VKS

:For similarly named weapons, see KSV, SKS and GKS.
The VKS is a bullpup sniper rifle that appears in Call of Duty: Ghosts. It has an integrated silencer like the Honey Badger and K7.
==Campaign==
The VKS makes only one appearance in the campaign. It can be found in the train station in the mission "Severed Ties".
==Multiplayer==
The VKS costs nine Squad Points to purchase.
The VKS is a low damage sniper rifle that has damage drop-off over range. The VKS gets a 50% damage boost on headshots, a 10% damage bonus on shots to the neck and upper chest, and an 8% damage bonus on shots to the stomach. At any range short of 38 meters, the VKS will deal 98 damage per bullet, allowing for a one shot kill to any of the aforementioned areas. Damage drops off linearly until 51 meters. At any range past 51 meters, the VKS will deal 92 damage per bullet. If the VKS is dealing its minimum 92 damage per bullet, it will no longer be able to get one shot kills to the stomach. The VKS is unable to get one shot kills to the limbs under any circumstances. The VKS is the least reliale weapon in its class as it pertains to getting one shot kills, especially at longer ranges, but by and large, the VKS' one shot kill capability is perfectly adequate, and it has by far the largest one shot kill area among all suppressed sniper rifles. The VKS has high penetration power, allowing it to retain most of its damage when shooting through walls, although one shot kills through walls shouldn't be expected unless a headshot is dealt.
The VKS is tied with the Maverick-A2 for the highest fire rate in its class, with its fire rate capped at 400 RPM. The VKS can easily make a follow-up shot in short order when needed.
The VKS' accuracy is subpar. The VKS' scope is quite bulky, leaving for a smaller viewing area. The VKS has the second largest amount of idle sway in its class. The VKS' recoil is large and consistent. The VKS has no leftwards or downwards recoil values. The VKS will kick upwards and to the right with every shot with varying intensity. The VKS kicks upwards with a value of either 60 or 80, and rightwards with a value of either 55 or 85. The VKS an above average centerspeed of 700. While the VKS' centerspeed value is good relative to other sniper rifles, it is bad overall, and users of the VKS will regularly find themselves needing to pace their fire in order to keep the VKS under control. Like other sniper rifles, recoil is heavily dampened when firing from a prone or crouching position, and the VKS can take good advantage of that should one want to increase their volume of fire. Like other sniper rifles, the VKS will sway slightly slower if using no sight attachments.
The VKS' handling characteristics are average for a sniper rifle, and bad overall. The VKS allows users to move at 85% of the base movement speed, and strafe at 34% of the base movement speed. The VKS takes 480 milliseconds to aim down the scope, and the VKS' hip-fire accuracy is terrible. Although the VKS is semi-automatic, hip-fire is not a reliable option in almost any situation. The VKS' reload speeds are average for a sniper rifle. The VKS' reload animation is 3.4 seconds long, or 4.6 seconds long if the magazine is empty. In either case, the user can perform a Reload Cancel after 2.2 seconds. These reload speeds are poor overall. There is a noticeable delay before the VKS is automatically reloaded when empty if the player is aiming down the scope, though not as much as the Lynx.
The VKS has the largest magazine capacity of all sniper rifles, holding ten rounds per magazine. This also grants the VKS the largest starting ammo loadout overall starting ammo loadout, granting thirty rounds total.
The VKS has a limited attachment selection, as its integrated Silencer restricts the usage of barrel attachments. As there are only two attachment categories for the VKS, Extra Attachment is completely useless for this weapon.
The ACOG Scope grants a lower magnification scope in addition to increased peripheral vision and full view of the user's surroundings. However, the ACOG Scope not only removes the option to hold breath to steady the VKS, it also increases idle sway amount and idle sway speed by 50% each, rendering the VKS wildly inaccurate. The attachment is not worth using under most circumstances, only useful for players who are using the VKS in a highly aggressive manner.
The Thermal Scope is a great choice for a sight attachment, providing a clean sight picture with a thermal overlay that highlights enemies white hot. However, this highlighting effect does not work against enemies using Incog, and the Thermal Scope will cause the VKS to sway slightly faster than without it, but the cleaner sight picture and highlighting of enemies makes the Thermal Scope a popular choice for the VKS.
The Variable Zoom Scope provides three alternating zoom levels through the stock scope model. This grants extra zoom flexibility, and is a decent option for those that like the feel of the stock scope, or just don't favour the Thermal Scope. However, it will increase idle sway slightly compared to not using it.
Extended Mags increases the VKS' magazine capacity to fifteen rounds, and increases the starting ammo loadout to 45 rounds total, allowing the player to be very liberal with their usage of ammunition. There's no weakness to this attachment and it provides significant tangible benefit.
Armor Piercing allows the VKS to ignore the effects of Ballistic Vests and users with Juggernaut armor are much more vulnerable. The VKS is very good at dispatching Juggernauts with the attachment equipped. Much like with Extended Mags, there's no inherent downside to using the attachment besides passing up on Extended Mags.
