MP40

The MP40 (Maschinenpistole 40 ) is a German submachine gun. It is the most frequently featured submachine gun in the Call of Duty franchise, as it appears in all World War II installments of the Call of Duty series, as well as a brief appearance in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Call of Duty: Black Ops III Zombies mode and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.

Call of Duty and Call of Duty: United Offensive
"The MP40 submachine gun is an effective room-clearing weapon. It has a relatively minimal muzzle climb even when fired fully automatic in extended bursts."

- Call of Duty manual description.

Campaign
The MP40 is one of the most common weapons in the game, and by default has abundant ammunition. It does high damage, though this tapers off in Call of Duty: United Offensive, along with high magazine capacity and very little recoil and an adequate rate of fire, except that unlike other machine guns, the MP40 does not have a semi-automatic firing mode. This makes for a very versatile weapon in the campaign, as it only takes two shots to the body to bring down an enemy, although in Call of Duty: United Offensive, it takes up to five rounds. Its high damage and rate of fire makes it the best spray-and-pray gun in the game, as it can clear an entire room with only one magazine.

Overall, the gun can be considered a much more abundant version of the British Sten.

Multiplayer
The MP40 is still relatively powerful in multiplayer, as it takes just three bullets to kill an enemy, or up to seven at long range in Call of Duty: United Offensive, and with its fairly good accuracy and high magazine capacity, it is more than capable of killing ten or more opponents per magazine.

Call of Duty: Finest Hour
"The MP40 submachine gun is an effective room-clearing weapon. It has relatively minimal recoil even when fired fully automatic in extended bursts."

- Manual description

The MP40 is a stable submachine gun found on all fronts. It is the first automatic weapon encountered by the player in the level "Not One Step Back". It does decent damage and has controllable recoil, compared to some other submachine guns. On the last level of the game, Wehrmacht troops carry often up to 1,000 rounds or more with them. Anywhere else in the game each soldier has 96 at the most part except for the first mission, where one can be found with no more than 319 rounds in it. The most a player can hold at once is 32 rounds in the magazine and 160 rounds of reserve ammunition.

Campaign
The Call of Duty 2 MP40 has been slightly modified from the older versions and is the most common found weapon in the game. While its damage and rate of fire are the same, its recoil has been significantly increased. This makes it much harder to control, so burst firing a target that isn't in close quarters is essential if the player wants to hit an enemy. It takes two rounds to kill an enemy in the campaign, the same as the older installments. Also, its range is somewhat decreased.

Multiplayer
The MP40 is still quite powerful at close range, still requiring only three rounds to kill one enemy. However, due to damage dropoff over range, it can take ten rounds, 1/3rd of a magazine, to kill one enemy, making it significantly unreliable at range, especially with the higher recoil taken into account.

Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
The MP-40 appears in Call of Duty: Big Red One. It is used by the Germans in almost every level except on the levels "The Great Crusade" and "An Easy Detail" where it is replaced by the MP44. It is also not seen in mission featuring the French or Italian militaries. It is a very easy weapon to use, and ammo is never a problem, for almost all German soldiers use it on most levels. At close and medium range, the MP-40 kills in two to three shots, and four to five at long range. Its iron sights are very clear, and it can also be single-fired, if the user has an adequate trigger-finger.

Call of Duty 3
"Maschinenpistole 40. 9mm submachine gun. Infamous submachine gun developed and used extensively by the German military during WWII. 32 round detachable stick magazine. 500 rounds per minute. 100 meter effective range."

- In-game description

Campaign
In Call of Duty 3, the MP40 is very similar to the other games, and is one the most common weapons available, as a large amount of German soldiers carry the MP40. Recoil can be heavy depending on how long the player holds the trigger. Though not as powerful as the Thompson, the MP40 is a respectable choice if one of the player's starting weapons runs out of ammunition.

Multiplayer
The MP40 is only available for the Axis faction in multiplayer. It has heavy recoil, therefore it must be fired in short bursts at long ranges. At medium and short ranges, the MP40 can be used effectively in fully-automatic fire. At very close ranges, aiming down the sight is not necessary. The MP40 also has one of the quickest reload times of all the weapons in multiplayer, making it a decent weapon for close quarters engagements.

Call of Duty: Roads to Victory
"Also called the Schmeisser, the Mp-40 was the primary German submachine gun of World War II."

- In-game description

In Call of Duty: Roads to Victory, the MP40 is widely used by German soldiers until the British campaign, when it is largely replaced by the STG-44.

Call of Duty: World at War
"A German submachinegun with high power. Effective at close to medium range."

