolier (32)
The Bandolier perk gives you much more amo for your clip, and is my second favorite among the Perk 1 set because it goes so well with the Double Tap perk. If you like to sprint around, doing some spray and pray while having a beer like me, this is definitely a must-try. The Bandolier perk is unlocked at level 32 – Captain I.
Perk 2:
Juggernaut
The Juggernaut perk, well… makes you a juggernaut! You can take a LOT more damages than usual, and still be standing. Typically this means that I can survive 2 badly fought 1-on-1 rounds and still be running around like a chicken with my head cut off. This perk is unlocked straight away as far as I can tell.

Sleight of Hand (20)
Sleight of Hand helps you to reload weapons a lot faster, and if you can’t aim, like to spray and pray, and run around without reloading or watching your amo, this may be for you. Truth be told, this comes in very handy for shotgun and SAW users, but just about any one can use this. Sleight of Hand is unlocked at Master Sergeant I (Lv20).

Stopping Power
Stopping Power gives your weapon some oompf, and remoes the pew-pew! This is a good addition to weapons like the Mini Uzi, that while very fast, certainly lacks power. The Stopping Power perk is unlocked by default.

UAV Jammer (11)
The UAV Jammer perk helps to keep you off the radar, even when firing shots. This perk is useful against seasoned players who have become accustomed to watching the radar like hawks, and know all of the hiding places already. I highly recommend trying this with the Dead Silence perk and a knife. UAV Jammer is unlocked at level 11, Sergeant I.

Sonic Boom
The Sonic Boom perk gives your explosions some added range, and is great when used with the Martyrdom perk because it will see you taking out many people at a time as the grenade you drop will have a larger blast radius. This perk is unlocked out of the gates.

Overkill (38)
Easily the best perk in the game, Overkill allows you to carry two primary weapons at once, in the primary and secondary slots. This means you can fulfill your dreams of being a sniper/shotgunner! You simply change weapons to where your pistol would be, and there’s your other weapon. This is great because you can switch weapons faster than you can reload, in my case, but also because it opens the maps up so that everyone can carry an ACOG weapon as well as an LMG/SMG or what-have-you. Highly recommended, worth all of the effort.

Double Tap (29)
Double Tap increases the rate of fire for your weapon. This really helps balance things out for weapons that have a slow rate of fire, and makes some weapons like the M16 MUCH better. I highly recommend using this perk with the Bandolier perk as you’ll be going through a lot more amo than usual. The Double Tap perk is unlocked at level 29 (1st Lieutenant I).

Perk 3:
Extreme Conditioning
The Extreme Conditioning perk allows you to run for a much longer time, and is great in maps where you need to get to a certain point faster than someone else, or when you are trying to escape someone. The amount of time of the increase is roughly 2 times the normal sprint time. The Extreme Conditioning perk is unlocked for the get-go.

Steady Aim
The Steady Aim perk give you better aim when not using iron sights or what-have-you. When you are running around in CoD4, your head and body bob, and affect your aim much more than in previous Call of Duty games. This perk restores some of the stability found in other CoD games, and makes aiming while running that much easier. This perk is unlocked already.

Last Stand (8)
Last stand gives you one last chance to shoot the person who killed you with your pistol sidearm. This can be useful on servers filled with beginners, but players are quickly getting used to finishing people of gangland-style because so many beginners are using this. Also, most medium to high ranked players will be using the Martyrdom perk, and since you’re only equipped with a pistol you can normally only tag people close to you, and once they die they drop a grenade and … well you’re dead. the Last Stand perk is unlocked early on, at Corpral II (Lv8).

Deep Impact
A lot of weapons in CoD4 can now shoot through things like corrugated steel, boxes and thin walls. The Deep Impact perk emphasizes this, but also gives lower powered weapons a bit of a boost. I’ve had good results using this and the M16 and the P90. Deep Impact is unlocked by default, as far as I can tell.

Dead Silence (44)
The Dead Silence perk is one of my favorites because I love sneaking around maps stabbing people with my stabbing knife. Dead Silence makes you virtually silent, so that people don’t hear floorboards creak as you walk up behind them with your knife out, just waiting to slash. Dead Silence is unlocked high level of 44, Brigadier General I, but is definitely worth it, and is amazing when combined with a silenced gun and UAV jamming. Or just use a knife!

Iron Lungs (26)
The Iron Lungs perk is interesting. The whole sniper class has caused quite a stir with Call of Duty fans because it is much harder to snipe in CoD4. This perk helps by allowing you to hold your breath longer, and keep the gun steady. I’m told the real trick to sniping in Call of Duty 4 is to have this perk, hold shift while you aim down the scope, and pause for just a half second longer than normal, and you will hit the mark everytime. Definitely worth trying with the Barret 50cal. Iron Lungs is unlocked at level 26 – 2nd Lieutenant I.

