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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3. The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 for the Nintendo DS. The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty Online The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019) The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Warzone The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered The subject of this article appears in Call of Duty: Mobile
For the similarly named assault rifle, see AK-12.
For a futuristic reimagining of the weapon, see SG12.

The AA-12 is a fully-automatic shotgun that is featured in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance, Call of Duty Online, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare, Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Campaign Remastered and Call of Duty: Mobile.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

Campaign[]

The AA-12 appears in the campaign levels "S.S.D.D.", "The Only Easy Day... Was Yesterday", "The Gulag", "Contingency", "Loose Ends", and "Just Like Old Times". In "S.S.D.D.", it can be used after completing the Pit the first time. In "The Gulag", it can be found in the armory. Last, in "Loose Ends", it can be found in the basement armory. It has an extremely high rate of fire in campaign, which makes it useful for clearing out corridors and other close quarter areas, however it also makes it so the AA-12 will deplete its ammo reserve quickly.

Multiplayer[]

The AA-12 is unlocked at level 18.

The AA-12's damage per pellet is among the worst in the shotgun category. The AA-12 fires eight pellets per shot. At any range short of 7.5 meters, the AA-12 will deal twenty damage per pellet, needing five out of the eight pellets in the shot to hit to secure a one shot kill. Damage decreases linearly until 12.5 meters. At 12.5 meters, the AA-12 will deal fifteen damage per pellet, needing all eight pellets in a shot to hit to secure a kill. The AA-12 does no damage past 12.5 meters. The AA-12 deals no extra damage on a headshot. Although the AA-12's damage is relatively consistent inside its effective range, the AA-12's effective range is not that long, and one shot kills are not an expectation. The AA-12 has low penetration power, making the AA-12 unsuitable for shooting through anything besides the absolute lightest of cover.

The AA-12's damage profile improves substantially when using Stopping Power. At any range short of 7.5 meters, the AA-12 will deal 28 damage per pellet, needing four out of eight pellets in a shot to hit to secure a kill. Damage decreases linearly until 12.5 meters. At 12.5 meters, the AA-12 will deal 21 damage per pellet, needing five out of eight pellets in a shot to hit to secure a kill. The AA-12 does no damage past 12.5 meters. Stopping Power significantly increases the weapon's one shot kill ability and highly improves the weapon's consistency, as the AA-12 will never need more than five pellets to get a kill. In Hardcore, however, the AA-12 still fails to secure a kill with a single pellet, making the perk's value questionable in Hardcore. Despite the obvious benefit of Stopping Power on the AA-12 in Core, the AA-12 isn't reliant on the perk should the user want a different perk 2.

The defining aspect of the AA-12 is its fire rate. The AA-12 is fully automatic, and fires at 400 RPM. Aside from the Ranger, which can expend both shots in its two barrels immediately, the AA-12 has the best fire rate of any shotgun. This makes the AA-12 far less reliant on its raw damage to win gunfights, as the AA-12 can overwhelm enemies through pure volume of fire.

The AA-12's accuracy is somewhat subpar for a shotgun, but decent overall. The iron sights are extremely blocky and aiming down the sight provides minimal advantage, while highly restricting movement speed. As such, aiming down the sight is an action best ignored with the AA-12. The AA-12's recoil is oddly soft for a shotgun, which is helpful considering the AA-12 has less time between shots to settle its recoil compared to other shotguns. The AA-12 has a centerspeed of 1100, the best value of any shotgun, further reducing the effect of recoil. However, the AA-12's hip-fire spread is slightly worse than the other shotguns, with hip-fire accuracy more on par with a pistol. That said, the AA-12 is still reliable and consistent from the hip despite its hip-fire accuracy being slightly worse.

The AA-12's handling characteristics are good for a shotgun. The AA-12 allows users to move at 100% of the base movement speed, but strafe only at 40% of the base movement speed. Due to the strafe speed being so slow, aiming down the sight is almost always a bad idea. Unlike other shotguns, the AA-12 is magazine-fed, and its reload speed is consistent, reloading all shells at once. The AA-12's reload animation is 2.75 seconds long, or 3.58 seconds long on an empty magazine. In either case, the user can Reload Cancel after 2 seconds flat. The AA-12's reload speeds are slow overall, but being able to reload its entire magazine in one go is a luxury few other shotguns have access to.

