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The subject of this article appeared in Call of Duty: Black Ops II.
For other variants, see M249 SAW and MK46.
For more uses, see MK.

"Fully automatic LMG. Increased damage and range."
— Description.


The Mk 48 is a Light Machine Gun featured in Call of Duty: Black Ops II. It has higher damage and longer range than other light machine guns.

Multiplayer[]

The Mk 48 is unlocked with Create-a-Class, and is unlocked automatically, allowing the user to equip the weapon whenever they desire.

The Mk 48 has the highest damage per bullet of its class, and has the longest range of any fully automatic weapon in the game. At any range short of 35 meters, the Mk 48 will deal 49 damage, taking three shots to kill, or two if the opponent is slightly injured or gets headshotted. Damage decreases linearly to 45 until 88 meters. After 88 meters, the Mk 48 will deal 30 damage, taking four shots to kill, or three shots if at least two shots hit the head. The Mk 48 will kill the enemy in one shot at any range in Hardcore, except when shooting through thick walls. the Mk 48 has high penetration power. With its high damage per shot and large capacity, the Mk 48 is ideal for shooting through cover. The high damage and range are the Mk 48's defining strengths. One would be hard-pressed to find a range that the Mk 48 does not kill the enemy in three shots.

One of the Mk 48's main weaknesses is its rate of fire. The Mk 48 fires fully automatically at 625 RPM. This is the slowest in-class, and heavily limits the Mk 48's potential in close quarters. For this reason, some may try to use an alternative LMG.

The Mk 48's accuracy is respectable. The iron sights are somewhat obstructive, also providing a 1.5x magnification view on screen when aiming, and the recoil per shot is mild. The Mk 48 has minimal horizontal recoil, and the vertical recoil is kept in check by the low fire rate and high 1700 centerspeed. The centerspeed also increases to 1870 when crouching, or a gargantuan 2040 when in prone. The Mk 48 also has a slight amount of idle sway, but it idles quite quickly, comparable to a sniper rifle in this regard.

The Mk 48's handling characteristics leave much to be desired. It moves at 90% of the base speed, moves at 30% of the base speed while aiming, aims down the sight in 440 milliseconds, has a large hip-fire spread, switches slowly, and has the longest magazine reload in the game, taking 8 seconds to reload a belt, or 5.45 seconds to reload cancel the belt. This is among the slowest times in the game, and as such, users should try to reload in a safe area, and carry a sidearm in case one can't reload safely.

The Mk 48 has the largest ammo capacity in the game, holding 100 rounds in one belt. When carrying the Mk 48 in the players' loadout, players will spawn in with three belts total, with one of them being already loaded in the gun. The maximum amount of Mk 48's bullets players can carry is 500, 100 in the weapon and 400 in players' inventory.

The Mk 48 has the usual assortment of attachments to equip. The EOTech Sight acts as an alternative to the iron sights, having the same zoom level as the iron sights. This can be a valuable attachment to some who need extra clarity on target. It. also increases centerspeed at all stances by 1%.

The Reflex Sight provides a lower zoom level than the iron sights (1.35x). For a more aggressive Mk 48 user, the Reflex is a viable option.

The Grip has a more pronounced effect on the Mk 48 thanks to its elevated centerspeed interval that can also increase while crouching or laying in prone, but the effect is still hard to note and justify using a pick-ten slot on. As the Grip only gives 2% more centerspeed, it isn't an attractive option.

Full Metal Jacket will increase the Mk 48's penetration power. This allows the Mk 48 to shoot through all but the impenetrable. Some may consider it overkill on the Mk 48 due to its already superb performance through cover, but for others, it can be a worthwhile addition. It also increases damage done to scorestreaks, allowing the Mk 48 to make quick work of some of the smaller scorestreaks.

The Quickdraw Handle will reduce the Mk 48's aim down sight time to 360 milliseconds. This allows users to react more quickly. This patches up a key weakness of the Mk 48, but on a defensive class, the need for a quick aiming weapon decreases. The Quickdraw is best suited for players that use the Mk 48 in a more aggressive fashion.

The Target Finder is a very popular choice on the Mk 48. It has the same magnification level as the iron sights. The Target Finder blends very well with a defensive class, as does the Mk 48; many enemies will be highlighted in the targeting apparatus. It should be noted that Cold-Blooded users will not be highlighted by a red diamond should one appear within the user's view. This does block some valuable peripheral vision, so the sight is one to avoid for the more aggressive player; however, it does not eliminate the mini-map while aiming. Another big advantage of the Target Finder is that it reduces the idle amount by ninety percent.

