Weapons

Call of Duty: World at War Multiplayer Guide

Weapons

Surprisingly, it makes no noticeable difference as to whether you shoot an enemy in the legs, arms or chest. Clearly head-shots, if you can get the game to detect them, are great, but they are not that reliable. It is worth bearing in mind that it's not worth adjusting your aim if you happen to be aiming at the extremities of an enemy. The one benefit you have for aiming at the chest is an increased chance of getting a lucky head shot and a bigger target area than arms or legs. Generally, three direct hits to any part of the body will kill an enemy (note that some quick fire weapons launch more than one bullet with one press of the trigger – each press is counted as one shot in this guide). Holding down fire on automatic weapons obviously makes it tough to measure this, but generally if three bullets make a connection, you should see your enemy on the floor.

Don't be afraid to go for the arms and legs!

The only difference comes with sniper rifles, which do less damage on arms and legs.

It is also a good idea to get used to the idea of whipping out a pistol when in a fire-fight if you have to reload. Obviously this depends on the range at which you are fighting the enemy, though reloading should not be a huge problem if you are having a 200 metre rifle stand-off. As soon as your current magazine runs out of bullets, or even as it's getting low, hit the change weapon button (Y or Triangle) to pull out a pistol. Aim down the ironsights and get some crucial shots on the enemy to both do damage and prevent them from hitting you accurately. It's worth remembering however that you can pick up a new primary weapon at any time to replace your pistol, thus giving you two very good options, even if you don't have Overkill.

[video-to-go-here=codwawmpm1.wmv title=Use a pistol instead of reloading]

You may also find that you are getting 'spawn-killed' quite regularly. Unlike in some FPS games, this isn't the fault of the other team specifically targeting the enemy spawn, but the game's lack of a decent spawn system. As the example below shows, frequently you will be killed and reappear within feet of the enemy. The same can, of course, also go for them, and you will regularly die a few seconds after spawning in because you appeared in some sniper's scope.

[video-to-go-here=codwawmpm5.wmv title=Spawning problems]

See a description of each weapon in the game below, along with its basic statistics (note, these statistics are from the PC version, console versions differ slightly):

Pistols:

Colt 1911 - Power, ammunition and range is shared with all the pistols except the Magnum, which is a special case (similar to the Desert Eagle in Call of Duty 4). Every other pistol has 40 damage per shot, 56 for headshots, but damage goes right down to just 20 over approximately 5-10 metres. Each of the standard pistols can support 8 bullets in a magazine.

The US Colt has one of the fastest reload times, but everything else is the same as the other pistols.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

Nambu – The Japanese pistol of choice shares the statistics of all the others, but has the quickest reload time of all the handguns in the game.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

Walther – A German pistol, as with the others, but a longer reload time.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

Tokarev – The Russian pistol has the longest reload time of all the standard pistols.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

Magnum – The iconic Magnum has 50 damage at close range, with 70 for headshots, as well as slightly longer range than the other pistols, with damage decreasing from around 5-10 metres, but not so dramatically or suddenly as the others. The hard part is getting enemies in your sights accurately. The downsides are that it only has a six round capacity and takes longer to reload due to the nature of the gun's chamber.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 50 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 70 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

The pistols are not weak weapons

Shotguns:

Trench Gun – The American shotgun is, like the only other one in the game, superb at close range, but useless at anything else. It has pretty much the same range as a pistol, in terms of maximum damage, but with figures well over 100 for a hit anywhere on the body at this distance, it's an easy one-hit-kill. Over between roughly 5 and 10 metres damage decreases rapidly to around 80, so it may take an extra shot to finish off the enemy at this range. Remember too that the enemy stands a far greater chance of hitting you accurately from 5 metres, and their gun is likely to have a much better rate of fire. Make your shot count or you're dead!

Past about 15 metres the shotguns do no damage whatsoever, as it's physically impossible to land shots on enemies. The trench gun doesn't benefit from the 'Sawed-Off' attachment that the Double Barrelled Shotgun boasts, but has 4 rounds per clip as opposed to 2. It also has quicker reload times per shot.