Eavesdrop (35)
Eavesdrop is an interesting perk – it allows you to listen in on enemy chatter as you fight. I’m not sure how you can’t hear them already, but this let’s you hear them talking about their UAV as well as the bound speech items that some people use. Maybe they use microphones? Anyway, this is a great tool to use against those using stealth perks that make them hard to find on a map, and on the radar. The Eavesdrop perk is unlocked before the dead silence perk as well – you get it at level 35, Major I.

Martyrdom (17)
Martyrdom is one of the most popular perks, and also one of the most annoying. This perk lets you drop a live grenade just after dying, typically killing whoever just tore you up. This has people now sprinting away from corpses, as well as shooting at them just in case they have Last Stand instead. Because of this, if you’re sneaking up on someone who is about to kill someone, be prepared and have your pistol out to shoot them quickly before they run away. Also, if one of your team members has just killed the enemy in a closed room, be careful not to get caught in the door as you both run out. Finally, if you can, try picking up the dropped greande, and throw it at another enemy. I’ve only been able to do this in open spaces so far, and it needs to be done very quickly, but if you’ve just done a slashing, you’ll be right on top of the nade which makes things a bit easier. But you don’t slash in wide open spaces, now, do you? Martyrdom is unlocked level 17 – Gunnery Sergeant I.

Join the Conversation

169 Comments

  1. mind my several spelling errors i was talkin on msn at the time and got a bit carried away. Lol

  2. Nice article. Helpful for CoD5 too which is the same perk list (more or less or exactly) as Cod 4.

    I’ll throw my 2 cents in on the console war.

    XboX: ring of death. I won’t buy a car whose engine blows up (and is basically guaranteed to do so very soon) so why buy hardware that does the same or eats it’s software permanently destorying them. How they market this to the masses and people buy it is beyond me, but then again I still use Windows and ith as it’s own “of death” too, but it’s blue not red.

    PS3: There’s only one downfall to the system and that’s that online play can SUCK due to the fact players hosts the server as opposed to … a .. real server. I think XboX does not do this since people pay for online and no one would pay for that. Infact, I kind of would rather pay $5 a month to not deal with “server timeout”, “poor quality to host connection” and “player ended game because he died 3 times in a row” crap. Of course this is only a problem for me in FPS games, none of the others.

    From the sounds of it (my xbox experience is limited at best) I’d rather take the PS3 with XboX’s online service (but not pay). Too bad it won’t happen.

    PC: I quit PC gaming 1 year ago but nothing compared to it as far as FPS.

    As for Wii, well, it does look for 8 year olds but it’s kind of fun. I’ve played that a lot my girlfriend has one and I bought my sister one for Christmas. I’d never buy one myself but they are totally worth the $250 (assuming you can actually find one.)

    I’d like to take a little poll too. Are the people who bought XboX the same people who pay for Windows on their PCs?

  3. Nice article but I feel that it relied too much on an explanation of the individual perks and not enough on good combinations of perks.

    Really anyone who plays the game already has access to this information.

    Just to clarify here’s one of my favorite class setups:

    1) Recently I have fallen in love with the RPD (which is a light-machine gun)
    Primary Weapon: RPD
    2nd weapon: Gold Desert Eagle (hmmmm flashy)

    Perk 1: Attachment (RPD grip). The grip adds a surprising amount of accuracy and the iron sights for the RPD are very managable at all ranges. This makes the grip excellently suited to the RPD.
    (A variation would include using a red dot/ACOG with bandolier, for those of us who tend to miss a lot or are very good at staying alive)

    Perk 2: Stopping power: stopping power here just makes the RPD so goddamn deadly. It becomes not unusual to drop people with full health in an unnatural time.
    (a variation could be slight of hand to cut down on reload time, yet the clip is so mammoth that I rarely need to reload anytime under a 10 kill streak)

    Perk 3: Here you have a lot of options and it really depends on what you like.
    I prefer martyrdom since if the RPD has any weakness it is its bad mobility and slowness to start firing. This makes it weaker in close range angainst a SMG or shotgun. So if my maqjority of deaths happen in a 10m or less range than martyrdom will help get me some extra kills.

    Deep impact is also effective with this gun and extreme conditioning may be what you need as well.

    Overall the RPD in one of these variations is an extremely effective weapon. It does take some getting used to however and I would not recommend it for beginning players. The trigger is the most difficult part of the RPD and getting down a smooth burst firing method will need to be accomplished to mantain any accuracy (even with the grip).

