AWM-S

AWM-S icon

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The **Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Covert**, or **AWC**, also known in-game as the **AWM-S**, is a Suppressed Sniper Rifle in-game that uses the .308 Subsonic Ammunition and was released in the v0.5.0 "*Air drop it like it's hot*" update on July 26, 2018.

## Update Note

"The good folks at PARMA are now making regular supply runs over the Island, releasing air drops with precious cargo. These special airdrops contain rare and quality loot, including extra rare weapons and items that can only be found in the air drop. The cargo plane will make regularly timed visits to the Island, but you can also get air drops on demand by finding and firing a flare gun."

## Background

The Accuracy International Arctic Warfare Rifle is a bolt-action Sniper Rifle series designed and manufactured by the British arms company Accuracy International. It has proved popular as a civilian, police, and military rifle since its introduction in the 1980s. The rifles have some features that improve performance in very cold conditions without impairing operation in less extreme conditions.

The variant of the Arctic Warfare featured in-game is the Arctic Warfare Covert, an integrally suppressed variant with folding stock of the AW family. This has been confirmed by Justin, and the weapon's tag in the code is "awc". However, in-game the gun is referred to as the "AWM-S", referring to the Arctic Warfare Magnum (which fires larger bullets than the AWC and does not have an integrally suppressed variant).

## Info

The AWM-S is a Sniper Rifle that uses the .308 Subsonic Ammunition type and is the only other weapon in the game to do so besides the Mk 20 SSR. It does 180 damage per shot and cannot do Headshots, while it formerly did 300 damage and 350 damage for headshots. The only way to get the AWM-S is from Golden Air Drops, Hardstone Boulders, Hardstone Blocks, from Potatoes or killing another player in the Potato Map, and rarely from crates and ground loot in the Savannah Map. It is one of only six sniper rifles in the game. This weapon has low bullet velocity for a Sniper Rifle, making it harder to aim at moving targets. The tracer of the .308 Subsonic is also very dark, so this means that careful players could be able to dodge the bullet.

## Pros and Cons

### Pros

* Deals the second-highest damage per bullet out of any weapon in the game and the highest damage out of all weapons in Normal Mode.
* Great range
* Very accurate
* Decent fire rate for a sniper rifle
* Useful for clearing obstacles (though you will waste one of your bullets)
* The bullet tracer is difficult for enemies to see

### Cons

* Rare ammo
* Small magazine
* Slow bullets compared to other sniper rifles
* Huge recoil
* Easily spotted
* Lengthy 3.5 second reload and when empty 3.6 from the Half Cycle
* Attracts players
* Very long barrel
* Easy to kill yourself in bunkers.
* Extremely rare, as it's only found in Golden Air Drops and Hardstone blocks

## Strategies

### Using

* The AWM-S makes for an excellent close-range and mid-range combat gun for its high (180) damage per shot. However, similarly to the M870, missing a shot can be fatal due to the slow rate of fire and rare ammo.
* The AWM-S pairs well with any highly damaging weapons since its high damage per shot can easily bring down most players' health.
* Try to shoot when your opponent isn't moving. Moving opponents are hard to target, especially with the AWM's low velocity for a Sniper.
* The AWM-S bullet can kill a Player in 1 shot with almost any type of armor, so try to slow your enemy down and aim carefully to make sure you hit them. This can be easily done when the enemy is in water.
* Quick-switching makes you move faster and will counter out the delay after you fire.
* Since it's suppressed when sniping from long distances, your opponent won't even know that you shot at them.
* But still, the enemy sometimes can see your bullet shot from your AWM-S, so be careful at close ranges. It may give them a high chance of watching the black bullet.
* Move around your opponent, plan where to shoot (when planned, don't move your cursor, wait when you move to them), then move at the opposite side of where you're planning to shoot, that'll confuse your opponent, and then shoot at them with your already aimed cursor.
* Holding your secondary weapon will make you less wanted.
* The Ammunition for the AWM-S, the .308 Subsonic, is rare, so be sure not to waste any. If you do get low on ammo, find an Armor-Piercing Melee Weapon, such as the Wood Axe, and find the large Ammo Crates which can give you any type of ammo, even the rare ones such as the .50 AE, the Flare ammo, and the one you target to find, the .308 Subsonic.
* This weapon is very useful for fighting many people at once since 1 shot can knock one person out. If you're fighting squads, aim and shoot, then hide and heal. After you're on 75% health or higher, cook a grenade and throw it at them. Either they all die, or one or more person is on low health, then you can finish them off with the AWM-S.
* The AWM-S can destroy almost all Obstacles in 1 hit. Destroy the Obstacle using the AWM-S (though LMGs are more preferred since it's a waste of 1 precious bullet), then finish them off using your secondary weapon.
* Pair with a LMGs or a high damaging Assault Rifle, such as the SCAR-H or M4A1-S, then use the gun to lower your opponent's health down, then switch to your AWM-S and kill them in 1 shot (If they have less than 70 health, even with max armor).
* If your enemy is near an explosive such as a Barrel, shoot it to kill them with its explosion.
* Quickswitching to another sniper rifle is a good tactic wherein you could hit them with the AWM-S to lower them down and quickly switch to your secondary sniper rifle to kill them.
* Camping in a bush or between 2 trees. The high damage output can kill most enemies before they can even react.
* In Savanna, if you have the Endless Ammo perk, it can help you a lot.
* Don't try to leave it out as bait. You can usually get more kills going after others than sitting and waiting for others to come to you.
* If you aren't confident in leading your shots, or you feel that a different weapon would be better at this moment, take any ammo from this gun and hide the actual gun. If possible, tank some damage and hide it in the Red Zone, in order to insure others don't take it.
* If you want to kill the last enemy without fighting fairly, challenge them to a melee (This typically works in desert). Hit them until you are confident they're low enough. The second they come close again, whip out the AWM and utilize it's one second delay. Fire, and before they can switch to their weapons or move away they are most likely dead (Or heavily damaged).