The AA-12's magazine capacity is fair for a shotgun, at eight rounds per magazine. However, by far the AA-12's biggest weakness is its starting ammo loadout. The AA-12 only gets one spare magazine of ammo instead of two, giving the AA-12 a paltry starting ammo loadout of just sixteen rounds. This is by far the worst starting ammo loadout on any shotgun. Worse, the AA-12 is not particularly efficient with said ammo, and it severely limits the AA-12's sustained combat capability throughout a single life. Scavenger is necessary if the user wants to use the AA-12 extensively, as the ammo situation is just that poor.

The AA-12 has the standard assortment of shotgun attachments on offer. The optical attachments are functionally useless, as the AA-12 has no use for the aim down sight function.

The Silencer reduces muzzle flash, makes the AA-12 quieter when firing, and prevents the AA-12 from revealing the user on radar when firing. However, the AA-12's finite range becomes dangerously short. Damage starts to drop off at 3.75 meters and the AA-12's total range with the Silencer is 7.5 meters. The range is absolutely tiny, and it mandates the user get very close in order to deal damage in any capacity. The Silencer is an extremely risky attachment that only those who know what they're doing should use.

The Grip increases the AA-12's centerspeed significantly to 1500, providing a large value to assist the slow rate of fire in combatting the AA-12's recoil. However, much more importantly, the AA-12's switch speed is highly improved, as the AA-12 is far quicker to pull out. One of the main weaknesses of shotguns as a secondary weapon is that they are not particularly nimble to switch to or away from, making them less of an attractive choice for reactionary situations like those a handgun are best suited for. The Grip provides two nice benefits, and it is a good attachment choice.

FMJ increases the AA-12's penetration power. Shooting through walls is still something users rarely go out of their way to do with shotguns, and FMJ is easy to ignore as a result.

Extended Mags is by far the most powerful attachment on the AA-12, as it doubles the AA-12's magazine capacity to an enormous sixteen rounds. If not using Scavenger, the user's entire starting ammo loadout is just in this one magazine, meaning the user never needs to reload. Even when using Scavenger, this attachment is extremely valuable, as it substantially improves the AA-12's sustained combat capability, accentuating one of the AA-12's greatest strengths as a shotgun. Although the Grip provides unique and relevant benefit to the AA-12, Extended Mags is still easily the best attachment option unless the user really values the quicker switching of the AA-12 with the Grip.

Overall, the AA-12 is an extremely unusual shotgun, one that relies on volume of fire to overcome a damage deficit. The AA-12's damage output makes it one of the most consistently powerful weapons in CQC, providing plenty of room for error to go along with extreme lethality. However, the AA-12's lacking one shot kill capability can really hinder the weapon, especially when facing other shotgun users who will almost always have an advantage in getting an instant kill potentially on the AA-12 user, something the AA-12 tends to struggle to do in return. In addition to this, the AA-12's bad starting ammo loadout makes it a gun that cannot be used for long, lest the user choose Scavenger. As such, the AA-12 is used mostly in one of two ways: as an emergency backup weapon that is not expected to last very long, or on a class with Scavenger that allows the AA-12 to be used for far more than just a few engagements with enemies. The AA-12 is thus not easy to slap onto a class, as the user will either need to build their class somewhat around the AA-12, or accept that their secondary weapon will not be able to be used for very long. Despite its flaws, the AA-12 is an enduring and relatively common sight in Multiplayer.

Special Ops[]

The AA-12 is obtainable in the Special Ops missions "O Cristo Redentor", "Bomb Squad", "Acceptable Losses", "Estate Takedown", "Armor Piercing", and "Wetwork". It shares the rate of fire from campaign. In "O Cristo Redentor" it can be found in the bed of a truck in the starting area, and "Bomb Squad" it is found leaning against the fence in the start area. In both instances it is equipped with a Heartbeat Sensor and Red Dot Sight. In "Acceptable Losses ", it is one of the starting weapons, where it is uniquely found with Red Dot Sight, Silencer, and Heartbeat Sensor. In "Estate Takedown", it can be found in the basement armory. In the other levels, the AA-12 can be found around the map, either on the ground or from a killed enemy.

Weapon Attachments[]

Gallery[]

For attachment images, see AA-12/Attachments.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized[]

The AA-12 appears as one of the two shotguns available in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare: Mobilized, the other being the SPAS-12. Though the AA-12 has a similar look to the AA-12 in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, there are many differences between the two. First of all, the AA-12 is a frequent starting weapon in the later levels of campaign mode; is used in the U.S. Marine missions most frequently. It also comes with a 32-round drum magazine by default, much greater damage per shell, a greater one-shot kill range, near infinite pellet range, and a much lower and controllable rate of fire than the Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 version.

