The Kar98k is a bolt-action rifle featured in every game of the Call of Duty Series set during World War II, as well as the Rezurrection map pack or the Prestige or Hardened version of Call of Duty Black Ops in Zombies mode. It is used by German soldiers and is usable by the player, but is rarely seen in use by other troops of the Allied forces.
Call of Duty and United Offensive
- "The Kar98k is the standard issue German infantry rifle. It's accurate and deadly at long range, but suffers from a slow rate of fire due to its bolt-action mechanism."
- — Call of Duty manual description of the standard Kar98k
- "The Kar98k outfitted with a scope is a formidable sniper rifle"
- — Call of Duty manual description of the Scoped Kar98k
Campaign
This weapon is the Axis' primary weapon during the earlier levels in both Call of Duty and Call of Duty: United Offensive. It is very powerful and accurate, capable of killing in just one round, or three to the chest at long range in Call of Duty: United Offensive, but is very slow-firing due to its bolt-action nature. It is more common than the Allied weapons, and therefore can be a good replacement for such as the Mosin Nagant, Lee-Enfield, or M1 Garand. It is best used for medium to long range engagements, as it is not a very effective weapon in close range.
The German and British sniper rifle of choice is a scoped Kar98k, as there is no model for a scoped Lee Enfield.
There is a glitch where if you lean to the right and pull the bolt, part of the gun will show up though the left side of the screen.
Multiplayer
In Call of Duty's multiplayer, its regular variant is issued to the German team, and its scoped variant is issued to the German and British team. It is the same as in singleplayer, a very accurate and powerful weapon, capable of killing one enemy with one bullet. However, its slow rate of fire makes it difficult to use in close quarters. In Call of Duty: United Offensive, it is much the same as in Call of Duty. However, at maximum distance, it will take up to three rounds to kill if the shots hit the limbs. Otherwise, it is the same as the previous version.
Gallery
Call of Duty: Finest Hour
- "The Kar98 is the standard issue German infantry rifle. It's accurate and deadly at long range, but suffers from a slow rate of fire due to is bolt-action mechanism."
- — Manual description
The Kar98k is the main weapon of the German military, and thus is the most common weapon in the game. It can be found in all levels, and deals decent damage and has a good rate of fire for a bolt-action.
Call of Duty 2
Campaign
This weapon is largely the same as in the previous installments. It is a powerful, accurate, but slow-firing weapon issued to the Axis soldiers, and common on lower levels. However, at long range, it can take two rounds to kill if the shots hit the limbs. Otherwise, it is a one-shot-kill at any distance. It is still much more common than some of the default Allied weapons, and the scoped version is still the standard German sniper rifle.
Multiplayer
It is much the same as the singleplayer version. Issued to the German team, it is accurate and powerful, a one-shot-kill to the head or body, but slow-firing, making it less useful in close quarters. It can be fairly ammo efficient, provided the user makes every shot hit at least the body.
Call of Duty 2: Big Red One
In singleplayer, the Kar98k is typically used by the German military. It can be somewhat easily found, but it is not nearly as common as the MP40. It can be a good idea to pick one up as it is usually a one-shot-kill weapon. It is especially effective in open areas and defensive scenarios. It should be accompanied by an automatic weapon, as the Kar98k's low rate of fire can fail in close quarters situations, despite the ease of hitting an enemy with the crosshair dot. However, it does have a powerful melee attack, though most weapons' melee in singleplayer can kill in a single hit. It can be found in both standard and scoped versions.
The Kar98k uses the same model as the one in Call of Duty: Finest Hour, but uses less-fluent reloads and cocks.
Gallery
Call of Duty 3
- "7.92mm bolt action rifle. The standard German bolt-action rifle of WWII. Powerful and accurate, but slow firing. Five round internal magazine fed by stripper clips. Effective range of 500 yards."
- — In-game description
Campaign
The Kar98k (listed as Kar 98k in the Bonus Materials) is used by the German Military. It can be found in every level, and is an extremely common weapon. The Kar98k is powerful, but cycling the bolt makes firing in rapid succession impossible. The Kar98k is generally outclassed by the M1 Garand, and should only be used as a backup weapon in case one of the player's starting weapons runs out of ammo and there are no other weapons at hand.
