Best Special Weapon in Black Ops 2

In Call of Duty Black Ops 2 there are the typical weapon types (assault rifles, sub-machine guns, pistols, launchers, etc.) but there are some weapons that fall under the "Special" category. These special weapons aren't just grouped together by me but are also grouped in the game for the diamond camo challenges. The Assault Shield, Crossbow, Combat Knife, and Ballistic Knife are all part of this "Special" group and must all have gold camo to gain the diamond camo for the group. I am nearly done obtaining the diamond camo for all of these so I have spent a considerable amount of time using these weapons and I believe that one is better than the other 3.

In my experience the Ballistic Knife is far superior to the other 3 special weapons. It has the speed and effectiveness of the combat knife with the additional option of range with the capability to fire the blade at your enemy, though it can be difficult to aim. If you are good at rushing and getting close to enemies, you should have no problem using the Ballistic Knife, especially to fire the blade since you won't have to lead the enemy or anything at short range. The second best special weapon for me was the combat knife and the Ballistic Knife is practically just a range improvement on the combat knife so it makes sense that it would be better. If the weapons were the same as the original Black Ops, I probably would have said the crossbow is the best but now that the blast radius is decreased for the crossbow in Black Ops 2 (though the tri-bolt kinda makes up for it) the Ballistic Knife jumps to the top. The Assault Shield doesn't even compete with these other weapons as it is weak in strength and, all in all, just a nuisance to the other team. Most of the time the enemy dies by one of your teammates because the enemy is too busy worrying about your shield and you can't get close enough to hit the player, let alone twice. In summary the Ballistic Knife is the best weapon out of this "Special" group and can be extremely effective if you know how to traverse the map and flank your enemies.

Below I will show a table of the class I typically use for the Ballistic Knife along with an explanation of the class underneath it. Please let me know if you have suggestions or comments about my class or choice of best "Special." It is important to me to get your opinion so I can become a better player too. I hope my thoughts and descriptions help you if you decide to use the Ballistic Knife (for challenges or for fun). Thanks for reading! :)

This class setup assumes that your "primary" weapon, the one you are planning on using, is the Ballistic Knife. It is not for when you just want your secondary to be the Ballistic Knife to support whatever your real primary weapon is. All the perks and grenades are there to improve the likelihood of success when only, or primarily, using the Ballistic Knife.

Secondary
Obviously, I pick the Ballistic Knife for my secondary. There are no attachments for the Ballistic Knife so it is impossible to have them.

Grenades
For the grenade slots, I only use tactical but one tactical and one lethal can be chosen if that fits you better. I use two concussion grenades so I can throw them in a room or open space and easily maneuver around the enemy sightlines and pretty much get an unopposed kill. If you decide to go with the one lethal and one tactical grenades, I would recommend the C4 or Combat Axe as you probably won't have time to wait for a frag or semtex grenade to explode while you are running around the enemy.

Perks and Wildcards
All but one of the perks I use improve the speed and/or stealth of my player. I use two wildcards: Perk 1 Greed and Perk 3 Greed. These wildcards allow me to assign a second perk to my player from those respective perk groups. My perk 1 slots contain lightweight and ghost. Lightweight allows me to move and run faster and ghost allows me to stay undetected on the radar while moving. In my opinion, ghost is a cheap perk in almost every other situation, but, when all I have is a knife, I make this exception. My perk 2 is scavenger so I can refill my shootable blades from the enemies I kill. My perk 3 slots include dexterity and extreme conditioning. Dexterity allows my player to climb and mantle objects faster and aim faster after sprinting. Extreme conditioning allows my player to sprint longer distances without getting tired. These perks help me move around the map faster and close the gap between me and the enemy so I can get the best chance of winning with an extremely short range weapon, like the Ballistic Knife.

I hope these ideas and suggestions help you utilize the Ballistic Knife better, especially if you are looking to complete challenges. Again, I am open to any other feedback or criticism so please leave a response in the comment section below. I look forward to hearing your feedback and thanks for reading! :)