Campaign[]

In campaign, the AA-12 is a versatile weapon, having good range, high damage, and a large 32 shell drum magazine. Combined with the high damage, large shell capacity and good range, one can fire multiple shells to make a kill at medium range if needed. As mentioned before, the AA-12 is found in the later levels of campaign mode as a starting weapon, more specifically, in the levels "Training", "Closing In", "To the Rig", and "Oil Rig Confrontation".

Multiplayer[]

In multiplayer, the AA-12 is the second weapon to be unlocked for the Coalition multiplayer faction, taking 150 kills with the Coalition faction to earn. Unlike the single player counter-part, the multiplayer is much weaker, needing at least 3 shots at close range to achieve a kill. Despite this lack of power, it is a great weapon to use if the player is just getting into the game, as it is one of the easiest weapons to use in the game.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

The AA-12 returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, this time with a darker finish. It also has extra cosmetic features on it, such as a new grip, an empty spare shell holder, an ammo bag that reads 'U.S. Army', and new iron sights mounted on a permanent rail.

Campaign[]

The AA-12 is found in three missions: "Hunter Killer", "Turbulence", and "Stronghold". In Turbulence and Stronghold, it is heavily used by Inner Circle forces. It has a higher rate of fire than in Multiplayer.

Multiplayer[]

The AA-12 is the fourth shotgun available to the player and is unlocked at level 26.

The AA-12 has the worst range and damage per pellet of all shotguns. The AA-12 fires eight pellets per shot. At any range short of 6.25 meters, the AA-12 will deal fifteen damage per pellet, needing seven pellets to kill. Damage decreases linearly until 11.25 meters. At 11.25 meters, the AA-12 will deal five damage per pellet, needing twenty pellets to kill. The AA-12 ceases to do any damage beyond 11.25 meters. In Hardcore game types, the AA-12 will always need at least two pellets to kill, and the AA-12 could need up to six pellets to kill at the extent of its effective range. The AA-12 has abysmal damage per pellet, and its total range is easily the shortest of all shotguns. Users should come to expect the AA-12 to have far, far less one shot kill reliability than other shotguns in Multiplayer. Like other shotguns, the AA-12 confers no damage bonus for headshots and the AA-12 has poor penetration power, making the AA-12 ill-suited to shooting through surfaces.

The AA-12's rate of fire is the best of all shotguns. The AA-12 fires fully automatically at 400 RPM. This rate of fire is good for a shotgun, although not very good compared to other fully automatic weapons. The fire rate helps to offset the AA-12's abysmal range and damage.

The AA-12's accuracy is quite poor. The AA-12 has the widest hip-fire spread of all shotguns, having a hip-fire spread size that is noticeably larger than other shotguns, with a hip-fire spread that is wider than most assault rifles. Thankfully, unlike other shotguns, the AA-12's shot spread gets noticeably tighter when aiming down the sight, with the spread tightening to be just a bit larger than the average shotgun. Using Steady Aim will tighten the AA-12's hip-fire spread to be slightly tighter than if the user just aimed down the sights. If the user wants to, aiming down the sight is a viable alternative spread-wise to using Steady Aim.

The AA-12's handling characteristics are decent. The AA-12 allows users to move at 100% of the base speed, but like other shotguns, the strafe speed is an abysmal 40%. This strafe speed can come to be quite irritating for those that want to aim the AA-12. Users that want to use the AA-12 and aim in this style should consider Stalker to rectify this. The AA-12 aims down the sight in 200 milliseconds. The AA-12 reloads in one action, and is the quickest magazine reload of all shotguns, taking 2.75 seconds, or 3.58 seconds if the magazine is completely empty. In either case, the user can Reload Cancel after 2 seconds. This reload speed isn't great overall, but it is much better than the other shotguns for when the user has only a bit of ammo left in the magazine.

The AA-12's magazine capacity is decent, holding eight rounds. Much like in Modern Warfare 2, one of the AA-12's most crippling and unusual weaknesses is its starting ammo loadout. Users only get sixteen rounds total when spawning in. Considering how little damage the AA-12 does and how fast the AA-12 shoots, that sixteen round starting ammo loadout does not last long. One or both of Extended Mags and Scavenger will be desperately needed.