### Countering

* Try peeking out from behind cover to trick the sniper into wasting bullets, as the AWM-S has a slow reload and limited ammunition capacity.
* Make sure that there's at least one Obstacle in between you and the AWM-S user. Hiding behind an Obstacle always helps, even if it gets destroyed in 1 hit. Every shot will waste one more ammo in the precious and low supply the user has.
* Unlike what most people think, the AWM-S is not an ideal weapon at very long ranges due to its slow velocity for being a Sniper Rifle. Try to get a good scope, such as the 8x or 15x, and then get a gun with a high bullet velocity, such as the SV-98 or Mosin-Nagant.
* The AWM-S does 180 damage per bullet, which means that it is the second most damaging weapon in the game, being able to kill you in 1 shot. To avoid being hit take advantage of the gun's low bullet velocity, and gain Adrenaline with Sodas and Pills, then move back and forth or in random motion. This will make it harder to hit you.
* If you are very close by to a player with an AWM-S, then you should try using a melee weapon or shooting with a high DPS weapon with a short barrel like the MAC-10 or the MP220 as the AWM-S is the 2nd longest weapon in the game, meaning it will be hard for the AWM-S user to place shots accurately.
* Many players are so excited to have the AWM-S that they forget about their other weapons and use it even at close range. Exploit this by using any method you can to counter, such as dodging and then rushing them with a shotgun.
* Surprisingly, you only take around 80 damage if you have full armor, so don't be too afraid to charge at an AWM-S user.
* If possible, try to use dual SV-98 or dual Mosin-Nagant or mixed with dealing a big chunk of damage (Assuming you hit them both times).
* Get high adrenaline and run around with a fast-firing gun with low recoil, such as the P30L. The AWM-S user will have a hard time hitting you, while you will have many more opportunities to hit them.
* Hide, and ambush the AWM-S user with an "instant kill" weapon (MP220, Dual G18C, Vector, or Saiga-12). This will surprise them, and since this is CQC, they will have trouble hitting you due to the long barrel.
* Using a single SV-98 gives you a fair chance against an AWM-S user. The SV-98 is superior in velocity and range, while the AWM-S has suppression and the highest damage of all (besides the Rainbow Blaster).
* If you are at or near a bunker, play a game of chicken. Keep entering/exiting the bunker to get them to waste their ammo, or to goat them into possible hitting themselves with a ricochet.

## Obtaining

* The AWM-S is one of the rarest guns in the entire game. However, here are some things you can do to increase your odds of getting one.
* Go after any airdrops that land near you. They have a small chance of containing an AWM-S. However, be sure to have good weapons. It is a highly sought after gun, and the air drop will have summoned many players.
* Get the Sledgehammer or Stone Hammer. This will allow you to break the Hardstone Block or Hardstone Boulder. This has a good chance of giving you the AWM-S, even better than an air drop. Even if it doesn't, it can still give you good loot. Alternatively, if you have a Flare Gun, you can combine the above two strategies.
* It should be noted that the drop rate of the AWM-S is significantly increased in the Savannah Map and the 50v50 Map. It's also easier to find in the Desert Map because of the high number of airdrops and the larger number of Hardstone Blocks. It's also harder to find in the Woods Map because it's technically only LMGs and Shotguns. It's only found in Hardstone Blocks. Like all rare weapons, it's much easier to find in the Potato Map, but you can usually only kill one player with it (unless you're playing duo or squad).

