L96A1

The L96A1 is a bolt-action Sniper Rifle featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Multiplayer
Unlocked at Level 27, the L96A1 deals the highest effective damage per shot of the Sniper Rifles in Call of Duty: Black Ops. Its multipliers ensure a one-hit kill to the shoulders, stomach, chest or head when unsuppressed. However, the L96A1 has a high amount of recoil, a slow center speed, a small magazine size and a low rate of fire due to its bolt-action nature. This leaves the player vulnerable between shots and makes consecutive shots difficult.

It also has the highest amount of sway of all the sniper rifles. Set to 6 degrees, this follows the trend given to most bolt-action sniper rifles in the Call of Duty series, such as the R700 from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and the Intervention from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.

The Variable Zoom is arguably the most versatile attachment to equip on the L96A1, allowing the user to engage targets both closer and farther away than would normally be practical. The Infared Scope and Extended Mags are also solid choices, although Ghost Pro will negate the former, and the latter is arguably unnesseccary.

The L96A1 utilizes the semi-unique SUSAT scope when equipped with the ACOG scope attachment, sharing this trait with the Enfield. The ACOG on the L96A1 demands high levels of accuracy at close-mid range, as the player is unable to hold their breath to steady the scope's sway.

Like all other sniper rifles, when using a Suppressor, the L96A1 can only get one shot kills to the head and neck. However, since all sniper rifles do the same effective damage when suppressed, the L96A1 is by far the worst to equip the suppressor, due to the difficulty of landing follow-up shots.

Hardened Pro is an excellent perk choice on the L96A1, allowing the rifle to land consistent one-hit-kills through cover, and allowing the user to remain accurate when taking enemy fire. Scout is also a solid choice, letting the user stabilise the L96A1's high sway for longer periods of time. Sleight of Hand is not recommended, as the Pro perk has no effect on Sniper Rifles.

Due to its high potential for one-shot kills, it is usually the most commonly seen sniper rifle online. It is often compared to the other high powered sniper rifle, the PSG1. The primary difference between the two weapons is that the bolt-action L96A1 has a slower fire rate, but in return has a 1.5 multiplier to the shoulders, allowing for more consistent one shot kills to the upper body. The PSG1, on the other hand, has lower sway and can be fired semi-automatically, but cannot achieve a one hit kill to the shoulders. With these details in mind, choosing the L96A1 or the PSG1 comes down to whether the player prefers damage or rate of fire.

Attachments

 * Extended Mag
 * ACOG Scope
 * Infrared Scope
 * Suppressor
 * Variable Zoom

Zombies
In Zombies, it is available out of the Mystery Box. It is a one-hit-kill in the early rounds, but after Round 7 it loses its one-hit-kill ability to body shots. It is not available on the Wii version.

Due to its long ADS time, low rate of fire, high recoil, and low hipfire spread, the L96A1 is not a great primary weapon to use in Zombies. However, it is especially useful as a support weapon while other players are fighting off zombies. Double Tap Root Beer is a good perk to use if one wants to use the L96A1, as it makes the player cycle the bolt faster, allowing for an increased rate of fire. Deadshot Daiquiri is also useful to eliminate its high idle sway, tighten its hipfire spread, and maximize the efficiency of the L96A1 by making headshots a lot easier to obtain.

When upgraded in the Pack-a-Punch machine, it becomes the "L115 Isolator" where its damage is increased and receives a Variable Zoom scope. It loses its one-hit-kill ability at round 22. The magazine is increased from 5 to 8. Even though it's not very practical in terms of surviving, it can kill somewhat effectively, even at higher rounds. This is because at higher rounds, zombies have extremely high health, roughly 7000 at round 30. At this point, it would take a full 35 round magazine from an upgraded Galil to kill a single zombie, while the upgraded L96A1 would still be killing in one headshot until round 34, and would be a 2 shot kill to the head until round 41. All of this goes for the Dragunov, too, as it shares exactly the same damage as the L115 when upgraded.

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Trivia

 * The L96A1, like the L86 LSW and the Enfield, uses the SUSAT variant of the ACOG Scope.
 * The "L115 Isolator" from Zombies is a reference to Element 115, which animates the zombies.
 * It is the only sniper rifle in Black Ops that does not appear in Campaign.
 * On both sides of the L96A1, the text "NP 7.62x51 mm LP" appears.
 * On the scope there is text that reads: 12 X 30 DM II MADE IN GERMANY.
 * In the Wii version of Black Ops the camouflage is added to the stock in any camouflage scheme.
 * The L96A1 is not available on the Wii version of Zombies.
 * In 3rd person, the player will not cycle the bolt after each shot, but the sound of the bolt cycling will be made.
 * The left side of the L96A1 reads "ACCURATELY NATIONAL EAGLELAND".
 * On Call of Duty Elite, wherever the L96A1 is mentioned, it is misnamed as the "L118A" from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3.
 * When Siberian camo is applied to the L96A1, the plating on the side of the weapon recieves a blue and black finish, as oposed to the usual blue and white.
 * Most Pack-A-Punched weapons have a purple flash when fired, but the L96A1 is the only Pack-A-Punched gun that has a green flash when fired.

L96A1