Hello, this is XboxAhoy and this is the thirty-first episode of my Black Ops 2 Weapon Guide.
This time, we're covering the RPG.
The last of the three launchers, this explosive option has seen numerous outings in a variety
of forms, starting with Call of Duty 4.
In Black Ops 2, the RPG is a futuristic interpretation of the Russian RPG-7: a Soviet design dating
to 1961.
The RPG-7, or 'Ruchnoy Protivotankovyy Granatomyot', meaning 'Hand-held anti-tank grenade launcher',
is a relatively straightforward design capable of firing a variety of warheads.
Little more than a steel tube and trigger mechanism, the RPG is a man-portable design
fired from the shoulder.
It is most often employed within an anti-armour role, with shaped charge warheads funnelling
a stream of molten metal capable of piercing thick steel.
Some warheads use a tandem charge to ensure effectiveness against reactive armour, with
a smaller primary charge clearing the way for the larger secondary explosive.
There do exist rockets designed for an anti-personnel role, too: either via fragmentation or thermobaric
effect.
In-game, the RPG deals substantial explosive damage over its radius of effect - wounding
those caught in the periphery and killing unprotected enemies outright towards the blast
epicentre.
Blast radius is identical to that of the SMAW, so each offers similar performance, with a
lethal radius of a couple of metres.
Enemies with Flak Jacket will prove troublesome to kill outright with the RPG: only a direct
impact will kill.
The RPG lacks any form of lock-on, so tackling air support can be tricky: larger, slower-flying
aircraft such as the VTOL Warship are the easiest targets, while attempting to down
a UAV will normally result in a wasted shot.
Should you successfully strike your target, however - you will down it with a single rocket.
Note that the RPG's projectile follows a meandering path - making long-range accuracy heavily
reliant on luck.
Rate of fire is very slow - even under perfect conditions, you'll only be able to fire the
equivalent of around 15 rockets per minute.
As a single shot weapon, a reload is required after every time you fire - and as such this
is the major factor limiting your output.
Handling is generally very slow, as with all the launchers: the RPG takes nearly half a
second to aim, at 400 milliseconds.
Hipfire is impossible, too - you will need to aim prior to firing, greatly limiting your
effectiveness in reactive gunfights.
Your mobility will be similarly sluggish whilst you have the RPG equipped, too - you'll move
at 90 percent of the base movement speed.
As a single shot weapon, there's no magazine to speak of: and readying a new round to fire
takes 3.29 seconds, slightly slower than the SMAW.
You do benefit from a greater initial supply than the SMAW, however - the RPG gets two
rockets upon spawn instead of just one.
Our build with the RPG is slightly unusual - an explosives-only approach that throws
caution to the wind and aims to keep you in the fray and deal maximum explosive damage
- a 'suicide bomber' class, if you will.
With our first choice we dive straight into the perks, skipping over any primary weapon
selection and instead using naught but the RPG.
Lightweight is our choice for the first tier, elevating your mobility whilst using the RPG
and allowing you to get into a better firing position more quickly.
Ideally, you should switch to your knife often to maximise your mobility, only switching
to the slow-handling RPG once you're in position.
Next, we select two perks from the second tier with the Perk 2 Greed Wildcard, to permit
better use of equipment.
First up is Fast Hands, granting faster weapon switch times and equipment usage - particularly
useful if you plan on making use of the faster movement speed of your combat knife, and for
more aggressive use of your equipment.
Given the slow handling nature of the RPG, it's useful to inject a little reactivity
to improve on the aggressive ability of the weapon, better taking advantage of its anti-personnel
role.
Second up in tier two is Scavenger - resupplying your rockets and equipment when you pick up
a blue pack.
Enemies killed via explosive won't drop any loot, sadly - but should you find your explosive
supply depleted, getting a kill with a found conventional weapon or your knife will grant
you more munitions, allowing more sustained use of the RPG.
Next, Dexterity will improve sprint recovery and will otherwise assist reaction time with
your weapon: the faster mantling speed will also allow you to quickly gain a height advantage
over your foe, before raining rockets down upon them.
Getting higher up increases the angle of intersection with the ground, meaning you benefit from
the ability to better determine the point of impact, and thus detonation - and your
reward for landing more accurate shots is greater overall lethality.
Next, to enhance our equipment selection we elect the Danger Close wildcard, doubling
up your lethal slots to two.
We fill these slots with two C4 charges: a selectively detonated powerful explosive that
can be tossed near close-range enemies to quite some effect.
Paired with Fast Hands, and as long as you remember to double tap your reload button
(or the use key on PC) for a rapid detonation - C4 is an excellent choice for aggressive
use, boasting high explosive damage with flexible timing.
With it, you can set traps in doorways or near combustible objects, such as cars - or
simply toss a C4 pack directly into the fray, and detonate immediately for an explosive
surprise.
Finally, we take a smoke grenade in our tactical slot for concealment or confusion - useful
for capturing objectives should you ever need to, or to cover open ground while avoiding
enemy snipers.
Smoke can also work in your favour during combat: while it might blind you as well as
your enemy, your explosives don't need accurate direction to remain effective - leaving those
reliant on precision utterly helpless.
That's our build - a set of perks designed for aggression, paired with a slow-handling
weapon that needs all the help it can get to support such a role.
Your reward for this combination is the ability to occupy advantageous position over your
enemy, while blunting their approach with a continuous barrage of deadly explosives.
Such tactics rely less on precision, with your blast radius filling in the need for
fine aim - but are more reliant on positioning and anticipation of your enemy's movement.
This can work well in objective game modes - where it's easier to determine your enemy's
spawn, and where their movements might lead.
Should you prove successful, you can land impressive multikills; and blunt the opposing
team's offensive efforts.
Of course, there exists one very potent counter to such a build - Flak Jacket will be your
bane with any explosive weapon, and any sensible enemy will be in a hurry to equip this perk
once they're wise to your tactics.
As such, the RPG might be best employed as a situational weapon, as continued use might
see diminishing returns.
The RPG is the best launcher for use in an anti-personnel role: the larger starting supply
putting it ahead of the dual-purpose SMAW.
This enhanced supply means you can make more liberal use of the weapon: suppressing the
enemy's movements through chokepoints to better take control of the map, and to swing games
in your favour.
Of course, your explosive force is easily blunted - Flak Jacket and the Trophy System
can render you impotent in the face of conventional weapons.
Paired with its lethargic handling traits, the use of this anti-personnel launcher is
a high-risk, high-reward affair: terribly effective against unprotected enemies clustered
near objectives or chokepoints, but with a severe risk of proving ineffective and leaving
you vulnerable.
Still, such is the price of taking the explosive option: you trade reliable lethality for a
wider area of effect.
While it might sometimes blow up in your face, the RPG can sometimes prove decisive: so if
you want to have a blast, equip this launcher...
...and go out with a bang.
Thanks for watching, this has been XboxAhoy.
Join me next week, when I'll be covering the Ballista.
Until then, farewell.