Warzone players left stumped by unreal one-hit melee kill ability

Brad Norton
Warzone gameplay

The Warzone community has been left stumped as shocking one-hit melee kills have become all too common. But are they an intended feature or a devastating bug? Here’s what we know.

No different from any other Call of Duty title, Warzone allows you to fight with your fists when up close. If you’re without a weapon, it can be a great way to secure a sneaky kill. Not only that, but you can quickly finish off a wounded enemy with the right timing.

In Warzone, however, melee kills aren’t as easy to come by. On top of the standard 100HP, players also have armor to sustain a few extra hits. If you’re trying to down a fully armored enemy, it’s going to take a good four or five hits.

While that’s the standard, players have recently been left stunned by a confusing one-hit melee ability. Completely bypassing the normal damage output, this punch is a one-touch knockout.

“Can anyone explain this?” Reddit user ‘callohh’ asked on February 7. With full health and full armor at the beginning of a match, they were sent straight to the Gulag in a single hit.

No exceptional reaction times or powerful weaponry could have countered it. The single blow would have knocked anyone down in that moment, but how did it actually happen?

The likely explanation is that it’s just another bug on Warzone’s ever-growing list. After all, if one-hit melees were a legitimate Warzone feature, wouldn’t we see them more often? But could there be a proper way to achieve a king-hit without breaking the game?

While nothing is confirmed, this knockout blow could have come as a result of a combo-system under the hood in Warzone. With each consecutive melee hit, the damage only increases, according to a few players in the comments below.

If that’s the case, then the rapid melees leading to this one-hit-kill only charged up the final strike. Critical hits will always deal more damage, and it appears as though Warzone’s melee can deal critical damage as well.

If multiple enemies are close together, this could now be a viable option if true. Obviously, it’s going to take some testing to prove the method, however. But if you’re dropped in a single hit during your next game, this could be the reason why.

About The Author

Brad Norton is the Australian Managing Editor at Dexerto. He graduated from Swinburne University with a Bachelor’s degree in journalism and has been working full-time in the field for the past six years at the likes of Gamurs Group and now Dexerto. He loves all things single-player gaming (with Uncharted a personal favorite) but has a history on the competitive side having previously run Oceanic esports org Mindfreak. You can contact Brad at brad.norton@dexerto.com