The Barrett .50cal is a semi-automatic sniper rifle in Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- "Semi-automatic sniper rifle. Effective at long range."
- — Weapon description
Singleplayer
The Barrett .50cal appears as one of the three semi-automatic sniper rifles in the game. Although only available to use once in single player, the Barrett .50cal is seen in F.N.G on the weapons rack, along with all the other weapons in game. It is then seen again in One Shot, One Kill, as a mounted weapon used to assassinate Imran Zakhaev. This Barrett .50cal has a variable zoom feature, meaning that the player can adjust the zoom, to help with the assassination. It also has unlimited ammo, very little recoil, no scope sway, and on the Wii version is controlled with the control stick/nunchuck rather than the remote. This is the only time it is usable in the campaign.
Multiplayer
In multiplayer, the Barrett .50cal is unlocked at level 49. Like all sniper rifles, it can use an ACOG Scope attachment and cannot accept a silencer in-game. It is tied with the Dragunov and R700 without Stopping Power. If Stopping Power is used, it can take out a player using Juggernaut in one hit if shot in the chest, neck, or head. The Barrett also has the highest penetration of all the weapons in the game.
However, the Barrett .50cal also has a few disadvantages. One of them is that the sound made upon firing is loud and distinctive and can give away the user's position. Also, it has very high recoil, but it always travels in the same direction, and the reticule quickly resets back on the initial point of aim. A good way to compensate for its high recoil is to treat it as a bolt-action rifle, and only fire when it has returned to its original position. Another huge disadvantage is the fact that the rifle itself is so long it often protrudes out of cover giving the player's position away. Because of its very high damage, firing rapidly with this gun is not usually necessary - although it can be used as a last-resort in close quarters.
Gallery
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
The Barrett .50cal is almost completely unchanged from Call of Duty 4, with the exceptions of new attachments, a redesigned scope, widened muzzle brake, and lack of back up front iron sight. The only notable change from Call of Duty 4 is that the Barrett .50cal, along with all the other sniper rifles, now have full mobility, as well as SMGs. In addition, it is the first sniper rifle available to the player, while in Call of Duty 4 it is the last.
Single player
The Barrett .50cal can be found three times in the single player campaign. It is found in the missions, "Of Their Own Accord" (although it is mounted with a thermal scope and variable zoom), "Contingency" and "Loose Ends." In Special Ops it is found in "Sniper Fi", "Estate Takedown" and "Armor Piercing". The only major differences from campaign to multiplayer are that the Barrett has a more realistic level of recoil, and a fairly low Firecap in the campaign.
Multiplayer
In Multiplayer, the Barrett .50cal is unlocked at Level 3 as part of the "Scout Sniper" default class. It is capable of firing faster than its sight can settle. Firing too quickly makes the Barrett .50cal difficult to use, due to the high recoil. However, the Barrett .50cal does have a recoil limit. This problem is easily mitigated by simply slowing the rate of fire and only firing when the recoil has settled. This requires great concentration, as inexperienced players tend to fire too fast. However, the ability to fire so fast can be an advantage in close quarters when there is no time to switch to a secondary and the player is forced to fire their sniper rifle from the hip, but this is usually frowned upon. The Barrett .50cal is most praised for its ability to deliver one hit kills with a high rate of fire.
With Stopping Power, the weapon kills in one hit to the head, neck, chest and stomach. Without it, it loses the one shot kill to the stomach. Targets will require multiple hits when Painkiller, Last Stand or Final Stand is used. However, headshots cancel out Last and Final Stand.
One flaw of the Barrett is that its recoil kicks the gun up and to the right so much that the shooter momentarily loses sight of their target. Since the ACOG scope zooms in less when looking down the sight, it is easier to follow an enemy after firing with it than with a standard Sniper Scope, but in many situations the decreased zoom and inability to steady the scope makes it less than practical.
The Barrett is a relatively good candidate to use with a Silencer and Stopping Power, as the player can kill a target with a single shot to the chest, neck, or head. However, the Barrett's high recoil can make it difficult for the shooter to land a second shot if the first shot does not kill. Without Stopping Power, the Barrett is a less than ideal candidate for a silencer because all sniper rifles require two shots to kill when using a silencer without Stopping Power unless on Hardcore.
Weapon Attachments
Trivia
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
- There is a graphical glitch with the Barrett where the player's hand goes through the folded-up bi-pod and holds the metal receiver.
- The Barrett .50cal has two fingerprints on it; one can be seen while reloading and the other can be seen with camouflage applied.
- The Barret .50cal has a useless front sight, but when the ACOG sight is equipped, the front sight is removed.
Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2
- The Barrett .50cal has a Mr. Yuk sticker on the lens cap although it can be difficult to see it at first (it is easiest to see when the player sprints). The player will not be able to see it if he has a different scope attached. It is one of two weapons to have a Mr. Yuk sticker on it, the other being the WA2000.
- In the Challenge screen, the Barrett .50cal is first on the Sniper Rifle list, while on the Create-a-Class it comes after the Intervention.
- The Barrett has the serial number A0750319. This is most easily seen with Arctic Camouflage.
- When zoomed in with the ACOG, the player can see that the rear iron sight is marked for yards.
- The pickup sign shows the front iron sight up.
- When fitted with a silencer, one can see that the muzzle brake is removed.
- This and the M21 EBR are the only sniper rifles where a camouflage does not appear on a thermal scope if one is applied.
- The Barrett's rate of fire is higher during multiplayer than in the Campaign and Museum, due to a firecap being added in singleplayer.
- When taking on Juggernauts, it is highly recomended to use this.
Miscellaneous
- In the missions "One Shot, One Kill" and "Of Their Own Accord", the Barrett .50cal always has unlimited ammo and a zoom-able scope. It also has it's front iron sight flipped up, which means the developers simply re-used the Barrett model from the previous game. They are also both special. The first one has variable zoom and bullet flight time, which is not featured in any other game, and the latter has a normal scope but when zoomed in it has thermal overlay.
- The Barrett .50cal has the same reload animation and firing sound in both Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare and Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
- The Barrett .50cal is one of the first sniper rifles (the other being the Intervention) players unlock in Modern Warfare 2, while in Call of Duty 4 it is the last one which is unlocked.
- In Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare, the Barrett .50cal has a front sight, however, this is gone in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2.
- When firing the Barrett .50cal the sniper rifle ejects small assault rifle casings rather than the large .50 caliber ones.
- The Barrett .50cal fires the second largest bullet in the whole Call of Duty series as the PTRS-41 uses the larger 14.5 mm bullet which is different to the 50 caliber bullet, though the 50 caliber bullet has more range and deeper penetration.
Video
Video demonstrating the Barrett's predictable recoil|thumb|300px|left
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