    However if you have mastered a few assault rifles then moving to an RPD may feel like a match made in heaven. (Even if didn’t like it so much the first time you tried it.)

    As for the “console wars” comment, I own an X-box 360 and have played COD4 on both consoles (360 & PS3) quite a lot, although most of my time has been on 360. Unfortunetly X-box does have players host the matches. Which results in messages like “server timeout”, “Host-ended match”, and so-on. From my experience however these are much more likely on PS3 to happen then 360. I do however believe that the null-t5ime is less on 360 and that you are less-glitchy while playing. My view is that the X-BOX live server on a whole is much better maintained than the PS3 server, resulted in less annoying things happening.

    As for the ring of death, i have only see it happen on older 360’s thus far and usually they had taken a good beating prior to (not always though). I wonder if microsoft has fixed some of these hardware problems that were occuring quite frequently at the release of the 360?

  4. nice, I wondered what some of the perks are. I normally use the M60E4 (large magazine, automatic, and has less recoil than the SAW) With red dot sight, bomb squad perk (for spotting the claymores when invading buildings) stopping power, and martydom (this is probably my favorite perk so far, ive killed about 1/3 of the people that kill me this way, and unlocked full grenade kill challenges within a few matches.

  5. bterril: you would think that the rpd is good with them perks but u will also need 4 for classes, The Classes i am going to show and proven to be the best ones to use.

    Class 1

    Mp5 Silencer
    Desert Eagle

    Perk1: UAV Jammer
    Perk2: Claymore
    Perk3: Dead Silence

    Class 2

    M60
    Desert Eagle

    Perk1: Bandolier
    Perk2: Stopping Power
    Perk3: Deep Penetration

    Class 3

    M16A4
    Desert Eagle

    Perk1: Bandoleer
    Perk2: Stopping Power
    Perk3: Deep Penetration

    Class 4

    G3 Red Dot
    Barret .50Cal

    Perk1: UAV Jammer
    Perk2: Overkill
    Perk3: Dead Silence

    Class 5
    P90 Silencer
    Desert Eagle

    Perk1: Bandoleer
    Perk2: Double Tap
    Perk3: Deep Impact

    Created by: Josh Donaldson

  6. May I add the following perks are noob and should never be used:

    Juggernaught
    dead silence
    special nade x3
    nade x3

    If you are new to the game and you use these perks you will soon discover that these perks are frowned upon by other gamers and you will not command any respect.

    Noobs (the aforementioned perk users) will disagree with me saying:

    its just a game.

    This is incorrect. As you play cod4 more and more you will become more addicted and you will want to develop your skills. I personally have spent more time playing cod4 than sleeping in the last 18 months. I regret nothing.

    Go play promod.(clan orientated version of the game which uses none of the above perks)

    I like to snipe and since my internet connection is slow at times i never get the scope.

    May i also add that if you use the p90 or grenade launcher you will also experience abuse from fellow gamers.

    I hope this encourages any newcomers to the wonderful world of cod4 to respect fellow gamers who just want to have fun while not having to worry about the next p90, jugger, dead silencer sneaking up behind them and knifing them and so on and so forth.

    I welcome agreements and disagreements. Please add or negate from the above and i will reply with anti-noobish haste.

    May i add i am not an emo gamer but one who has been abused time and time again by noobs. I can only hope that modern warfare 2 excludes noob perks and weapons.

    An angry repeatably raped gamer.

  7. Gareth,

    I’m not going to agree or disagree with you. I am completely nauseated by your lifestyle choice. Do you actually play video games to get respect? You have no regrets because you don’t know any better. You’re a cliche for every dick that ever played these games.

    I know this thread is a year old but hopefully someone will read this and maybe see how childish this attitude is. Most gamers don’t care about respect or pissing off the hardcore guys by acting like a noob. We don’t spend our lives trying to Prestige or whatever. And we’re not cheaters either. If you want more noobs to frag don’t be a dick or the noobs will all go play Mario and the only COD players will be the insecure A-holes measuring each others dicks (I mean K/D ratio).

  8. Okay, let me just start out by saying: Gareth, half of that didn’t really make since, because you cannot get most of those weapons/Perks untill you are a High level, thus, eliminating them as “Noob” Players. And, I do not believe that people really care that one person is unhappy with those in-game “Tools”

    -Thank you.

  9. gareth u r retarded…
    juggernaut lets you drop a nade when you die, and grenades x3 makes it so you drop 3 grenades when you die. You get SOOOO many kills from it its not funny, you just don’t know how to use it properly you idiot.

    Why you hating on them n00bs? they done nothing to u!

