Ballistic Knife

The Ballistic Knife is a secondary weapon featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops, Call of Duty: Black Ops II and Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified.

Campaign
In the mission "Numbers" there is an unusable Ballistic Knife in the room where Clarke keeps his weapons.

Multiplayer
The Ballistic Knife is a secondary weapon. It is a one-hit kill when fired as well as when used to melee. Like the Tomahawk, the fired knives 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, switch to Ballistic Knife after every spawn, and then back. After this is done, the second time it is drawn, 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 is best used when in conjunction with Lightweight or Scavenger. Lightweight allows the player to run quickly and melee opponents entering a building, or coming round a corner or to make up for lost knife shots, while Scavenger can replenish lost knives, which get the player killed if they attempt to retrieve it. An even greater advantage, is when used with Lightweight Pro, which allows the player to jump from high points, and knife enemies on the ground below, and Ninja Pro, which allows the player to silently slip into a building, and knife enemies inside. However the Ballistic Knife is not recommended at long range combat, as the enemy can easily shoot the player, and knives which are shot may miss the enemy. When used in Hardcore, it has no aiming reticule or ADS and as such is a poor secondary choice for inexperienced players. Be wary though, that despite what most players think, firing the Ballistic Knife will make a red dot appear on the Mini-map. This means it is not suited for a stealthy role.

The Ballistic Knife also appears in the Wager Match modes Gun Game, Sharpshooter and Sticks and Stones. In Gun Game, it's used as Tier 20 and the final weapon to be used. In order to win, the final kill must be made by firing the knife, not by stabbing with it. In Sticks and Stones, the Ballistic Knife is used as the secondary weapon and can not be replaced.

Zombies
It is available through the Mystery Box. The player is able to pick up knives after being stuck into zombies plus it allows faster knifing and more damage per stab (one stab up to about round 5 without the Sickle or Bowie Knife). Although the Ballistic Knife has a much higher stabbing strength in zombies, most players think that this weapon isn't useful, due to its low ammo count, low rate of fire, and low damage. However, if there are multiple players in the game, the Ballistic Knife a good 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. Even after it is no longer able to instantly kill in one hit, it remains two hits up to almost round 20, and can still be just as lethal if in the right hands. The Ballistic Knife is very effective at making lots of points, due to its faster and more lethal knife attack. Therefore, (for the average player not skilled at running/knifing) 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 thousands of points. Once it loses its ability to kill with one knife attack, it should be upgraded and used until round 14. Even after round 14, it can kill the Crawler Zombies until round 16 with one stab. The user 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 trophy/achievement "See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me". Note the fact that if the player is downed, their knives will not revive other players, it will down them instead.

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.

For runners, it is recommended that when attempting to knife multiple zombies, rather that directly plunging the blade into their gut resulting in time used to pull the blade out, the player should stab while looking near but not at the zombie. This causes you to slash with the knife rather than stab.

Achievement/Trophy
See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me (15 / Bronze Trophy ) - Fire a Pack-a-Punched Ballistic Knife at a downed ally to revive them from a distance.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II
"Spring-action knife launcher. Increases melee speed and can fire the blade as a projectile."

- Create-a-Class description.

Campaign
The Ballistic Knife can be unlocked in the customized classes by completing 5 challenges in the mission Fallen Angel. The Black Ops model is also available as the Spring Knife, which is unlocked in the exact same manner.

Multiplayer
The Ballistic Knife reappears in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. When fired, it is much quieter than its counterpart from Call of Duty: Black Ops. The fired knives can now be picked up by walking over them. The weapon again appears in the modes Gun Game, Sharpshooter and Sticks and Stones. Be wary though, that despite what most players think, firing the Ballistic Knife will make a red dot appear on the Mini-map. This means it is not suited for a stealthy role.