The AA-12 has two proficiencies that stand head and shoulders above the others: Range and Damage, with both fix crippling issues with the AA-12. Range will increase the AA-12's abysmal total range by 25%, allowing the AA-12 to be used out to a longer distance. Damage will increase the AA-12's damage per pellet at all ranges by forty percent, allowing the AA-12 to only need between five and fourteen pellets to kill compared to needing between seven and twenty pellets without Damage. If using the Specialist Strike Package, use Damage, as Range can be gained through the Specialist Bonus, whereas Damage cannot be earned in this manner.

The AA-12 has the usual assortment of attachments available. The Red Dot Sight and Holographic Sight aren't useful at all on a close-range weapon, but should still be used, if only to accrue weapon XP.

The Silencer is a horrible fit on the AA-12, reducing the AA-12's already severely limited range by 25%. The Silencer should not be used seriously on its own. It should only be used to get weapon XP.

The Grip is the only attachment of note on the AA-12 before Extended Mags is acquired. Usually the Grip is of little consequence to the shotguns. It's not super helpful on the AA-12, but due to the fully automatic rate of fire, recoil could potentially cause pellets to be misdirected, so it's not a bad idea to use this attachment.

Extended Mags is the only attachment that brings a serious benefit to the table for the AA-12. When it is unlocked, it should be used at all times, without question. It increases the AA-12's magazine capacity to twelve rounds, and increases the starting ammo loadout to 24 rounds. Both increases are desperately needed on the AA-12, as the AA-12 can dump an entire magazine rapidly, and for those that either forego Scavenger or elect to get it from the Specialist Bonus later, the extra starting ammo is monumentally helpful. No other attachment even comes close to the usefulness Extended Mags brings to the table.

For the AA-12, specific perks will be very useful. Scavenger borders on mandatory due to the AA-12 needing more shots to kill in most situations, and the fact that the AA-12's starting ammo loadout is abysmally small. Scavenger Pro specifically will make the starting ammo loadout significantly larger, so users should try to get the Pro version of Scavenger before using the AA-12. Steady Aim will also be a very lucrative choice, as the AA-12's large hip-fire spread will further exacerbate the AA-12's lethality problems. If users prefer to aim down the sight to tighten the spread, Stalker will be very useful, and Stalker Pro is very helpful for a mobile weapon like the AA-12, as Stalker Pro will make it so delayed explosives like the I.M.S. and the Claymore are much less likely to kill the user. The Specialist Strike Package is very frequently used on the AA-12 to acquire more perks, and more importantly, acquire more weapon proficiencies.

The January 25th, 2012 patch modified the AA-12 to not expel extra pellets when equipped with Extended Mags.

Special Ops[]

The AA-12 appears in both Mission Mode and Survival Mode of Modern Warfare 3.

Mission Mode[]

The AA-12 is only obtainable in two levels. The first is Milehigh Jack, where it can be dropped by FSO agents. The other is Over Reactor, where the AA-12 is the secondary weapon in the loadout.

Survival Mode[]

The AA-12 is unlocked at level 44 in Survival Mode and is the last shotgun to be unlocked. It costs $5000 from the Weapon Armory. It does a decent amount of damage with a very high rate of fire, making it lethal against large groups of enemies at all levels. It is advised to phase out the AA-12 for hard hitting weapons past the heavy troops as its rate of fire, poor range and spread, and lengthy reload (however, the reload can be remedied with Sleight of Hand) can be cumbersome and difficult to successfully undertake in the middle of a wave.

Weapon Attachments[]

Proficiencies[]

  • Kick - Unlocked at weapon level 4.
  • Focus - Unlocked at weapon level 9.
  • Attachments - Unlocked at weapon level 14.
  • Melee - Unlocked at weapon level 19.
  • Range - Unlocked at weapon level 23.
  • Damage - Unlocked at weapon level 28.

Gallery[]

For attachment images, see AA-12/Attachments.
For camouflage images, see AA-12/Camouflage.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance[]

The AA-12 returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3: Defiance. It now has recoil and has higher damage per pellet as well as a different HUD icon, but is otherwise unchanged from Call of Duty: Modern Warfare Mobilized.

Gallery[]

Call of Duty Online[]

The AA-12 appears in Call of Duty: Online as the Atchisson AA-12.