- Create a class description

Campaign
The MP40 is commonly used by the German soldiers in Call of Duty: World at War, during the Russian campaign. It is common to switch to the MP40 in campaign since the Russian PPSh-41 burns through ammunition extremely fast and many allies have to be killed to obtain a usable amount of ammunition (though this is not the case in "Heart of the Reich", as the majority of allies will be wielding the PPSh-41 during the main assault on the four Flak 88s, making ammunition much more readily available in this part). In any case, ammunition for the MP40 is widely available in campaign. It is a reliable sidearm to the Mosin-Nagant rifle, due to the stated reason that ammunition is easily found, and that it also is powerful in close quarters.

Multiplayer
The MP40 is a Submachine Gun, unlocked at level 10.

In terms of damage, the MP40 is one of the highest damage weapons to fire fully automatic. However, on the PC version of World at War, its maximum damage is smaller than that of an MP40 on the console version. On the PC, the MP40 is capable of obtaining three to four shot kills, and the MP40 on console is capable of obtaining two to four shot kills, both without Stopping Power or Headshots. Going for headshots on the PC is an effective way to score two and three shot kills easier, whereas the console version will only have its time-to-kill decreased at long range. The range may not be as long as desired, but better than that of other SMG's. This very high damage is offset by the MP40 having the worst ROF in-class, at only 535 RPM. The low ROF can be remedied to around 711 RPM by using Double Tap. Penetration abilities are poor, which is a statistic inherited by every SMG. Using Deep Impact can alleviate this.

Accuracy is a mixed bag with this weapon. The iron sights are clear, but the recoil is pretty large on this weapon, kicking upwards and to the side to an extent. This makes putting Double Tap on this weapon extremely risky, as this recoil is magnified to where longer range engagements are near impossible to stay on target.

Handling of the MP40, along with the other SMG's, is generally good. The magazine size is one of the largest in its category, at 32 rounds (this doubles to 64 with Dual Magazines). Mobility is high, the hipfire spread is tight, and the reload is pretty manageable, at 2.3/2.9 seconds, depending on a full or dry reload. Using Dual Magazines adds onto both times by 300 milliseconds, which can hamper Reload Canceling to an extent.

The MP40 receives the good compliment of attachments for an SMG. The first is the Suppressor. This can well suit a stealthier approach, and combined with the appropriate Stealth perks in the form of Camouflage and Dead Silence, or even Reconnaissance can create for a good awareness class, keeping enemies clueless about your location, and sometimes being alerted to incoming threats. However, this can cut down on a player's range ability, and prevents Dual Magazines from being used, creating a smaller supply.

The next attachment is the Aperture Sight, giving a new view when in ADS. If the player is accustomed to the iron sights, this attachment should be avoided at all times.

The final attachment is Dual Magazines, doubling magazine capacity to 64 rounds. If a Suppressor is not desired, this is often the best attachment for the weapon, as due to the low rate of fire and high amount of power, players will seldom need to initiate the quick reload, allowing the player to tackle several enemies at once with unrivaled power.

As far as perks are concerned, the more peculiar ones work better with the weapon. Stopping Power only aids players on the PC, and on the console, will only increase damage at long range. As such, many players turn towards different Tier 2 perks in order to benefit from the high damage the MP40 provides. One of the most frequent choices is Juggernaut, as it is unlocked very early on, and makes the user a very potent threat. However, such combination is frowned upon by many players. Some players opt for Double Tap, which can sometimes make the difference between life and death in the right situation, but many players will find their MP40 to be extremely inaccurate at range.

For Tier 1 perks, basically anything except for Bandolier will work well. Due to the weapon being extremely common online, many players can pick ammo off of other MP40's, which greatly diminishes its use.

For Tier 3 perks, a perk to compliment the corresponding Tier 2 or Tier 1 perks will yield good results. For example, if the player is using Juggernaut, Second Chance can turn the player into a soldier that never gives up, being hard to take down under many circumstances.

In Hardcore game-modes, the MP-40 with Stopping Power will be able to one-hit kill any soldier that isn't using Juggernaut, Second Chance, or is hit by bullet penetration. Using Deep Impact can severely aid players constantly using bullet penetration, and a headshot can allow a player to kill in one-hit from afar without Stopping Power. As long as the minimum damage isn't being dealt, a soldier not using Juggernaut or Second Chance without the bullet penetrating a surface will instantly die.

In conclusion, the MP40 proves to be a menace online. Its high damage output is unrivaled by every SMG, and its early unlock times and ability to make more flexible classes around this weapon have solidified the MP40 as a Multiplayer staple.

