K&M .45 Tactical

Overview

See USP-S for the Global Offensive version.

The K&M .45 Tactical, more commonly known as the USP, is one of the pistols featured in Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike (Xbox), Counter-Strike: Condition Zero, and Counter-Strike: Source.

Before being replaced by the P2000 in Global Offensive, the USP was the default spawn pistol for the Counter-Terrorists in the series, but was reincarnated in the Arms Deal update for Global Offensive as the USP-S, taking up the same slot as its replacement.

Overview

The USP (Universale Selbstladepistole or "universal self-loading pistol") is a semi-automatic pistol developed in Germany by Heckler & Koch GmbH (H&K) of Oberndorf am Neckar as a replacement for the P7 series of handguns. In the Counter-Strike series, the USP pistol is the USP Tactical, a variant of the default USP, and it is capable in firing 9mm Parabellum, .40 S&W, and .45 ACP rounds. In-game however, it only uses .45 ACP rounds.

In game, the USP is a powerful semi-automatic pistol available to both teams, although it is the spawn pistol for the Counter-Terrorists. The USP is commonly described as superior to the Terrorist spawn pistol, the Glock, and nearly equal to the more expensive P228. For those reasons, the USP is popular due to being kept during the pistol round and sometimes many rounds afterward. It is also the only pistol that can be equipped with a suppressor for those who wish to achieve quiet kills.

If equipped at the same time with the Ingram MAC-10 or KM UMP45, the USP will share an ammo pool of 100 rounds with them as they all share the same cartridge.

The USP is unable to attach silencer if combined with the Tactical Shield.

The USP is the only firearm the VIP can use in Assassination. He is limited to 12 rounds in reserve and cannot purchase additional ammunition.

Properties

Hitbox	Primary Attack		Secondary Attack
Hitbox	Unarmored	Armored	Unarmored	Armored
Head	134	66	118	58
Chest & Arm	32	16	29	14
Abdomen & Pelvis	41	21	36	18
Leg	24	24	21	21
Red signifies a fatal hit.

The USP is a light weapon. While wielded, the player's movement speed is 250 units per second, meaning they suffer no speed reduction. The USP is one of the many weapons able to shoot underwater.

Advantages

Fairly accurate
Single headshot kills against opponents not wearing a helmet
Attachable silencer
Default pistol for Counter-Terrorists
Relatively cheap ($500)

Disadvantages

Relatively small magazine size compared to the Glock.
Higher recoil and spread with the silencer.
Lower damage with the silencer
Considerably long reload time.
High vertical recoil when fired rapidly.
When the user wielding this weapon with the Tactical shield, the user cannot attach the silencer.

Gameplay

Tactics

The USP is a suitable pistol for close and medium ranges and its fair amount of damage per bullet makes the USP a good pistol for picking off enemies at the ranges. It is highly recommended to use when enemies are scattered and alone.
If you are planning on using the USP's silencer, attach it at freeze time so you have it ready later.
- Aiming at the head is advised due to the lower damage.
- The attachable silencer is good for killing enemies from behind, before they notice you. Due to the lower damage, it is not recommended for straight combat.
For close battle, fire continuously, target the head for the first two shots. Then move down to the stomach starting the third shot. Chances are your next shot will hit their head.
If you meet more than 2 enemies at close, retreat at once and use your primary; if your primary is a sniper rifle or you have no primary weapon, try to engage one enemy at a time.
In older games, especially in Counter-Strike 1.6, the USP is not ideal for engaging targets beyond close range. Its cone of fire is large, regardless if a suppressor is attached or not.
If you cannot handle the high recoil of the Desert Eagle, this or the P228 could be a good sidearm of choice.
The USP is has good accuracy, therefore, it can easily eliminate enemies without armor or/and helmets in pistol rounds.
Unlike the Glock, the USP has higher vertical recoil. The player should pull down the crosshair when firing it as fast as possible.
The USP in Counter-Strike: Source is easier to use and is more effective than its older game counterparts, due to the recoil being significantly decreased and making rapid fire more accurate. If you wish to score headshots however, you have to aim a little higher or bullets will normally strike the chest, which cannot score an instant kill in the pistol round, due to the reduced vertical recoil in Source.

