COD Black Ops: Weapons Guide: AK74u [15/05/2011]

[BlackChaos]

Greetings fans of the Call Of Duty franchise!

This is the second edition of my COD Black Ops Weapon Guide series.
If you haven't seen the first one yet, you can check it out here.
This is a series of Black Ops guides aimed at helping the players to get a better understanding of how these weapons fare on the battlefield. They are based on my unbiased thoughts and opinions as an experienced gamer.
If I miss something, or if I need to correct something, be sure to give appropriate sources along with your feedback. Lets begin!
So, without further ado, lets begin!

Note: The following guide is only for Multiplayer. There is a section for Zombies, provided the gun is available in a Zombies game without cheats/mods

Today's featured weapon is:

AK74u



Type: Sub-Machine Gun (Automatic)
Unlocked at: Level 17
Price: 2000
Pickup Image:

Ammunition: 90 (starting) ~ 240 (maximum)
Magazine size: 30 rounds ~ 45 rounds (w/ Extended Mags)
Reload time (approx.): 2.1 seconds (Not completely empty)
2.8 seconds (Completely empty)
Rate Of Fire (ROF): 750 rpm
Damage: 35-20*

BlackChaos' Brief Rundown Of The AK74u
The AK74u is unlocked at level 17 and costs the player 2000 COD Points. This powerful SMG has the third highest damage as compared to the MP5K and the Skorpion. It has a manageable recoil in the upwards direction, which makes it efficient for dispatching enemies at close and medium distances. However, the AK74u is not as effective at longer ranges, obviously, because of its recoil and *long-range damage reduction. The Grip attachment renders this problem as a mere inconvenience by greatly reducing recoil, which helps to ensure more shots stay on target. Its reload time is relatively fast, both at empty and partially filled capacities. Because its fire rate is low when compared to other SMG's, Rapid Fire is almost always paired up with this weapon. I don't suggest this because the low ROF is very useful for maintaining ammunition when you don't have Scavenger as your first perk.
The AK74u is the only submachine gun for which the Grenade Launcher attachment is available. It is also one of only two submachine guns which has the Dual Mag attachment (the other one being the MPL).
Many of its traits and features make this weapon seem like an assault rifle with submachine gun ADS and movement speed, making it one of the most popular weapons in the online multiplayer community. Unlike the assault rifles however, it is important to note that the AK74u has lower bullet penetration. It is unable to penetrate through medium and thick objects such as walls and concrete slabs, although it is reasonably effective when shooting through light material. This problem can be solved by adopting the Hardened perk.
I will be lining up the ratings and my opinion of each attachment in relation to this weapon in terms of usefulness.

Attachments

• Red Dot Sight [5/10]
  The RDS of the AK74u is not as useful because the default iron sights are more than sufficient. However, the style points do matter, don't they?
  
• Suppressor [8/10]
  AK74u and suppressor go together like... like... Omniscient and repfcuking. A very good combination, very commonly used in stealth classes. The only down side, like on all other guns, is the decreased range. This makes the gun par useless at long and medium ranges, but a trained hand could manage easily by reducing the rate of fire.
  
• Dual Mags [6/10]
  A quicker reload at the first turn is always useful when in the heat of a fire fight.
  
• Extended Mags [6/10]
  Not as useful as some of the other great options here.
  
• ACOG Sight[4/10]
  In my opinion, the ACOG is the most useless attachment here. A SMG does not, and will never need an ACOG. If you fancy a different sight other than the Iron sights, I would suggest Red Dot instead of this.
  
• Reflex Sight [5/10]
  Same as RDS.
  
• Grip [10/10]
  One of the best attachments for this weapon is Grip. This eliminates a lot of recoil and shrinks the cross-hairs down a bit. This means hip firing will be more effective at close quartered battles. This also means that Steady Aim would not be as necessary.
  
• Rapid Fire [9/10]
  If you don't mind your ammunition burning away, the Rapid Fire is the attachment to go to. Coupled with Scavenger, this makes the weapon one of the most deadliest guns in the game.
  
• Grenade Launcher [5/10]
  If you need a Grenade Launcher, I would suggest picking an Assault Rifle for the job. Although the increased mobility is useful, its just not worth slapping on a Tishina on an AK74u.

Final Verdict
[9/10]
The reload time, iron sights, and assault rifle-like traits of this weapon make it one of the best options for new and experienced players alike. I recommend it on all maps except the large ones.


The AK74u is available for purchase off the wall for 1200 points on every one of the Black Ops Zombies maps, excluding Dead Ops Arcade. It has low recoil, medium rate of fire, 20 round magazines with 160 extra rounds in ammunition and significantly low damage. It is an effective weapon for the early rounds. I do not advise you to use it after Round 8, as it becomes very weak.

PACK-A-PUNCHED VERSION



Pack-a-Punching it will give it the name "AK-74fu2," with double the number of bullets as its magazine size, gets 280 extra rounds, and a Red Dot Sight with a unique and randomly sight reticle. The name "AK-74fu2" is similar to "FU2" which means "fudge You Too". Ammo runs out quickly, so careful conservation of bullets is required.

Which weapon should I showcase next? Please leave your suggestion below.

[Untouch]

This is almost right this time.

red dot and reflex I would say 7/10
suppressor 5/10 not as good with this weapon
dual mag 5/10
extended mag 8/10 useful
acog 3/10
grip 10/10
rapid fire 10/10
grenade launcher -100/10 noooooooooobbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyy

I normally use warload with this weapon and use rapid fire with grip.

But still if fully prestiged would not be a weapon of my choice.

[BlackChaos]

This is almost right this time.

red dot and reflex I would say 7/10
suppressor 5/10 not as good with this weapon
dual mag 5/10
extended mag 8/10 useful
acog 3/10
grip 10/10
rapid fire 10/10
grenade launcher -100/10 noooooooooobbbbbbbbbbyyyyyyyyyy

I normally use warload with this weapon and use rapid fire with grip.

But still if fully prestiged would not be a weapon of my choice.

Nicely said

I agree that the suppressor is useless at medium to long range, but I did mention that it is greatly effective for close range only.
And extended mag is useful, but not so much when compared to the other attachments.

I also use warlord with this weapon, with those same attachments. Together they're just... too good.