Nazi Zombies
The MP40 appears in all Nazi Zombies maps, being available off the wall in all maps except for Nacht der Untoten for 1000 points, and from the Mystery Box in every map for 950 points. As usual, it is comparable to the Thompson, but with a larger magazine at the expense of a lower rate of fire. Like the Thompson, it is a powerful weapon in the early to mid rounds. In the later rounds, players will frequently run out of ammunition. However, its recoil is significantly reduced compared to the campaign or multiplayer variant.

When placing it in the Pack-a-Punch Machine in the Nazi Zombies map Der Riese it becomes The Afterburner, and its magazine capacity and damage is doubled. Even after the upgrade, players will often run out of ammunition in the middle of the round, leaving them vulnerable. The ability to buy ammunition and upgraded ammunition off the wall is often a huge advantage over guns that do not have this feature, as ammunition becomes an issue with all weapons in later rounds.

Weapon Attachments

 * Suppressor
 * Aperture Sight
 * Dual Magazines

Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS)
The MP40 appears in Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS) as one of the five submachine guns in game. Just like the console versions, it has the lowest rate of fire of all automatic weapons and a 32-round magazine, but that is where the similarities end. First of all, the MP40 has the lowest damage output of all weapons in game, as opposed to one of the highest. Secondly, it has the lowest recoil of all weapons, having nearly none. Lastly, the rate of fire is so low that even a mediocre player could fire a semi-automatic weapon faster than it. Despite the seemingly bad qualities, it excels at long range engagements where accuracy triumphs power.

Campaign
The MP40 is the most commonly found weapon in the British and Russian campaigns. It is wielded by every German soldier, until the level "Missed Delivery", where enemies with STG-44s can be found. Unlike its multiplayer variant, it is a decent weapon to use, killing foes with three shots at any range, though its use is limited to long ranges. As mentioned before, the MP40 best used at long range, but can be effective in close quarters in one on one engagements. Due to the less advanced game engine, the player is given enough time to aim for the enemy's head and kill them before they, themselves, are killed.

Multiplayer
The MP40 maintains the same stats as in the campaign but with higher rate of fire, however, it is still best treated as a long range weapon, as its low power and low rate of fire make it terrible in close quarter engagements, unless one is attacking an unsuspecting enemy or is aiming for the head. Due to these factors, it is seen much less than the console versions.

However, if the enemy is surprised, it will easily dominate them. And, as with all submachine guns, they lose much power at a distance, though with the MP40's low rate of fire, recoil is not much of a problem.

Call of Duty: Zombies
The MP40 appears in Call of Duty: Zombies for the iOS. It is in every map and can be found off of the wall, but in Nacht der Untoten it can only be found in the Mystery Box. Speed Cola is recommended on the iOS as the bolt must be pulled back after every reload, empty or not. The MP40 also has slightly less recoil, as almost all recoil on the application is visual and does not affect aim, if the weapon has any at all. The Pack-a-Punched MP40 does not increase any damage per round, and because the Pack-a-Punched version only has a double magazine size, Pack-a-Punching the MP40 can be considered a waste of points.

Campaign
The MP40 appears in every mission taking place in Europe. It is first available in the mission "Ettelbruck". It is fairly better than the Thompson on stopping power, magazine size and ammo.

Campaign
The MP40 appears exclusively and frequently in the campaign mission "Project Nova" and sports a new appearance, as it is covered in snow and a new outer chrome-like plating.

Multiplayer
The MP40 appears to be a test killstreak and a test weapon of the Care Package. It is featured in the killstreak's code, but cannot be acquired during gameplay. The weapons "mp40_mp", "mp40_drop_mp" and "mp40_blinged_mp" do not work when acquired using "give all" console command. The announcer sounds for MP40 also exist in game files.

A model of the weapon also appears on the Call of Duty: World at War 'Uber Shooter' arcade machine on the map Drive-In.

Zombies
The MP40 appears in the Zombies maps Kino der Toten, Call of the Dead, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, and Der Riese. It can be bought from the wall for 1000 points and its ammunition costs 500 points. It is almost exactly the same as its Call of Duty: World at War variant, reusing its textures and using almost exactly the same statistics, if not exactly the same.

This gun owes its fame in Call of Duty: Black Ops to its usefulness in Kino der Toten, where it can be spectacularly useful in an entire game for headshots, knife kills, hellhound kills, and ease of acquiring it during early rounds in any of the aforementioned maps. It retains its fast knife mechanic from Call of Duty: World at War Zombies, making it useful for Insta-Kill power ups. It also has the ability to reload cancel, unusual for Call of Duty: World at War weapons. The MP40 may have the highest recoil of the submachine guns, but it features the lowest rate of fire and highest damage per shot, making it good for achieving numerous headshots, as well as using the "shoot and knife" tactic with the Bowie Knife as far as round 12. It works well for any player and any playstyle, and can be useful in all situations. This is one of the more worthwhile wall weapons of this game mode. If the Mystery Box hasn't been found by the point where the MP40 is available, it is strongly recommended to buy the weapon. However, the reload time is average at best, making Speed Cola very useful if this weapon is being used for prolonged periods of time.

