Disruptor Pulse Launcher
General Information
The Disruptor Pulse Launcher which can be carried with one hand is perhaps the worst thing since the Blaster Launcher from the First Alien War. Though it depends on whose fingers are on the trigger: human or alien.
In many ways, the under-water restriction is a hidden blessing for X-COM. There is nothing like a nuke for accidentally killing three civilians in order to get rid of one Gillman, and can you even imagine a human Cruise Ship keeping itself afloat should several of those babies go off in the engine room?
The main blessing of the Disruptor Pulse Launcher is also its greatest curse; it is disgustingly easy to use. Two rookies that stay behind on the dropship can kill a dozen aliens with it as long as others take point. Yet the same ease of operation means the user doesn't learn anything from the kill... No more than the people piloting the remote-controlled weapon platforms.
Commanders with troops well-trained in MC can have fun launching the DPL from aliens who have been controlled, especially in Alien Base Mission Ground level. However, due to the inventory lockout for MC'd aliens, you will only be able to fire it once if it is loaded.
From September onward, the aliens will replace all of their sonic weapons with this in their colonies. Every alien from then on will either carry this or a Thermal Shok Launcher on an Alien Colony Assault.
This weapon appears in Terror from the Deep. For the UFO: Enemy Unknown equivalent, refer to the Blaster Launcher.
Comparison to UFO: EUs Blaster Launcher
Nearly identical to the Blaster Launcher with a few minor improvements. Weight for the weapon is decreased by 4 points and the ammo is increased by 1. However, when carried in the usual loadout of 4 bombs, the effective weight remains the same. The biggest drawback is the inability to use this on land (though nothing stops you from loading a ship with it).
The main "improvement" is that in the endgame, many aliens will be equipped with this, allowing you to deploy it as a standard weapon. It also has a slight damage increase.
Weapon Statistics
- Size: 3 high x 2 wide
- Weight: 12
- TUs:
- Launch: 75% (Accuracy 120%)1
- Manufacturing: $90,000 for parts, 1,200 Technician Hours, 1 Aqua Plastic, 5 Workshop space
- Sell Price: $144,000
1 TU% and Accuracy are correct as taken from OBDATA.DAT. However, because of the "Waypoint" and "Launcher" flags in the file, the game engine adjusts the TU usage to 66%. Likewise, overall accuracy is also nullified by the executable and a lower accuracy (50%?, adjusted by unit firing it) is applied between waypoints.
Ammo Statistics
- Power: 210 High Explosive
- Ammo: 1
- Size: 2 high x 1 wide
- Weight: 4
- Manufacturing: $8,000 for parts, 220 Technician Hours, 3 Zrbite, 3 Workshop space
See Also
