TLDR: play Casual Breakthrough (it’s mostly bots), run Assault with Breacher for two stun grenades per life, equip an SMG, throw your stun, and immediately spray down anyone who raises their hands to their face. Once you’re out of grenades, die and respawn to get two more. I got 9 kills in a single match using this method. Some even throw Stun grenades at their feet while in melee distance to ensure hipfire is enough.
If you want a deeper breakdown of the loadout, strategy, and workarounds for the tracking issues, keep reading.
Recommended Loadout
Class: Assault with Breacher. Breacher gives you an extra grenade, so you get two chances per life instead of one.
Throwable: Stun Grenade. Flash Grenades aren’t as effective for this challenge, so make sure you pick the right one. In most other games, Flash Grenades sound like the right one, but guess not.
Primary Weapon: An SMG like the SGX works well here. You’ll be fighting up close, and if you accidentally stun yourself, you can still hipfire your way through it, which SMGs excel at.
Attachments: Focus on hipfire accuracy and ADS speed:
- Laser sights for tighter hipfire spread – this is pretty much a must. Green is much better than red Lasers.
- Short barrels or compensators for better handling
- Stocks that speed up your ADS
- Grips for the fastest ADS or tightest Hipfire when spraying
You want a gun that’s ready to shoot the moment you throw your grenade. Which is what a well-geared SGX certainly is.
Why Casual Breakthrough?
Casual Breakthrough fills lobbies mostly with bots, and bots are way easier to farm for this challenge:
- They group up predictably
- They react slowly to grenades
- They don’t immediately dive for cover when stunned like real players (though they can still run a little, so be sure not to let this happen!)
- You can play aggressively without getting punished
Trying to do this in regular multiplayer against real players is painful. They’re faster, smarter, and that one-second window becomes nearly impossible to capitalize on.
In-Game Strategy
Positioning: Find cover for yourself near an open area. You don’t want enemies ducking behind walls the moment you stun them, or you’ll waste that tiny window. Wait for them to approach you.
Execution: Pop out, throw your stun at a group, and watch for the animation where enemies raise their hands to their face. That’s your cue to start shooting immediately.
Goal: Get at least one kill per grenade. With Breacher, that’s a minimum of 2 kills per life. You’ll know it counts if the Headbanger tag comes up after the kill.
Some Play like this: Some players throw the stun at the floor to hit both themselves and the enemy, then hipfire through the disorientation. It works in tight spaces, but it’s not for everyone.
Respawn Cycling: Once your grenades are gone, push into a fight and die. Respawning gives you two fresh grenades instantly, which is way faster than waiting for the cooldown. Don’t play it safe. Burn through lives and maximize your attempts. Get this challenge out of the way. KD is just a number you can inflate and deflate at any time.
With this approach, 8-10 concussion kills per Casual Breakthrough match is realistic.
Alternative: Thermobaric Grenade Launcher
If you’re level 44 or higher, you can try the M320A1 THRM (Thermobaric Grenade Launcher). These fires impact-triggered thermobaric grenades that stun and burn enemies at the same time. Most players will have passed this challenge long before hitting level 44, but if you skipped the Training Path and are coming back to finish it, this is worth trying.
The Combo: Throw a frag grenade at a group, then immediately fire a thermobaric round. The thermobaric applies the concussive effect, and the combined damage usually secures the kill. You don’t have to switch weapons and land shots in that one-second window because the launcher does the damage for you.
This works great against bot clusters in Casual Breakthrough. That said, some players report the same tracking issues with the thermobaric as with stun grenades, so your mileage may vary.
Dealing with Tracking Issues
This challenge is notorious for failing to count kills that should register. The community is frustrated by this, and there’s no guaranteed fix. But here’s what seems to help:
- Kill as fast as possible after the stun lands; the window might be even shorter than it looks
- Watch for the “Headbanger” medal pop-up, though some players see it without getting credit
- Stick to close-quarters maps like King of the Hill or Empire State if you don’t choose to do Casual Breakthrough
- If stun grenades aren’t working, try the frag + thermobaric combo
- Restart your game or quit and rejoin a different game if nothing seems to count, though note that this lowers overall experience gains
The bugs seem intermittent. Sometimes everything tracks fine; other times you’ll get five kills in a match and only one counts. Just keep at it.
Rewards
Finishing this challenge unlocks the Frontliner Preset and opens up the rest of the Assault challenge tree, leading to:
- Assault 3 – Assault Player Card Icon: Explosive Entry
- Assault Expert 1 – SS26 Gadget
- Assault Expert 2 – Assault Player Card Background: Push Forward
- Assault Expert 3 – Assault Skin: Coyote Squad “Get Loud”
I approached this challenge as a completionist, eager to progress through as many tasks as possible in a short amount of time. My goal was to complete this challenge in as few games as possible to ensure steady progress across all challenges.
