How to unlock the Wakizashi in Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone

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Slice it up with this new Cold War melee weapon.

CoD Cold War Warzone Wakizashi
(Image credit: Activision)
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(Image credit: Infinity Ward)

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Now that the mid-season update has arrived, it's time to get your hands on the Cold War Wakizashi sword. Described as a companion to the Samurai's Katana, this blade may not be the first weapon you think of in the Cold War setting. However, its smooth swipes make for majestic melee combat, so long as you're able to dodge enemy fire.

You'll need to complete a challenge to unlock this fancy blade for free, but there's also a new blueprint in the store if you can't wait to wield it. This weapon has slightly better range than a standard Combat Knife, but unlocking it requires patience. If you're keen to get stuck into some melee combat, here's how to unlock the Wakizashi in Call of Duty: Cold War and Warzone.

Here's how to get the Wakizashi in Cold War and Warzone

To unlock the Wakizashi for free, you need to execute two Finishing Moves with the Combat Knife in 10 different matches. Similar to the Cold War Streetsweeper shotgun challenge, this also rewards 1000 XP, when completed.

You're free to dish out these devastating melee attacks in Cold War and Warzone, but it's much easier to hop into Cold War's Multiplayer modes and slide around with the Combat Knife. Before rushing into a game, take a moment to tweak your loadout. I recommend using the Paranoia, Tracker, and Ninja perks to maximise your chances of catching enemies off guard. Wait around corners and creep behind your targets to pull off the finishers.

If you want to speed through this challenge quickly, it's possible to drop out of the match after scoring two takedowns to promptly join another game. However, it's worth heading to your loadouts tab, choosing melee weapons, and clicking on the Wakizashi to double check that your progress has been logged.

How to do a Finishing Move in Cold War

To execute a Finishing Move in Cold War, sneak up behind your opponent and hold the melee button (E). These takedowns are different to a regular melee elimination as they trigger a short animation that spins the camera around in front of your opponent to show the kill from a third person perspective. While it only lasts a few seconds, this distinction makes it very easy to keep track of how many Finishing Moves you've performed across a match.

Bringing a knife to a gun fight is a risky business, so you'll need to play it safe and wait for your opponents to move into prime position before you attack. Keep in mind that if a teammate eliminates your target before the takedown ends, the execution won't count. This will also be the case if you're taken out before the finisher ends. If you're struggling, don't feel bad. This challenge is especially difficult, but if you persevere you'll have the Wakizashi sword in no time.

(Image credit: Activision, Treyarch)

Call of Duty: Cold War & Warzone Wakizashi blueprint

If you want to try the Wakizashi right away, you can head to the store in either Call of Duty: Cold War, or Warzone and pick up the Disavowed Assassin bundle for 1600 COD points:

  • Wakizashi Legendary blueprint: Organ Donor
  • Portnova Legendary Skin: Killer Bee
  • Legendary Finishing Move: Dangerous Approach
  • Epic Emblem: Mark of the Mamba
  • Epic Calling Card: Black Mamba

Melee weapons don't feature attachments. The main draw of buying the Wakizashi Organ Donor blueprint is that it'll save you some time and unlock the weapon straight away. It also has a neat red handle and some ornate detailing, if you want to look stylish while slicing through the server. This bundle includes a Legendary Finishing Move, which plays a different scene to the default takedown animation.

Emma Matthews
Emma Matthews

As PC Gamer's guides writer, Emma is usually juggling several games at once. She loves competitive first-person shooters like CS:GO and Call of Duty, but she always has time for a few rounds of Hearthstone. She's happiest when she's rescuing pugs in Spelunky 2.