Rifles

There are several different types of rifles in the game; human assault rifles, alien rifles, and hybrid rifles that represent a fusion of human and alien technology.

Human assault rifles can be recovered at the end of a mission or in the arsenal of a base the first time it is captured. Alien weapons are recovered at the end of a mission against either the aliens or the transgenants. Hybrid rifles have to be manufactured by your engineers.

Rifles have greater range and power than handguns, although the rate of fire tends to be somewhat lower, particularly in burst mode. Rifles are all-round weapons that are useful in most mission types, although more specialist weapons such as shotguns and sniper rifles are sometimes more useful in certain situations.

The transgenants can use all the rifles in the game except for hybrid rifles.

AK-47

Weight: 4.3 kg
Ammo capacity: 30 rounds
Damage type: universal

Aimed mode
Max range: 31 metres
Damage: 73
Rate of fire: 0.6 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 17 metres
Damage: 219
Rate of fire: 1.7 rounds per second

The AK-47, first produced in 1947, is the most common assault rifle in the world. The Soviet Union produced over twenty million of them, many of which were exported to pro-Soviet factions in other countries during the Cold War.

Being somewhat dated, the AK-47 is the weakest human assault rifle in the game. It has the lowest range in both aimed and burst mode. It also has a relatively low rate of fire in both aimed and burst mode. It is only worth using in the early missions when you do not have enough other assault rifles and ammunition to go round.

The AK-47 can be obtained in the aftermath of a mission or in a base arsenal from the earliest stages of the game.

FN FAL

Weight: 5.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 20 rounds
Damage type: universal

Aimed mode
Max range: 33 metres
Damage: 73
Rate of fire: 0.6 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 21 metres
Damage: 219
Rate of fire: 1.9 rounds per second

The FN FAL has better range than the AK-47, and it has a better rate of fire in burst mode. However it is still the second weakest human assault rifle in the game.

It is useful against the transgenants in the early to mid game as in capable hands it will outrange the weapons used by gobbers and slimethrowers. However, the low rate of fire counts against it in close combat and the universal rounds are poor at penetrating Reticulan armour.

The FN FAL can be obtained in the aftermath of a mission or in a base arsenal from the earliest stages of the game.

HK G3

Weight: 4.5 kg
Ammo capacity: 20 rounds
Damage type: universal

Aimed mode
Max range: 35 metres
Damage: 73
Rate of fire: 0.7 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 21 metres
Damage: 219
Rate of fire: 1.9 rounds per second

The G3 has slightly better aimed mode statistics than the FN FAL, and it is slightly lighter. It should be used in preference to the AK-47 and the FN FAL.

It has the same weaknesses as the FN FAL in burst mode, and the universal rounds are not very effective against Reticulan armour. The range makes this a useful rifle for missions against the transgenants.

The G3 can be obtained in the aftermath of a mission or in a base arsenal from the earliest stages of the game.

Colt M4

Weight: 3.4 kg
Ammo capacity: 30 rounds
Damage type: hard

Aimed mode
Max range: 33 metres
Damage: 56
Rate of fire: 0.7 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 19 metres
Damage: 168
Rate of fire: 2.0 rounds per second

The M4 is the most basic assault rifle that fires hard (armour piercing) rounds. It is also somewhat lighter than rifles that inflict universal damage. The disadvantage of armour piercing rounds is that they usually inflict less damage than universal rounds if the target is unarmoured.

The M4 is useful in a medium to long range engagement against the Reticulans because their armour gives little protection against hard rounds, although the low rate of fire in burst mode means that there are more useful weapons when fighting the Reticulans at close range.

Light armour is totally ineffective against hard rounds and combat armour only gives a moderate amount of protection. This makes a transgenant armed with an M4 dangerous to your squad.

The M4 can be obtained in the aftermath of a mission or in a base arsenal from the earliest stages of the game.

