Wunderwaffe DG-2

"Good old fashioned lightning gun, sweet!"

- Tank Dempsey.

The Wunderwaffe DG-2 (pronounced: Vunder Vaffe; "Wonder Weapon DG-2") is the second Wonder Weapon in appearance and one of the strongest. It debuted in Shi No Numa in the second Call of Duty: World at War map pack. The DG-2 has since appeared in Der Riese, which was included in the third Call of Duty: World at War map pack. The DG-2 also appears in Call of Duty: Black Ops in the revamped original Der Riese and Shi No Numa zombie maps and in Call of the Dead after completion of the Original Characters Trapped Easter Egg and by killing George Romero after the player has completed the easter egg.

Overview
The DG-2 is the pinnacle of secret Nazi technology. It was built at Der Riese along with the teleporters, and was intended to be mass produced and supplied to front line troops to win the war. Doctor Richtofen created it as revealed by his quotes when he receives it from the mystery box, and a document from Vbush. Packed with 200,000 amperes of devastating chained electrical current, in-game it is incredibly powerful, sending a bolt of lightning at the targeted enemy, killing it instantly. The bolt then proceeds to hit up to 9 nearby enemies with no obvious diminished power for a maximum killing potential of ten enemies. However, keep in mind that the zombies should be nearby each other, because if the zombies are more then 5 yards away from each other, the bolt might not link to other zombies. The Wunderwaffe has 3 cartridges in the side for ammo, and 15 spare, totaling 18. This gives it a maximum killing potential of 180 enemies. These unique attributes make it an ideal room-clearing weapon.

The Wunderwaffe is powered by Ununpentium, better known as Element 115. The Ununpentium generates electricity which is contained in three vacuum tube power cells (that resemble light bulbs) that the player reloads into the Wunderwaffe. Whenever the player reloads it, they have to eject the vacuum tubes and insert new ones before pulling on a lever, lighting up the power cells and putting the Wunderwaffe DG-2 back into a firing mode. The Wunderwaffe takes about six seconds to fully reload without Speed Cola, but the player can reload cancel after just three seconds to fully recharge it. This is very handy considering its small magazine size.

Without Pack-A-Punching the Wunderwaffe DG-2, it can kill 10 zombies at a time, though after being Pack-A-Punched it can kill up to 24 zombies with one bolt, except in Black Ops, where the maximum amount is still 10. It is possible that it can kill even more, but the maximum amount of zombies that can be on the map at a time is 24. It also appears to not only instantly kill Hellhounds, but also extinguishes them if they were on fire, meaning that they do not explode after being hit. Because of its recoil, it is important to aim shots carefully, as even a single missed shot is a serious waste of enormous potential.

The Wunderwaffe is surprisingly difficult to use, however, for a number of reasons. First, although it is very accurate, few players look down its peculiar sights, meaning players often miss their targets. Second, if fired towards a teammate or a zombie at very close range the player will be electrocuted as well as any zombies (this does not happen in Black Ops), which can slow down players and the shooter, which can be a crucial factor in emergencies. Being shocked in this way will also cause the player to lose Juggernog's effects if they have bought it, meaning that it will take 2 hits to down a player, unlike the 4 with Juggernog. These problems becomes even worse when upgraded. Third, the weapon's draw time is relatively slow, at about 1.5 seconds. This can be an issue if the Wunderwaffe were to be used in an emergency. However, this problem can be partially solved by tapping the weapons' switch button (Y, triangle or the bound button on PC, default 1 and 2) twice very quickly just after the gun has been switched to. Fourth, the Wunderwaffe also has one of the slowest reload times in the Call of Duty series at six seconds. This can be somewhat negated by purchasing Speed Cola, reducing the reload time by half, or by Pack-a-Punching the weapon which reduces reload time to 4.7 seconds, although this takes 5000 points to do. As a result of these problems, it is not popular with some players. However, if a player is skilled with the Wunderwaffe, they can be a valuable asset to any team.

iPhone/iPod Touch
The Wunderwaffe also appears in the Call of Duty: ZOMBIES app for the iPhone with a few differences from the console version. In Shi No Numa digging up Peter's grave after opening all the doors rewards the player with it. The user cannot damage him/herself from firing the Wunderwaffe, and it also holds much more ammo in reserve than on the console. Since there is a Wunderwaffe in the Mystery Box and another in the grave, it is possible for two different players to simultaneously have the DG-2. Electrocuting 8 zombies with one shot gives the player the "Face Melter" achievement. This could be a reference to the first Indiana Jones movie, where the Nazis' faces are melted by electrical arcs. The Wunderwaffe is also semi-automatic on the iPhone and iPod Touch, which doesn't make much of a difference, because most players tend to treat it as a semi-automatic on the console games anyway.

Call of Duty: Black Ops
The Wunderwaffe DG-2 appears in Shi No Numa and Der Riese as part of the Hardened and Prestige editions, as well as in the Rezurrection versions of the maps. In Kino der Toten and Ascension the weapon is replaced by the Thundergun, and in "Five" it is replaced by the Winter's Howl. When Pack-a-Punched in Der Riese, the appearance is gold plated, whereas in World at War, it would obtain a pattern similar to any other upgraded gun. Also, after completing the easter egg, the player will always get the Wunderwaffe after killing George Romero. In Shi No Numa, a radio can be found, where Richtofen explains why the Wunderwaffe would not appear in Kino der Toten, "Five" or Ascension. This radio can only be found in the Black Ops version of the map.