Average Bodyshot Damage: One-hit-kill under 5-10 metres.
Average Headshot Damage: One-hit-kill under 5-10 metres (no headshot benefit).
Range: Extremely Short: No damage at greater distances.

Double Barrelled Shotgun - The only other shotgun in the game, and basically a civilian of farmer's weapon, the Double Barrelled Shotgun has large reload times of about 2 seconds, and obviously just the 2 rounds can be entered into the chamber at a time. It has approximately 15 percent more power than the Trench Gun, but as they both one-hit-kill close up and lose power so much over distance, this difference only occasionally comes into great effect. As a result of this better power though it means power becomes pretty much non-existent after around 10 metres, rather than the Trench Gun's estimated 15.

Of course, you can add the Sawed Off attachment, which increases power further, by around 12 percent. Add the Double Barrelled Shotgun's better power and the Sawed Off attachment and the increased power begins to become significant. But the reduced distance means you can only use this on seriously close quarter maps.

Submachine-guns:

MP40 – Many people's most loved, and most hated submachine gun, or the machine-pistol as it's called in German, is a very accurate, very powerful automatic weapon. Not quite so fantastic as the P90 in Call of Duty 4, or the PPSh in this game, but it's certainly a starting weapon that you can use from the off and never get rid of. It has decent times for reload and large magazines of 32 bullets. Despite this it has a relatively slow rate of fire, but thankfully can take out enemies in a couple of direct hits. 

The MP40 in action against a dog

Attachments: Aperture Sight – Somewhat ridiculously, you can get World at War's equivalent of the Red Dot Sight for the MP40. While the gun's range isn't usually great, this is a cracking attachment to select, as it drastically increases your chances of being at least competent in longer range engagements.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short-Medium: Minus 10 Damage

Thompson – A cracking rate of fire (around 200 extra rounds per minute compared to the MP40) and high power at close range makes this American submachine-gun appear preferable to the MP40 at first glance. It does however rapidly lose power even at medium range, dropping down from 40 damage per shot to a meagre 20 at the point where the MP40 drops to just 30. Reload times are faster than the MP40 however. Based on this evidence then, it is possible and conceivable to use the Thompson as a short-range gun on maps like Courtyard, and the MP40 as your preferred short-medium weapon on more transitional map sizes. Using the Thompson on medium-range maps is not the wisest choice due to the 10 point hit in damage stats. Just 20 rounds in a magazine means the quick rate of fire comes at a price.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

Type 100 – The Japanese Type-100 submachine-gun shares the Thompson's deficiencies, but also its quick rate of fire. In choosing between the two, the larger magazine with 30 bullets as standard should be considered. As a result however, it does take a fraction longer to reload. This minor drawback should not be enough to put anyone off using the Type-100 over the Thompson, but its horizontal size, covering much of your peripheral vision on the bottom of the game screen (though not at the top like the Thompson) may annoy, or be an advantage, to some players. Suffering from the same shortfalls as the Thomspon, the Type-100 is also a short-range weapon and loses half its power over distance.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 20 Damage

PPSh-41 – If you've come up against the PPSh in combat then you will know that it is by far the most deadly submachine-gun in the game. The Russian weapon has a relatively dreadful damage rating of just 22 points per shot, but when you counter this with the fact that it fires a whopping 1250 rounds per minute, compared to the Thompson and Type-100's 750, and you can see why it's so impressive. The crux of the matter is that it is very difficult to fire a single bullet with the PPSh, so while you need to fire two for every one that the game's other submachine-guns do, the rate of fire (which is over double the MP40's 535 rounds per minute) enables you to do this and more. It carries 35 bullets in each magazine, which, due to the rate of fire, may see you coming up dry quite frequently. The speed of firing also means that you need to make sure you're accuracy is decent, or else you'll have exhausted your ammo before you land any hits. It is by far the best 'pray-and-spray' gun in the game however, and is also good for close-quarters reaction-based combat, where getting early shots off quickly may be crucial.