Attachments[]

Gallery[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

"Fully automatic open bolt shotgun with a recoil reducing gas blowback system. This combat shotgun unloads high volumes of lead down range at a steady rate."
— In-game description

The AA-12 returns in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare as the JAK-12. It was added on October 13th, 2020 as part of the Season Six update.

Attachments[]

Muzzle[]

Barrel[]

Laser[]

Optic[]

Stock[]

Underbarrel[]

Magazine[]

Rear Grip[]

Perks[]

Blueprints[]

Blueprint Rarity How to obtain
Valerie Rare Neon Nights IV Bundle
Kopis Legendary Lacedaemon Bundle
Ring Of Fire Legendary TacGas: Fuel Your Brand Bundle

Gallery[]

For attachment images, see AA-12/Attachments#Call of Duty: Modern Warfare (2019).

Call of Duty: Mobile[]

"Fully automatic shotgun with high rate of fire. Provides exceptional close combat suppression capability."
— In-game description

The AA-12 returns in Call of Duty: Mobile as the JAK-12. It was added in February 2022 as part of the Season 2: Task Force 141 update.

Multiplayer[]

The JAK-12 is a rapid-firing shotgun. It has the same damage profile as the R9-0, with 17 damage for 12 pellets and the ability to kill at close range. However, it suffers from incredible damage dropoff, as past 5 meters it will rapidly lose effectiveness, going down to a possible 7 per shot. With its fire-rate and 8 round magazine, ammo consumption can be a noticeable problem, even with the 25 round drums, which are the highest capacity magazine options available. To make the most out of the JAK-12 as a normal shotgun, not only should an extended drum be equipped, but range-increasing attachments as well, to make combat outside of an arm's reach more viable.

In terms of ammunition, the JAK-12 has one unique attachment, the FRAG-12 Explosive Magazine. When equipped, it converts the weapon to explosive slugs, which have weak damage on impact, but have an additional explosion, dealing additional damage. However, it locks the JAK-12 into a STK of 2 or more, the fire-rate is lowered by 30%, and the explosion can deal inconsistent damage. Like other shotguns, it also possesses a slug round conversion, which are much more effective due to its fully-automatic nature, turning it into a pseudo-DMR, with a consistent two-shot kill up to 40 meters, and a single headshot will kill at all ranges. However, the recoil while ADSing may drive the gun off target. It also possesses two drum magazines, one of 20 rounds, and the other of 25 rounds, allowing for more liberal spamming.

While the JAK-12 is a monster in close range, it can be hard to use outside of spitting distance. Not only will players have to watch out for the ammo rapidly spent in killing opponents, they can struggle with the damage drop-off letting the user down in mid-range. However, with careful usage, it can prove deadly in all but long-range engagements reserved for snipers.

Battle Royale[]

The JAK-12 can be found as a ground loot and acquired as a Custom Weapon blueprint. As a shotgun, it is best used in close range engagements since it has a short range, sharp damage drop-off, wide hipfire spread, and strong vertical recoil. It is capable of shredding armor and health thanks to the quick rate of fire; assuming the enemy is within effective range. It holds only 8 rounds by default and cannot be increased with any mods. Traits such as accuracy and ammunition can be rectified via the gunsmith.

Attachments[]

Muzzle[]

Barrel[]

Optic[]

Stock[]

Perks[]

Laser[]

Underbarrel[]

Ammunition[]

Rear Grip[]

Blueprints[]

Epic[]

  • Treecutter
  • Thousand Fold
  • Peggy
  • Russian Heart
  • Blue Mirage
  • Waves of Harmony
  • Liquid Light
  • Making Waves
  • Angelic Depths

Legendary[]

  • Molten Mirror

Gallery[]

Trivia[]

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2[]

  • The AA-12 has a different reload when the Heartbeat Sensor is equipped; the empty magazine will actually be thrown away when reloading, instead of disappearing off-screen as is the case with other attachments.
  • The pick-up icon in the campaign labels it as "AA-12 Shotgun".
  • In Campaign Remastered, the AA-12 has a new appearance and the fire rate is reduced to 400 RPM.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3[]

  • "Knights Armor INC RS400 Rail" is written on the side of the top rail.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare[]

  • The shotgun shells used for the JAK-12 are black instead of usual red shells seen in the previous games. This also applies to Call of Duty: Mobile as the black shotgun shells are identical but without printed markings.
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