There were several quotes that were cut from Kino der Toten, which imply that the Wunderwaffe DG-2 was originally going to appear in the map, but was cut before the game was released and replaced by the Thundergun. There are also cut quotes for "Five" that hint that the Wunderwaffe DG-2 was going to be included. The cut quotes can be seen here.

The Wunderwaffe also makes an appearance in Call of the Dead, after completing an easter egg puzzle, where the "original" characters Tank Dempsey, Nikolai Belinski, Takeo Masaki and Edward Richtofen are trapped in room and need help from the player(s) to escape. After completing the puzzle, a Lightning Bolt will drop, which is the Wunderwaffe in power-up form. This Wunderwaffe cannot be Pack-a-Punched and will disappear after it runs out of ammo (although Max Ammo refills it). After the player has completed this easter egg and kills George Romero, he will always obtain the Wunderwaffe DG-2 instead of the Death Machine. The player has to be very careful when using the Wunderwaffe on Call of the Dead, as Romero will be hit by its chain effect if he's within range and will go berserk.

Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ
If the Wunderwaffe DG-2 is put in the Der Riese Pack-a-Punch Machine, it will have red electricity that turns blue after striking the first zombie, and will be renamed to Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ, which can kill up to 24 zombies at a time. It will also receive an ammo boost; 30 charges and a magazine size of 6. However, the splash damage is increased greatly, enough to down the user in two hits, even with Juggernog. If the player does not have Juggernog, and is hit with the splash damage, they will be downed instantly should a Zombie or Hellhound attack them. Also, if the user recovers from the splash damage from the Wunderwaffe, they will lose the effects of Juggernog, and it will go back to what it would be without Juggernog; two hits will kill the player.

In Call of Duty: Black Ops, the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ's power has been reduced to being able to kill only 10 zombies at once (the same as the DG-2). The appearance of the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ is also greatly changed, as it no longer possesses the black and patterned appearance it had in Call of Duty: World at War and instead gains a golden camouflage. Although the splash damage still hurts the user if they fire it too close to a zombie or object, it no longer affects the user's Juggernog, allowing the user to shock himself and retain Juggernog's effects.

Trivia

 * On Shi No Numa, it causes slight damage to the shooter if the electricity hits near them. This is even worse on Der Riese, where the standard Wunderwaffe can slowly drain the holders health. Even after being shocked and waiting around 10–15 seconds, the player is still incredibly weak. Also, under certain conditions, all of the player's maximum health can be drained away, which means that any sort of damage will instantly down the player. The problem gets even worse with the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ. This applies to World at War only.
 * The Wunderwaffe is the second weapon that is able to cause friendly fire, the first being the M2 Flamethrower. This can only be accomplished, though, if one fires the Wunderwaffe right next to the teammate. This will down them instantly on Shi No Numa, but it takes two shots on Der Riese. It is the first weapon to be able to down and kill friendly allies. This cannot be done in Call of Duty: Black Ops.
 * On the iPhone/iPod touch version of Shi No Numa, if the player gets a Wunderwaffe from the Mystery Box and then digs Peter's grave, the Wunderwaffe's ammo will be replenished.
 * The red switch on the left activates the power, lighting up the gun.
 * In World At War, the Wunderwaffe has the same pick-up icon as the Double-Barreled Shotgun. However, this is only viewable by modding. In Black Ops, it uses the pick-up icon of the M16.
 * This gun often creates "zombie statues", whereby the body remains erect, often headless and/or kneeling.
 * One of the most popular nicknames for the Wunderwaffe is the "Wonder Waffle," because Tank Dempsey often refers to it as such.
 * On Der Riese, there appears to be two Wunderwaffes in the Mystery Box, although it is impossible to obtain both.
 * If the player is lucky enough to obtain the Wunderwaffe DG-2, the Ray Gun, and the Monkey Bomb at the same time in Der Riese, the player will be awarded with the achievement/trophy "Acquire Waffle Weapons".
 * Zombies killed by the Wunderwaffe DG-2 will not drop power-ups, except in Shi No Numa.
 * Despite having infinite damage, the Wunderwaffe will not kill George A. Romero in one shot.
 * If third-person mode is activated, it is impossible to aim correctly with the Wunderwaffe. The bolts will fire out through the side of the player and simply go through zombies.
 * If the player has the Wunderwaffe via the Lightning Bolt and someone quits the game, the player will switch to one of the player's weapons and not be able to switch back (even if the player runs out of ammo). The only way to get rid of it is to be downed or obtain a Death Machine powerup.
 * Despite not being able to upgrade the Wunderwaffe, the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ is scripted into Call of the Dead and can be obtained via console commands, although the gun is white as a result of not having a texture associated with it. Also, a Wunderwaffe DG-2 obtained through console commands cannot be upgraded via the Pack-a-Punch Machine.
 * In the Ascension poster, Dempsey is seen holding this gun even though it cannot obtained in Ascension through normal means. It can, however, be obtained through console commands.
 * The JZ in the Wunderwaffe DG-3 JZ's name may be a reference to Treyarch's Creative Lead and Design Director of Zombies, Jimmy Zielinski.