FAL

The FN FAL (Fabrique Nationale - Fusil Automatique Leger; English: Light Automatic Rifle) is a battle rifle in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. It was the first of the major NATO battle rifles before the widespread adoption of the assault rifle, the other two being the G3 and the M14. The FAL was originally designed to fire an intermediate round like the STG-44, but was required to meet the new NATO standard 7.62x51mm round, thus making it have high recoil when firing fully automatically. Designed by Fabrique Nationale de Herstal in Belgium, it has been called "The Right Arm of the Free World", as it was distributed worldwide during the Cold War to NATO allies. It was adopted by several European countries in the 1950's before being replaced by locally-manufactured assault rifles. While its usage has waned, it continues to be manufactured and used in South America, most notably in Brazil, before being replaced by more modern rifles. Modern revivals of the FAL utilize it in various roles, ranging from a marksman's rifle to a light support weapon.

Singleplayer
The FAL is most commonly used by the Brazilian Militia in Takedown. The variant used seems to be a fixed-stock FAL that has been modified with the addition of the surface-integrated rail. It is seen in the early stages of the Russian invasion, but the AK-47 is more common-place.

Multiplayer
It is unlocked at level 28 in multiplayer.

Ironically, the FAL (Fusil Automatique Léger, which means "Light Automatic Rifle"), is limited to semi-automatic fire in both single player and multiplayer. This, despite its power, reduces its effectiveness at close range. Using the shotgun attachment or carrying a close quarters secondary weapon is recommended. However the semi-automatic nature increases effectiveness at long range, even though the shooter must pause briefly between shots to let the recoil settle. The FAL closes the gap between assault rifles and sniper rifles. Because of the FAL's damage of 35-55, Stopping Power has a minimal effect. It will always be a 2 hit kill at close and medium range and a 3 hit kill at long range, regardless of Stopping Power. However, with Stopping Power the FAL is able to get single head-shot kills.

Like the UMP45, the FAL is one of the few non-sniper weapons in the game that can kill in a maximum of three shots regardless of range, Perks, or attachments.

The FAL is greatly affected by having the Holographic Sight attached. For whatever reason, the FAL's minimum damage increases with the Holographic Sight attached. Normally, the weapon would do 35 damage past 1700m, but with the Holographic Sight, this number is increased to 40 damage past 1600m. Knowing this, the gun becomes a 2 shot kill at any range when using a Holographic Sight (even with Bling and another attachment) and Stopping Power. Because of this, using Bling to add a holographic sight and a silencer in conjunction with Stopping Power will effectively remove the disadvantage of reduced range that a silencer usually adds, as the gun will always be a 2 shot kill. Also, using the holographic with a Heartbeat Sensor works rather well, as even while using ADS the player can still see the sensor.

The back of the FAL's iron sights sways when aiming down the sights, although this has no effect on accuracy. For some reason the Masterkey Shotgun attachment removes this swaying, possibly by adding bulk, making the weapon heavier but stable.

The FAL is considered an intermediary between the G3 and M14 from Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, as its damage and recoil fall between the two.

Weapon Attachments

 * M203 Grenade Launcher
 * Masterkey Shotgun
 * Red Dot Sight
 * EOTech Holographic Weapon Sight
 * Silencer
 * Heartbeat Sensor
 * ACOG Scope
 * Thermal Scope
 * FMJ
 * Extended Mags

Trivia

 * A somewhat popular tactic for Hardcore mode is to attach a Thermal Scope to the FAL and use it like a semi-automatic sniper rifle, although this is disadvantageous compared to using a sniper rifle for a number of reasons. Many players in Hardcore use Cold-Blooded, which can render the Thermal Scope less effective than a normal sniper scope, and the normal sniper scope does not take up an attachment slot.
 * When using the FAL with a Red Dot Sight, the shot will not land right where the dot is aimed at; it actually hits just below and to the right of the dot.
 * The FAL is considered a surplus weapon. As most countries have replaced their FALs with imported or locally manufactured weapons, old FAL caches end up on the black market, which could explain how the Militia and OpFor are armed with so many, in addition to the local manufacture of the rifle.
 * The FAL has a unique reload animation, in that the fresh magazine is used to actuate the magazine release paddle and eject the spent magazine, before being placed in. This is known as "speedloading", and is a method that is more popularly used on the AK-47. This is not just for show, however, as the FAL has a comparatively fast reload time.
 * Reload cancelling is generally ineffective with the FAL unless reloading from an empty magazine.
 * While reloading the FAL, the old magazine is always shown still containing a cartridge, even during a dry reload.
 * The FAL's magazine model is actually for 30 rounds while the default FAL holds only 20 (in multiplayer.) Attaching Extended Mags remedies this, although due to the high power, this attachment is not needed nor suggested. In reality 20 round magazines are more common.
 * Militia and Russian soldiers in campaign can fire the FAL fully automatically from around corners or behind doors (while blindfiring), but you cannot.
 * The FAL with a Grenade Launcher is misspelled FAL w/ Grenade Laucher in the pick-up text.
 * The Shotgun attachment has much more range on the FAL than it does on any other gun.
 * This gun is very popularly used by people who have a modded controller