Online gaming creator ThatFriendlyGuy accomplished the seemingly counterintuitive goal of reaching the max rank in the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 without killing a single enemy player. They accomplished this using a custom multiplayer loadout that would allow him to quickly gain XP while not being a dead weight to this fellow Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 teammates.
The core gameplay loop of the Call of Duty series has long been built around getting kills, with Call of Duty gameplay staples such as killstreaks being engineered specifically to reward players for getting a high number of kills in a single life. Like with most video games, particularly those with online multiplayer, the act of getting kills and winning games is practically a requirement in order to climb up the ranks. Not every player approaches games in this manner, with ThatFriendlyGuy having previously done pacifist runs in games such as Escape From Tarkov and Resident Evil Village.
ThatFriendlyGuy took this approach to gaming to the next level by reaching the maximum rank of 55 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer mode. Using the game's custom loadout system, he created a build that made it easy for him to move quickly while supporting his team through the use of non-lethal equipment such as the decoy grenade, a "game changer" that distorts the radar of enemy players.
Other examples of equipment used by ThatFriendlyGuy include the spotter scope, which let him mark enemies for his teammates, and the riot shield, a weapon that made it easier to hold down objectives in modes such as Hardpoint. They reached max rank with zero kills and a 1.35 win/loss ratio with a total playtime of 23 hours and 25 minutes, clarifying in a stream that they waited until the start of season 1 of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 in order to see their player stats to confirm that they had zero kills.
Perhaps the biggest takeaway from ThatFriendlyGuy's endeavor would be that it proves that players are capable of gaining high amounts of XP in a relatively short amount of time while not getting kills, directly going against one of the core characteristics of the Call of Duty series. Similar to games in other genres like MMOs and RPGs, the grind of gaining XP and leveling up in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is part of the fun, but there is evidently more than one approach players can take to this game.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 is available now on PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.