How to destroy enemy Cruise Missiles in Black Ops Cold War

Andrew Highton

Cruise Missiles are easily one of the most destructive and menacing scorestreaks in BOCW, we have a few tips on how you can reduce your death by cruise missile ratio.

It’s one of those double-edged sword scorestreaks, you love it when you have one, hate it when the enemy has one. Depending on which map you’re playing on, a cruise missile almost guarantees a kill or six. The points required to get one are easily achievable and its range of sub-missiles make it simply unstoppable.

If you’re up against a team that is simply too good, then a barrage of scorestreaks is not against the realms of possibility. So to try and defend against quite possibly the best scorestreak in Black Ops Cold War, here are a couple of ways to destroy one.

Shoot down Cruise Missiles

99 times out of 100 players will frantically run for cover or just accept their inevitable doom, but there is actually another solution that can solve your problems. Ignore your flight response and fight it head-on instead.

Whether you’re trying to maintain a scorestreak or settle a tense decider in Search & Destroy, knowing this information is extremely useful and can help you win a match.

As Reddit user Noobi has shown, it can definitely be done, albeit with good reflexes.

Even a silenced pistol is enough to bring down a rocket in a heartbeat as it’s construction is apparently very flimsy. So the quality and power of your weapon are irrelevant, it will all come down to your timing and skill.

Here are some telltale signs to look out for when to know when a cruise missile is inbound.

Card in the top right-hand corner

Whenever a scorestreak is activated in Black Ops Cold War, the person’s calling card will appear in the top right-hand corner detailing what device has been used. Most of the time it will be Spy Planes or Counter Spy Planes, but just be wary of an incoming missile.

Monitor the scoreboard

We all keep an eye on the scoreboard for vanity and integrity reasons, but if you see enemy players with higher scores and far fewer deaths, then you can anticipate a forthcoming threat.

Audio cues

You’ve definitely got a couple of seconds to hear the whoosh of missiles steaming towards your position at high speed. Also, there are lines of dialogue that indicate one is approaching too such as “Enemy cruise missile shoot it down.”

Use the trophy system

trophy system in cod bocw

One well-placed trophy system will lead to the swift demise of a cruise missile. The placement of the trophy system is obviously circumstantial because if it’s a game of Team Deathmatch, then chances are you won’t be near it for it to be effective.

But if you’re playing a game mode that revolves around fixed points on the point for a set period of time, then a trophy system could work in your favor.

Aside from the fact it can be used to snuff out grenades and tomahawks, the trophy system can also take down scorestreaks. So if you’re doing your best to main control of a flag and a cruise missile is coming to ruin your day, the trophy system will usually intervene.

Some of CoD’s values should never be underestimated and Cruise Missiles are a big aspect of a game of Call of Duty. You can now deal with them better and use your newfound knowledge to shoot the missile down and ruin someone’s time and efforts to earn the thing.

Image credits: Treyarch

About The Author

A content creator for Charlie INTEL / Dexerto that earned a degree, wrote for PlusXP, Twinfinite, and Keengamer, before finally securing his dream job of being a professional video game writer. When not writing about games, he's very busy playing every game in existence and adding to his 11,000+ PlayStation Trophies and 150+ Platinums. You can contact him at [email protected].