What does bullet velocity do in Black Ops Cold War?

Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War is the first game in the popular first-person franchise to introduce precise gun stats. While previous titles featured ambiguous stat bars that were hard to decipher, Cold War uses specific numbers and data instead. This is great for hardcore players looking to optimize their loadouts, but it can be a little tricky for casual players to understand. And amongst the many Black Ops Cold War gun stats, the one that causes the most confusion is bullet velocity.

Something worth noting is that Black Ops Cold War is not the first CoD game to feature bullet velocity. In fact, it has been an integral part of gunplay ever since the series transitioned from hitscan weapons to projectile guns instead. This change was first seen in action on Black Ops 4. However, it has since become the standard for multiplayer, Warzone, and even Zombies.

What is bullet velocity?

Bullet velocity is the measurement of how fast your bullets travel after being fired from your gun. It’s an important measurement that is used to help differentiate the five main categories of weapons: assault rifles, submachine guns, tactical rifles, light machine guns, and sniper rifles. Larger weapons like light machine guns (LMGs) and sniper rifles tend to feature faster bullet velocities. In contrast, more mobile weapons such as submachine guns and pistols feature slower bullet velocities.

This weapon statistic did play a role in Modern Warfare too, but wasn’t nearly as important. This is because the majority of the guns in Modern Warfare had relatively fast default bullet velocities. Even though certain barrels and muzzles could be used to speed up bullet velocities, it was widely unnecessary outside of Warzone.

Hybrid weapons tend to perform differently from most other guns in their class. For example, the AK74-U outputs a far faster bullet velocity than any other SMG.

However, Treyarch switched this up with Black Ops Cold War. Unlike Modern Warfare, some guns in Cold War start off with noticeably slow bullet travel time. For example, the Mac 10 fires its shots at just 200 meters per second. That’s tied for the title of Black Ops Cold War‘s slowest gun alongside the KSP 45. And if you try using either of these weapons in a game mode that features longer range gunfights like Dirty Bomb, you’ll realize how hard it can be to land shots at a distance.

Even in regular multiplayer, such slow bullet velocities can make hit detection feel odd. Even though you know you’re aiming over an enemy, it’s not guaranteed your shots will hit. This makes it necessary to often lead your shots on targets as you would with a sniper at long range on Warzone. This isn’t practical and will often result in you getting outgunned beyond a certain range.

Speeding up your bullets

Thankfully, every single weapon in Black Ops Cold War can have its bullet velocity improved. Several attachments present in-game will give fixed percentage increases to your overall bullet velocity. This can result in your bullet travel speed exceeding over 1100 meters per second on some light machine guns. At that point, your gun is effectively a hitscan machine like older Call of Duty titles.

On many smaller weapons, these attachments are a great way of improving bullet registration. The only attachments that improve your bullet velocity in Black Ops Cold War are the barrels. Some weapons rely on barrels to feel right when fired at a distance. Case in point, the aforementioned Mac 10’s bullet velocity can be doubled to 400 meters per second. That number may not seem too substantial, but it makes a world of difference in-game.

Most primary guns in Black Ops Cold War will have two barrels that affect bullet velocity. Just about every gun has a Ranger barrel that will double bullet velocity. Most other guns will have another barrel unique to that specific gun too. There are some exceptions though, as the M4 has three barrels that affect bullet velocity while the Krig only has one. Feel free to experiment with whatever gun you like to use.

As a general rule of thumb, barrels that improve bullet velocity are almost always best in slot attachments. A handful of weapons like the Stoner 63 and LW3 – Tundra don’t usually need them, but most other guns benefit greatly from the improved bullet travel speed. If you haven’t been making the most out of these barrels, I’d consider rebuilding some of your loadouts.

For more Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War tips and guides, be sure to check out our guides and features hub.