AK-47

AK-47(AKM)
Weapon type	Assault rifle Main weapon
Weapon tier	2
Technical specifications
Magazine size	40
Ammunition	400
Damage per shot	58
Rate of fire	461.5/minute
Damage per second	446
Damage per magazine	2320
Total damage	23200

"An assault rifle? Heh, man this takes me back!"

―Bill

"Assault rifle!"

―Nick

The AK-47 is an automatic rifle in L4D2, losing fire rate, magazine size, and accuracy in comparison to other rifles for stopping power capable of effectively taking down hordes and Tanks.

The AK-47 is used by Bill, Louis, Nick, and Rochelle (as well as Zoey in the Xbox 360 version of Left 4 Dead 2).

Official Description

What this Soviet-made assault rifle lacks in accuracy, it makes up for in firepower. You can squeeze off these higher caliber rounds in single shots for ammo conservation, or room-clear with fully automatic fire.

Tactics

Coach holding the AK-47

• The AK-47 can kill Common Infected with one shot on Easy and Normal, while it takes two shots on Advanced and Realism. Uncommon Infected take more shots to kill, but the AK-47 is still the most powerful assault rifle in the game.
• The slower firing rate on the AK-47 saves ammunition when picking off lone Common Infected.
• The AK-47's ability to inflict a high level of damage makes it an excellent Tank-killing weapon. It cannot quite match the Tactical or Combat Shotgun in damage per second at close range, but the weapon at mid-range is surpassed in effectiveness only by the M60.
• While the AK-47 has poor accuracy when moving and a heavy recoil that causes loss of target acquisition, distant Infected can still be dispatched by taking careful aim and firing single shots or double-taps.
  • Crouching while firing greatly increases the AK-47's medium and long-range accuracy.
• Shooting a sitting Witch in the head with the AK-47 will stun her momentarily in the same way that a head shot from the Sniper Rifle or Magnum Pistol does. If you are close enough, the AK's damage output will be sufficient to put her down. However, if you are too far, most of your shots will miss and you will be unable to kill her before she closes in and/or your magazine is empty.
• The Laser Sight upgrade works best with the AK-47, since it improves this weapon's accuracy tremendously, especially at medium and long ranges.
  • Note that with a Laser Sight fitted, crouching does not improve accuracy over a standing position unless a player is shooting while moving.
  • There will always be a laser sight box in Whitaker's Gun Shop, found in the Streets chapter of Dead Center.
• Explosive and Incendiary Ammo upgrades do not complement the AK-47 as well as they do for the Assault Rifle.
  • The AK-47's already high damage mostly nullifies the one shot, one kill capabilities of both types of special ammunition.
  • The decreased magazine size of the AK-47 as compared to other automatic rifles further dilutes the effectiveness of the ammunition upgrades.
  • However, the decreased fire rate of the AK-47 provides better control for those who wish to attempt to use single bullets against each Infected, which can improve the total number of kills achieved with the augmented ammo.
    • This benefit is slightly negated, however, by the AK-47's reduced accuracy, which can easily cause the bullets to miss their target, forcing the player to use more than one shot to kill an Infected, despite the improved control.
• The Magnum pistol is a good secondary weapon to use with the AK-47 because the heavy pistol is an effective long-range weapon that compensates for the AK-47's poor accuracy. However, if you can master firing it in semi-auto, the Magnum will be rendered redundant, though a useful backup.
  • An exception to this is Realism, where the Magnum's superiority is unquestionable.
  • Ordinary Pistols are not as effective in a pistol-sniping role, but they are still more accurate than the AK-47 and so are good secondary weapons to consider when choosing the AK-47 as a primary weapon.
• Melee weapons work well with the AK-47 in chapters featuring short ranges and confined spaces. This tactic is best applied with the Katana due to its long range and wide swing arc as well as its notably fast swing speed.
• The AK-47's ability to fire single and double taps (by gently pressing the primary fire button) is one of its most useful features. When crouching to improve accuracy, its fine trigger control and heavy bullet makes the AK-47 a decent ranged weapon (even without a Laser Sight) meaning distant Smokers and Hunters can be taken down with the expenditure of only 3 or 4 cartridges. Crouching, using the double-tapping technique and aiming at the central body mass is enough to kill a Common Infected on Expert mode.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Excellent close range damage capabilities that can easily kill any kind of Infected.
• Highest damage per second of all assault rifles. 
  • Highest mid-range damage per second of any weapon except the M60.
• Headshots are deadly threat to all the special infects except the witch and the tank. 
• The most outstanding Tank Killer, given that M60 is rarely spawn and the power of chainsaw is situational
  • The giant hitbox of tank, and its lack of headshot multipiler, elinminates the necessity of burst shooting at Tank: most shots will still land even when firing at full auto at clost to mid range.
  • Burst shooting are however still useful in destroying the slab it throw at distance. 
  • Even on Expert, a tank can not survive after 4 magazines are poured on it.
  • Combine with a well deployed molotov or gas can, even a sole survive can bring down a tank in two magazines.
• A player who crouches before firing can easily hit targets at medium-long range without sights.
• Able to fire single shots easily due to the slower rate of fire, and the power of individual shots is very high, greatly conserving ammo.
• Benefits significantly from the Laser Sight upgrade, making it an an undeniable force with both solid accuracy and great damage (as well as per second).
• Only rifle that keeps the flashlight pointing forward during reloads.
• Works well with the Magnum because this pistol can compensate for the AK-47's poor accuracy at long ranges, while the AK can compensate for the Magnum's lack of crowd-clearing power at close range.
• Works well if another Survivor is holding an Auto Shotgun, especially when facing a random Horde or a Tank on Advanced or Expert, although this combination lacks effectiveness against distant targets (if a teammate is using a Sniper or Hunting Rifle, this weakness is rectified).
• Has a large bullet spread when firing on full automatic, which is a distinct benefit at short ranges when being mobbed by a Horde.
• Works very well with some melee weapons, although players should take care when pairing this with slow-swinging weapons such as the Crowbar.
• Relatively short reload time.

