This COD features 14 missions. I completed my first run (recruit difficulty), while doing miscellaneous achievements and watching cutscenes in about 4 hours and 30 minutes. Including veteran run and mop up, it took me about 10 hours for the main game. Since the missions are pretty much self-explanatory, I will provide a short roadmap for which achievement can be earned when. Overall, the achievements are not hard at all. Veteran difficulty is easier than previous COD's, since you can take more damage. However, health takes longer to regenerate.
Mission 1: Fog of War
Mission 2: Piccadilly *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***For Trigger Happy, just be careful who to shoot. Preferably shoot at enemies' feet so that the bullet can not also accidentally hit a civilian. The mission is only about 5 minutes long, so not that hard.
For Circus Tour, there are 4 spots where you need to kill an enemy from. Once you see the street covered in fire, go left into the street. Move up a bit and you'll get to an area with a lot of terrorists. To the right of the guy standing on a car shooting down, you'll find the Aural Chic with 1 enemy inside. When facing the Aural Chic, turn left to find one of the 2 underground entrances. After entering, move to the other side and a suicide bomber should rush in. Shoot him in the head. Leave this subway where you entered and go almost straight ahead (across the street from Aural Chic). The other Subway entrance is there, with 2 enemies inside. Leave this subway from the other side where you entered. Then immediately on your left is the Reading Place (bookstore), which you need to kill all hostiles in, in order to progress the mission.
Mission 3: Embedded *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Early on in the mission, you pick up a cinderblock to enter an area. Proceed with the mission, get the silencer, see the hangings. Once Farah goes up a ladder, go outside on your right hand side. Then immediately left up the stairs and drop the block in a place that is easy to spot. Get rid of the choppers, pick the block back up and detonate the explosives. Follow Farah until she throws her backpack for an explosion. Then run back and through an alley. You'll enter a courtyard with dead corpses. From your left, around 7-10 enemies will enter the courtyard. Go prone, but instead of laying still, kill all enemies for Play Dead. Keep taking the cinder block with you until you climb over a wall and afterwards enter a cave which completes the mission.
Mission 4: Proxy War *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***(All 3 achievements are recommended to get here, though can be earned in other missions as well.)
Pick up the sniper rifle early in the mission, just before going to the roof. Once you assault the airfield, a chopper will land on a helipad. You can get 3 achievements here. Shoot the pilot and let the chopper crash for Long Way Down.
Restart checkpoint and rush up ahead. Some enemies will group up to the right of the helipad. Throw a molotov at the floor to kill 4 with one molotov. Alternatively, you can wait for the chopper to land and throw a molotov there, since 4 enemies will drop off.
For Wild Fire, rush ahead and throw a molotov at the chopper to let it crash.
A bit later in the mission, a chopper will strafe the alley, you can also get the molotov a chopper achievement here.
Mission 5: Clean House *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***(Requires 2 playthroughs, though mission is really short. First, get Wall Hax, then restart the mission and get Golden Path, which pops upon completing the game)
On the 2nd floor, while still on the stairs between 1 and 2, shoot through the door to kill 1 enemy. One enemy will be on the far right in that room which you can through the door as well. Once the guys ahead of you move up towards the next stairs, look through the broken door to the left to see another door. Shoot the guy that opens it to prevent Alpha 3-2 from being taken down.
For the Golden Path, start again. Follow the guide by Powerpyxx for an easy step by step guide.
Mission 6: Hunting Party *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Throughout the mission, there are plenty of tripwires. Simply use the grenade launcher on you M4A1 to destroy them. Grenades work as well. Defusing does not count. There are 6 tripwires in the mission which you can get this on, 3 of which are near the MG near the end of the mission.
In this mission, you have smoke grenades at your disposal. Simply try to get an enemy to go down but not out. Then toss a smoke grenade at him to earn the achievement.
Mission 7: The Embassy *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Late in the mission, you will get a laser designator from the armory. Don't use it on the building as you've been told. Afterwards, a civilian vehicle will pass, followed by 4 hostile cars. Aim a little in from of the cars, as it takes about 1-2 seconds before the strike hits the floor.
