FG42

The FG42 (fully Fallschirmjägergewehr 42; "Paratroop rifle 42") is a light support weapon which was designed specifically for use by Luftwaffe Paratroopers. It is featured in Call of Duty, Call of Duty: United Offensive, Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: World at War, and Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Singleplayer
The FG42 in the first game is a "do everything" gun; it has a scope, the damage and accuracy of a rifle, and is selective-fire with a fast reload and a rapid rate of fire, making it useful at short ranges in full auto mode. Ammunition for it is fairly plentiful in the first three missions it appears in, though in the final appearance only one such weapon exists in the entire map. The weapon always has a low-power scope that settles extremely rapidly.

The FG42 is only encountered in four early levels: German Fallschirmjägers are equipped with it towards the end of Ste. Mere-Eglise, and it is seen throughout Ste. Mere-Eglise-Day. The player can start Normandy Route N13 with one if they had one at the end of the previous mission and a few soldiers carry them during the level itself. A final FG42 can be found resting on a box during the trench section of Brecourt Manor, between the second and third FlaK 88s. Following this, it is never seen again.

Multiplayer
In Multiplayer, the FG42 can be found in pre-determined locations if the server enables it. It comes with no extra magazines, but retains its ability to deal massive amounts of damage per shot; it's effectively treated as a "superweapon" in multiplayer maps.

Call of Duty 3
Unlike in Call of Duty, there are both scoped and non-scoped variants in the game. The FG42 has a tremendous amount of recoil, which can make it hard to control. However, it is still about as powerful as the Kar98k, making it highly effective when fired in bursts. It can be found in The Island in both scoped and non-scoped variants, the sixth chapter in an un-scoped variant, and the The Mace in a scoped variant. However, in the second chapter, the player can pick up ammo for the scoped version if the player keeps the un-scoped version as well. Although the weapon's high rate of fire can be useful, its ammunition tends to be scarce.

The FG42 cannot be found in multiplayer.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory
In Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, the FG42 appears only in Survival mode, which is unlocked after beating the game on Veteran. It replaces the Thompson, and Allies using it tend to fire semi-automatically.

Singleplayer
In Call of Duty: World at War, the FG42 is found only during the Soviet Red Army campaign missions; it is rare even in these. The FG42 has extraordinary power, making it effective as a one shot kill weapon.

There are multiple hidden FG42s in the mission "Their Land, Their Blood". One is first found at the beginning of the level, inside the starting house. It is near the newly made "exit", laying on the wall to the right. More that can be picked up in the bunkers in the trench area, and hidden behind crates later on. There are also several FG42s in the mission "Heart of the Reich". One is found lying on boxes at the beginning of the level. A second FG42 is lying inside the building the player goes in before Sgt. Reznov gives his mini speech. Another is found near one of the MG42s in front of the Reichstag. The last one is found in a small building in front of the Reichstag.

The World at War FG42 is equipped with a deployable bipod, which increases accuracy but provides only vertical movement of the weapon when deployed, severely limiting its usefulness.

Multiplayer
The FG42 is a German light machine gun unlocked at level 45. It has the same rate of fire as the MG42, but sacrifices a small amount of stopping power for lower recoil, higher movement speed, and higher hip fire accuracy. The FG42 is the only machine gun that can be equipped with a Telescopic Sight; however, it does have high sway, and is not used often due to the "pinpoint" iron sights. As with all iron sights, the iron sights are best aimed by pointing at the blade in the middle of the ring. Its primary defect is its extremely small magazine, which means frequent reloading with this weapon. In Hardcore, when Stopping Power is equipped, it is always a one hit kill. In Core modes, Stopping Power and Bandolier are frequently used in order to conserve ammo. Sleight of Hand is popular as well. Some daring players put Double Tap on the FG42. While Double tap does kill faster than stopping power, it depletes the whole magazine within seconds. In other words, the player will be reloading after every kill, and draining ammo after only a few bursts. Even if the player doesn't have Double Tap, it is recommended to reload after every shot or kill; the reloading is quick, but even without the Double Tap perk, the magazine is almost always empty.

When held, the player runs as fast as someone with a Submachine Gun or Shotgun. This, along with it having a scope as an attachment and its very fast rate of fire, makes the FG42 one of the most versatile weapons in WaW, as it is more or less equally suited for both long distances and CQC as it has the range of a rifle and the power of an SMG. In many aspects it is quite similar to the STG44.

In the Limited Edition, there is a code to access the FG42 early; however, it doesn't actually unlock the gun itself, but a class with the FG42 as its primary weapon.

Nazi Zombies
In Nazi Zombies, it appears in Nacht der Untoten and Shi No Numa, available from the Mystery Box, and also in Der Riese, from the Mystery Box and off the wall for 1500 points, next to the Speed Cola Machine. It is arguably the best purchasable weapon to use. It has high power, ripping through zombies and Hellhounds alike. The recoil makes it a problem and is often overlooked because of this (although this same recoil can actually be beneficial for getting headshots in some cases). The high rate of fire cancels out the need for Double Tap and the frequent reloads give the need for Speed Cola. The FG42 is more effective against Hellhounds than pretty much all other wall purchasable weapons (not counting Shotguns, of course). The pinpoint accuracy of the iron sights combined with the significant zoom during ADS makes the FG42 a great weapon for headshots from a distance, but it is probably a better idea to hip-fire in most cases as this huge zoom from ADS will restrict a player's peripheral vision, increasing the risk of being swarmed on either side. It is a regular spawn from the mystery box. Furthermore, unlike the other Machine Guns, the FG42 does not restrict movement speed, which is a major advantage in later rounds when players must sprint to outrun the zombies.

When it is Pack-a-Punched, it becomes the 420 Impeller, increasing firepower, magazine size, rate of fire, and held ammo. Recoil becomes an even bigger problem as it "climbs" while firing, so it is advisable to aim for the legs and let the recoil move it towards the head and chest. While this gun is often overlooked by players, it is the ONLY Machine gun in Der Riese which can be purchased off the wall, and when upgraded it offers a massive ammo capacity of over 400 rounds. Being purchasable from the wall gives a player the enormous advantage of being able to replenish ammo at any time with 4500 points, this is a feat not possible with either the MG42 or Browning M1919, as those machine guns are only available from the Mystery Box. For this reason, the FG42 is arguably the most worthwhile wall purchased weapon in Der Riese, and so some players will skip right past the Thompson/Trenchgun and make this their first weapon purchase.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The FG42 in Call of Duty: Black Ops can only be obtained from the wall in Der Riese, from the revised zombie maps from World At War.

Trivia

 * There were two models of FG42; the first game uses the later model, while World at War uses the earlier. The most obvious difference is the early model's sharply slanted grip.
 * The Barracks incorrectly states that the FG-42 will unlock a Sniper Scope instead of a Telescopic Sight after achieving 75 kills.
 * In both single player and multiplayer mode, when the FG-42 is mounted, one bullet fire would be equal to a three bullet burst fire. This applies to the other mountable machine guns as well.
 * Although the FG42 is available in a few levels, German soldiers are never seen using it during World at War's campaign mode.
 * When aiming down the iron sight, a number and a fingerprint can be seen.
 * In Der Riese the FG42 can be found on the wall right next to the Speed Cola machine. This may have been a hint by the developers that the two work well together.
 * In Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, the FG-42 is not an FG-42 but simply a French Chatellerault.
 * Also, it takes two melee hits to kill an enemy with an FG42 instead of the usual one hit in Call of Duty: Roads to Victory.
 * If the Telescopic Sight is attached iron sights will be removed.

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