Masterkey


 * For the similar attachment found in Modern Warfare 2 see Shotgun (Attachment)

The Masterkey shotgun is an available underbarrel attachment for most assault rifles in Call of Duty: Black Ops.

Campaign
The Masterkey is a rare attachment found in the singleplayer campaign. It can be found on the level "SOG," mounted to the player's starting M16. In the same level, the Marines will occasionally drop an M14 with this attachment when killed. Rarely, right before the stealth portion of "Victor Charlie", an AK47 with a Masterkey can be found; it holds 8 rounds. It is also found on the 2nd part of "Rebirth," on Hudson's Enfield with IR.

Multiplayer
The Masterkey shotgun is available to the player for. It is compatible with most assault rifles with the exception of the G11. It is essentially a mounted Stakeout, as both shotguns have the same rate of fire, magazine capacity, and range stats, however the Masterkey deals 30-10 and the Stakeout deals 40-10, also the Masterkey has a smaller spread than the Stakeout. The Masterkey also does not suffer from a larger spread while moving, with an exception being the Masterky on a Commando.

In comparison to the Flamethrower (attachment), the Masterkey is capable of a one-shot kill to a an enemy of full health, while the Flamethrower will kill in 2 "shots" of the projected flame. However, should the shot miss, or not kill, the pumping cycle could prove fatal in a firefight, whereas the continuous stream of fire emitted from the Flamethrower will not suffer from this risk. An advantage that the Masterkey boasts is the ability to kill enemies with Flak Jacket Pro.

Using Steady Aim will increase the 1-shot kill ability of the Masterkey. Although it has a moderately slow reload, it's more worth having an ability to add more punch to the Masterkey.

Zombies
It is available on the Pack-a-Punch version of the AUG, and seems to do relatively high damage, even comparing to the Stakeout. It sports increased damage and will reload two shells at a time. However, it starts to lose its ability to kill in one hit about round 17.

Trivia

 * As with all underbarrel attachments, the Masterkey cannot be used with another attachment (using Warlord). The only exception to this is in zombies, where a Pack-a-Punched AUG has both an ACOG Scope and the underbarrel shotgun and in Campaign, on the level Rebirth, the player starts out with an Enfield with an Infrared Scope and an underbarrel shotgun.
 * When wielding a Masterkey, a player will grasp the pump with the left hand, but the trigger is not touched.
 * Unlike in Modern Warfare 2, the shotgun is not pumped when switched to. Despite this, switching to the shotgun takes the same amount of time.
 * The name of the shotgun comes form its use: it is designed to break locks, hence the name of "master-key"
 * Out of all the underbarrel attachments, the AI opponents in Combat Training will only use the Masterkey, but can equip the Grenade Launcher or Flamethrower.