Countertactics

Try not to approach enemies using this weapon at close range. Shots to the head can be fatal due to the USP's power, especially in pistol rounds. Keep strafing to avoid being killed by a headshot. The accuracy of an unsilenced USP can become unreliable after firing several rounds.
Use any fully-automatic weapon or long range weapon to outclass its users. More powerful pistols should also be acceptable to counter assailants.
Try to get a teammate to attack a USP user with you if you only have pistol. The small magazine size and the reload sequence will be a detriment to them due to multiple enemies.

Comparison to the Glock-18

Positive

Higher damage
Higher accuracy
Silencer can be attached

Neutral

Same movement speed (250 UPS)
Available for both teams

Negative

Smaller magazine size (12 rounds vs 20 rounds)
Higher recoil
Less amount ammo in reserve (100 rounds vs 120 rounds)
Expensive ($500 vs $400)
Sightly lower rate of fire
Slower reload (2.7 seconds vs 2.0 seconds)
More ammo cost ($25 vs $20)
Lacks the three-round burst alternative fire

Achievements

Counter-Strike: Source

Weapon

K&M Tactical .45 Expert
Kill 200 enemy players with the KM Tactical .45.

Appearances

Condition Zero

In Tour of Duty, there are 5 Counter-Terrorists bots that use the USP as their sidearm. These bots are:

Floyd, a cost 1 UMP-45 wielder.
Cooper, a cost 1 MP5 wielder.
Ben, a cost 2 FAMAS wielder.
Travis, a cost 3 Shield wielder.
Brent, a cost 4 Shield wielder.

Deleted Scenes

Because the USP is a standard weapon for the Counter-Terrorists, this weapon is often available at the start in most missions, alongside with the P228 and the Desert Eagle. The damage of this weapon is slightly lowered. However, headshots can sometimes score instant kills.

The USP appears in the following missions:

Counter-Terrorist Training: At the shooting range, along with the M4A1.
Recoil: As starting loadout.
Hankagai: As starting loadout.
Alamo: As starting loadout. Note: No extra .45 ACP ammo can be found.
Truth in Chaos: As starting loadout.
Run!: As starting loadout.
Miami Heat: As starting loadout.

Rarely, friendly operatives armed with the USP may be equipped with a HE grenade. They will usually retreat and only shoot when cornered. USP is also used by the leader CT NPCs on occasion, they do not have grenade equipped though.

Trivia

When taking the silencer off the USP, it is simply the sound of it being attached reversed. The same applies for the M4A1.
The USP was originally planned to be colored in black in Counter-Strike. However, the blue-purple color was used instead, although the world model still retains its black finish.
- The odd blue-purple tint is likely inteded to be modeled after the stainless steel version in real life.
- The USP in Condition Zero: Deleted Scenes used the same black finish as seen in the world model and its silencer is quite different.
- Also, originally in the Counter-Strike Beta, it had a flashlight mounted below the gun barrel. Starting from Beta 6.5, it was removed.
The USP in Source is smaller and features a different silencer.
Before Counter-Strike: Source, the safety for the USP is observed to be on, which should make the pistol unable to have the ability to fire bullets.
The USP has .40 S&W marked on the side, but is coded to use .45 ACP rounds.
A small hole appears in the cocking serrations on the slide of the USP during its reloading animation, which promptly vanishes when the reloading is done.
The USP in Counter-Strike, Counter-Strike: Condition Zero and Deleted Scenes will always have a suppressor attached in third person perspective, regardless of actual suppression. This is fixed in Counter-Strike: Source.
Some bots in Source will automatically attach the silencer by themselves but some others will not use it or will remove the silencer.
- This behavior can be seen in older game by adding scripts; the same applies to the M4A1.
Before Counter-Strike: Source, the silencer attaching/detaching animation can be skipped by starting it and then quick-switching the USP to any other weapon. It makes the silencer much faster to attach or detach. The same glitch appears with the M4A1. Both glitches are fixed in Counter-Strike: Source.
In Deleted Scenes, if a Counter-Terrorist operative carries an HE grenade, he will also be armed with a USP. The only difference is the CT with the grenade will usually hide rather than attacking head on. This can be seen in Building Recon where one hacker carries an HE grenade.
The USP is the only silenced weapon that can be purchased by the Terrorists.

External links

Heckler & Koch USP at Wikipedia