Counter-Strike Weapons

German and Australian censorship laws caused Valve to port certain weapons from Counter-Strike: Source into the game sold into the German and Australian market.

This section of the Left 4 Dead Wiki aims to assist players owning the German or Australian version of the game or who play with someone who does. There are five International Weapons: Combat Knife, H&K MP5, SIG SG552, Steyr Scout and Accuracy International AWSM.

Combat Knife
"Grabbin' a bread slicer."

- Ellis

The Combat Knife is a slashing weapon, similar to the Katana or the Machete, but with a higher speed, just under the speed of the Nightstick. A disadvantage is the propensity of this weapon to obscure the player's screen with blood and gore.

As per the Baseball Bat or Chainsaw, this weapon can spawn in every campaign, although it is rare to find more than two in a given campaign. Despite the Combat Knife's smaller size, its reach or range matches that of any other melee weapon.

H&K MP5
The H&K MP5 belongs to the submachine gun class. It spawns anywhere in a campaign and especially in safe rooms. It has a lower rate of fire than the normal Submachine Gun variants in the game, but to balance this, the H&K MP5 has a slightly higher accuracy than the standard Submachine Gun whilst its damage is nearly identical to that of the Silenced Submachine Gun (although, due to the lower firerate its damage per second is still equal to that of the Submachine Gun).

As with the Assault Rifle, it occupies the "middle ground" of the Submachine Gun variants on account of its adaptability to meet the demands of nearly every combat situation.

Tactics

 * Better used at longer medium range, as rate of fire is lower and it is not as effective when the horde is close to you. Take advantage of its accuracy!
 * Better combined with a Magnum Pistol for long range and Special Infected.
 * During hordes keep a distance from the main body of it. You do not want to get surrounded by a horde without a melee weapon.
 * Always shoot in bursts to save ammo and to preserve its good accuracy.
 * With special infected at long ranges always crouch and shoot in longer bursts.
 * In indoor maps melee weapons are better than pistols as the danger of getting surrounded by common infected is much higher and boomers can easily vomit on rushing players.
 * With the Incendiary ammunition wait until the Common Infected get closer to you and shoot in bursts. This will drastically decreased the chance of losing precious incendiary bullets.

Pros

 * Good accuracy at medium ranges.
 * Very large reserve ammo supply.
 * Higher damage compared to the regular Submachine Gun and similar to the silenced one.
 * Easiest submachine gun to conserve ammo due to the lower rate of fire.

Cons

 * Lowest rate of fire of the submachine guns.
 * Burst shooting not as effective as other submachine guns although the method is advisable.
 * Pretty lower accuracy at long ranges opposed to the regular Submachine Gun.

SIG SG552
The SIG SG552 is a fully automatic assault rifle, very similar in capability to the standard in-game Assault Rifle. It has a 2x scope which accentuates its long range accuracy, much like a Hunting Rifle or a Sniper Rifle, but not nearly to the same degree as either of these latter weapons. Using the scope also reduces the weapon's rate of fire.

When used without sighting through the scope the SIG SG552 has extremely tight crosshairs when fired from a standing still posture on account of the fact that it is a hybrid assault-sniping rifle. The damage per shot is the same as the Assault Rifle, but it fires two more shots per minute. Reloading time is longer than that for the Assault Rifle, but this is still faster than the Combat Rifle.

Tactics

 * This weapon is suitable for all ranges due to its scope and high rate of fire. When using the scope the rate of fire will decrease compensating the accuracy.
 * To preserve ammo, shoot in short bursts.
 * Instead of crouching for long ranges take advantage of the scope, the accuracy will be pretty high.
 * When using an ammo upgrade try your best to do single shots and use the scope for middle range to prevent waste of precious ammunition.
 * Best accompanied with a melee weapon to preserve ammo in indoor areas and when surrounded by The Infected.

Pros

 * Highest rate of fire of all weapons except submachine guns.
 * When using the scope it is very accurate.
 * Suitable for basically all ranges.
 * Fast reloading time although slower than the one of the Assault Rifle.
 * When equipped with Laser sights the accuracy will be increased a lot. The scope will have basically a perfect aim.

Cons

 * If a careless player uses the weapon in fully automatic the whole time the ammo reserves will rapidly deplete.
 * Low damage per shot compared to other assault rifes, but same as the M16.
 * Difficult to do single shots to preserve incendiary or explosive ammo.
 * Not very accurate for middle ranges while moving.

Steyr Scout
The Steyr Scout is a bolt-action sniper rifle.

The magazine capacity, accuracy, and damage are very similar to the Hunting Rifle, but the rate of fire is significantly lower. In combination with a Laser Sight, this weapon has extremely high accuracy even while the Survivor is running. Despite this, many players claim that it is arguably better to choose a Sniper Rifle or Hunting Rifle as they do the same damage per shot and have a much higher rate of fire.

In Left 4 Dead 2 a glitch may occur when firing the weapon. When firing consecutive shots, the next shot can be fired before the breech is closed and locked.

Tactics

 * At longer ranges, the Steyr Scout is good to take down wanderers (in higher difficulties) due to its high penetration, especially in narrow areas.
 * It is very advisable to have a melee weapon as a secondary weapon as the Steyr Scout is accurate while moving in medium ranges but is a very poor choice against a horde in close proximity.
 * High areas are good for this sniper rifle since the infected will have more difficulty reaching you and you can shoot them from further away.

Pros

 * Very accurate sniper even when moving.
 * Inflicts high damage per shot.

Cons

 * It has a low rate of fire, although not slower than the Accuracy International AWSM.
 * Damage per shot is not compensated by the rate of fire.
 * A very poor choice against a horde.
 * It is the weapon that would take the longest time to kill a Tank, so it is highly not advisable to use on them. Even the P220 Pistol is better. The Steyr Scout would need 89 shots and take 99 seconds.

Accuracy International AWSM
The Accuracy International AWSM is a bolt-action sniper rifle but, unlike the other "German version" weapons, there is no Left 4 Dead 2 weapon that matches it precisely. This rifle inflicts a high amount of damage per shot - second only to that dealt out by Shotguns measured on a per-shot basis.

It has the slowest rate of fire (excluding the Grenade Launcher) of any firearm in the game and its accuracy whilst moving is very low so it is only effective against a Horde in narrow environments when standing still. This rifle comes into its own when engaging enemies such as weaker Special Infected from afar. However using it against the Witch or the Tank is not recommended due to its low rate of fire. Compared to the Steyr Scout, the AWSM inflicts slightly more damage per second on account of its powerful .338 Lapua Magnum cartridge.

Tactics

 * Take advantage of its accuracy and higher damage per shot to take down Special Infected from far away.
 * Better accompanied with a melee weapon because of its extremely low rate of fire.
 * Always keep the distance from the common infected, you can easily get surrounded by them with no defense if you do not have a melee weapon.
 * Players using this gun should be the last of the group to kill the few common or special infected left behind and to give an extra penetration when facing hordes.
 * Stop walking when using ammo upgrades to have an easier shot and possibly save ammo.

Pros

 * Highest damage per shot of the all firearms except shotguns and the Grenade Launcher.
 * Second highest magazine capacity.
 * The highest total damage of all weapons, except the Tier 2 shotguns and the AK-47.

Cons

 * Lowest rate of fire of all weapons except the Grenade Launcher.
 * Probably the worst weapon for self defense when surrounded by infected.
 * Extremely bad for Gauntlet Crescendo Events.