Since Call of Duty: World at War released in 2008, every Call of Duty game has had a trophy and achievement list for players to work through. While some lists have been simple and straightforward, which is seen with Call of Duty: Modern Warfare’s trophies, other lineups have seen players needing to master every facet of the game to find success. While many of the franchise’s trophy lists offer the standard objectives of completing the campaign, some sneak in a brutally difficult challenge here and there.
Whether it be in the campaign, multiplayer, or Zombies, Call of Duty players with a passion for trophy hunting have faced down some tough tasks over the years. Whether it be a brutal Zombies easter egg, luck based RNG challenges, or a borderline unfair campaign request, there is just as much variety in these trophies as there is difficulty. For anyone looking for a challenge, or simply trying to keep track of some achievements to avoid pursuing in the first place, here are the toughest trophies that have ever appeared inside the Call of Duty franchise.
Hardened War Hero And Sum Of All Zeroes - Call of Duty: World at War At War
Kicking things off is the first Call of Duty game to include trophies, and the list was quite the doozy. However, these two trophies stand out as particularly troublesome, with the pairing blocking may players off from reaching 100% completion for the game. For Hardened War Hero, players needed to complete every mission on Veteran difficult. While this is standard for the Call of Duty franchise, the issue here was just how absurd Veteran was. Widely regarded as the hardest version of the hard mode the series has ever seen, one-shot deaths and never-ending grenade spam from enemies ensured that this objective was painful.
As for Sum of All Zeroes, absurd reflexes were needed to add this badge of honor to a trophy case. Players needed to shoot down 45 of 57 Japanese planes during the mission “Black Cats.” Not only does ensure that there is almost no room for error, but the planes move overhead at an absurd speed — so much so that spawns will need to be memorized. A process that could require hours of trying the same section on repeat, plenty of patience is needed. With Call of Duty 2021 supposedly returning to World War 2, hopefully the achievement list is more like Call of Duty: WW2 and less like Call of Duty: World at War.
Giant Accomplishment And Tower of Babble - Call of Duty: Black Ops 2
After Call of Duty: World at War, easier trophy lists became the norm for the next few years. While there were some challenging objectives, like “Star 69” in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, nothing was brutally difficult. Call of Duty: Black Ops 2 changed this in 2012, however, offering a tough grind in the form of Giant Accomplishment. This trophy tasked players with completing 160 different campaign challenges, many of which were obscure and lacked proper guides online. While guides have since come, this is still an incredibly demanding task that requires replays of every single mission.
As for Tower of Babble, players are forced to complete the easter egg in the Zombies map TranZit. Not only is the main quest hard to pull off due to the gameplay flaws of the map, but RNG requirements like getting the EMP grenades from the box make it even more painful. While players can choose from two sides, the “easier” objective requires four players — meaning that those who only have one friend need perfect timing and practice. With the easter egg not doable solo and objectives requiring players to leave the power off, ensuring that they have no perks, this trophy is a Platinum blocker for many.
Personal Decorator - Call of Duty: Black Ops 3
Call of Duty: Black Ops 3’s campaign may be misunderstood by many, but any enjoyment players do find in it will likely be gone if they go for the Personal Decorator trophy. While getting all the decorations for the campaign safehouse sounds easy enough, players who see some of the challenges tied to these decorations will likely be shocked. First, the campaign needs to be beaten on Realistic difficulty — a mode where players die if they are hit with even a single bullet. Another absurd challenge sees players needing to finish every mission on Veteran without dying, meaning that one death requires an entire mission restart.
This is just the tip of the iceberg, though, as Call of Duty fans will need to complete all 33 campaign challenges. All collectibles need to be found, while players need to finish 176 Accolades. Like Giant Accomplishment, but longer, this is an extreme challenge. If that was not enough, players need to unlock everything for the campaign, from skill upgrades to weapons. Lastly, players need 35,000 points in the Training Simulator, which is another hard goal to reach. The entire process will require around 80 hours of campaign gameplay, and while Call of Duty: Black Ops 3 is an interesting part of the Black Ops timeline, this trophy is overkill.
Abandon Ship And Zombie Fanatic - Call of Duty: Black Ops 4
Voyage of Despair’s easter egg quest is arguably the hardest in Zombies history, making this trophy a pain to obtain. In the map, players controlled the Chaos crew as they battled the Eye of Odin, and the Norse god did not disappoint. Featuring four tough phases, the build-up to the final battle is hard enough, but it is this phase that is truly a struggle. Odin’s Eye gets an insta-kill attack when nearing the end of its life, and there are only a few ways to avoid it. With Blightfathers and Zombies constantly pouring in during the fight as well, this quest requires complete coordination from a team — only getting harder and harder to finish with less players.
Zombie Fanatic is a brutal RNG-based challenge, as players could spend dozens of hours trying to unlock Blackout characters yet never get them. To start, players must find an item which was randomly dropped from a supply drop, Mystery Box, or a zombie. Only then can the challenge actually begin, and the objectives are often brutal. For example, players need two Wraith Fire or Acid Bomb kills to unlock Shaw. Not only are these items ineffective, but finding enough of them and then pulling off two downs and cleanups is nearly impossible. While the Blackout game mode is plenty of fun, these challenges are far too difficult to attach to trophies.
Reunited With Fidolina - Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War
Finally, there is Reunited With Fidolina, the trophy that can only be obtained from finishing Dead Ops Arcade 3. So much about Dead Ops is difficult, from one-hit downs outside of first person to simply getting to know the ins and outs of the mode. Boss fights sprinkled throughout only make it tougher, while some arenas like the Bloodpool are designed to kill the player. An experienced team, luck, and hours of practice are required for this trophy to be obtained and the Mamaback to be defeated, as Dead Ops Arcade is an intricate experience with no shortage of mechanics and secret tactics.
While a special Dead Ops Arcade playlist has been added to make this process easier, as it allows players to start from their highest round, it is still not easy. A solo-only playlist, there is no teammate to assist with revives and fighting. With the final areas pulling no punches, rookie Dead Ops Arcade players may struggle in this playlist even more. With a winning effort in Dead Ops Arcade 3 meaning a 3-hour match where players progress through 64 rounds, there is also a major time commitment required for every single attempt. For many, this trophy could be tougher than the grind for something like Giant Accomplishment, making it one of the hardest achievements in Call of Duty history.