Ballistic Knife

The Ballistic Knife is a secondary weapon featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Overview
The Ballistic Knife is a special secondary weapon. It is a one-hit kill when fired (same as the Tomahawk) as well as when used to melee. Also like the Tomahawk, the fired knives can be reused if picked up off the ground or wherever it embeds itself. The trajectory of the knife in flight is similar to the tomahawk, but more direct; it goes much further before losing momentum and dipping below the aim point. The knife must be primed by pulling a pin before it can fire. It is recommended that as soon as possible, you switch to Ballistic Knife after every spawn, and then back to your primary. After this is done, the second time you pull out your Ballistic Knife, its draw time is approximately as fast as a pistol's, and can make the difference between life and death. The Ballistic Knife also greatly increases melee speed, so it is often used in knife classes for the quick stab and the ability to reach out and touch an enemy from a distance.

The Ballistic Knife is best used when in conjunction with Lightweight or Scavenger. Lightweight allows the player to run quickly and melee opponents entering a building, or coming round a corner or miss up for lost knife shots, whilst Scavenger can replenish lost knives, which get the player killed if they attempt to retrieve it. An even greater advantage, is when used with Lightweight Pro, which allows the player to jump from high points, and knife enemies on the ground below, and Ninja/Ninja Pro, which allows the player to silently slip into a building, and knife enemies inside. However the Ballistic Knife is not reccommended at long range combat, as the enemy can easily shoot the player, and knives which are shot may miss the enemy.

The Ballistic Knife also appears in the Wager Match modes Gun Game and Sticks and Stones. In Gun Game it's used as Tier 20, so it's the final weapon which causes the win. In order to win, the final kill must be made by firing the knife, not by stabbing with it and so is given infinite ammo to achieve this. In Sticks and Stones the Ballistic Knife is used as the secondary weapon and can not be replaced.

Zombies
It is available through the Mystery Box. The player is able to pick up knives after being stuck into zombies. Although the Ballistic Knife has a much higher stabbing strength in zombies (one stab up to about round 5 without the Sickle or Bowie Knife), it is not a favorable weapon, due to its low ammo count, low rate of fire, and low damage. However, if there are multiple players in the game, the Ballistic Knife can work as a good secondary should the player not need another secondary weapon, as when Pack-A-Punched, it can be very effective even at later rounds, in case the player's teammates are often down (more details on the Pack-a-Punched version below).If the Bowie Knife or Sickle is purchased, it will replace the regular melee knife when wielding the Ballistic Knife. This combination will be a one hit kill to regular zombies up until round 10, a one hit kill to gas zombies up until round 13, and a one hit kill to a Hellhound until the third hellround. The Ballistic Knife is very effective at making lots of points, due to its faster and more lethal knife attack. Therefore, if the player obtains the weapon at rounds 4-10, it's advised to use it with the combination of the Bowie Knife or a Sickle to make thousands of points. Once it loses its ability to kill with one knife attack, it should be upgraded and used until round 14. Even after round 14, it can kill the Crawler Zombies until round 16 with one stab. You will also pull out the Ballistic Knife while downed instead of the usual pistol.

When Pack-a-Punched it becomes "The Krauss Refibrillator" and will revive a player instantly if hit by the blade, which will give the secret trophy/achievement "See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me". Note the fact that if the player is downed, his knifes will not revive other players.

As with all knife strategies, Juggernog is highly recommended, as in extremely close-quarters with a group of zombies, it is likely that the zombies will hit the player multiple times, making Juggernog necessary. However, even with Juggernog, it is still wise to back off after each knife to avoid getting hit too many times.

Trivia

 * The Ballistic Knife is the cheapest weapon in Black Ops multiplayer, costing only, as opposed to all other guns which cost.
 * It can actually be seen in the Single Player mission Numbers on a shelf next to the rack of the first available weapons cache. However this knife cannot be used and is only decorative.
 * Strangely enough, it can be used to destroy killstreaks, including Helicopters.
 * It is the first melee weapon that can be Pack-A-Punched. However, the entire weapon is not for melee, as it is able to be shot.
 * Tally marks can be seen on the left hand knife that is used to melee with via Theater Mode, however the tally marks scratched on the knife are most likely just there for cosmetic purposes and not an actual score keeper.
 * In game-winning killcams, a fired Ballistic Knife will frequently appear to miss the target due to moderate lag commonly associated with killcams.
 * Interestingly enough, the Ballistic Knife produces recoil that pushes the player slightly backwards, similar to the Wunderwaffe DG-2, Ray Gun or RPG/RPG-7. This can easily be noticed if a player lines up the corner of the screen with an object or building and fires the Ballistic Knife. This is also easily visible while prone.
 * Its melee attack does not count as a knife kill if the player stabs someone in multiplayer. Instead however, it counts as a kill for the Ballistic Knife.
 * Despite the fact that it is very quiet when fired it still appears on the enemy radar, this is due to it not being classified as a weapon of stealth in the game files.
 * When pulling out a Ballistic Knife, if one looks closely it almost looks like the character is pushing the Ballistic Knife into place.
 * If the player quickly double taps the 'switch weapon' button while holding the Ballistic Knife, the character's hand goes through the Ballistic Knife.
 * It has the symbol of the Soviet Union (hammer and sickle inside a red star) on the left side of it.
 * In the Wii version of Black Ops, it is possible to place a camo on the Ballistic Knife in the same way as it's possible to place a camo for the Crossbow in the console versions.
 * If the player shoots the ballistic knife at the oil tanks in Array, the fired knife will just either roll slowly in the air and then fall down, or just stay in mid air.
 * When the Sickle is bought, the Ballistic Knife's ammo is replenished.
 * On the Ziplines in Call of the Dead, the Ballistic Knives float in mid air, due to the hands disappearing.
 * In Zombies, the Ballistic Knife and the Crossbow's direct impact do the same damage when not upgraded.
 * Despite it having it's insta-revive abilites when Pack-a-Punched, you can't instantly revive a player when you are also down.
 * The Pack-a-Punched version of the Ballistic Knife is similar to the Painkiller Death Card from World at War, as the player has to shoot the downed teammate to revive them.