The PPSh

Despite sharing the same range limitations as the other submachine-guns (MP40 excluded), the PPSh's rate of fire goes some way to balancing this out. It is far more viable than the Type 100 or Thompson at medium range, though should still be surrendered to the MP40 if you have the choice – weapons with such insane rates of fire are never the most accurate! At range the decrease in power makes getting accurate shots in all the more important, and streaming bullets at a distant enemy is far more likely to reveal your position too.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 22 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 30 per shot.
Range: Short: Minus 8 Damage

Semi-automatic Rifles:

Gewehr 43 – This quick-firing rifle is good for people with a fast trigger finger. The massive downside is that you only get ten shots in a magazine, so any encounters with close-range enemies that require a quick burst of fire will inevitably leave you reloading before your opponent has been downed. Despite this, power, accuracy and range are all good. Over about 40 metres you will lose power unless you have the scope attachment.

Attachments: Scope – This increases damage (while scoped) to around 70 over any distance, so long as you can see the enemy.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Long: Minus 10 Damage

The Gewehr 43

M1A1 Carbine – Very similar to the Gewehr but boasting 15 rounds in a clip rather than ten. Rate of fire is pretty much the same, although reload times on the Carbine are slightly longer. Most of the quick-firing semi-automatic rifles share many things in common, and there is little to recommend using the Gewehr or SVT-40 instead of the Carbine except for unlocking additional challenges.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Long: Minus 10 Damage

SVT-40 – Another semi-automatic rifle with an impressive rate of fire, but sharing the Gewehr's flaw of just 10 bullets in a magazine. It also has a longer reload time. The choice between these last three weapons is down to preference mainly, though the Carbine is technically better if for the larger magazines alone. Should you feel the need for about half-a-second quicker reloads, then the Gewehr is preferable. Get used to the iron-sights on each gun and see which you prefer. While not much separates them statistically, you may well find one more comfortable to use than another.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Long: Minus 10 Damage

M1 Garand – Another US semi-automatic rifle and the only one which supports a telescopic sight (a scope). As you might expect, the power is therefore higher, at an impressive 45 per shot, though it still tails off at the same time as the other semi-auto rifles, but down to 35 rather than 30. It takes a massive hit in terms of rate of fire as punishment for its power, at almost a third that of all the other semi-autos bar the STG. The 8-bullet clip doesn't set the world on fire either.

If you're looking for a transitionary gun which works nicely at medium range and also can function over longer distances, but you don't want a sniper rifle which forces you to play in a certain manner, the Garand is a perfect choice.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 45 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 63 per shot.
Range: Long: Minus 10 Damage

STG-44 – The upgrade of the MP-44, a gun many of you will remember from previous Call of Duty games, the STG is a German assault rifle. In the game however, it is classed as a rifle, which tells you most of what you need to know about its capabilities. It is very similar to the MP40 in terms of raw statistics, with an identical rate of fire and a similar magazine size (30 to the MP40's 32). It has longer reload times, though only fractionally. The big difference is this is basically an MP40 that you can use at medium-to-long range. You can shoot roughly double the distance of a MP40 before you start to lose power, dropping from 30 to 20 points per hit. Clearly the original 30 points for a hit is not as impressive as the MP40 or indeed most of the submachine-guns' 40, but the STG is something of a unique weapon in that it is a long range, quick firing gun which doesn't take up much of the screen. It is also pretty much the only gun that can be called an assault-rifle in the game.

As such, you can use it even at short-range, though obviously not as effectively as the submachine-guns. It is surprising that the range at which it loses power is equal to virtually all the semi-automatic rifles in the game, meaning that if you can put up with the larger size and weight, you have a gun that can potentially function in any situation. The question you have to ask is whether you want a gun that is 'jack of all trades but master of none', or an expert in your own preferred area. Its classification as a rifle is accurate, and the STG was ahead of its time effectively functioning as an assault rifle. It also means that the attachments follow the rifle pattern, allowing such oddities as a telescopic sight. The gun would feel more at home in the machine gun category, but you get the bonus of the rifle class attachments.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 30 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 42 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: Minus 10 Damage

Machine Guns:

Type 99 – This is a cracking fully automatic machine gun. It has a high rate of fire and high damage, a whopping 45 in fact, as well as a really accurate iron-sight mode. The main drawback is that it is absolutely huge, but not in the way the Browning is for example. Instead the gun extends vertically up the screen, restricting your view heavily.

The Type 99

The gun's range, like most of the machine guns, is impressive. It shares its maximum distance before losing power with the game's rifles, and drops damage stats by a little over 10 points once this is exceeded. It has a rate of fire of 625 rounds per minute, making it a decent medium range weapon, though the gun's size makes it touch to manoeuvre and aim at short range. Despite this, it remains one of the only machine-guns to at least be manageable at short range as a last resort. It also has one of the longest reload times in the game, at around four to five seconds depending on the ammunition left in the 30-bullet magazine.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 45 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 63 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: Minus 12 Damage

BAR – Standing for Browning Automatic Rifle, the BAR is an American versatile, high-range, high-power weapon. Compared to the Type-99, the rate of fire is poor, at 375 rounds per minute compared to 625. To counter-act this however, the gun is much smaller and lighter, just a bulkier version of a standard rifle, and reload times are well down on the 99. It is also slightly better at long range, and the weapon's size makes it easier to aim and pick off both distant and close targets. Regardless of the fire rate, this is not a bad weapon at short range, if you make sure the bullets that you do get off hit.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 45 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 63 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: Minus 10 Damage

The BAR

DP-28 – Coming on to the beastly machine guns now, what would commonly be called (somewhat ironically) Light Machine Guns. The DP-28 is a Russian weapon with a distinctive circular magazine that sits on top of the gun. This makes is wide, but short on your screen. It shares damage and range statistics with the BAR, but has a massive magazine of 47 rounds. The reload time, due to the positioning and size of the magazine, takes longer than most. It can get off 469 rounds per minute, putting it between the BAR and the Type-99.

This is a large and heavy gun, despite not being too bad in terms of screen space. Bear this in mind when attempting to use it at short range, as you will not only struggle to move quickly between cover, but will find it difficult to readjust your aim in tight corridors or close combat scenarios.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 45 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 63 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: Minus 10 Damage

MG42 – The German alternative to the DP-28, the MG-42 is usually found mounted in the single-player campaign and if you have ever come up against it, you'll know how severe the attacks can be. It has impeccable range, but weaker shot power compared to the DP-28. It loses no power over distance, but has just 30 damage per shot. The rate of fire excels the MG42 above the DP-28 however, with almost double the number of bullets per minute able to be fired. The magazine is also larger, if only marginally, at 50.

It is dangerously close to having the longest reload time in the game, at a whopping 6 seconds, only 'beaten' on this front by the Browning. Praying and spraying is a worthy strategy with this gun, but if you don't kill anyone with your 50 bullets, be prepared to switch to a pistol or run away, as no enemy will give you six seconds to reload! The cumbersome nature of the MG42, like many of the machine guns, makes it inadvisable to use at short range.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 30 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 42 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: No loss of power

FG42 – The German FG42, while sounding similar to the MG42, is in fact quite different. It shares the same rate of fire, but has a magazine capacity of just 20 rounds. It also drops off in terms of power at a similar range to the other machine guns (though not as significantly), rather than the constant clout of the MG42. The massive advantage with this gun is that the reload time is way down on the rest, at under half the time taken by the MG42. The BAR is the only machine gun that can match it in this department. The magazine size obviously is a compromise, but when you throw its attachments into the mix it becomes quite a different story.

The FG42 is the only machine gun which can receive the telescopic sight attachment, though this has little effect on power. It merely allows you to see and attempt to hit longer distance enemies. It shouldn't need to be said that the FG42 suffers the safe misgivings as the other machine guns in the game, though its reload speed and smaller size makes it a little better up close.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 30 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 42 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: Minus 8 Damage.

