The W2000 Sniper (almost identical to its real life counterpart, the Walther WA-2000) is Agent 47's sniper rifle of choice alongside the Kazo TRG[1]. Although proficient with other rifles, 47 usually chooses the W2000 in both the games and the novel. In reality, the rifle is now rather rare and expensive.
Hitman: Codename 47
In Hitman: Codename 47, it holds a 6 round magazine and it can also be purchased from the start of one level. In this game it is called the WA2000.
Available at
- Gunrunner's Paradise - Can be purchased from the menu, it costs $9,000.
- Plutonium Runs Loose - Can be picked up in weapons stash.
- The Setup - Can be found in a room across from Dr. Kovacs' office.
Hitman 2: Silent Assassin
In Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, the W2000 only carries one bullet at a time and reloads at a slow rate, while at the same time being unsuppressed. These drawbacks lead it to being one of the worst performing rifles in the game. Although it is a single-shot sniper rifle, it still features a short magazine.
Adding the W2000 to the weapons collection in the shack at Gontranno enables the player to replay the level St. Petersburg Revisited with any of the previously collected weapons as opposed to having to start with the fiber wire only.
Available at
- Invitation to a Party - On the balcony outside. Getting it outside the embassy undetected is nearly impossible, however.
- St. Petersburg Revisited - On Agent 17.
W2000 Custom Rifle
The W2000 Custom Sniper is a special sniper rifle found in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin. As its name implies, it is a customized version. In appearance, it is exactly the same as the W2000, except that it is gray with a wood trim, has a large scope capable of high zoom and precision and what appears to be a laser sight under the suppressor. Unlike the regular W2000, it is equipped with a durable suppressor, the bipod is no longer present, and it has a magazine capacity of ten rounds.
The Custom Rifle is easily the best performing sniper in the game. It is the only completely silent scoped weapon (the Crossbow is almost silent, but enemies will hear it if is fired at extreme close range), does high damage, has manageable recoil and a generously-sized magazine.
Available at
- Hidden Valley - Found on Snipers.
- At the Gates - Found on Snipers.
- Redemption at Gontranno Found on some Snipers.
Hitman: Contracts
In Hitman: Contracts, the rifle only holds six bullets, but the strong scope, fast rate of fire, and silencer make up for its low ammunition capacity. It sometimes comes in a briefcase. Unfortunately, if the player chooses to bring it along from the menu after clearing the game, it's brought without the case.
Available at
- Traditions of the Trade - 47 automatically starts with it.
- Slaying a Dragon - 47 automatically starts with it.
- The Wang Fou Incident - In the guard quarters next to the safe.
- The Seafood Massacre - 47 automatically starts with it.
- The Lee Hong Assassination - In the weapons depot.
- Hunter and Hunted - In the cabinet of 47's hotel room.
Hitman: Blood Money
The W2000 can be customized with several upgrades in Hitman: Blood Money, making it, along with the Silverballers, one of the two most useful weapons in the game. The upgrades can be purchased at the start of each level; these upgrades include scopes and sound suppressors. For a full list of upgrades, see W2000 Sniper upgrades. With these upgrades, the W2000 is without doubt the best weapon for snipers. There is no delay between shots (unless bolt action upgrade is installed), which makes its fully automatic feature. With the W2000 concealed, at the price of a disassembled rifle, it's excellent for infiltration. Even without upgrades, the W2000 is the most accurate weapon in game. While the game has no hold breath feature, all sniper rifles in game will "shake" when zoomed in. The lightweight frame upgrade can solve this problem for W2000, however.
Available at
- The player automatically owns it after the completion of the first mission, after which it can be brought to every mission except the final one. It can be used for practice in the Hideout.
Details
When Mr. 47 needs to reach out and touch someone with direct precision, this rifle in most cases is his personal choice. The handgrip and trigger pull fits his style of shooting. As with any other important aspect in the art of assassination, sniping is extremely important. The main reason being that a target can be silenced from a distance. This eliminates the troubles of infiltrating a highly secured area and running the risk of blowing your cover. A common issue with mastery over this art is the steadying of the hands. In most cases, even a well-established hitman like Mr. 47 can't keep the crosshairs dead still. To reduce this major problem, Mr. 47 has used methods such as reducing movement of the rifle while aiming, but the most helpful is to crouch while aiming if possible. This greatly aides in steadying your aim in preparation for a clean head shot and silent assassination.
Sniping can also be utilized to trim the numbers of security patrols in an area, but Mr. 47 is known to try and keep the casualties limited to those only marked by the contract. Such a tactic, due to the stealth it provides, should never be overlooked. Mr. 47 has stated a few useful tactics for preparation, if you have doubts about your particular sniper's perch, make sure no one can see you from any direction. Steady your aim and try to center the crosshairs so that when it moves to its highest point it is directly on the targets thinking cap. Then focus and squeeze. After the clean hit, cautiously depart the area. Now you can consider yourself a professional hitman.
Upgrades
- Main article(s): W2000 Sniper/Upgrades
In Hitman: Blood Money, W2000 Sniper is one of the five customizable weapons. The upgrades range from doubling the magazine capacity, reducing the noise, and to enhancing the precision.
Gallery
Trivia
- Even though a bipod is present on the W2000 Sniper in Hitman 2: Silent Assassin, it cannot be used. This is likely due to console limitations.
- In real life, the WA-2000 possesses several unique characteristics; It requires constant maintenance to retain its phenominal accuracy, uses a bullpup design and requires much fine-tuning, and it was designed for police and law enforcement, very much like the PSG-1. Both are very expensive, the PSG-1 costs $15,000, the WA-2000 costs more, around $40,000 - $75,000 per unit. Also, only 176 were ever made before their production was halted, leading to their extreme rarity and high cost. These traits combine to make the WA-2000 a perfect signature weapon for 47, a rare and precise killer.
- However in Absolution and Sniper Challenge, 47s signature sniper rifle is the Kazo TRG.
- The WA-2000 is available in .300 Winchester Magnum, 7.5x55mm Swiss and 7.62x51mm NATO. The in-game variant uses the latter; the W2000 in game is the "2nd Generation" of Walther WA-2000, improved to use these cailbers.
- In Blood Money, like all custom weapons with their standard counterparts, the WA-2000 does not share sniper ammo with other sniper rifles.
- Note that assembly of the weapon will take a few seconds to complete, and the rifle briefcase is only non-detectable by metal detectors (requires upgrade to be non-detectable by X-ray machines), not personnel. The guards will take your briefcase to the security quarters if they spot it, whether it is empty or not.
- If you unpack the rifle in tight quarters like an elevator shaft or water, it is possible that the assembly animation will be skipped altogether, which saves you a few important seconds.
- Though 47 starts with the W2000 in Traditions of the Trade in Contracts, he can't bring it into the hotel until he deactivates the metal detectors in the security office.
- The WA-2000 was used in the James Bond film The Living Daylights, where Bond covers Koskov from being assassinated by Kara Milovy.
References
- ↑ Hitman: Blood Money Official Prima Guide