This Modern Warfare 2 'pacifist' player hit max level with zero kills. How'd he do it? By only playing the objective

I love a good pacifist run in a game. Usually no-kill runs happen in an RPG or immersive sim with a stealth system, crouch walking around and bopping guys over the head. It takes a true connoisseur though, like YouTuber ThatFriendlyGuy, to pursue the path of peace in Modern Warfare 2's multiplayer, a team shooter all about taking human life with tacticool guns. Thanks to Eurogamer for the spot.

This is ThatFriendlyGuy's speciality though⁠—the content creator boasts of 710 hours logged on Escape From Tarkov without a single kill on the board, as well as a pacifist run of Resident Evil Village where only the bosses were harmed. He's turned Paul Denton scolding you to not kill NSF guys into a whole lifestyle and social media brand.

ThatFriendlyGuy set his sights on achieving max level in Modern Warfare 2 without scoring a kill, and was able to do just that by embracing what is anathema to most gamers: playing the objective, and supporting his teammates. ThatFriendlyGuy claimed on Reddit that the process took almost 24 hours, and left him with a 1.4 win ratio, 0 kills, and 2,678 deaths.

In the Kill Confirmed mode, where you have to pick up dog tags from fallen enemies, ThatFriendlyGuy maxed out speed and mobility, hoovering up the dropped tags of his teammates' kills like a spec ops roomba. In the Hardpoint objective capture mode, meanwhile, ThatFriendlyGuy used that favorite tool of FPS trolls everywhere, the riot shield, to hold down capture points despite heavy enemy fire.

Across both modes, ThatFriendlyGuy made use of support-focused, nonlethal streak bonuses like the UAV and airdrop. He also, rather humorously, did keep a rocket launcher handy in his loadout to take down enemy UAVs (remote-controlled drones are fair game). Kinda reminds me of my favorite Deus Ex loadout: taser, baton, and GEP Gun.

It honestly looks like ThatFriendlyGuy had a fun time with this build, and his video highlights some fun antics like his sneaky, slapstick juking of enemy players, almost like Majima repeating "the customer is king" as he dodges drunken punches in Yakuza 0. If you're interested in more life preserving action from ThatFriendlyGuy, you can check out his YouTube channel.

Ted has been thinking about PC games and bothering anyone who would listen with his thoughts on them ever since he booted up his sister's copy of Neverwinter Nights on the family computer. He is obsessed with all things CRPG and CRPG-adjacent, but has also covered esports, modding, and rare game collecting. When he's not playing or writing about games, you can find Ted lifting weights on his back porch. You can follow Ted on Bluesky.