DSR 50 - Black Ops 2 Weapon Guide

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This time, we're covering the DSR 50.

Black Ops 2 marks the weapon's debut in the Call of Duty series, and it serves as the high-damage, bolt action option for those seeking the maximum possible one-shot lethality.

The DSR-50 is a German rifle, designed and manufactured by DSR Precision.

It is a higher-calibre variant of the DSR-1 design, built around the powerful .50 BMG anti-materiel cartridge.

Like the DSR-1, the .50 calibre variant is a bolt-action rifle in a bullpup configuration, with its magazine behind the trigger for a shorter overall length.

A forward magazine holder in front of the trigger holds a second mag for faster reloads - a useful trait, given the paltry 3 round capacity of the standard box magazines.

To combat the sizeable recoil of the fifty calibre round, hydraulic recoil buffers and a specially designed 'blast compensator' are incorporated into the rifle design.

The latter component is part sound suppressor, part muzzle brake: mitigating noise output, visual flash and felt recoil.

In-game, the DSR 50 boasts impressive damage: no other bullet-based weapon can trump this rifle's one-shot potential.

A shot anywhere above the waist - whether to the arms, stomach, chest, neck or head - will kill outright.

When suppressed, this damage will be diminished somewhat: only killing in one shot to the head, neck and chest.

This damage is unaffected by the distance from your target: the DSR is entirely capable of efficiently eliminating enemies at extreme ranges.

As a bolt-action weapon, the potential rate of fire is very low: the bolt needs to be cycled manually between every single shot.

This equates to a maximum effective fire rate of around 50 rounds per minute: this slow rate means you're more reliant on accuracy, to better put the high damage of this weapon to use.

Hipfire performance is very poor - divergence is significantly worse than even the other sniper rifles.

While a successfully connected shot will often kill, hipfiring should be saved for the direst of emergencies: relying on a secondary weapon is a far more sensible move in closer quarters.

Recoil is high, but will always settle between shots: while this might make tracking a moving enemy for follow-up shots challenging, the DSR's kick is seldom a factor in shot accuracy.

Aim time is slow, at 420 milliseconds - reinforcing the weapon's intended role as a long-range area denial weapon, instead of anything more aggressive.

Magazine capacity is low, at just 5 rounds: although few weapons can lay claim to 5 reliable kills between reloads, so the capacity issue isn't critical.

Reloads are relatively slow, but when performed in a safe place are not too inconvenient: a spare 3.29 seconds is usually easy enough to find.

The DSR-50 is a weapon of unmatched potency, able to instantly snuff opponents at any distance with a degree of reliability unseen in the other sniper rifles.

A successfully connected shot to the centre mass of your enemy will yield little surprise in terms of lethality - whereas the lower-damage sniper rifles might only wound, giving your quarry the chance of escape.

This reliable performance is paid for with all-round slow handling, however - the bolt-action mandating careful shots, the slower aim time requiring that you fire from prepared position.

Few weapons will prove as ineffective at a close range: in a fast-paced gunfight, you'll have just one chance to land an unaimed shot before any savvy opponent will get the better of you - and the DSR has the worst hipfire performance of any weapon.

Still, that's where your secondary comes into play - and while the DSR might not be particularly versatile, few weapons come close to competing with this sniper rifle's ranged potential.

This German weapon is a true marksman's rifle, ideal for lone wolf snipers seeking reliable lethality. If your aim is true, you'll find one shot kills with the DSR...

...are as simple as eins, zwei, drei.