Browning M1919 – This is the American take on the MG42 and DP-28. Like the MG42, it has constant power over distance, not losing any strength from its already impressive 40 damage per shot for enemies further away. It has a high capacity of 50 rounds per magazine, but a significantly lower rate of fire when compared to the MG42 and FG42 (625 rounds per minute compared to 937).

It is pretty much the heaviest and largest weapon in the game too, and it also boasts the unsatisfactory statistic of longest reload time, coming in at a whopping 6.5 seconds. All this makes it unsuitable for close combat. Using Sleight of Hand is pretty much essential, though the magazine is so large you may not find it entirely necessary.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 40 per shot.
Average Headshot Damage: 56 per shot.
Range: Medium-Long: No loss of power.

Attachments: Bipod – This allows you to mount the weapon on a flat surface such as a wall, or, while prone, on the ground. It dramatically increases accuracy but leaves you open for attack from behind or grenades as you have to detach it to move.

Bolt Action Rifles:

Springfield – The American long distance rifle is pretty much like all the others (except the PTRS-41, which is distinctive in its power). It has the standard bolt-action 50 damage without the scope, but has a slightly better rate of fire than all the others (again, bar the exceptional PTRS). Depending on your style of play, you may find the rate of fire important, though bear in mind that it is only fractionally better. It allows you to quickly adjust your aim after a miss for that all important headshot, but the importance shouldn't be overstated. Each bolt-action rifle has five bullets per magazine.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 50 per shot (75 in chest, 50 in extremities).
Average Headshot Damage: 100 per shot.
Range: Long-Very Long: Minus 10 power (No loss of power with scope).

Arisaka – The Japanese rifle is exactly the same as the Springfield except for the fact that it takes an extra tenth of a second to fire each shot. There is little more to say, except that is you prefer the design of one of these rifles over the other, then that should be the deciding factor in your decision between them. You can also have the Bayonet attachment with the Arisaka, which is fun, but ultimately doesn't add much.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 50 per shot (75 in chest, 50 in extremities).
Average Headshot Damage: 100 per shot.
Range: Long-Very Long: Minus 10 power (No loss of power with scope).

Mosin Nagant – Russia's attempt at a bolt-action rifle is identical to the Arisaka, with the same slightly reduced rate of fire when compared to the Springfield. It takes almost exactly a second to fire each shot. Unlike the Arisaka, there are no special (or gimmicky) attachments on offer here.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 50 per shot (75 in chest, 50 in extremities).
Average Headshot Damage: 100 per shot.
Range: Long-Very Long: Minus 10 power (No loss of power with scope).

Kar98k – With a rate of fire in between the Springfield and the Arisaka, the German Kar98k again doesn't have much else to set it apart from the rest. As with the others, whether you choose this rifle or not comes down to how much you like the design and feel of it.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 50 per shot (75 in chest, 50 in extremities).
Average Headshot Damage: 100 per shot.
Range: Long-Very Long: Minus 10 power (No loss of power with scope).

PTRS-41 – Now for the exception. This is in fact a Russian anti-tank rifle, which should tell you something about the power of it. It comes with a scope as standard, and so benefits from the massive 70 damage you would normally get from the other rifles with a scope attachments from the off. This of course means it is less versatile. Again, like with the scope attachment for other guns, there is no loss of power over distance. Rate of fire is an impressive 75 rounds per minute, making it the quickest firing bolt-action rifle by around a tenth of a second.

The downside, though a small one, is that it takes about two seconds longer than the others to reload. As a sniper this shouldn't be a life or death issue (as you'd probably soon be dead if you were forced to reload quickly in battle anyway). With the scope it also takes up more of the screen and obviously loses the ironsights, meaning it's unsuitable at anything but long or very long range engagements.

As you can see from the figures below, even a chest shot with this weapon is a one-hit-kill, and that's without Stopping Power. Not having to hit a headshot is often crucial in battle.

Average Bodyshot Damage: 70 per shot (105 in chest, 70 in extremities).
Average Headshot Damage: 105 per shot.
Range: Long-Very Long: No loss of power.