When Pack-a-Punched, it still becomes The Afterburner, with a doubled magazine capacity and increase to damage and rate of fire. Like most Call of Duty: World at War weapons, this gun differs little as far as the sight, but offers a generally good increase in damage. Although the reserved ammo is not increased, each magazine is very large, outperforming most assault rifles in the amount of damage that can be inflicted from one clip, making short work of massive hordes as far as rounds 15 to 20, with headshots. The MP40 tends to exhaust ammo quickly, so in later rounds, it is best used as an auxiliary weapon for quick runs around hordes, while using a bigger weapon to eliminate larger crowds, or as a last resort to weapons that are not as useful, such as knife speed. It makes a fine primary weapon due to the fact that ammo can be bought off the wall in an emergency. However, the moderate damage compared to other Pack-a-Punched weapons will make it very difficult to use in the higher rounds. However, most players do not Pack-a-Punch this weapon, usually in hopes of getting a more powerful weapon from the Mystery Box.

Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies
The MP40 appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombies in Kino and Call of the Dead: Director's Cut. It acts like the console version, with the 32-round magazine and 192 reserve ammo. It costs 1000 to buy off the wall.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
The MP40 was first seen being held by Takeo Masaki and "Tank" Dempsey in the Apocalypse preview video for the Zombies map Origins.

Compared to previous games, the MP40 now has much more ammo in stock when it is Pack-a-Punched and is slightly more expensive off the wall (1300 points compared to 1000 points). It can be purchased off the wall at various locations throughout the map, making it a good choice for players who like to use wall weapons, and can be dug up if the player has the Golden Shovel (although the chances of it being dug up are slim). It will serve a player well into the mid-teen rounds. A player can also obtain an MP40 with an Adjustable Stock attachment from the Mystery Box.

When Pack-a-Punched, it turns into the Afterburner.

Attachments

 * Adjustable Stock

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare
"The MP40 is a fully automatic sub-machinegun. It has a steady rate of fire which can be used in bursts to maintain accuracy at distances. It’s a great weapon to use for rushing objectives like Capture the Flag or Uplink. The MP40 features four variants, with the base weapon being unlocked once one of the variants has been unlocked via Supply Drops or Advanced Supply Drops."

- Sledgehammer Games description

The MP40 has been added to Xbox One on September 29, 2015. It was added to PS4 and PC on October 29, 2015.

The MP40 is a high damage per bullet weapon. At any range short of seven meters, the MP40 will deal 34 damage, netting a three hit kill. At any range between seven and 23 meters, the MP40 will deal 33 damage, netting a four hit kill, or a three hit kill if at least one bullet hits the head. At any range past 23 meters, the MP-40 will drop to 25 damage. While it maintains a four shot kill, it'll no longer maintain a three headshot kill or a one shot kill in Hardcore game modes at such distances. The MP40 is a very consistent SMG, and is by far the strongest SMG at long range. However, the MP40 also has the shortest three hit kill range of all SMG's capable of doing so, disadvantaging the MP40 in that regard.

The MP40's rate of fire is good, although somewhat lacking compared to some other SMG's. The MP40 fires in a fully automatic configuration at 800 RPM. This rate of fire is above average for an SMG, but is still bested by the MP11 and the SAC3 in this regard.

The MP40 has odd accuracy traits. The iron sights are very simple and clean, and the recoil values are very low. However, the MP40 has a pitiful 1100 centerspeed, making recoil climb at longer ranges. However, it isn't unmanageable at long distances, as the usage of a Foregrip will help significantly to combat this.

The MP40's handling traits are above average for an SMG. The MP40 will move at the default base speed, aim down the sight in 200 milliseconds, and has good hip-fire accuracy. The MP40 reloads very fast for an SMG, taking 1 second to Reload Cancel the MP40, and 800 milliseconds to Speed Reload the MP40 if reload canceling. The MP40 has some of the best reload speeds in the game, mirroring the KF5 in this regard.

The MP40's magazine capacity is average, holding 32 rounds per magazine. The player will spawn in with 128 rounds total, divided between four magazines.

