Wunderwaffe DG-2

"Good old fashioned lightning gun, sweet!"

- Tank Dempsey

The Wunderwaffe DG-2 (pronounced: Vunder Vaffe; German for: "Wonder Weapon DG-2") is the second wonder weapon to make its appearance in the zombie franchise, and it is one of the strongest weapons in Zombies. It debuted in Shi No Numa in Map Pack 2 for Call of Duty: World at War. The Wunderwaffe DG-2 has since appeared in Der Riese, which was included in Map Pack 3 for Call of Duty: World at War. The Wunderwaffe DG-2 also appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops in the revamped original Der Riese and Shi No Numa Zombies maps and in Call of the Dead after completion of the Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg and by killing George A. Romero after the player has completed the Easter Egg.

Overview
The Wunderwaffe DG-2 is the pinnacle of secret Nazi technology. It was built at Der Riese along with the teleporters, and was intended to be mass produced and supplied to front line troops to win the war. Doctor Edward Richtofen created it as revealed by his quotes when he receives it from the Mystery Box, and a document from Vbush. Packed with 200,000 amperes of devastating chained electrical current, in-game, it is incredibly powerful, sending a bolt of lightning at the targeted enemy, killing it instantly. The bolt then proceeds to hit up to nine nearby enemies with no diminished power for a maximum killing potential of 10 enemies. However, keep in mind that the zombies should be nearby each other, as if the zombies are more than five yards away from each other, the bolt might not link to other zombies. The Wunderwaffe DG-2 has three cartridges on the side for ammunition, and 15 reserved, totaling 18. This gives it a maximum killing potential of 180 enemies. These unique attributes make it an ideal room-clearing weapon.

The Wunderwaffe DG-2 is powered by Ununpentium, better known as Element 115. The Ununpentium generates electricity which is contained in three tesla power-tubes (that resemble light bulbs) (these tubes increase the voltage of the gun so that it does infinite damage), that the player reloads into the Wunderwaffe DG-2. Whenever the player reloads it, they have to eject the vacuum tubes and insert new ones before pulling on a lever, lighting up the power cells and putting the Wunderwaffe DG-2 back into a firing mode. The Wunderwaffe takes about six seconds to fully reload without Speed Cola, but the player can reload cancel after just three seconds to fully recharge it. This is very handy considering its small magazine size.

Without Pack-a-Punching the Wunderwaffe DG-2 via the Pack-a-Punch Machine, it can kill 10 zombies at a time, though after being Pack-a-Punched, it can kill up to 16 zombies, except in Call of Duty: Black Ops, where the maximum amount is still 10. It also appears to not only instantly kill Hellhounds, but also extinguishes them if they are on fire, meaning that they do not explode after being killed. Because of its recoil, it is important to aim shots carefully, as even a single missed shot is a serious waste of enormous potential.

The Wunderwaffe DG-2 is surprisingly difficult to use, however, for a number of reasons. First, although it is very accurate, few players look down its peculiar sights, meaning players often miss their targets. Second, if fired towards a teammate or a zombie at very close range the player will be electrocuted as well as any zombies (this does not happen in Call of Duty: Black Ops), which can slow down players and the shooter, which can be a crucial factor in emergencies. Being shocked in this way will also cause the player to lose Juggernog's effects if they have bought it, meaning that it will take two hits to down a player, unlike the four with Juggernog. These problems become even worse when upgraded. Third, the weapon's draw time is relatively slow, at about 1.5 seconds. This can be an issue if the Wunderwaffe DG-2 is to be used in an emergency. However, this problem can be partially solved by tapping the weapons' switch button twice very quickly just after the gun has been switched to. Fourth, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 also has one of the slowest reload times in the Zombies mode at six seconds. This can be somewhat negated by purchasing Speed Cola, reducing the reload time by half, or by Pack-a-Punching the weapon which reduces reload time to 4.7 seconds, although this takes 5000 points to do so. As a result of these problems, it is not popular with some players. However, if a player is skilled with the Wunderwaffe DG-2, they can be a valuable asset to any team.

Achievement/Trophy
Acquire Waffle Weapons (25 / Silver Trophy ) - Obtain the Ray Gun, Wunderwaffe DG-2 and the Monkey Bomb at the same time in one game, in Der Riese.

Call of Duty: Zombies
The Wunderwaffe also appears in the Call of Duty: Zombies app for the iOS with a few differences from the consoles version. In Shi No Numa, digging up Peter's grave after opening all the doors rewards the player with it. The user cannot damage him/herself from firing the Wunderwaffe DG-2, and it also holds much more ammo in reserve than on the consoles. Since there is a Wunderwaffe DG-2 in the Mystery Box and another in the grave, it is possible for two different players to simultaneously have the DG-2. Electrocuting eight zombies with one shot gives the player the "Face Melter" achievement. This could be a reference to the first Indiana Jones movie, where the Nazis' faces are melted by electrical arcs. The Wunderwaffe DG-2 is also semi-automatic on the iOS version, which does not make much of a difference, as most players tend to treat it as a semi-automatic on the consoles anyway.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The Wunderwaffe DG-2 appears in Shi No Numa and Der Riese as part of the Hardened and Prestige editions, as well as in the Rezurrection versions of the maps. In Kino der Toten and Ascension the weapon is replaced by the Thundergun, and in "Five" it is replaced by the Winter's Howl.

