Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 keeps its trophy and achievement list tight. Just 18 total, all tied to the campaign, and none requiring you to grind multiplayer or DMZ modes. That's either a relief or a disappointment depending on how you feel about completion lists, but it does mean you can realistically knock these out in a single focused playthrough. Here's every trophy and achievement in the game, what each one actually requires, and where to focus your energy.
How many trophies and achievements are in Modern Warfare 4?
There are exactly 18 trophies and achievements. That's a notably short list compared to most major releases, though it tracks with how recent Call of Duty titles have handled their trophy structure through Call of Duty HQ rather than treating each entry as a standalone product.
All 18 are campaign-exclusive. Multiplayer and DMZ contribute nothing to this list, so you won't need to hit specific kill counts online or extract from a DMZ zone to reach full completion.
One thing worth flagging before you start: finishing all 18 does not equal 100% completion. The game contains 64 collectible notes total, but the Noteworthy trophy only requires finding 50 of them. That leaves 14 notes with no trophy attached, so completionists chasing every last item will need to go beyond the trophy list.
Modern Warfare 4 Trophy List: How to Unlock All Achievements & Trophies
All 18 Modern Warfare 4 trophies and achievements
| Trophy / Achievement | Description |
|---|---|
| Hold The Line | Complete the game on any difficulty. |
| Was it Worth It? | Complete the game on Realism difficulty. |
| Skeet Shooting | Kill 10 paratroopers in Mayhem before they hit the ground. |
| Safety's On | Defeat all enemies in the kitchen of Out in The Cold without firing your gun on Hardened or harder. |
| Can't Touch This | Defeat Makarov on Veteran difficulty or higher without getting hit in the alley. |
| No Stone Unturned | Confiscate all contraband and read all notes in Following Orders. |
| No Harm Done | Obtain the defector's location in Following Orders without hurting any civilians. |
| Bullet Train | Kill 50 enemies while standing on train cars in Hired Gun. |
| Raining Thunder | Kill 15 enemies with three mortar rounds in a row in Losing Ground. |
| Revenge | Kill everyone after Shin dies in Assassins on Hardened or harder difficulty. |
| Pacifist | Complete Assassins by killing only one enemy. |
| Time to Crate | Open every Yellow Supply Crate in Stranded. |
| Scavenger | Repair everything in Base Camp. |
| Incoming! | Destroy every vehicle reinforcement at the SAM Site before they unload in Stranded. |
| Long Shot | Snipe all 4 enemies firing the mortars in Counter Attack. |
| Never Forgotten | Recover the Dog Tags in Escape. |
| Trench Boom | In Entrenched, kill 15 enemies with a shotgun before securing the Target Building. |
| Noteworthy | Read 50 different notes. |
What's the hardest trophy to unlock?
Two stand out as the most demanding.
Was it Worth It? requires completing the entire campaign on Realism difficulty. Realism removes the HUD, kills the minimap, and generally makes every engagement significantly more punishing. This isn't something you want to attempt blind on a first run. Play through on a lower difficulty first to learn mission layouts, then return for Realism.
Can't Touch This is the other major test. You need to beat Makarov on Veteran difficulty or higher without taking a single hit during the alley sequence. This is a precision challenge with a very specific window, and it will likely take multiple attempts even after you know the encounter well.
Modern Warfare 4 Trophy List: How to Unlock All Achievements & Trophies
Which trophies can conflict with each other?
The Assassins mission creates an interesting tension. Pacifist asks you to complete the mission killing only one enemy. Revenge asks you to kill everyone after Shin dies on Hardened or harder. These are mutually exclusive in a single playthrough of that mission.
Plan your runs accordingly. If you're doing a Realism or Veteran playthrough, you can pick up Revenge during that run. Save Pacifist for a separate, lower-difficulty pass through the Assassins mission.
Mission-by-mission trophy breakdown
Following Orders
Two trophies here. No Stone Unturned wants every piece of contraband collected and every note read in the mission. No Harm Done requires getting the defector's location without any civilian casualties. Both are achievable in a single run of the mission if you move carefully and check every corner before engaging.
Stranded
Three trophies in one mission: open every Yellow Supply Crate for Time to Crate, destroy every vehicle reinforcement at the SAM Site for Incoming!, and repair everything in Base Camp for Scavenger. Stranded is one of the more trophy-dense missions in the game. Slow down here, don't rush objectives, and sweep each area before moving on.
Hired Gun
Bullet Train requires 50 kills while standing on train cars. That sounds like a lot, but the mission is built around this scenario. Stay on the cars, don't drop to ground level, and the kills accumulate naturally. Rushing through the mission or playing too defensively from cover will leave you short.
Mayhem
Skeet Shooting wants 10 paratrooper kills before they land. This is a time-sensitive trophy, so keep your eyes up when the drop starts and prioritize airborne targets over anything already on the ground.
Losing Ground
Raining Thunder requires 15 kills across exactly three mortar rounds in a row. Wait for dense enemy groupings before firing. Wasting rounds on scattered targets will force a restart.
Counter Attack
Long Shot requires sniping all 4 mortar operators in the mission. A sniper rifle is the obvious choice, but the real challenge is spotting all four before the mission moves past the opportunity window. Scan carefully.
Entrenched
Trench Boom requires 15 shotgun kills before reaching the Target Building. Swap to a shotgun at the start of the mission and don't switch off it. The close-quarters trench environment is built for this playstyle anyway.
Do you need to play on a specific difficulty for most trophies?
Most trophies have no difficulty requirement at all. The exceptions are Was it Worth It? (Realism), Can't Touch This (Veteran or higher), Safety's On (Hardened or harder), and Revenge (Hardened or harder). Everything else, including the collectible notes for Noteworthy, can be done on the easiest setting.
Planning your playthrough
The most efficient path through the trophy list is two full campaign runs. Use the first run on a manageable difficulty to collect notes, complete mission-specific trophies, and learn the level layouts. Use the second run on Realism to grab Was it Worth It? while cleaning up any difficulty-gated trophies you missed.
For Can't Touch This, a dedicated attempt on Veteran is worth doing separately rather than trying to juggle it alongside a Realism run where you're already managing the missing HUD.
For more on what Modern Warfare 4 has to offer beyond the campaign, check out the full list of MW4 game modes or browse the complete Modern Warfare 4 strategy guides for multiplayer tips, killstreak breakdowns, and more.