The MP40 has the usual assortment of SMG attachments at its disposal. The optical attachments aren't necessary considering the MP40's very simple iron sights being sufficient for close to medium ranged encounters. However, due to the MP40's powerful long range damage, players that want to use the MP40 at longer ranges may want to use optical attachments to increase their zoom on targets. Players may also be interested in using the Foregrip, as it helps combat the MP40's centerspeed problem and retain a larger degree of accuracy at range.

Advanced Rifling is useful when using the MP40 aggressively, extending the small three hit kill range and the three headshot kill range. The MP40 is also well suited to a Suppressor due to the small differential between maximum and minimum damage, meaning the range loss isn't all that hindering.

The Laser Sight is a rather weak attachment, only slightly increasing the MP-40's hip-fire accuracy. The attachment is automatically equipped to the After Burn variant which decreases hip-fire spread by ten percent, making the hip-fire spread very tight. The attachment helps in getting hip-fire challenges completed for attachments and camos as well, but otherwise has very little value. The Parabolic Microphone detects suppressed weapons fire on the mini-map (when possible) when the MP40 is currently equipped. This can help check players using stealth/flanking tactics, who tend to over-rely on their stealth advantage.

Rapid Fire is not as detrimental to the MP40 as it is to other SMG's. While the three shot kill range does decrease, the MP40 is a four shot kill at all other ranges, and the MP40's three shot kill range is small to begin with, making the range penalty have less of an impact on the MP40 than on other SMG's. The MP40 is one of the best SMG's to equip Rapid Fire, if desirable.

Extended Mags increases the MP40's magazine capacity to 48 rounds, making reloads far from a chore thanks to the large magazines and lightning fast reloads. Extended Mags will also increase the MP40's starting ammo loadout by fifty percent, to 192 rounds, making Scavenger much less useful, allowing players to use other Perk 3 perks instead. Dual Magazine is not a strong choice on the MP40. Although it speeds up the reload time to just 700 milliseconds, the reload times it already has are feasible enough to make the usage of Dual Magazine borderline useless.

The Quickdraw Grip and Stock are two very useful options on an aggressive class, allowing players to have a great sense of mobility and accuracy in a shorter time.

The MP40 has good variants to offer. The Black Crow reduces the MP40's recoil values even further, helping to remain very accurate. However, the MP40's three headshot kill range and one shot kill range in Hardcore game types is reduced by ten percent. The Royalty will reduce the recoil values even further than the Black Crow, but at the alternate cost of a longer aim time and larger hip-fire spread.

Call of Duty: Black Ops III
The MP40 is available in the remastered versions of Nacht der Untoten, Verrückt, Shi No Numa, and Origins. It is available out of the Mystery Box in every map but Origins, where it is available of the wall where it originally was.

When upgraded in the Pack-A-Punch Machine, it now becomes the Afterburner once again.

It also makes a brief appearance in the poster for the Zombies map, Der Eisendrache, being held by "Tank" Dempsey, and is seen being used by German soldiers in the intro cutscene to the map. The weapon itself isn't available in the game, but a modern version, the HG 40, is available in multiplayer and Zombies.

General

 * The MP40 is Edward Richtofen's favorite weapon, and he has quotes specifically for the MP40 when purchased.
 * In Call of Duty 3, Call of Duty: World at War, Call of Duty: Black Ops and Call of Duty: Black Ops II, the name of the gun is engraved on the back of the gun.

Call of Duty 2

 * There is a distinct fingerprint on the curve below the iron sights.
 * The third-person model shows the stock folded, but the first person view shows the stock open.

Call of Duty 3

 * The iron sights are zoomed in, unlike the other games where it's possible to see the rear of the weapon.
 * Sometimes it is possible to see through the weapon when firing it whilst looking down the iron sights (look closely at the closest part of the gun to the player).

Call of Duty: World at War

 * When using an MP40 with an Aperture Sight and Bandolier, the player starts with 32 less rounds than they would without using the aperture sight.
 * The MP40's Create-a-Class picture and pick-up icon shows its stock extended, even though its gameplay model always shows the stock folded.

Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS)

 * In the campaign, an MP40 used by the enemy has a faster rate of fire than the one used by the player.
 * Every time the player picks up an MP40 it will always have a full magazine, no matter how much the enemy soldier was shooting.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

 * It is possible to get the MP40 weapon in "Five" and Moon using console commands on PC.
 * It is in the PC codes for Ascension.
 * It also appears multiple times in the Moon Cinematic Trailer.

Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare

 * The Legendary "After Burn" variant references the Pack-a-Punched MP40, "The Afterburner".

Video


Gameplay footage of the MP40 from Call of Duty: World at War Beta.