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"Full auto... beautiful."
Bill
"This shit will even up the score."
Nick

The Silenced Submachine Gun is a Submachine Gun variant in Left 4 Dead 2. It features a sound suppressor, a 50-round magazine and 650 rounds of ammo reserve. Together with the Chrome Shotgun, Pump Shotgun, and Submachine Gun, it is one of the standard weapons issued to players at the start of a campaign.

The Silenced Submachine Gun has a high rate of fire and greater stopping power than the normal Submachine Gun―a Common Infected will drop almost instantly when hit with a short burst and it makes short work of weak Special Infected. While it's not very powerful against Tanks, this probably shoots fast enough and may be a powerful Tier 1 Weapon that can take it down with some extra help (such as other players using this weapon too, and the Tank's large size makes the inaccuracy less of a problem).

It is deadly in close quarters and its accuracy at medium ranges is impressive―if the player is prepared to aim carefully and squeeze off short bursts. Adventurous players may care to retain it for a while in preference to switching it out for the first Tier 2 weapon encountered during a campaign due to the weapon's exceptional damage per second. Laser sights, when attached, make the Silenced Submachine Gun stunningly effective, as it effectively makes the weapon much easier to aim.

Tactics

  • Players should fire in short bursts to conserve ammunition and accuracy. This weapon will burn through ammo to little effect otherwise (players should get into the habit of "burst firing", firing a short string of shots by gentle and quick pressure on the fire control button, then quickly switching targets and repeating the treatment). However, if you are near an ammo pile, ignore this tip, since you won't have ammo problems. Several other fast-firing weapons such as the M16 and the Combat Rifle also have this problem.
  • For the best accuracy at medium ranges, players should take careful aim―even going into a crouch to engage, e.g. a Smoker on a roof line or a horde of Common Infected on the far side of a car park. Long-range targets should be ignored, as they will simply waste ammo.
  • The Silenced Submachine Gun tears through Hordes efficiently.
  • A Magnum or dual P220 Pistols work well with a Silenced Submachine Gun. The Magnum option gives the player a useful long-range secondary weapon to pick off Special Infected, while Dual Pistols can engage a wide variety of routine targets, thereby saving the Silenced Submachine Gun for emergencies. Any melee weapon is also a good option as a primary weapon to save ammo.
  • Laser sights transform the Silenced Submachine Gun's accuracy. Precision long-range shooting is now possible, and Special Infected can be engaged with total confidence.
  • Incendiary and Explosive Ammunition do not benefit the Silenced Submachine Gun as much as they do the normal Submachine Gun on account of its lower accuracy at medium ranges; however, these classes of ammo are deadly in this weapon at short ranges.
  • Until members of a co-op team have acquired Tier 2 rifles, the Silenced Submachine Gun confers a medium-range-combat capability that cannot be provided by the shorter-legged Pump Shotgun alone, as well as a capacity to deal damage unmatched by even some Tier 2 rifles.
  • The silencer on the Silenced Submachine Gun is cosmetic, since its "stealth" capability has no gameplay effect: Common Infected are still attracted to its gunfire, despite the Silencer. However, this is not an attempt to increase weapon variants, because it and the Submachine Gun were two totally different weapons - an Ingram MAC-10 and an UZI have similar looks and they are both SMGs.

Pros and Cons

Pros

  • Hits harder than the regular Submachine Gun and shoots fast enough to surpass the damage per second of both the Assault Rifle and Combat Rifle at close range.
  • It is the only Tier 1 Primary weapon that surpasses the damage per second of dual wielded P220 Pistols fired as fast as possible (Pump Shotgun variants have less than 300, the normal Submachine Gun has 320, two P220s can have up to 350, and the Silenced Submachine Gun has 400)
  • Though it may not have the range of the Submachine Gun, it still has decent accuracy at medium ranges.
  • Fast rate of fire allows it to rip up Common and Special Infected that are at medium distance.
  • If using burst fire, it is not too hard to conserve ammo.
  • Possesses a large reserve ammo supply.
  • Due to its high damage per shot and large reserve ammo, it has higher total damage than any tier 1 weapon, the Hunting Rifle, and the Assault Rifle.
  • Using the Laser Sight on the Silenced Submachine Gun significantly improves its range and accuracy, functionally turning it into a lower accuracy, higher fire rate Assault Rifle variant on par with other Tier 2 weapons.
  • One of the most common starting weapons in the game.
  • Longer effective range than the Pump Shotgun variants and a larger reserve ammo supply.
  • Best Tier 1 weapon against the Tank.

Cons

  • Accuracy is noticeably lower than the Submachine Gun at long range.
  • While doing higher damage than the regular Submachine Gun, it still has a fairly low damage output per shot.
  • The Silenced Submachine Gun's considerable damage per second is dependent upon all bullets hitting their target while firing fully automatic. Firing full auto will exacerbate the Silenced Submachine Gun's poor accuracy, resulting in a large number of missed shots and an overall lower damage output than other weapons at medium or long range.
  • Using full-auto shooting with no trigger discipline will leave a player with an empty ammunition reserve quickly.
  • Requires frequent reloading if a player does not use burst firing.

Notes

MAC-10

The MAC-10.