The Adjustable Stock more than doubles the Mk 48's movement speed while aiming to 72%. This allows the player to easily re-position while aiming, as well as dodge enemy gunfire and projectiles while aiming.

The ACOG Sight provides a 2.0x magnification while aiming, a 2% centerspeed increase at all stances, and a 90% reduction to idle sway. Since the Mk 48 has a naturally high zoom magnification while aiming the iron sights, the zoom increase from the attachment will be less notable. That being said, the ACOG Sight is a valuable attachment for those that want a long range sight but want to preserve peripheral vision, as it doesn't block out nor black out the rest of the screen while aiming, unlike the Target Finder and Variable Zoom.

The Laser Sight reduces the size of the Mk 48's hip-fire spread by a mammoth 45%. This allows the Mk 48 to be much more competent at close quarters combat. That being said, the Mk 48's fire rate is still not very impressive, and the hip-fire spread can still leave something to be desired compared to SMGs and assault rifles.

The Suppressor will reduce the Mk 48's range values by thirty percent, meaning that the Mk 48 will three shot kill to the body out to 61 meters instead of 88 meters. The Mk 48 will also receive an almost unnoticeable 2% reduction to centerspeed in all stances. Although this reduction in range is severe, 61 meters is still a very long three hit kill range that is still top dog as far as LMGs are concerned.

The Variable Zoom provides two zoom levels, the low zoom level being at 2.4x magnification, and the high zoom level being at 5.8x magnification. All gunkick is removed, the idle sway amount is reduced by 5%, and the centerspeed is reduced by 10% in all stances. The Mk 48's recoil control will be quite a degree worse with this sight as a result, but the low fire rate and moderate recoil per shot should still keep the weapon's recoil management in check. Both zoom levels are extremely well suited for distant combat and poor choices for any close quarters combat, since the Variable Zoom scope obscures more peripheral vision than any other sight the Mk 48 has on offer.

Extended Clip will increase the Mk 48's belt capacity to 135 rounds, and will correspondingly increase the starting ammo loadout by 105 rounds. However, the reload speeds of the Mk 48 slow down by 10%, making the weapon take 8.8 seconds to reload, or just under six seconds to reload cancel. The attachment accentuates one of the Mk 48's defining strengths, but some may consider it to be overkill.

The Hybrid Optic provides two zoom levels, the low zoom level being at the LMG default 1.5x magnification, and the high zoom level being at 2.4x magnification. These two sights allow the user to have more flexibility, as the user can adjust the zoom level to the corresponding scenario. If the user is using one sight more than the other, however, the user should consider using that zoom level's standalone attachment, as it can get annoying to use the Hybrid Optic if the undesired optic is selected during a gunfight, and ACOG also nearly eliminates idle sway while also providing a slight centerspeed increase.

Rapid Fire will increase the Mk 48's rate of fire to 833 RPM, but will also reduce the three shot kill range to 53 meters, reduce centerspeed at all stances by fifteen percent, and increase the size of the hip-fire crosshairs by 20%. Rapid Fire alleviates one of the Mk 48's major weaknesses, but will also accentuate the Mk 48's hip-fire inconsistency and reduces its range advantage. The combination of increasing the fire rate and reducing the centerspeed will significantly increase felt recoil. It's quite the risky attachment, and using it with the Suppressor will reduce the range to 37 meters, a shell of its former self. Thankfully, the Laser Sight can be used to decrease the size of the hip-fire spread, making the Mk 48 a much more adept weapon in close quarters.

The Dual Band Scope will provide an infrared overlay of the battlefield at 1.5x magnification while aiming. Enemies without Cold-Blooded will appear bright yellow, while teammates and Cold-Blooded enemies will not produce a heat signature. The centerspeed will also be reduced by 10% at all stances, and unlike other sights with 1.5x magnification, the Dual Band will eliminate a great deal of peripheral vision. It should be noted that the Dual Band is entirely compatible with Variable Zoom, and the zoom levels between the two will be 2.4x and 5.8x.

Attachments[]

Gallery[]

For camouflage images, see Mk 48/Camouflage.
For attachment images, see Mk 48/Attachments.

Trivia[]

  • There is a small drawn skull on the front of the magazine. This can be seen in Create-a-Class or with high FOV on PC.
  • Towards the end of the reloading animation, when the player is cocking the gun, the ammo belt clips through the box.
  • The Create-A-Class image shows there is a folded bipod on the gun, this bipod is absent in game.
  • When an optic attachment is attached, the front iron sight post will be removed, but the back one won't. 
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