A Scoped Kar98k can be found in the level "The Island" inside the bunker to the left after the player dodges the tank shell. It is located in the far left of the bunker, behind a machine gun. It is very useful for this particular section, as the player can avoid close-quarters engagements and kill enemies at a long range. It is almost always a one-hit-kill.
Multiplayer
The Kar98k is issued to the German Rifleman class. It is generally very accurate and has the highest damage per shot of all the bullet firing weapons available. Compared to the American Rifleman's M1 Garand, it is more powerful and accurate, but the bolt-action nature of the Kar98k gives it a disadvantage. The Kar98k also has a smaller clip capacity than the M1 Garand - a mere five rounds compared the M1 Garand's eight round clip - but unlike the M1 Garand, the Kar98k can be reloaded mid-clip.
The Scoped Kar98k is issued to the German Scout class. It is essentially the same as the regular Kar98k, with an added sniper scope meant for long range engagements. It is usually an effective camping weapon, as hiding inside a high area or in tall grass can give ample time to a player to align a good shot on a target. Compared to the regular Kar98k, the scoped variant suffers less from damage drop in proportion to range, hence, killing in a chest or stomach shot at a variety of ranges.
If the player manages to hold the regular Kar98k and the scoped one at the same time, they will not share ammunition, unlike in campaign.
Call of Duty: Roads to Victory
- "The Kar98-k was a heavy German bolt-action gun that could also fire rifle grenades."
- — In-game description
The Kar98k is a weapon used by the German Military in Call of Duty: Roads to Victory. It is very common, but not nearly as common as the MP40. The Kar98k is one of two bolt-action rifles to have usable iron sights, the other being the Lee-Enfield. The Kar98k generally kills with two shots unless a scope is attached.
Call of Duty: World at War
Campaign
The Kar98k is found during the Soviet Red Army campaign and is usually used more common in the campaign because of the many German troops that use it, making ammunition more readily available. During "Heart of the Reich" it is used in the early battles. However, inside the Reichstag, the superior officers and Waffen SS Guards use Gewehr 43s and STG-44s. The Kar98k is also common in the mission "Eviction". Though it is powerful, the major flaw of this rifle is that it has a slow reload time compared to the Arisaka and the Mosin-Nagant.
Multiplayer
The Kar98k is unlocked at level 41.
All bolt-action rifles have the same accuracy, base damage, reload time and range. Accuracy is entirely dependent upon the user's ability and when aim is steadied if a sniper scope is attached. Bolt-action rifles only differ in fire rate and scope idle sway, although these differences are negligible.
When the sniper scope is attached, the Kar98k receives a large increase in damage. It moves the least while firing and rotating the bolt, making it easier to spot enemies. It could be likened, statistically, to the R700 or the Intervention. Only the Springfield has a faster bolt operation, by a few rounds per minute, which is negligible, but the Kar98k's iron sights are significantly easier to use, as they are open and unobstructed. This weapon can kill in one shot from the chest up without Stopping Power, and from the stomach up with Stopping Power, when using a scope. Without a scope, at all ranges, a headshot guarantees a kill with one hit (using Stopping Power), but at most ranges a chest or neck shot will kill in one hit. If not using Stopping Power, without a scope, the Kar98k will only kill in one hit with a headshot. Hence, if not using a scope, the player should definitely apply Stopping Power.
Weapon Attachments
Nazi Zombies
The Kar98k is available on all Nazi Zombie maps except Shi No Numa, where its role is replaced by the Arisaka. It is typically found on the wall at the starting point for players and costs 200 points to acquire and 100 points for ammunition and 4500 for Pack-a-Punched ammo, making the non-Pack-a-Punched version the cheapest weapon (along with the Arisaka and the Springfield). It can also be found in the Mystery Box as a rare appearance. It is generally effective for the first three rounds, where it can kill in a single headshot. It will take two headshots to kill at round four, where it can still be used effectively. After that, it is quite useless with its mediocre damage and low rate of fire.