When Pack-a-Punched in Der Riese, the appearance is gold plated, whereas in Call of Duty: World at War, it would obtain a pattern similar to any other upgraded gun. Also, after completing the Easter Egg, the player will always get the Wunderwaffe DG-2 after killing George Romero. In Shi No Numa, a radio can be found, where Richtofen explains why the Wunderwaffe DG-2 would not appear in Kino der Toten, "Five" or Ascension. This radio can only be found in the Call of Duty: Black Ops version of the map.

There were several quotes that were cut from Kino der Toten, which implies that the Wunderwaffe DG-2 was originally going to appear in the map, but was cut before the game was released and replaced by the Thundergun. There are also cut quotes for "Five" that hint that the Wunderwaffe DG-2 was going to be included.

The Wunderwaffe DG-2 also makes an appearance in Call of the Dead, after completing Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg, where the "original" characters; Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki and Edward Richtofen are trapped in a room and need help from the celebrities to escape. After completing the Easter Egg, a Lightning Bolt will drop, which is the Wunderwaffe DG-2 in power-up form. This Wunderwaffe DG-2 cannot be Pack-a-Punched and will disappear after it runs out of ammo (although the Max Ammo power-up refills it). After the player has completed this Easter Egg and kills George Romero, they will always obtain the Wunderwaffe DG-2 instead of the Death Machine. The player has to be very careful when using the Wunderwaffe DG-2 in Call of the Dead, as George will be hit by its chain effect if he is within range and will go berserk.

Call of Duty: Online
The Wunderwaffe DG-2 makes an appearance in Call of Duty Online, in Dead Rising. It is only mentioned in intel.

Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ
If the Wunderwaffe DG-2 is put into the Pack-a-Punch Machine, it will have red electricity that turns blue after striking the first zombie, and will be renamed to Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ, which can kill up to 24 zombies at a time. It will also receive an ammo boost; 30 charges and a magazine size of six. However, the splash damage is increased greatly, enough to down the user in two hits, even with Juggernog. If the player does not have Juggernog, and is hit with the splash damage, they will be downed instantly should a zombie or Hellhound attack them. Also, if the user recovers from the splash damage from the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ, they will not only lose the effects of Juggernog, but they will be a 1-hit down/kill. The only way to get back Juggernog's effects is for the player to down themself and be revived so they can buy it again.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ's power has been reduced to being able to kill only 10 zombies at once (the same as the non-Pack-a-Punched Wunderwaffe DG-2). The appearance of the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ is also greatly changed, as it no longer possesses the black and patterned appearance it had in Call of Duty: World at War and instead gains a golden camouflage. Although the splash damage still hurts the user if they fire it too close to a zombie or object, it no longer affects the user's Juggernog, allowing the user to shock themselves and retain Juggernog's effects.

Trivia

 * In Shi No Numa, it causes slight damage to the shooter if the electricity hits near them. This is even worse on Der Riese, where the standard Wunderwaffe DG-2 can slowly drain the user's health. Even after being shocked and waiting around 10 to 15 seconds, the player is still incredibly weak. Also, under certain conditions, all of the player's maximum health can be drained away, which means that any sort of damage will instantly down the player. The problem gets even worse with the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ. This applies to Call of Duty: World at War only.
 * On the iOS version of Shi No Numa, if the player gets a Wunderwaffe DG-2 from the Mystery Box and then digs Peter's grave, the Wunderwaffe's ammo will be replenished.
 * The red switch on the left activates the power, lighting up the gun.
 * One of the most popular nicknames for the Wunderwaffe DG-2 is the "Wonder Waffle" given by Tank Dempsey.
 * Zombies killed by the Wunderwaffe DG-2 will not drop power-ups, except in Shi No Numa.
 * Despite having infinite damage regularly, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 only does 1 point of damage against George A. Romero.
 * In Call of Duty: World at War, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 will produce a distorted electricity sound after killing more than five zombies with one bolt.
 * If third-person mode is activated, it is impossible to aim correctly with the Wunderwaffe DG-2. The bolts will fire out through the side of the player and simply go through zombies.
 * If the player has the Wunderwaffe DG-2 via the Lightning Bolt and someone quits the game, the player will switch to one of the player's weapons and not be able to switch back (even if the player runs out of ammo). The only way to get rid of it is to be downed or obtain a Death Machine power-up.
 * Despite not being able to Pack-a-Punch the Wunderwaffe DG-2, the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ is scripted into Call of the Dead and can be obtained via console commands, although the gun is white as a result of not having a texture associated with it. Also, a Wunderwaffe DG-2 obtained through console commands cannot be Pack-a-Punched.
 * In the Ascension poster, Dempsey is seen holding this gun even though it cannot be obtained in Ascension through normal means.
 * The "JZ" in the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ's name is a reference to Treyarch's Creative Lead and Design Director of Zombies, Jimmy Zielinski.
 * According to a cut quote by Robert McNamara, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 shoots at 130,000 mph, and is 54,000 degrees Fahrenheit.
 * In the Call of Duty: Black Ops version of Der Riese, the Wunderwaffe DG-2 will get a golden camouflage when it is Pack-a-Punched.
 * In the World at War version of Shi No Numa the Wunderwaffe appears to have a speed reloader holding the bulbs together while reloading. This device flies off the bulbs when the handle is pulled back.
 * This speed reloader is also present in the iOS/Android version of Call of the Dead in Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies.
 * It is one of Edward Richtofen's favorite wonder weapons.