  10. WERE 2 START?well i played on ps3,and never did on pc or xbox,im sure peks work same on xbox but i also hear xbox has better mics so dead silence can come in handy,also pc is diff from the systems if you play it dont bother looking at this info,ok im going to say colors instead of tries it been awhile since i played cod4 but i can pick it up and kill a noob like it was 2007,ne ways ok i played alot of tdm,i mean that was me i used to play to win now adays its all bout kill death ratio,so what is winning i play alot more other game modes,but these perks will go well in ne of them,ok blue perks,if your new use claymores,bc your moving slower and learning maps and also camping,could be a good tool with snipping also,ps dont put it right behide u if ur camping,and bomb squad once you drop ur lil balls and learn to rush and were the enemys spawn and all good stuff you dont wont to stop to plant claymores it just slows you down and you can get a kill during that time use bomb squard enemys always are near so it is like a mini radar and it cuts down on ur deaths in so many ways it makes u better,red perk well stopping power ever one uses it,it makes your bullets more deadly,slight of hand on shot gun,but hey b4 u dis Juggernaught,it could be a good perk also used with powered weps like ak47 n ak74u,i would use uav jammer if they get a uav,orif u want to be sneaky,it is for fun,also is sonic boom,looking back after mw2 i probaly would try it out on noob tube and ect,but it would be for fun,maybe on a bored day,but over all red perk is stopping power,now to green perks i love steady aim,if you run and gun up close it is a life saver,i never used last stand but it would be a good perk for new guys,but if i was new use martydown until u get used to things then once you can run around like a mad man,then switch to steady aim,i used to use flash alot but now adays i use stun ,i would start with flash until u get used to rushing,guns?well b4 mw2 and black ops i dont think you little kids knew this but sub mach guns were the best no not rifles the sub guns,yes these guns owned cod,people cryed so much about run and gun and people useing juggy when they had on stopping power,it was a excutes oh u use juggnut ur lame,stfu,this is why mw2 and black ops have the rifles more of a better chioce bc more people tent to camp and complain about being killed so they give u long range and light weight so u can try to rush sighs how the game is trash now a days,way diff,but hey im getting older and kids r jumping on here camping for killsteaks its all cool,im still the beast,im still a run and gun kill you from behide u slow poke,im elite,so wrap it up use sub guns maybe ak 47,use bomb squad/claymores stopping power and steady aim/martydown

  11. ok gareth i have a comment on your nade luancher comment, personally i am an avid user of the luancher, my brother will agree with your comment and he has been playing far longer than me but on my second battle with him and my friend(another good player) i owned their buts in every single map they wanted excluding one but i was still second best in that one, and the only weapon i used pretty much was a nade luancher this is was cod 3 i think but what ever, i still say if you think your good then who cares what weapons your opponents use, my brother tried using the nade launcher on my i still beat him repeatedly and i did not get all worked up over him killing my time and time again. my point basically bieng if you believe that you diserve a high rank, or think you are good at the game then let the launchers, dead silenced, jaugernauts,and p90’s go hard, if your really good youll win, and if you can still think that new players should avoid these things or not be respected i think that you should have no respect back, as we were all noobs once, and lets face it if it is there and gives you such an advantage go for it, my theory is that high lvl people should not use these things as they already have the advantage of other perks, better guns, ect.

  12. I find that an effective combination is to use M16A4 semi automatic rifle with the Acog scope. this is most effective on Desert levels i find. i use this with the Claymores, Juggernaut and Stopping power. The stopping power help me shoot through thin metal and walls, the juggernaut helps me survive long enough (if they have ambushed me) to either run up to them and knife them or shoot them. I disagree what you think about claymores though. Yes u can see the beams if you put them in plain sight, but if u hide them behind wall then as they move past…BOOM their history. Also if they do spot them, they have to destroy them, which if you are guarding a location can act as an early warning system so you know where they are.

  13. I agree nubes are bunch of people who just play to kill any way possible and not develop their skills, so what’s the point in playing? Campers are also annoying if they wait in the same Place the whole match, I just leave them there to get bored.

  14. Good article.

    Red Tiger Class:
    M40a3 (ACOG)
    Mp5 (Silencer)
    Spec. Grnd: Stun
    Perk 1: Claymore
    Perk 2: Overkill
    Perk 3: Extreme Conditioning

    Infiltrator (Best for S&D) :
    Golden Ak47 Grenade Launcher (Silencer if using overkill)
    Golden Desert Eagle (Golden M1014 Grip if using overkill)
    Spec. Grnd: Smoke
    Perk 1: Grip/Grenade launcher
    Perk 2: UAV Jammer/Overkill
    Perk 3: Dead Silence

    Send me a mail if you enjoy playing with the classes

Leave a comment

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *