The ballistic knife introduced a new melee weapon to Call of Duty: Warzone, which also has ranged capabilities. MeinMMO shows you the stats of this unusual firearm and whether it’s worth equipping the ranged blade.
The ballistic knife is a well-known weapon from the “Black Ops” series of Call of Duty. It was already present as a secondary weapon in the first Black Ops (2010) and has appeared in every subsequent installment of the series. With the knife, you can not only stab but also shoot blades at your enemies – in Warzone, you use rocket launcher ammunition for that.
At the start of Season 3, the ballistic knife was introduced in Cold War, and now it is also available to you in Warzone. But is the knife strong in Warzone or just a gimmick?
The YouTuber and CoD expert “TheXclusiveAce” has looked at the stats and handling of the knife – MeinMMO shows you his results. If you want to watch Ace’s English video about the ballistic knife, we embed it here for you:
CoD Warzone: Ballistic Knife – Melee Weapon with a Twist
What are the melee stats of the knife? You can equip the ballistic knife as a secondary weapon in Warzone, similar to pistols or combat knives. The comparison with the combat knife is also appropriate – the ballistic knife has very similar characteristics to the combat knife from Modern Warfare:
Warzone: Ballistic Knife – Melee Stats
- 135 damage per strike
- 484 milliseconds between two strikes
- 1.6 meters range
- 5.13 meters/second movement speed
In close combat, the stats are very similar, although the regular combat knife from CoD MW shows slightly worse stats with 500 milliseconds strike delay and a 1.5-meter range.
Is melee strong in Warzone? However, the stats must measure up to the biggest melee rival, which is the Kali Sticks. The sticks have a range of 3 meters, higher movement speed, and take down enemies faster than the ballistic knife in close combat.
Warzone: Kali Sticks – Stats
- 90 damage per strike
- 200 milliseconds between two strikes
- 3 meters range
- 5.20 meters/second movement speed
For Warzone players who like to rely on their melee weapons, the ballistic knife thus loses some attractiveness. The Kali Sticks offer significantly more range and take down enemies within 400 milliseconds – compared to the ballistic knife, which takes 484 milliseconds. While the stat can hold up well against the best weapons in Warzone, it remains a melee attack.
What about the ranged capability of the knife? Unlike the Kali Sticks, you can shoot painful projectiles at your enemies with the knife. However, body shots are not one-shot kills – the time-to-kill is an underwhelming 779 milliseconds.
Warzone: Ballistic Knife – Ranged Stats
- 190 damage on body shots
- 250+ damage on headshots
- 77 shots per minute
- 80 meters/second blade speed
- Consumes rocket ammunition
- Blades can be recovered
XclusiveAce estimates the effective range to be 30 meters. Planned shots are hardly feasible at larger distances. Theoretically, you could also use the ballistic knife at greater distances if you account for the blade’s drop during its flight.
How usable is the ballistic knife in Warzone? Overall, the ballistic knife is more of a gimmick. It doesn’t really shine in any category but offers the crazy function with the flying blades.
For anyone who likes to do a melee round in Warzone, this is indeed a strong bonus. And victories are possible – as the YouTuber and knife enthusiast “TheseKnivesOnly” proves in his English video (via YouTube).
Additionally, the ballistic knife is really strong when eliminating enemies who are already on the ground. An opponent on the ground receives an additional 200 health for their K.O. phase and absorbs quite a few bullets. A fired blade from the ballistic knife finishes off a downed opponent with one hit.
Warzone has a lot of weapons, and new ones are constantly being added. Currently, an automatic pistol and a baseball bat are still in the pipeline.
Find out here how to unlock the baseball bat in Cold War. Once the bat is available in Warzone, you can start brawling right away – MeinMMO will then show you again whether the baseball bat offers the fun it promises.