## Rarity

The AWM-S is one of the rarest weapon in the game, only spawning in Golden Air Drops, Hardstone Blocks, and Boulders. In the Savannah Map, there is a very, very rare chance that you could get an AWM-S from a normal crate or as ground loot. In other modes, it never spawns as a normal ground loot and is highly sought after.

## Sounds

* Firing
* Reloading
* Half Cycle (When Mag is Empty)
* Cycling and Swapping To

## Trivia

* Despite using "subsonic" ammunition, the AWM-S has a higher bullet velocity than most weapons in the game, even though those weapons use supersonic ammunition.
* Previously, the AWM-S dealt 300 Damage with 350 Damage Headshots. Now, it deals 180 Damage, and headshots no longer occur.
* It is one of only 7 suppressed weapons present in surviv.io, the others being the M4A1-S, the CZ-3A1, the Groza-S, the OTs-38, the VSS, and the Mk 20 SSR.
* The AWM-S had a temporary nerf to the ammunition capacity to give it only 1 round instead of 5. It was changed later back to 5, but with an increased reload time.
* The "AWM-S" in-game is an AWC (Arctic Warfare Covert), not an Arctic Warfare Magnum. The AWC is an integrally suppressed version of the AW. This has been confirmed by Justin, a developer, and is further confirmed by the weapon's ID, which is "`awc`".
	+ Furthermore, the real-life AWM uses either the .300 Winchester Magnum or .338 Lapua Magnum, while the AWC fires 7.62 NATO (.308 Winchester) ammunition. This would make the weapon's ammunition type correct, while the name of the weapon remains incorrect.
	+ As the AWC uses 7.62 NATO, it should have a capacity of 10 rounds instead of 5.
	+ In real life, Subsonic Ammo is substantially weaker because it has a deliberately slowed velocity. This however is represented fairly well in-game.
* The sprite for the AWM-S has no iron sights, meaning that it would be very difficult for a player without a scope to aim the weapon in reality.
* The AWC in real life features an integral suppressor that substantially reduces the noise from firing, especially when using subsonic bullets.
* A Youtuber, Duckio, claimed that the AWM-S could penetrate through the Pan. However, this was proven false. Since game physics can bug out, it may allow bullets to reflect in an unusual angle, which can penetrate the Pan, and since the bullet is reflected, it deals a small amount of damage.
* Like the Mosin-Nagant, it can spawn on the Woods Map, despite being restricted to LMGs and Shotguns. This is due to the fact you can obtain it via Hardstone Blocks.
* The AWM-S' worldview sports what seems to be a scope, contrary to the sprite, which has no scope.
* The AWM-S had its own, new, different world image on the Snow Map (2018). It is the only gun to be reskinned only for one event.
	+ The reskin on the Snow Map (2018) can reference the "'Arctic" Warfare, the company that manufactured it.
	+ The AWM-S reskin was removed from the 2020 Winter Event.
* In the Cobalt Map, if one is lucky enough to get both the Hollow-points perk and Explosive Rounds/Splinter Rounds, the AWM-S deals 205.5 damage with Splinter Rounds and 183 with Explosive Rounds. That's a 25.5 and 3 damage buff, respectively.
* AWM-S is the first and currently the only Sniper Rifle to have a detailed worldview sprite.
* When equipped, AWM-S used to have the longest visible world sprite. That title now goes to the M134.
* The AWM-S bullets are very similar to that of the Cursed M9 making it not easy to distinguish the guns from only their bullet sprites.

## Gallery

A Survivr shooting another survivrAn AWM-S that spawned from a Hardstone BoulderA fellow survivr holding a Katana, Saiga-12, and an AWM-S during the Frozen Deserts event.A survivr holding the "'AWM-S'" along with the Saiga-12 and a 15x ScopeA fellow survivr holding an AWM-SAn AWM-S and M4A1-S in the inventory.A survivr with an AWM-S" Photo from surviv.io Twitter"Double AWM-SA survivr holding the AWM-S (old skin)AWM-S reskin during the Snow-covered island update2 AWM-Ss in the HUDAn AWM-S spawned in the Halloween Map's Eye BunkerAn AWM-S, M249, Stone Hammer, and MIRV in the HUD.The AWM-S firing.A lucky screenshot of the exact frame a survivr with level 3 armor is shot with an AWM-SThis survivr got his hands on an AWM-S and an M4A1-SA fellow surviv player finding an AWM-S as ground lootProof that the Developers removed the Winter AWM-S skin.An AWM-S spawning from a Golden Class Pod in the Cobalt Map.A fellow survivr holding the AWM-S and Super 90AWM-S on the ground after the player died.A survivr with a AWM-S and a USAS-12