SPAS-12

The SPAS-12 is a shotgun available in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, and Call of Duty: Black Ops. Its mode of operation is different in all three installments. In Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 it is pump-action, where as in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized and Call of Duty: Black Ops it is semi-automatic.

Singleplayer
The SPAS-12 appears frequently in several campaign levels; however, during the missions "The Gulag," "The Only Easy Day...Was Yesterday" and "Cliffhanger", a SPAS-12 with arctic camo can be found. It is also possible, although extremely rare, to find a SPAS-12 with woodland camouflage on "The Enemy Of My Enemy" and "Loose Ends". Its range is regarded as long in terms of a shotgun in both the singleplayer and multiplayer.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, it is the first shotgun available to the player. The SPAS-12 is one of three pump action shotguns in the game, the others being the W1200, which is only available in the Museum, and the Masterkey Shotgun attachment, which is unlocked by 20 Grenade Launcher kills with assault rifles.

The SPAS-12 is a popular shotgun due to its high damage and range. Since the update which reduced the range of the Akimbo Model 1887, it has become one of the most used shotguns in online multiplayer. Although it statistically has the second highest range of the shotguns, as the shortened range only counts for Akimbo Model 1887s, whereas if the player doesn't use the Akimbo attachment, it will still retain it's very high range. But the SPAS has a higher rate of fire than the 1887, higher than most people give it credit for.

Tactics
Some players prefer to use Steady Aim with this weapon because at mid range more pellets will hit doing more damage. However, Steady Aim will actually make a poorly aimed shot more likely to miss as the pellets will cover less area. One possible compromise is to use Steady Aim and fire from the hip at mid range but fire by ADS at short range, as ADS increases the spread of the shot, making it more likely to kill, at the expense of quick movement in CQC when movement is essential. A good strategy is to have Sleight of Hand Pro equipped as Perk 1, because it not only dramatically decreases reload time, but also increases the speed of aiming down the sights, because of the Pro effect.

Extended Mags is the most logical choice for the SPAS-12. Doubling the shell capacity of the SPAS-12 to 16 shells makes it remarkably effective for long term close quarter battles. The Grip does lessen the view kick, but the SPAS-12 is already centered by the end of firing cooldown anyway due to its pump action nature, so it's hardly worth using even when firing from the hip. The silencer reduces its range considerably, but it will still have more range than the Rangers. Going against popular opinion, the SPAS-12 with FMJ is glitched in that no extra bullet penetration is added. Also, using alternative optics is uncommon considering ADS increases the spread, thus not contributing to the SPAS-12's power, meaning that many players will replace them for a Grip and/or Extended Mag, but the SPAS-12 alone is very powerful, considering that it can reach up to 25m's in range for a kill.

Weapon Attachments

 * Red Dot Sight
 * Silencer
 * Grip
 * FMJ
 * Holographic Sight
 * Extended Magazines

Singleplayer
The SPAS-12 appears in Modern Warfare: Mobilized as one of the two shotguns in game, the other being the AA-12. The SPAS-12 is only found in "Wrecking Crew", "Closing In", "Oil Rig Confrontation", and "Last Chance", used only by the Insurgency. The SPAS-12 is the same in appearance as the SPAS-12 in Modern Warfare 2, but it has a few differences in performance. Firstly, it fires in the semi-automatic mode as opposed to the pump-action mode. This allows a quick second shot if the first shot misses or doesn't kill. Secondly, the pellets have an unlimited range. This allows the player to fire all eight shells quickly (if necessary) to kill an enemy at long range.

Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the SPAS-12 is unlocked by default for the Insurgency faction. It is a decent shotgun to use, though it has a long reload time and a capacity of only 8 shells. Unlike single player, it usually takes two shells to kill, unless at point blank range or when firing at the head. On the contrary, it usually doesn't take more than three shells at long ranges, except when moving or firing at great distances. The SPAS-12 is often considered one of the best close quarters weapons in the game, having high damage, and unlimited pellet range. It is also semi-automatic compared to the AA-12 which is fully automatic meaning it can be fired at a greater rate. The SPAS-12 has very predictable spreads when firing crouched as the pellets always hit the same spots. Therefore, using the iron sights is not necessary if accuracy is desired.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The SPAS-12 will appear in the upcoming game Call of Duty: Black Ops, although its name is now just the SPAS. It has the stock in folded position. It appears that the SPAS 12 may have semi automatic capability as seen by some in the trailer. The SPAS will be able to use Dragon's Breath (incendiary) shotgun shells.

In the Black Ops uncut reveal trailer, Woods is seen giving the player a SPAS-12.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2

 * When the SPAS-12 is fired, the ejection port opens and closes as normal, however no shell is ejected; and then, when the player pumps it, the shell will eject but the port will not open.
 * When a grip is attached, rather than taking the hand off the grip to pump the gun, the player cocks the gun back with the same speed of pumping it normally.
 * There are multiple fingerprints visible on the skin for the SPAS-12. There appears to be one on the stock, a few on the receiver and one on the pump mechanism.
 * FMJ does not add the "fireworks" animation when pellets hit a surface.
 * Equipping a silencer to the SPAS-12 in multiplayer gives it the name "SPAS-12 Silencer", rather than "SPAS-12 Silenced".
 * While Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was in development, the SPAS-12 used the M1014's pick-up icon.
 * In singleplayer, the SPAS-12's firing sound is the same as the M1014.
 * In Special-Ops, enemies will sometimes drop a SPAS-12 with Arctic Camo.
 * The SPAS-12 has a higher range than other shotguns which have the same range or higher shown in Create-A-Class, like the M1014 or Model 1887.
 * The SPAS-12 has a similar pumping animation to the M1897 Trenchgun from Call of Duty: World at War.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized

 * The weapon's inventory icon displays the stock folded up, but when viewed from first or third person, there is no stock attached.
 * This weapon can be seen being fired with one hand by enemies.

Call of Duty: Black Ops

 * In the Breach Trailer presented by GtTv, there is a pickup icon reading "SPAS"
 * The Butt-stock of the SPAS-12 is folded, unlike in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 where the stock is unfolded.
 * In Black Ops trailers, the SPAS is seen in the hands of both enemy (Viet Cong & Soviet Armed Forces) and friendly (SOG) forces.

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