When you are taking the mortar team out, two of the guys in the building will drop an 1911. Pick this up, rush back to the area you had to defend previously. The ladder which you used to get on the 2nd roof should still be there. You can get the achievement for killing 3 enemies while hanging here. Look both ways for enemies. If you don't get it, don't worry, There is another easier spot to get this.
Mission 8: Highway of Death *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Progress through the mission, take down a lot of other vehicles until you get a single armored vehicle charging at you. In the first couple of hundred meters it is hard to hit him. At some point, he will be on the left driving almost in a straight line. You need to hit the armor plate first, then hit the driver for the achievement.
Soon after, there will be smoke on the left, with 4 APC's. Hit them in their tires. Destroying 3 tires will take a vehicle down. Only need to take 3 of the 4 out, but 4 is easily doable.
Mission 9: Hometown *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***
Progress through the mission until you get to the poppy field, where you split up. Crawl through the poppy field until your brother is in place. Then call him to distract the guards. Pick up the revolver from the camp. Both of them should be behind each other. Crouch if needed, line them up and take them out with a single shot.
Mission 10: The Wolf’s Den *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***The first bit of the mission, use any weapon you like. However, once you enter the tunnel, do not use flashbangs, grenades, melee or kill enemies by exploding gas tanks/containers. Only use the 1911. You have to be careful not to use too much ammo. The only ammo that I managed to find during the mission, is almost at the end, once move a minecart, move up a ladder to another floor. There will be 2 enemies here with a shitload of bullets in the back. This is also where you can get hanging kills. There should be 3 enemies, 1 for each ladder.
Mission 11: Captive *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***During the interrogation, click RS (Melee) instead of choosing any of the options to spit. There are 3 possibilities to do so.
After getting AK's and frag grenades and freeing your fellow prisoners, you will go through a corridor and end at an open area. There is a sniper here, recognizable by the red laser. Move from cover to cover, taking down the other enemies. Once you get hit by the sniper, restart checkpoint. Upon reaching the building, look to the 2nd floor on your right hand side. The sniper will run and shoot at you. First, run I evaded fire the entire courtyard only to miss out on the achievement by getting hit while in the building.
Mission 12: Old Comrades *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***Pretty self explanatory, just keep swapping weapons from the enemies that you kill. It doesn't really matter which weapon you start with, as all will be found later on as well. I'll list the weapons below that I remember encountering, there might be more.
There's the 4 pistols:
- 50 GS
- X16
- 1911
- M19
Besides, these weapons can also be found from the dead enemies:
FR 5.56
AK-47
FAL
P90
Uzi
Model 680
Finally, there are the RPG-7 and the LMG in the back of Nikola's van. That should be 12 weapons, so getting a kill with 8 should not be too difficult.
Mission 13: Going Dark *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***The first power cut is story related. Afterwards, you get to the area where you need to interrogate a hostage in the Church, at the Pool and the Clocktower. Each of the 3 should have at least one spot where you can take the power out. Besides, there is an adjacent building by the pool and there is the main house which you have to get to after interrogating all 3 hostages. Enough chances to get your remaining 3.
For the We Own the Night, you have to kill all enemies inside and around all 3 locations. For the Pool that includes the little adjacent building. For the main house, I only killed one enemy that was near the adjacent building to the pool, so I believe you do not need to clear the main house. I did not interrogate any hostage to make sure that it wouldn't progress. If you've cleared all enemies outside (with the exception of the Technical, the vehicle that is driving around) and all enemies at the 3 locations, the achievement should pop. I believe as long as you stay stealth and kill all enemies, the achievmenent should pop. It popped for me once I killed my last enemy at the pool. ( I killed all enemies outside prior)
Mission 14: Into the Furnace *** Spoiler - click to reveal ***The first achievement is really easy. Don't use any weapon or grenade (ALSO DON'T THROW BACK GRENADES ENEMIES THROW AT YOU). Just stay back and let your teammates kill enemies, and kill the remainder with the laser designator. Once you reach the large building (research lab), a chopper will spawn. If you still need the long way down achievement, you can kill the pilot here with a weapon. However, this will void the warheads on foreheads achievement.
The warheads on foreheads on foreheads achievement should pop before entering the building, assuming you've killed all enemies with drone strikes and have not used any weapon or grenade.
Upon completing the game and completing it on veteran or realism, you'll earn the last 2 achievements: