Bizarre MW2 God Mode glitch unearthed using a Riot Shield

Alec Mullins
Player carrying a Riot Shield in Call of Duty, an item which is responsible for a God Mode bug in Modern Warfare 2.

Call of Duty has seen a wealth of strange glitches over the last fifteen or so years but few are more bizarre than this Riot Shield-based MW2 “God Mode” bug.

Modern Warfare 2 has been out for several days now and players continue to find new ways to break the game with each passing hour. From the “paper thin” walls of Breenbergh Hotel to the viral ‘bipod lunge’ bug that happens when a player goes prone against a car, it has been a pretty chaotic launch period.

On top of that, this God Mode bug is one that’s situational, but once players meet the right conditions they can’t be killed for the rest of the game.

Bizarre MW2 God Mode bug could absolutely ruin matches

All it takes to initiate the bug is a Riot Shield and an enemy VTOL killstreak. While the second one is definitely a much bigger ask, if it all comes together, then the only thing left to do is stand out in the open and get targeted.

Once the VTOL locks on, as long as its attack doesn’t kill the player carrying the shield, they are granted invulnerability but can still move around the map like normal.

YouTuber Cartiier shows off the effect in the video embedded above. Once “God Mode” is active, he throws an explosive at his feet just to prove that his character isn’t taking damage at all.

This obviously presents a major problem for the game, and as such, we don’t advise people to try this one themselves. There is always the risk that Infinity Ward cracks down on anyone attempting to purposefully replicate this as they have with game-breaking glitches in the past.

A number of fixes have been implemented already so there’s no telling how long this particular problem might stick around.

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About The Author

Alec Mullins is an FPS writer focusing on Call of Duty and Apex Legends and their respective esports scenes. He worked at TheGamer before joining Dexerto. On the weekends, you'll find him watching the CDL and jamming to The Mountain Goats. You can find Alec on Twitter @LifeAsAlec