The camouflages for the Ballistic knife can be unlocked by doing the following actions:
 * DEVGRU Camouflage - Get 25 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * A-TACS AU Camouflage - Get 50 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * ERDL Camouflage - Get 75 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Siberia Camouflage - Get 100 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Choco Camouflage - Get 125 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Blue Tiger Camouflage - Get 150 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Bloodshot Camouflage - Get 200 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Ghostex: Delta 6 Camouflage - Get 250 kills with the Ballistic knife
 * Kryptek: Typhon Camouflage - Get 300 kills with the Ballistic knife

Unlocked after completing all above camouflages

 * Carbon Fiber Camouflage - Earn 5 Revenge medals with the Ballistic Knife
 * Cherry Blossom Camouflage - Get 25 melee kills with the Ballistic Knife
 * Art of War Camouflage - Get 25 kills with retrieved Ballistic Knife blades
 * Ronin Camouflage - Get 1 Double kill medal using the Ballistic Knife
 * Skulls Camouflage - Get 2 Bloodthirsty medals using only the Ballistic Knife
 * Gold Camouflage - Complete all Camo unlocks for the Ballistic Knife
 * Diamond Camouflage - Get Gold on all specials to unlock Diamond for all Specials

Zombies
The Ballistic Knife can be obtained from the Mystery Box. It will remain a one-hit-kill up to round 4. When upgraded, it will become the "The Krauss Refibrillator". It reuses the old model and animations from Call of Duty: Black Ops like the Spring Knife. The Krauss Refibrillator's instant revival ability conflicts with the abilities of the perks Tombstone Soda and Who's Who, making it a questionable weapon to use in combination with those two perks. It is available in all maps excluding Mob of the Dead and Origins

Call of Duty: Black Ops

 * The Ballistic Knife is one of the cheapest weapons in Call of Duty: Black Ops multiplayer, costing only, as opposed to all other guns which cost.
 * The Ballistic Knife had a different Create-a-Class picture in game trailers: it had a bigger handle and a different blade shape.
 * Tally marks can be seen on the left hand knife that is used to melee with via Theater Mode.
 * 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. 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.
 * Its melee attack does not count as a knife kill if the player stabs someone in multiplayer. Instead it counts as a kill for the Ballistic Knife.
 * 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 on the left side of it.
 * In the Wii version of Call of Duty: Black Ops, it is possible to camouflage the Ballistic Knife in the same way as it's possible to place a camouflage for the Crossbow in the console versions.
 * If the player shoots 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.
 * Meleeing with the Ballistic Knife is faster and makes one lunge farther than with a regular knife, making it more effective for close-range battles.
 * When the Sickle is bought, the Ballistic Knife's ammo is replenished.
 * On the Ziplines in Call of the Dead, the Ballistic Knives float in mid air, due to the hands disappearing.
 * Despite its instant revive abilities when Pack-a-Punched, the player cannot revive another player when they are also down.
 * If one shoots a mannequin in Nuketown in the back, the knife will end up on the floor instead of sticking into them.
 * The kill icon on the Wii is different and looks like the knife icon facing the other way.
 * There is a glitch that when downed with a Pack-a-Punched Ballistic Knife, knifing someone who attempts to revive the player will down that player.
 * There is a glitch in the Wii version where it is possible to revive a downed ally by knifing him/her.

Call of Duty: Black Ops II

 * While using the Ballistic Knife in multiplayer, the Combat Knife in the left hand will have the same camouflage as the ballistic knife despite the Combat Knife having its own camouflages.
 * When gaining melee kills with the ballistic knife, these count towards the ballistic knife challenges only and not the combat knife challenges.
 * The Ballistic Knife in Zombies uses its Black Ops model, and also has the same melee animations.
 * In Zombies, prior to an update, the pickup button had to be pressed in order to retrieve the fired knives like in Black Ops (and unlike Black Ops II's campaign and multiplayer modes). This has now been patched.
 * When using the Ballistic Knife in combination with the Galvaknuckles or Combatant Suppression Knuckles, the Ballistic Knife will not be used to melee. Instead, it will use the standard animation of either of the Galvaknuckles or the Combatant Suppression Knuckles.
 * When the emblem and clan tag are applied the clan tag is on the hilt of the right knife, and the emblem is on the blade of the right knife. The emblem can be seen when viewing it in theatre mode.
 * When Diamond Camo is applied, the Combat Knife that is held with the Ballistic Knife will be gold and the string around where it is held will be diamond, which is the opposite of what it is on the single Combat Knife there the whole knife is diamond and the string is gold.
 * The blade is reversible. This is much easier to see in Theater Mode.
 * Blades fired can be destroyed by a Trophy System.
 * If just after shooting a blade the reload button is pressed and reload cancel is used, the blades can be fired much faster.
 * In campaign, it reuses the Spring Knife's pickup icon.
 * There is a slight knockback when firing. This is more noticable when standing still.