Cons

• Frequent ammunition shortages will be experienced if controlled burst fire is not used.
• Explosive Ammo and Incendiary Ammo are less effective compared to the same ammunition fired from shotguns and the Assault Rifle.
• It has a relatively slow rate of fire and its high recoil makes it difficult to retain target acquisition; crouching helps but not enough to completely defeat the problem.
• Has the poorest accuracy of any weapon except the shotguns and the M60, unless shoot while duck.
• Suffer a lot from poor moving accuracy during horde scenarios; despite ducking improves shooting, it greatly increase the risk of being surround by horde. 
• When ensnared by a Smoker, the slow rate of fire and wide bullet dispersion makes it difficult to free yourself before being immobilized and dragged away.
• In the absence of a Laser Sight, even when using burst shots, it is quite inaccurate at medium and long ranges.
• The Director may have a biased tendency to deny this weapon entirely in a single campaign, especially in Hard Rain.
• Has the lowest magazine size and rate of fire of all automatic rifles.
• Crouching to fire constantly can hamper mobility and ability to position effectively in high-pressure scenarios, but choosing not to will significantly reduce mid and long ranged effectiveness.

Notes

The AKM

Coach replaces a magazine on the AK-47

• The AK-47 is modeled after the AKM. However, the front sight is modeled from the AK-47. Also the game's AKM incorrectly holds 40-rounds and the real AKM holds 30-rounds.
• The real AK-47 and AKM have actually a firerate of about 600 shots per minute, which is much higher than in the game and not much slower than that of a real M16 assault rifle.
• The standard capacity for the real AKM is 30 rounds, but it can use the 40-round magazines of the RPK light machine gun variant. Nevertheless, the in-game model shows the proportions of a 30-round magazine.
• The AK-47's third-person reloading animation is the same as the M-16 Assault Rifle and the Combat Rifle, although the magazine, for obscure reasons, is never removed.
• The AK-47 was rated 1st in the Left 4 Dead 2 Top 10 FTW Weapons on Machinima.com.
• When held by a Survivor in third-person, the AK-47 ejects casings out the left side as opposed to the right in first-person.
• The in-game model is using a Tapco polymer magazine, not a regular steel mag.
• The bulb on the mounted flashlight actually uses the texture of the bottom of a bullet cartridge.
• The AK-47 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive uses a slightly-modified version of the Left 4 Dead 2 model. This is also true for the Glock, Desert Eagle, and MAC-10.
• The AK-47 is actually about as versatile as the M16, as they are both effective at most ranges and suitable for almost any situation.
• The higher damage output of the AK-47 when compared to the Assault Rifle in-game matches the performance of the weapons in real life. When fired, the 7.62×39mm cartridge, used by both the AK-47 and the AKM, produces approximately 200—250 more ft-lbs of force than the 5.56×45mm cartridge, used by the M16 assault rifle.

External Links

• AK-47 in action