In past Call of Duty titles there are have been a few weapons and assault equipment that don’t quite fit into the traditional weapon categories. These items were typically placed in the “special weapons” section. In games like Black Ops 2 these included the crossbow and riot shield. These items aren’t usually conventional in gameplay, but they’re fun to use nevertheless.
In Black Ops 3 there is a bit of a limited selection when it comes to special weaponry. Only a couple exist. One of the primary pieces of equipment that falls under this category is your standard combat knife. Other than that, not much is available.
Black Ops 3 Special Weapons
Below is a full list of confirmed weapons that will appear in the special category:
- Combat Knife
NOTE: Currently, the only confirmed special is your combat knife. Other items may be added to the game before the final release or even afterward in the form of DLC. If and when new weapons are added to the special category we will update this page to reflect the changes.
NOTE #2: The link above will take you to a page dedicated to the weapon specified. This page has additional stats for the weapon, tips for using it, gameplay videos, and more.
Want some tips for using special weaponry? Check out our awesome Black Ops 3 guide to find some handy strategies.
Knife Tips
Unlike previous games, the only way to have a combat knife on your character is if you opt to remove all other weapons from your class setup. If you have a primary or secondary weapon on your loadout you will not have a knife. Your knife will be replaced with a general melee attack that uses the butt of your weapon to deliver a quick smack to your opponent. You will get a knife, however, if you only have a primary and swap to an empty secondary slot.
The new melee with a weapon is NOT a one-hit kill. In fact, it usually takes about two hits to kill an opponent using the weapon melee attack. The combat knife, however, is still a one-hit kill.
No Panic Knives
Because the combat knife is not automatically equipped to your character unless you’re running with no guns or no secondary, panic knifing has become all but non-existent. The new melee attack is a much better system. The butt-strike only deals about 50-60 damage per hit and it doesn’t have the range that the combat knife had in titles like BO2.
Recommended Perks
If you decide to run a class that is specifically designed for using the combat knife you’re definitely going to want to use perks that give you speed, mobility, and stealth. All of these are extremely important aspects. You don’t want to come face to face with a player with a gun. 90% of the time, you will die. This is why being able to run away quickly, move around faster, and stay off enemy radar is necessary.
The best perks to use are Afterburner (for faster boost cooldowns), Ghost (keeps the player off the enemy radar as long as they’re in motion), and Cold-Blooded (makes your player invisible to thermal and other advanced sights).
Tracker is a good one to test, too. This perk allows you to see the footstep imprints of nearby enemies for a few seconds. This can help you quickly locate the enemy and come up with a strategy to attack them without them getting shots off on you.
