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 "rounds" 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 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. Note that you are equipped with infinite ammo. In Sticks and Stones the Ballistic Knife is used as the secondary weapon and can not be replaced.

Tips

 * The ballistic knife is very effective against dogs to use as a stabbing weapon, as the animation for a stab/slash is faster than a dog's bite.
 * Due to its low starting ammunition count, Scavenger is favored as it will replenish the knives without the player having to pick them up. However, Scavenger Pro does not increase the starting ammunition.
 * Lightweight is suggested to make up for missed shots by knifing the enemy.
 * Sleight of Hand is also suggested, so the blades are reloaded quicker.
 * The pro version of Steady Aim allows the player to maximize the increased knifing speed with quicker recovery after a knife lunge.
 * The pro version of Hardened allows the player to make a more precise shot without flinching too much.
 * The Ballistic Knife can be used to destroy a sentry gun with one direct hit. This makes it useful for those trying to achieve Ghost Pro, as destroying one sentry gun is a requirement for achieving pro version of this perk.
 * The Ballistic Knife is also useful for those trying to achieve Ninja Pro, as using it can make it easier to meet the requirement of getting 5 Backstabber Medals.
 * As the player has to pull the pin before being able to fire the blade, it is advised to switch to the Ballistic Knife after spawning.
 * In Sticks and Stones, when a player has exhausted or lost all their ammo on the Crossbow, Tomahawk and the ballistic knife, keep the ballistic knife out for its quick knifing capability. Be aware of "pick-up" icons that appear on-screen since enemy Ballistic Knife ammo can be scavenged.
 * The Ballistic Knife, like the Tomahawk, makes very little noise when fired, but is not considered a stealth weapon by the the game because it still causes a red dot on the minimap when fired.
 * The Ballistic Knife can be used like the Tactical Knife attachment from Modern Warfare 2, since you get a "gun" and a faster melee knife.

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's multiple players in the game, the Ballistic Knife can work out 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 even thousands of points. Once it loses its ability to kill with one knife attack, it should be upgraded and used until round 14 to make lots of points. Even after round 14, it can kill the Crawler Zombies until round 16 with one knife. 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.

One strategy for the Ballistic Knife in later rounds after it has lost its ability to one hit kill a zombie is to shoot a knife at the zombie, then melee the zombie that was skewered. This counts as two melee attacks and is noticably faster than meleeing twice.

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

 * It has one of the lowest ammo counts in the Call of Duty series, with only two knives to use in a life (in multiplayer).
 * The ammo count does not change even when the player adds the Scavenger Pro perk. However, knives are replenished by picking up Scavenger Bags or getting them from the ground.
 * When killing a Zombie by shooting it with a Ballistic Knife, the player will still gain as many points as if they stabbed the zombie (10 points for an non-lethal hit, 130 points for the lethal).
 * 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.
 * The "Krauss Refibrilator" is referenced in one of the loading screen notes for Zombies, stating "If red reticles mean enemy and green reticles mean friendly, what do blue reticles mean?", as cyan reticles appear when you aim at a downed teammate with the Krauss Refibrilator.
 * 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.
 * It can gib zombies, despite the fact it only stabs them when it hits an enemy.
 * 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 you shoot 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.
 * 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.
 * If a knife is shot, the player is still detected on the radar.
 * It is a primary weapon in Black Ops for Wii, by hacking.
 * If the Ballistic Knife is Pack-a- Punched on Der Riese, and the Bowie Knife is obtained,it is possible to down a team mate that is reviving the player if the player knifes him in second chance. This is a rare glitch.