HK G36

Weight: 3.3 kg
Ammo capacity: 30 rounds
Damage type: hard

Aimed mode
Max range: 35 metres
Damage: 56
Rate of fire: 0.8 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 24 metres
Damage: 224
Rate of fire: 2.9 rounds per second

This is a useful all round rifle in the early and mid game. Unfortunately the G36 is available to the transgenants from the earliest stages of the game and it will take a little while before it turns up in the armoury of a newly established base.

The range and damage potential in aimed mode is nothing special, although the armour piercing rounds can make this a useful weapon against the Reticulans.

What makes the G36 particularly dangerous is its burst mode statistics. The rate of fire and accuracy are considerably greater than that of many other rifles. Also when it is fired in burst mode, four rounds are used instead of the three rounds used by most human assault rifles, this increasing the damage potential. The combination of these statistics and the armour piercing rounds make this a very dangerous weapon for your soldiers to go up against.

The G36 should be used in preference to the Colt M4 in all situations if there is sufficient ammunition available.

Steyer Aug

Weight: 3.8 kg
Ammo capacity: 30 rounds
Damage type: hard

Aimed mode
Max range: 45 metres
Damage: 60
Rate of fire: 0.7 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 30 metres
Damage: 240
Rate of fire: 3.1 rounds per second

The combination of hard rounds and impressive range make this an excellent all round rifle in any engagement against the transgenants and any medium or long range engagement against the Reticulans. It does not appear until mid-game, but it is useful throughout the rest of the game.

The range of the Steyer Aug in both aimed mode and burst mode is greater than that of any other human assault rifle in the game. The range in aimed mode competes with that of both alien and hybrid laser rifles, and is only narrowly outperformed by the Remington 700 sniper rifle.

The rate of fire and damage potential in burst mode exceeds that of all other human assault rifles except for the HK G11 K5.

The transgenants will use the Steyer Aug in the late game. However, by that time you will have improved armour and weapons capable of killing a humanoid transgenant with a single shot, so the danger to your soldiers should not be that great.

The Steyer Aug should be used in preference to the Colt M4 and the HK G36 if there is sufficient ammunition available.

HK G11 K5

Weight: 3.6 kg
Ammo capacity: 45 rounds
Damage type: hard

Aimed mode
Max range: 40 metres
Damage: 56
Rate of fire: 0.7 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 27 metres
Damage: 280
Rate of fire: 4.2 rounds per second

The G11 K5 is intended to be an alternative to the Steyer Aug. It is less accurate that the Steyer Aug, but it has better burst mode characteristics, and is a useful all round assault rifle from its appearance in mid-game to the end of the game.

Although the G11 K5 is less accurate than the Steyer Aug, it is still more accurate than the other human assault rifles in the game, which means that it is still useful in open terrain.

In burst mode, the G11 K5 has a considerably higher rate of fire than any other human assault rifle, and it is only matched by the hybrid enhanced laser rifle. It fires five rounds each time it is used in burst mode, more than any other human assault rifle in the game. Combined with hard rounds, these factors make the G11 K5 highly effective against most human and Reticulan armour in the game.

Along with the Steyer Aug, the G11 K5 renders all the other human assault rifles in the game obsolete. The strong burst fire characteristics of the G11 K5 makes it the better choice for urban combat and the interior of human and Reticulan bases.

Alien Laser Gun

Weight: 2.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 25 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: laser
Uses alien power cells. Improved alien power cells give 50 shots before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 37 metres
Damage: 70
Rate of fire: 0.6 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 25 metres
Damage: 210
Rate of fire: 1.9 rounds per second.

The alien laser gun is the main weapon used by the Reticulans in the early part of the game. It is their equivalent to human assault rifles.

Laser weapons tend to be more accurate than equivalent projectile weapons because there is none of the recoil that has been associated with projectile weapons since the development of gunpowder. The alien laser gun has greater accuracy than any of the human assault rifles available in the early stages of the game, although it is outclassed by the Steyer Aug, the HK G11 K5 and sniper rifles. This means that it is important that you equip some of your soldiers with sniper rifles before attempting a mission against the Reticulans in open terrain.

The amount of damage inflicted by an alien laser gun is comparable to the damage inflicted by a human assault rifle. Light armour and clothing give no protection against laser damage, although all other armour in the game, including enhanced light armour, gives at least some protection against lasers.