  • The Silenced Submachine Gun is modeled after the MAC-10 (chambered in .45 ACP), with a suppressor attached. However, players will still call it a "Silenced Uzi" or "Uzi" due to the fact that the two guns almost look identical.
  • The MAC-10 comes with a removable, retractable stock that is visible and retracted on the back of the Silenced Submachine Gun. In real life, this could be extended to brace against the shoulder, providing support and absorbing recoil to improve accuracy. It is unknown why the Survivors choose not to make use of this accessory.
  • There is no commonly available 50-round magazine for the MAC-10. The large magazine capacity seems to have been added for gameplay reasons. However, according to Valve the MAC-10 is from the criminal underground so its reasonable that the last owner may have custom made a 50-round magazine. Despite that, the in-game model clearly depicts a 30-round magazine.
  • Despite most weapons being based on guns from Counter-Strike: Source, the Silenced Submachine Gun has higher damage and lower accuracy as opposed to suppressed weapons in Counter-Strike being more accurate and weaker.
  • It is noticeably more inaccurate than the Submachine Gun, which is a sign that subsonic rounds are being used, subsonic ammo has reduced initial velocity, which natually has a negative impact on the weapon's effective range and long distance accuracy. The use of subsonic rounds is likely to compliment the silencer, given that subsonic rounds are quieter than supersonic rounds.
    • This could mean that the weapon uses .45 ACP rounds, which are noticeably subsonic and are the native chambering of the real-life MAC-10.
  • According to Valve commentary, the Silenced Submachine Gun comes from the criminal underground, which is why it has a suppressor. This is odd because it is sold at a public store.
  • It is referred to as a Machine Pistol in Whitaker's Gun Shop, and as well as in some other games.
  • The Silenced Submachine Gun was rated 10th in the Left 4 Dead 2 Top 10 FTW (For The Win) Weapons on Machinima.
  • It is incorrectly shown firing from a closed bolt in first person, but the correct open bolt graphics appear on the third person model.
  • Unlike the Submachine Gun's flashlight, the Silenced Submachine Gun's flashlight is attached to the suppressor via cable ties. This arrangement has no gameplay effect.
  • In early gameplay videos, the Silenced Submachine Gun used animations from the Left 4 Dead Submachine Gun. Its damage, accuracy, rate of fire, and so on appear to have been carried over from the earlier game, too, which by then, the weapon's purpose is to increase weapon variants until the stats were changed.
  • Despite E3 videos showing the fabric strap moving when a user runs or turns (like the rag on a Molotov), the strap doesn't seem to move at all and the Survivors do not use it.
  • It appears logical to think that the Silenced Submachine Gun is more powerful than the Submachine Gun because it uses a different type of ammunition: the real-life MAC-10 can be loaded both with 9x19 Parabellum ammunition and with more powerful .45 ACP, while the UZI uses 9x19 Parabellum ammo (it can use .45 ACP too, but only in a rare 16-round magazine). However, the MAC-10 has a slower firing speed if it's used with .45 ACP ammo, and as the in-game Silenced Submachine Gun has a slower fire rate than the Submachine Gun, it's probably loaded with the .45.
  • Due to its gangland origin, it is possible that this weapon fires custom-made low velocity cartridges. If so, this would reduce the weapon's stopping power relative to conventional commercial ammunition in the same caliber. This weapon's relies on the slow and heavy .45 ACP round fired from a 5.7 inch barrel as compared to the Uzi's 10.2 inch barrel chambered for the lighter and faster 9mm Parabellum cartridge.
  • If the campaigns are played chronologically, this is the first primary weapon players encounter: it is found on the floor of the burning room outside the elevator in The Hotel.
  • The MAC-10 in Counter-Strike: Global Offensive is almost identical to Silenced Submachine Gun, with silencer and flashlight removed.

Gallery

External Links

Weapons
Primary Weapons
Tier 1 Chrome invert Chrome Shotgun / Pump invert Pump Shotgun / MP5 Invert MP5 / Mac10 invert Silenced Submachine Gun / Uzi invert Submachine Gun
Tier 2 Ak invert AK-47 / Scar invert Combat Rifle / M16 invert M-16 Assault Rifle / SIG Invert SG 552 / Auto invert Auto Shotgun / Spas12 invert Combat Shotgun / AWSM Invert AWP / Hunting invert Hunting Rifle / Steyr Invert Scout / G3 invert Sniper Rifle
Special Tier Grenade launcher inverted Grenade Launcher / M60Icon M60 Machine Gun
Secondary Weapons
Sidearms Pistol inverted M1911 Pistol / Deagle invert Magnum Pistol / Pistol l4d2 inverted P220 Pistol
Melee Weapons Bat invert Baseball Bat / Cricket invert Cricket Bat / Crowbar invert Crowbar / Axe invert Fireaxe / Pan invert Frying Pan / GolfClubIcon Golf Club / Guitar invert Guitar / Katana invert Katana / Knife Invert Knife / Machete invert Machete / Baton invert Nightstick / Icon pitchfork inverted Pitchfork / Icon shovel inverted Shovel
Special Tier Chainsaw invert Chainsaw
Other Weapons
Grenades Bile invert Bile Bomb / Molotov inverted Molotov Cocktail / Pipebomb invert Pipe Bomb
Upgrades L4D2 ammo explosive Explosive Ammunition / L4D2 ammo incendiary Incendiary Ammunition / Laser sight HUD invert Laser Sight
Fixed Weapons MMG Icon Heavy Machine Gun / Minigun icon Minigun
Items
Usable Items Explosive Barrel HUD invert Explosive barrel / Fireworks icon Fireworks / Gas canister HUD invert Gas can / Oxytank icon Oxygen tank / Propane tank icon Propane tank
Special Items Cola Cola / Gnome icon Gnome Chompski
Featured in both games / L4D1-exclusive / L4D2-exclusive (Counter-Strike weapons / PC-exclusive)
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