Dual-Circuit EMP Rifle

Weapon – Energy Weapon

Requirements: Energy Weapons 6 (Maintenance 6, Repair 2)
Fire Modes: Single Shot, Overcharge (higher damage, but slower and uses more charge)
Ammunition Types: Energy Charge

Specialized weapon that does area-of-effect damage to mechanical targets. However, it does no damage to organic enemies.

Modifications:

Upgrade 1 – Storage Capacity & Damage Increase
This first upgrade brings the EMP Rifle’s maximum charge to 150% (before Maintenance bonus), and also increases its damage by 10%

Upgrade 2 – Energy Consumption Decrease & Damage Increase
The second modification to the EMP Rifle lowers its energy consumption rate by 50%, and increases its damage bonus to 25%, making it even more efficient.

Analysis & Tips:

The final weapon in the Energy Weapons tree, the EMP Rifle is another specialty weapon which can be both extremely useful and extremely pointless, depending on your perspective. Unlike the other Energy Weapons, it does absolutely no damage to robotic creatures, so already you’re limited in how you use it.

However, the EMP Rifle does have an upside, and that’s high damage towards robotic enemies; coupled with the fact that it runs off of a battery rather than ammunition, it makes an excellent backup when dealing with a troublesome mech. In a multiplayer context, it also gains a few points, as the EMP damage won’t do any harm to your partner. By far its biggest problem is its high requirements: Energy Weapons 6, plus Maintenance 6 to keep it in working order, is a big hurdle by any stretch. So long as you’re aware of its upsides and downsides, the EMP Rifle is a good choice for what it’s intended to do: ruin a robot’s day.