Safety’s On is a no-guns challenge hidden inside Modern Warfare 4’s second campaign mission, Out in the Cold. You play as John Price in New York, tracking down Makarov, and partway through the level you walk into a commercial kitchen with five armed guards. To get the achievement, every one of them has to go down without you firing a single shot, and you have to be on Hardened or a higher difficulty when you do it. On Xbox it’s worth 50 Gamerscore, and it shows up as a rare unlock.
Quick answer: Switch to Hardened before the kitchen doors, then throw glass bottles at each of the five guards to disarm them and finish each one with melee. Never pull the trigger.
Safety’s On requirements
- Mission: Out in the Cold, mission 2 of the campaign.
- Difficulty: Hardened or higher during the kitchen fight (Veteran, Realism and YOLO also count).
- Targets: all five enemies inside the kitchen.
- Restriction: no gunfire at all. Bottles, punches, and takedowns are fine.
- Reward: 50 Gamerscore on Xbox. On PlayStation it is listed as a Gold trophy.
The difficulty rule only applies to the kitchen itself. You can play the earlier part of the mission on Recruit and change the setting from the pause menu right before the fight. You also don’t need to carry bottles in from earlier in the level. There are enough of them on the kitchen’s shelves and counters.
Setting up the checkpoint and Hardened difficulty
Most of the work happens before you open the kitchen doors. Get the difficulty right and lock in a checkpoint, and every failed attempt costs you a quick reload instead of a replay.
One shot from your gun ruins the attempt, even a stray one. If you fire by accident, choose LAST CHECKPOINT from the pause menu and start the room over. You can reload as many times as you need.
How bottles and takedowns work in the kitchen
The guards open fire as soon as the doors swing open. Rushing them with your fists while they’re shooting usually gets you killed on Hardened. A thrown BOTTLE makes them drop their weapon, and then they come at you to fight hand-to-hand. That’s your chance to land a few punches or use the TAKEDOWN prompt to finish them.
On the default Xbox layout the takedown prompt is mapped to RS. Players using the Tactical preset will see it on B. Whatever the button is, the game shows it on screen when a disarmed enemy is close enough.
Bottles are not technically required. Some players brawl through the room with their fists alone. But disarming each guard first makes the fight a lot more predictable, so the route below uses them.
Kitchen clear route for all five guards
| Guard | Position | Bottle source |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Right side, closest | Wire shelf by the entrance |
| 2 | Right side, further in | Wire shelf by the entrance |
| 3 | Left, behind a refrigerator door | Counter by the appliances |
| 4 | Pushes toward your cover | Right-side stove counter |
| 5 | Rear prep area | Prep counter at the back |
Confirming the Safety’s On unlock
The achievement pops as soon as the fifth guard goes down, before you leave the kitchen. On Xbox you’ll see a “Rare Achievement unlocked” notification that reads “MW4 – Safety’s On” with its 50 Gamerscore value. PlayStation players get a “Safety’s On” trophy notification at the same moment.
If nothing appears after the last takedown, don’t leave the room. Reload the last checkpoint and clear the kitchen again, making sure the pause menu still shows Hardened or higher and that you don’t fire your gun. Once it unlocks, you can switch back to whatever difficulty you like for the rest of Out in the Cold.
