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Unreal weapons

Superior firepower to survive the hostile planet

The road to freedom is perilous, and so Prisoner 849 must collect various items along the way to survive the trials that lie between them and an escape from Na Pali. In this article, we will be looking at the weapons and ammunition that players can collect during the campaign.

Weapons

Unreal introduced the familiar set of weapons that has been carried through the entire Unreal series, including all Tournament entries, with limited changes. The following is a listing of all the weapons that can be found in the game world.

 

Dispersion Pistol 

Your basic medium fire rate sidearm has a self-recharging power supply, meaning that it will never run out of ammo. If you do use up its charge, it soon comes back again. This may make it sound extremely powerful but it is let down by the fact that each charge only does a pitiful 15 points of damage. That is unless you have a powerup that increases the power of its primary fire mode. In this situation it becomes more powerful, but the rate of fire decreases. Primary fire is a single medium-speed shot, whereas holding down secondary fire means that you can charge up multiple charges into one more powerful shot that does radius damage. You can collect up to 4 powerups (for 5 power levels).

Automag

Although the Automag is an early-game weapon, it remains useful throughout the mission. It is an instant impact weapon and (in primary fire) is highly accurate. Primary fire is a medium-rate instant-hit bullet projectile, whilst secondary fire sees the gun running in a rapid-rate sideways carriage which is much faster but soon becomes hopelessly inaccurate. The Automag has a variety of uses including opening destructible containers, dealing with weaker enemies or sniping at larger ones. Don't disregard the Automag simply because it's weapon number two.

Stinger

The Stinger fires volatile tarydium shards. In primary fire it has a nailgun-like rat-a-tat-tat action that fires a continuous stream without pause to reload. In secondary fire it fires clusters of five spreading shards with a slow reload speed. Whilst primary fire is of limited use as creatures dodge quickly, secondary fire is highly effective for taking out larger creatures like Skaarj in the early stages of the game. Secondary fire however becomes useless and wasteful at anything greater than point-blank range, since the shards spread so much. You can feel free to use the Stinger as it has a fair ammo capacity.

ASMD

The simply named ASMD (God only knows what it stands for) is a directed energy weapon that has three firing modes. Primary fire is a pinpoint-accurate instant-impact energy jolt that can take out a creature a mile off. Good against Skaarj as they can't dodge. Secondary fire is a slow-moving energy projectile that does considerably more damage (including some splash damage). The third firing mode is the so-named "ASMD Combo", in which a secondary fire projectile is struck with a primary fire bolt. The resulting explosion has a short axial range but deals a large level of damage over a large radial distance. All three modes have their uses; really the ASMD is a weapon with a learning curve, one that you have to figure out for yourself. But it is weapon you will grow to love...

Eightball Gun

The Eightball Gun is Unreal's take on the classic rocket launcher. In primary fire, it fires simple rockets; hold down fire to load up to six then release to fire them off in a spread. Secondary fire lobs grenades; again, hold down fire to load up to six. You can also fire rockets in a tight circle; to do this, press and hold down secondary fire whilst loading rockets with primary fire. Also, centre over a target for long enough without loading rockets and the gun become a heat seeker... ouch. Bear in mind that the rockets move slowly and are easy for agile enemies to dodge; in some ways secondary fire (which does more damage) is better against Skaarj because they find bouncy things harder to anticipate and avoid. Where primary fire really shines is against Titans, whose large bulk makes them easy to target and too hulking to dodge. Overall, a weapon with many uses...

Flak Cannon

The cumbersome Flak Cannon is probably, in terms of brute force, the most effective weapon in your arsenal. Primary fire sends out a spread of high-speed shrapnel with some considerable whacking power, while secondary fire sends out a heavy explosive shrapnel bomb for short medium range targets. Both modes are highly potent at de-fleshing your enemies, which is good. The weapon is plodding but the power of its shots more than makes up for this weakness. You may find at first difficulty in deciding which firing mode to use, but as you gain experience you'll do it instinctively. It's a fun weapon to fire, and is extremely effective. What more could you want?

Razorjack

A Skaarj hunting weapon, the Razorjack fires spinning sirated razor blades. These blades ricochet and thus can be hazardous but they have a very focused damage point and thus can be used to accurately shoot creatures in the head (for more damage or even a decapitation). Primary fire is a basic razor launcher. In secondary fire, the weapon tips on its side and you can gesture with the weapon to exercise some control over the razors' trajectory. This is the one attack of all the weapons that I have never really used, because the limited control is not worth the delay innate in tilting the gun to use this firing mode. You may find a use for it though...

GES Biorifle

The GES Biorifle fires volatile Tarydium Sludge. It is the ultimate recycling weapon, firing waste products... anyway, at first glance it seems gimmicky and pointless, but once you get to know it there is actually quite a good weapon here. Primary fire shoots globules of sludge that stick to walls and explode on contact with organic tissue. Secondary fire can charge up to five shots at once before letting rip in a giant globule. Either mode can be used to either mine passageways or to completely bombard some unfortunate creature who happens to be in the way. The damage soon mounts up to a kill. What you should never do is use the GES Biorifle whilst moving forwards or at point-blank range, because you will be slimed by your own sludge. Overall, the GES Biorifle is another learning weapon... if you're any good, you will ultimately grow to love it.

