Ballista

"Bolt-action sniper rifle. Deadly from the chest up, with faster handling speeds."

- Description.

The Ballista is a bolt-action sniper rifle featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It was first seen in the Multiplayer reveal trailer.

Multiplayer
The Ballista is the sniper rifle with the fastest scope-in time at 0.35 seconds (versus the 0.40 of the other rifles). The Ballista is also the only sniper rifle to use the iron sights; through an attachment. Being a bolt-action sniper rifle, it is most comparable to the DSR 50, but trades off lower damage and multipliers for a slightly faster aim down sights time, faster movement when scoped (44% as opposed to 40%), a minutely faster movement speed (96% as opposed to the other sniper rifles' 95%), lower sway, and two more rounds in the magazine. Unlike the other sniper rifles, however, crouching or laying down will not decrease sway.

The damage multipliers of this weapon allow for a one-hit-kill anywhere from the head and shoulders down to the upper and middle torso. The Suppressor is a viable attachment if the player prefers stealth as it will give the player more silent shots and less muzzle flash (however, the bullet trail is still present), in addition to not showing up on enemy radar when firing, with the cost of slightly lower damage multipliers, meaning the lower arms and middle torso are no longer one-hit-kill areas.

The Iron Sights attachment offers a choice for those who enjoy an aggressive role in sniping; as it is far more suited to close-quarters gameplay than the scoped counterpart. There is very little sway with this option, and even if taking a long shot cannot be avoided the player keeps his ability to hold his breath whilst aiming, for more accurate fire.

Zombies
A Ballista with the Iron Sight attachment appears in the Zombies map Origins available of the wall for 500 points or can be dug up with a Shovel. It performs similarly to the Kar98k in that it is relatively effective on early rounds, but on later rounds the player will need to score a headshot to kill a zombie. Pack-a-Punched it becomes the Infused Arbalest. It comes equipped with a 10-round magazine, more reserve ammo, and an ACOG scope attachment, although it can be Pack-a-Punched again to remove the ACOG scope and replace it with Iron Sights.

Attachments

 * Suppressor (unlocked weapon level 2)
 * Ballistics CPU (unlocked weapon level 3)
 * Variable Zoom (unlocked weapon level 4)
 * Fast Mag (unlocked weapon level 5)
 * FMJ (unlocked weapon level 6)
 * ACOG Sight (unlocked weapon level 7)
 * Extended Clip (unlocked weapon level 8)
 * Laser Sight (unlocked weapon level 9)
 * Dual Band Scope (unlocked weapon level 10)
 * Iron Sight (unlocked weapon level 11)

Trivia

 * The bubble in the scope's spirit level will respond to most character actions including running and reloading, but does not respond when the player character lowers their weapon at certain points in the campaign.
 * The Ballista uses .338 Lapua rounds, according to the Ballistics CPU, and the magazine.
 * It is the first sniper rifle in the consoles version of non-World War II games that has a removable scope in multiplayer, via the Iron Sight attachment.
 * If the Ballista is chosen as the primary weapon in multiplayer, the player will chamber a round, unfold the stock, and take off the safety in one motion.
 * In the campaign, the default scope of the Ballista does not function properly; when aiming with the scope the scope model will not appear, instead the view will simply zoom in and the first-person player and gun model will disappear.
 * Made by Hobo Commando MP, in Bavaria, Germany, according to the magazine and miniscule writing on the upper-right facing side of the reciever.
 * The Ballista is the only gun in Call of Duty: Black Ops II that has the Iron Sights attatchment in multiplayer and the campaign.
 * "Royce & Wesley" can be seen written on the scope.
 * The Ballista's serial number is "00040212".
 * If the Iron Sight is selected as an attachment, "RS" can be seen written on the iron sights.
 * The Ballista has an unusable, folded bipod.