How to do a finishing move in MW3

Although there are over a hundred different weapons you can use to get kills in Modern Warfare 3, there’s nothing like a good old melee finishing move to get your adrenaline rushing in a close match.

Finishing moves in Call of Duty come in all shapes and sizes, ranging from graceful finesse to downright brutality, depending on how you’re feeling. They also feature several different weapons, from the generic pistol or rifle to more unconventional choices, like drumsticks and massive hammers.

Overall, finishing moves are some of the best ways to take out an unsuspecting enemy or to complete a round of Search and Destroy so you can talk a little bit more trash than normal in your post-round lobbies. And some of them are hilarious, like “Santa’s Right Hand,” which summons a little elf to hit your enemy in the crotch so hard they die.

Let’s be honest, finishing moves are downright disrespectful, but that’s exactly what makes them fun. Having one done to you feels straight-up awful, so it’s only right that you should be able to return the favor and use your own fun finisher on an enemy in your online lobbies.

Here’s how to do finishing moves in MW3.

How to do a finishing move in MW3

To do a finishing move in MW3, you simply have to be behind an enemy combatant and hold down the melee button. Instead of just whacking the opposing player with your current melee weapon, an animation should activate as you complete the move.

This will obviously work best on an enemy who isn’t moving, like an unsuspecting camper who’s crouched down behind a head glitch or prone in a random building. But you can execute a finishing move on a moving target if you’re quick enough, have proper timing, and position yourself behind the enemy as you do it.

Each finishing move set will be different based on the enemy player’s position, whether they are standing, crouched, or prone. The one constant the player must remember is a finishing move will only activate if they are directly behind their opponent. If you aren’t behind your opponent, or you don’t hold the key or button long enough, you will just melee instead.

In addition, any players who are executed with a finishing move can communicate to their teammates that they are being killed. As the animation plays, the attacking player is vulnerable to other players since they cannot cancel the move once it begins, and they can be shot during or after the animation.