Rifle

The long and spiky Rifle is the ultimate accuracy weapon. In both modes it fires a single instant-impact slug of extreme accuracy that can easily be used to decapitate enemies. The secondary fire key is used to toggle a sniper mode zoom lens, perfect for removing the limbs of Krall from a distance. The effectiveness of the Rifle seems to improve dramatically if you aim for the head, so you should always aim for that part of the enemy's body. Not all creatures can be decapitated, but those that can are Skaarj, Krall and Mercenaries (Nali too but who'd want to decapitate them?). You can also remove Krall's legs if you're good. Have a play, and get to know this gun. It will be your friend.

Minigun

The Minigun is a very wasteful weapon - I don't use it too often because it guzzles my Automag ammo. In primary fire it fires a steady stream of bullets (minimum of five for a press of the trigger) with a fair accuracy but to fairly poor effect for its ammo consumption. In secondary fire it is more useful; ammo consumption is still obscene but it dishes out the damage at an incredible rate (once it has accelerated to its higher speed) albeit at a lower accuracy.

Ammo

Of course, none of these powerful weapons will be of any help without the ammunition to fuel them (excluding the Dispersion Pistol). These cartridges, slugs and rockets can be found across the planet in varying amounts.

Dispersion Pistol Powerup

This energy pod is not strictly ammo but instead is used to permanently improve your Dispersion Pistol primary fire. Power One (not powered up) is a weak blue projectile launcher (1 charge a shot) with a capacity of 50. Power 2 is a yellow projectile launcher (3 charges a shot) with a capacity of 60. Power 3 is a green projectile launcher (5 charges a shot) with a capacity of 70. Power 4 is an orange projectile launcher (6 charges a shot) with a capacity of 80, and power 5 is a pink projectile launcher (7 charges a shot) with a capacity of 90. These improvements are impressive, but the rate of fire does decrease as you increase the shot power, and the rate of recharge decreases the higher the total charge currently on board. Collecting Powerups when already on power five fully recharges the pistol.

Clip

These Clips are found in pairs and provide a total of 20 rounds of ammunition for your Automag and Minigun, up to a maximum of 200. Clips are small and are thus often found tucked away in corners. Keep your eyes open...

Tarydium Shards

These Tarydium Shards are found in clusters of 40. They provide useful ammunition for the Stinger, up to a maximum capacity of 200. The Stinger is a useful light-duty weapon so be on the look-out for these objects.

ASMD Core

ASMD Cores are power cells for the ASMD directed energy weapon. Each core provides 10 rounds, up to a maximum capacity of 50 rounds. For some reason ASMD Cores are frequently found in barrels in hidden underwater tunnels within Nali water temples.

Eightballs

Eightballs are ammo for the Eightball Gun. Eightballs are found in cans of 12 scattered around the locations, which you can collect up to a maximum capacity of 48. For some reason when you approach a can it pops up and rests on a ring of stalky things. Don't ask me why.

Flak Shell

Flak Shells are ammo for the cumbersome Flak Cannon. Flak Shells are sometimes found single in the earlier maps such as "Harobed Village". It doesn't seem much but one Flak Shell can do a fair amount of damage.

Flak Shells

Ammo for the Flak Cannon can also be found in boxes of 10. You can collect Flak Shells individually and in boxes up to a maximum capacity of 50. A box of 10 Flak Shells is a valuable item as it is sufficient ammo normally for two to three kills.

Razor Blades

Razor Blades are ammo for the unusual Razorjack weapon. These boxes of ammo are relatively rare and each contain 50 Razor Blades which you can collect up to a maximum capacity of 75. For some reason as you approach the top lifts up. Don't ask me why.

Tarydium Sludge

This waste product of Tarydium processing is used as ammo for the GES Biorifle. Found in 25kg cans each providing 25 rounds, up to a maximum weapon capacity of 100 rounds; sludge is fairly common and thus you needn't go too easy on use of the GES Biorifle. Note that on DMTundra this item is referred to as a GEL Cartridge. It is no different.

Rifle Round

These individual items each provide a single round for the Rifle. Once again this may not seem very much, but remember that two shots to the head can decapitate a Krall. Anyway, collect these when you see them because they soon build up.

Rifle Rounds

Ammo for the Rifle can also be collected in boxes of 8. These boxes are very valuable because you can kill four Krall or at least two Skaarj with that much ammo. You can collect Rifle Rounds up to a maximum capacity of 50, more than enough for some flying heads...

Bullets

Bullets are ammo for the Minigun and Automag. A single box of bullets provides 50 rounds for either weapon, which you can collect up to a maximum capacity of 200 rounds. Remember, shots from the Automag are each worth considerably more in terms of damage. The choice of which gun is entirely yours.

CAR Clip

Funnily enough, the CAR Clip is ammunition for Return to Na Pali's Combat Assault Rifle. CAR Clips are generally found in the UMS Logistics drop boxes and in crates on board the UMS Prometheus; each clip contains 50 rounds towards your 400 round maximum capacity. There are plenty of CAR Clips to go round, so don't be afraid to make full use of the Combat Assault Rifle's power.

Grenades

Grenades are ammo for Return to Na Pali's Grenade Launcher. Once again, Grenades are found in the UMS Logistics drop boxes and on board the UMS Prometheus. Each box contains 10 Grenades towards your maximum capacity of 50.

Rockets

Rockets are ammo for Return to Na Pali's Rocket Launcher. Rockets too are found in the UMS Logistics drop boxes and on board the UMS Prometheus, although they are less common than CAR Clips and Grenades. Each box contains 10 Rockets towards your maximum capacity of 100.

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