The Scoped version is only available on Nacht der Untoten. To acquire it, the player must first open the top floor. Then, on the far column at the back of the room, there will be a Sniper Cabinet that will cost 1500 points to open. It has a chalk arrow and question mark on the floor pointing to it. Opening it will give access to the Scoped Kar98k, that will cost 750 points for ammunition. It can also be found in the Mystery Box. Unlike its unscoped variant, the scoped Kar98k is much more effective. It can kill in a single headshot until around round 12. It can be considered a good alternative to the PTRS-41 if the player is looking for an effective sniper rifle. It does not have the powerful penetration of the PTRS-41, nor its rate of fire, but it has an arguably more precise reticule, less recoil and a faster reload, as well as being able to reload cancel. However, the scoped Kar98k is reloaded one bullet at a time, whereas the unscoped variant has all its rounds loaded at once, making for much longer reloads with a scope. When Pack-a-Punched in Der Riese, the Kar98k becomes the Armageddon. The Armageddon is similar to the scoped Kar98k in Nacht Der Untoten in terms of power. It has an eight round magazine and 60 rounds in reserve. It is advised not to Pack-a-Punch this weapon, as, ironically, any other weapon, even the M1911, is better when upgraded. If the player really wants to use the Armageddon to in high rounds, the best strategy would be to buy Mule Kick to unlock a third weapon slot; this allows the player to use two powerful weapons while still being able to use the Kar98k.
Kar 98k vs. The Armageddon
| Kar98k | Armageddon | |
|---|---|---|
|
| |
| Damage | 100 | 200 |
| Fire mode | Bolt-action | Bolt-action |
| Rate of fire | 48 RPM | 48 RPM |
| Magazine size | 5 | 8 |
| Max ammo | 50+5 | 60+8 |
| Reload | 2.5 | 2.5 |
| Mobility | Low | Low |
| Extras | Higher damage (multipliers are also increased), more ammo, larger magazine. |
Gallery
- For Attachment images, see Kar98k/Attachments.
Call of Duty: Zombies
The Kar98k appears in the iOS version of Zombies. It can be purchased off the wall for 200 points on all maps excluding Shi No Numa. It is also available from the Mystery Box.
It is notable for being the only off-wall weapon available and used in the tutorial.
Call of Duty: World at War DS
The Kar98k appears in Singleplayer as the starting sniper rifle for the Russian Missions. In Multiplayer, it is the sniper rifle for the Germans.
Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts
The Kar98k can be found in the missions "The Race to Bastogne", "The Relief of Bastogne", and "The Battle of Bure" during the Winter Offensive campaign. On various European missions, the weapon can also be found with a Sniper Scope.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
The Kar98k returns in the Call of Duty: Black Ops versions of Nacht der Untoten, Verrückt (replacing the Springfield), and Der Riese. It can only be obtained from its wall outlines for the same price of 200 points. The Scoped version remains in the Sniper Cabinet in Nacht der Untoten, also for the same price. Its Pack-a-Punched version remains mostly the same as its Call of Duty: World at War version.
Gallery
Videos
Trivia
General
- In Call of Duty and Call of Duty 3, the Kar98k's front sight is a simple post. In all the other games in the series that it appears in, the Kar98k's front sight is shrouded.
Call of Duty 3
- The Kar98k's bolt appears older and more rusted than the rest of the rifle, with the player having to pull it open and slam it shut rather than having the smoother action of the other versions.
- When aiming down the iron sights, the Kar98k's safety is on, yet the player can still work the bolt and fire the weapon.
- On the level, The Mace, Polish soldiers can be seen using the Kar98k.
Call of Duty: World at War
- In the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War, when reloading the unscoped Kar98k, no rounds are seen being loaded into the rifle. This also applies for the Springfield.
- In Call of Duty: World at War (Nintendo DS), in singleplayer the Germans use Mosin-Nagants instead of the Kar98k, and the Russians use the Kar98k instead of the Mosin-Nagant.
- In the Wii version of Call of Duty: World at War, the iron sights are different than the other consoles.
- The Kar98k in Call of Duty: World at War: Final Fronts has a sling in third-person that is not visible in first-person.
- The strategy guide for Call of Duty: World at War incorrectly labels the Kar98k as a Russian rifle.
Call of Duty: Black Ops
- In Black Ops, the Scoped Kar98k from the sniper cabinet in Nacht der Untoten doesn't make a sound when cycling the bolt after a shot, but will sound normal when reloading.
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