A player has successfully completed the campaign in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 on YOLO mode, the game's most challenging difficulty setting. YOLO mode features realistic damage and forces players to restart the entire campaign if they die even once. This mode is unlocked after finishing the campaign on any other difficulty.
The player, identified as Lost-Equivalent2352 on Reddit, shared their strategy which involved utilizing AI allies and tactical use of grenades and flashbangs. Their primary tactic was to remain behind cover for extended periods, allowing allied AI to engage enemies. "My technique was staying behind a wall for several minutes so that my dumb allies shoot at the enemies," they explained. Flashbangs and grenades were then used to eliminate remaining threats, minimizing the risk of being caught in the open and killed by enemy fire. This method took approximately 20 hours for their successful playthrough.
One of the most difficult missions encountered by the player was "Retreat," a nighttime segment depicting a tactical withdrawal under heavy enemy fire. Due to the high volume of bullets and civilian movement, any friendly fire resulted in a death and a campaign reset, making grenade usage impossible in this section. Lost-Equivalent2352 described their success in "Retreat" as "pure luck."
The player also commented on the perceived difficulty of playing YOLO mode with a controller, suggesting that a mouse and keyboard setup is superior due to the precision and recoil control required for maintaining distance from enemies. They highlighted a particular section involving a fight against former allies as Price as one of the most challenging parts of the run.
Modern Warfare 4 includes a hand-to-hand combat system, but the player noted a lack of feedback for incoming attacks, making parrying feel like a button-mashing exercise. In total, Lost-Equivalent2352 took three attempts and around 40 hours of playtime across all runs to achieve a YOLO victory, earning a Calling Card as a reward.
An in-progress review of the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 4 campaign by IGN awarded it a preliminary score of 8/10, stating that while it may not be among the absolute best Call of Duty campaigns, it serves as a strong conclusion to the current saga.