Ballistic Knife

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

Overview
When drawn, players can fire the knife's blade, which results in a silent one hit kill, much like the Throwing Knife and Tomahawk. It only comes with two knives, but once fired, they can be picked up from where they land. It is much like Throwing Knife or Tomahawk in the sense that the blades will drop below the aimed point at distance. The blade travels far slower than the Tomahawk, which brings timing and anticipation into account when firing the weapon. It does not replace the normal melee knife, which is still wielded with the left hand during melee attacks. However, it does speed the melee attack up significantly and seems to increase lunging distance. Killing a player with the Ballistic Knife's ranged attack gives the player the multiplayer medal "Skewer" at the top of the screen.

Multiplayer
The Ballistic Knife is a secondary weapon in the "Specials" category and is unlocked at level 15. It is one of the few available weapons in the new Sticks and Stones playlist in Black Ops, along with the Crossbow and Tomahawk. The Ballistic Knife is the Tier 20 weapon, the final one used, in Gun Game. However, in Multiplayer, firing the Ballistic Knife causes the player to show up on enemies' minimaps, the same as other guns. Actually firing the weapon produces little to no sound.

Tips

 * Perks:
 * Due to its low starting ammunition count, Scavenger is favored as it will replenish the knives without the player having to pick them up.
 * Marathon is suggested to make up for missed shots by knifing the enemy.
 * Sleight of Hand quickens the blades' re-chambering speed.
 * The pro version of Steady Aim allows the player to maximize the increased knifing speed with quicker recovery after a knife lunge.

As the player has to pull the pin before being able to fire the blade, it is advised to switch to the ballistic knife once spawned or respawned. After the player first switches to the Ballistic Knife, subsequent switches are much faster.

Although the Ballistic Knife makes almost no sound when firing, it is not optimal for stealth as you still appear as a red dot on the enemy's radar. It is somewhat more effective for stealth in Hardcore modes, but since nearly every other weapon is capable of a one shot kill in Hardcore its effectiveness is limited.

In Sticks and Stones, when you have exhausted or lost all your ammo on the Crossbow, Tomahawk, and the Ballistic Knife, keep the Ballistic Knife out for its quick knifing capability. Be aware of "pick-up" icons that appear on-screen since enemy Ballistic Knife ammo can be scavenged.

Zombies
It is available through the Mystery Box. The player is able to pick up knives after being stuck into zombies. The ballistic knife fired to a zombie can be a one-hit kill at any rounds as long as it is a headshot. Although the ballistic knife has a much higher stabbing strength in zombies, it isn't a favorable weapon, due to its low ammo count, low rate of fire, and low damage. When Pack-a-punched it turns to The Krauss Refibrilator and will revive a player instantly if hit by the blade, whether it be shooting the knife or slashing the downed player, which give the secret trophy/achievement "See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me". But can be quite difficult to get during a wave because players are most likely to take a gun over the Ballistic Knife and there is most likely to be a horde between you and your downed friend.).The best loadout to solve this is having the Pack-a-punched AUG as a secondary weapon.This way you can still have two guns(The AUG and masterkey) besides the Ballistic knife. If the Bowie Knife is purchased it will replace the regular melee knife when wielding the Ballistic Knife, this is nicknamed by some players as the Bowie Sword.

Trivia

 * When knifing an enemy, if close enough the player will stab with both blades.
 * Like a grenade, when first pulling the knife out in a life, the player pulls a pin before being able to use it. After pulling out the pin, the switching time is faster than the first switch.
 * If both blades are fired (i.e. no ammo) and a different weapon is equipped (the primary weapon), when a knife is picked up from the ground or a body the Ballistic Knife will be instantaneously reloaded (no reload animation), but only if it is not equipped when the knife is picked up.
 * It is possible to Pack-a-Punch the Ballistic Knife in Call of Duty: Black Ops Zombie mode. When upgraded, the player can shoot downed teammates to revive them instead of doing it the regular way. The upgraded version of the Ballistic Knife is called the Krauss Refibrillator. Also when upgraded, it will gain 5 extra rounds. If a Bowie knife was bought before or after the upgrade, it will replace the knife in the player's left hand.
 * The player receives the Trophy/Achievement "See Me, Stab Me, Heal Me" when he revives a team-mate with a Pack-A-Punched Ballistic Knife
 * If the player uses the melee attack whilst brandishing this weapon, the attack will be noticeably quicker than if the player wielded any other weapon.
 * When killing a zombie by shooting it with a ballistic knife, the player will still gain as many points as if they stabbed the zombie.
 * A ballistic knife can actually be seen in the Single Player mission Numbers on a shelf next to the rack of the first available weapons cache. However this knife cannot be used and is only decorative.
 * Fired knives will glow yellow if the player can pick them up.
 * It is possible to get a headshot with the Ballistic knife.
 * When both blades are fired your character still seems to have a blade in his left hand. This is probably the normal knife a character uses to melee.
 * The Ballistic Knife is much like the Tactical Knife attachment in Modern Warfare 2 as your melee speed is doubled. However, instead of a handgun and a knife, you're using 2 knives.
 * If the player fires the ballistic knife into an enemy's gun, it will count as a headshot.
 * The red star is visible on the left side of the right knife. It is possibly a reference to its real life manufacturer, the Soviet Special Forces Group, Spetsnaz.
 * There is a small delay from shooting to firing in this weapon.
 * Strangely enough, it can be used to destroy killstreaks, including helicopters and RC-XDs.
 * The player holds this weapon similar to how Soap holds his knife at the end of Endgame.
 * It's the first melee weapon that can be Pack-A-Punched (although it is indirectly a melee weapon, rather a projectile weapon.)
 * Tally marks can be seen on the left hand knife that you melee with via theater mode, the tally marks scratched on the knife are most likely just there for cosmetic purposes and not an actual score keep.
 * Ballistic knife is a good weapon to use for accomplishing the Steel Meets Spine contract or when trying to achieve a Backstabber Medal. This is because the lunge, stab melee of the ballistic knife goes straight to the back of the other player rather than the slicing motion of the typical melee which often catches the side of the other player if standing directly behind him.
 * In game-winning killcams, a fired Ballistic Knife will frequently appear to miss the target due to moderate lag commonly associated with killcams.
 * Ever since Title Update 4 came out, The Kraus Refibrillator can no longer be used to revive downed people by knifing them.
 * When the player points The Krauss Refibrillator at a downed teammate, the crosshair turns a sky blue color. This is what the "tip" "If red reticles mean enemy, and green reticles mean friendly, what do blue reticles mean?" references to.

Videos
Video:Ballistic knife Killcam|The Ballistic knife in a killkam Video:Ballistic Knife headshot|A headshot with the Ballistic Knife. Video:Black Ops Zombies - Ballistic Knife - Lets Pack That Punch, Episode 7|The Pack-a-punched Ballistic Knife