Reload time is 6 seconds, slightly longer than the 4-5 seconds needed to reload a human assault rifle.

The transgenants will often use alien laser guns after the first few weeks. This has the advantage of ensuring that you will probably never run out of alien power cells.

You need to research both alien weapons and laser weapon operation before your soldiers can use any alien laser weapons in their possession.

It is not worth using the alien laser gun against the Reticulans because even their most basic armour is optimised against laser weapons. Weapons firing hard rounds are far more effective against Reticulan armour.

Alien laser guns are useful against the transgenants providing you equip your squad with a combination of human weapons and alien laser guns. Do not equip your entire squad with laser weapons under any circumstances because some transgenant species are highly resistant to laser damage. Balloon fish in particular have 90% protection against lasers, although they are virtually defenceless against projectile weapons.

Advanced Alien Laser Gun

Weight: 2.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 33 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: laser
Uses alien power cells. Improved alien power cells give 66 shots before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 45 metres
Damage: 90
Rate of fire: 0.4 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 32 metres
Damage: 270
Rate of fire: 1.9 rounds per second

As the name suggests, this is an upgraded version of the alien laser gun. Range and power have been increased but at a cost: the rate of fire in aimed mode has decreased. It is the Reticulan equivalent to the most advanced human assault rifles.

The Reticulans first use the advanced alien laser gun when the Kasputin Yar mission appears on the map. It is a popular choice for the Reticulans for the rest of the game, although they will still occasionally use the more basic version. Curiously, the transgenants sometimes use the advanced alien laser gun slightly before the Reticulans start using it.

It is hardly worth bothering to use the advanced alien laser gun against the Reticulans. Reticulan sky armour, which turns up in the game at the same time, has 75% protection against laser damage. Fortunately, sky armour is still vulnerable to hard rounds.

The advanced alien laser gun is highly effective against most transgenant species, but you should still make sure you use it in combination with weapons that inflict different damage types for the reasons mentioned above.

Alien Warp Assault Rifle

Weight: 3.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 40 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: warp
The power cell for this weapon cannot be replaced or recharged in the field.

Aimed mode
Max range: 31 metres
Damage: 200
Rate of fire: 0.4 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 25 metres
Damage: 600
Rate of fire: 0.8 rounds per second

This is a popular Reticulan weapon from its appearance in mid-game onwards. The transgenants will start using it soon afterwards.

The alien warp assault rifle has poor range and rate of fire. However it has massive damage potential, particularly in burst mode. This weapon is not much of a threat in open terrain because it is out-ranged by the weapons you will have access to by this stage. However, it is highly dangerous in urban combat, base defence missions, the second stage of UFO recovery missions and alien base missions.

Alien warp assault rifles are useful at close range against the Reticulans and most transgenant species. They are particularly useful against the octopuses that guard the Royal Chamber in the Reticulan headquarters. Remember that the power cells cannot be recharged or replaced in the field; Reticulan soldiers with alien warp assault rifles usually carry secondary weapons, and you should follow their example.

As with other warp weapons, you must research warp weapon operation before your soldiers can use this weapon.

Laser Rifle

Weight: 2.8 kg
Ammo capacity: 20 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: laser
Uses hybrid power cells. Improved hybrid power cells give 40 shots before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 45 metres
Damage: 40
Rate of fire: 0.5 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 31 metres
Damage: 200
Rate of fire: 3.6 rounds per second

This is a hybrid weapon that was designed by your scientists to be the equivalent of the alien laser gun. It has greater range than the alien original, but it has lower power. The high rate of fire means that it has greater damage potential in burst mode.

It takes 6 seconds to reload a hybrid laser rifle, the same as with alien laser guns and longer than the 4-5 seconds it takes to reload human assault rifles.

Hybrid laser rifles are far more effective against transgenants than the Reticulans, whose armour is optimised against laser weapons. Their good burst fire characteristics makes them more useful in urban combat than alien laser guns.