Overall, the VKS provides several valuable niches among the sniper rifles, combining decent power with semi-automatic capability, unparalleled sustained fire capability, and most importantly, stealth. The VKS is a remarkably well-rounded sniper rifle that not only allows the user to succeed in a stealthy sniping playstyle, but provides advantages beyond stealth to make the VKS a decent sniper rifle in its own right.
==Extinction==
The VKS can be purchased in Extinction mode for $1500. It has the rare distinction of appearing on every map. On Awakening and Exodus, kills with the VKS count towards semi-automatic rifle challenges. On all maps, kills with the VKS count towards sniper rifle kill challenges.
The VKS is a very high damage per shot weapon that can be used to kill extremely distant targets. It is great for engaging Scorpions, which like to engage users from far away. The VKS also becomes very viable with the Sniper Deadeye upgrade, as it will always deal critical hits and net the users more money on a kill. The upgrade makes the VKS a great weapon to use against rhinos and other high health cryptids, as the VKS has an extremely large magazine and a good damage output. It is also a good weapon to use if using the Smaller Wallet relic, as the Sniper Deadeye will help counteract the reduced income. Being affected by Sniper Deadeye and usually being available very early on most maps, the VKS can often be crucial to help a player quickly make money and acquire additional resources in the early stages of the game.
The VKS' biggest weakness is that it handles very poorly overall. It reloads slowly, it aims slowly, and hip-fire is unusuable outside of if a Cryptid is right in a player's face.
Compared to the other sniper rifles available, the L115 and the USR, the VKS is semi-automatic, while the others are bolt-action, which may make the VKS a better choice in most situations, especially in Chaos Mode due to it being very fast-paced. However, the VKS is much less likely to get one shot kills compared to the bolt action sniper rifles, especially in solo play where one shot kills on Hunters and Scorpions are within the realm of possibility.
Although the VKS as a weapon can only equip the ARK or Extended Mags as attachments, interacting with Search Piles using the VKS is a bad idea, as the VKS can return any weapon attachment available in Extinction, even if it can't be used on the VKS. The vast majority of attachments cannot be used on the VKS, and it'll lead to the player receiving several attachments that they can't use, as well as attachments that other players do not want. It is especially a bad idea to search with the VKS if the player does not have the Master Scavenger upgrade, as the player cannot receive any relevant attachments for the VKS by searching on their own, needing the assistance of another player with Master Scavenger to receive an ARK or Extended Mags. 
The VKS compares best to the MR-28, a Marksman Rifle which has very similar characteristics to the VKS. Both serve a similar role of a semi-automatic rifle that doesn't have a large ammo pool and both suffer from a strict firecap, but they possess some of the greatest per-shot damage of any weapon that isn't pump or bolt action. Compared to the MR-28, the VKS handles far worse due to far inferior hip-fire accuracy and aim speed, as well as the scope being quite ill-suited for close-quarters. The VKS is also less accurate due to heavier recoil and significantly larger idle sway. The VKS also has a much smaller range of available attachments, and gives more undesirable attachments than the MR-28 when searching with the VKS. However, the VKS can compensate for this with far superior long-range consistent damage, larger magazines, a larger ammo loadout, and best of all, being affected by Sniper Deadeye, giving the user much more money with each successful kill. It also costs less initially, able to be bought right away without any kills should the player have the Extra Cash upgrade, and the VKS is available on Mayday, Awakening, and Exodus, whereas the MR-28 is only available on Point of Contact and Nightfall.
===Locations===
*Point of Contact: Located in the first area on top of a rock. Located in the cabin area below the wooden balcony, almost directly below the Electric Fence unit.
*Nightfall: Located in the first area below the catwalk.
*Mayday: Located in the cargo area inside the side door area that lacks a schematic table.
*Awakening: Located in the first area on a cliff near a mushroom.
*Exodus: Located in the base area on the east side catwalk.
==Attachments==
===Integral===
*Silencer
===Sights===
*ACOG Scope
*Thermal Scope
*Variable Zoom Lens
===Barrel===
*ARK (in Extinction only)
===Mod===
*Extended Mags
*Armor-Piercing
==Gallery==
VKS model CoDG.png|The VKS's model.
VKS CoDG.png|The VKS in first-person view.
VKS ADS CODG.png|Aiming down the sights of the VKS.
==Trivia==
*The VKS' serial number is 0716-1974.
*There is "CHENKOVICSKY" and "Родина" (Russian for family) is written on the side of the VKS.
*The VKS had a different reticle before the game's release.
*In Extinction, the VKS appears to be lacking any sort of scope, but when purchased, it still has its standard scope.
*The back end of the scope is used as the inventory icon for the Variable Zoom attachment.
*The scope has the Russian Tula Arsenal logo of an arrow circumscribed by a star.
ru:ВКС
Category:Call of Duty: Ghosts Sniper Rifles