You need to research laser principles, energy cell principles and the Area-51 files before you can begin manufacturing hybrid laser rifles and accompanying power cells.

The biggest drawback of this weapon is that it becomes available for manufacture at about the same time as enhanced combat armour and shortly before hybrid sky armour. By this time, you will be desperate for your engineers to produce armour that gives good protection against laser and plasma weapons. Also, the Reticulans will have started using the more powerful version of their laser guns, which makes this weapon less important. You will probably need to build at least one at some stage in the game as it is a prerequisite of the enhanced version.

Enhanced Laser Rifle

Weight: 3.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 20 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: laser
Uses hybrid power cells. Improved hybrid power cells give 40 shots before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 52 metres
Damage: 60
Rate of fire: 0.6 rounds per second

Burst mode
Max range: 36 metres
Damage: 300
Rate of fire: 4.2 rounds per second

As the name indicates, this is an improved version of the hybrid laser rifle. Range, damage capacity and the rate of fire have all been improved. The excellent range and rate of fire make this the most powerful laser weapon in the game.

In order to build this rifle, you must recover and research the Kasputin Yar files which you need to research enhanced hybrid weapons, and you must also have at least one basic hybrid laser rifle.

This weapon is useful in any mission against the transgenants for the rest of the game, providing you use it in conjunction with weapons that inflict a different type of damage. Despite the damage potential, it is ineffectual against the Reticulans because they will mostly be using sky and bio armour by this stage.

Plasma Rifle

Weight: 5.0 kilograms
Ammo capacity: 5 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: plasma
Uses hybrid power cells. Improved hybrid power cells give 10 shot before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 35 metres
Damage: 500
Rate of fire: 0.3 rounds per second

This rifle was designed by your scientists using the technology behind the alien plasma gun. The Reticulans have no equivalent plasma weapons as their plasma guns are medium range area effect weapons, rather like the M79 grenade launcher. You need to research plasma principles and hybrid power cells before you can manufacture plasma rifles.

The high damage potential of the plasma rifle makes it a powerful weapon. 1-2 shots will kill most transgenants in the game. It is also useful against the Reticulans because the high damage potential makes up for the protection Reticulan armour gives against plasma weapons.

The biggest disadvantage of the plasma rifle is that even an enhanced hybrid power cell only has enough power for ten shots, and reloading takes ten seconds; time you do not always have in the middle of a mission. In order to use this weapon effectively, you will have to be prepared to give the reload order when things are quiet, and not simply when a power cell is depleted. When you are being fired on by a Reticulan, you do not want to have to wait for ten seconds before you can return fire. Use the improved version of hybrid power cells if possible because their capacity is twice as much as the basic version.

The plasma rifle does not have a burst mode, and the rate of fire in aimed mode is remarkably slow. This sometimes counts against you in close combat, particularly in the interior of a UFO when you have several Reticulans attacking you simultaneously.

Despite its disadvantages, the plasma rifle is a powerful weapon in most tactical situations.

Enhanced Plasma Rifle

Weight: 6.0 kg
Ammo capacity: 5 shots before power cell depletion
Damage type: plasma
Uses hybrid power cells. Improved hybrid power cells give 10 shots before depletion.

Aimed mode
Max range: 40 metres
Damage: 750
Rate of fire: 0.3 rounds per second

This is an improved version of the plasma rifle, and it has greater power and range than the original. In order to build this rifle, you must recover and research the Kasputin Yar files which you need to research enhanced hybrid weapons, and you must also have at least one basic plasma rifle.

This is the most powerful rifle in the game. You will achieve one shot kills against most transgenant species, even on the hard level. The damage potential also makes this a highly effective weapon against the Reticulans.

Unfortunately, the enhanced plasma rifle has the same drawbacks as the original. Ammunition capacity is limited and there is a long reload time. There is still no burst mode and the rate of fire in aimed mode is pretty limited.

Despite the drawbacks, this is one of the most useful weapons in the second half of the game. It is well worth equipping a couple of your soldiers with enhanced plasma rifles for every mission you will go on, even the Moon mission at the end of the game.