Difference between revisions of "Heavy Cannon"

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While the regulation [[pistol]]s and [[rifle]]s provide adequate firepower against most soft targets, they lack the strength to punch through the thick armour introduced by a number of early terrorist units, like the [[Cyberdisc]] and [[Chryssalid]]. Enter the cannons - the Heavy Cannon and the [[Auto-Cannon]] - two highly versatile man-portable cannons with a selection of shells tipped with [[Weapons#Armour-Piercing|armour piercing]], [[Weapons#High Explosive|high explosive]] or [[Weapons#Incendiary|incendiary]] warheads. Their versatile ammunition allows their user to switch strategies in the field by simply feeding a different ammunition clip into the cannon.  
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{{Ref Open | title = Heavy Cannon }}
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The Heavy Cannon is a devastating, but cumbersome, weapon. Its versatility comes from the fact that it can take three types of ammunition - armour piercing, incendiary and high explosive.
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{{Ref Close | source = Enemy Unknown Ufopaedia}}
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{{Infobox open}}
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{{Infobox module/weapon
 +
| weapon =Heavy Cannon
 +
| height = 3
 +
| width = 2
 +
| weight = 18
 +
| grip =Two-Handed
 +
| damagethreshold = TBA
 +
| weaponimage = [[Image:BIGOBS11.GIF|left|64 px]]
 +
| acc_auto = -
 +
| acc_snap = 60
 +
| acc_aim = 90
 +
| fcost_auto = -
 +
| fcost_snap = 33
 +
| fcost_aim = 80
 +
| saleprice = 4800
 +
| research = None
 +
| acquisition ={{Purchasing|6400}}
 +
}}
 +
{{Infobox module/ammo
 +
| weapon = Heavy Cannon
 +
| ammo = Armour Piercing
 +
| weight = 6
 +
| height = 1
 +
| width = 2
 +
| damagethreshold = TBA
 +
| ammoimage = [[Image:BIGOBS12.GIF|left|64 px]]
 +
| damage = 56 Armour Piercing
 +
| capacity = 6
 +
| saleprice = 225
 +
| research =
 +
| acquisition ={{Purchasing|300}}
 +
}}
 +
{{Infobox module/ammo
 +
| weapon = Heavy Cannon
 +
| ammo = High Explosive
 +
| weight = 6
 +
| height = 1
 +
| width = 2
 +
| damagethreshold = TBA
 +
| ammoimage = [[Image:BIGOBS13.GIF|left|64 px]]
 +
| damage = 52 High Explosive
 +
| capacity = 6
 +
| saleprice = 275
 +
| research =
 +
| acquisition ={{Purchasing|500}}
 +
}}
 +
{{Infobox module/ammo
 +
| weapon = Heavy Cannon
 +
| ammo = Incendiary
 +
| weight = 6
 +
| height = 1
 +
| width = 2
 +
| damagethreshold = TBA
 +
| ammoimage = [[Image:BIGOBS14.GIF|left|64 px]]
 +
| damage = 60 Incendiary
 +
| capacity = 6
 +
| saleprice = 300
 +
| research =
 +
| acquisition ={{Purchasing|400}}
 +
}}
 +
{{Infobox close}}
 +
 
 +
While the standard [[pistol]]s and [[rifle]]s can technically attack soft targets, veteran commanders quickly learn that survival requires maximum firepower. Enter the cannons - the Heavy Cannon and the [[Auto-Cannon]] - two highly versatile man-portable cannons with a selection of shells tipped with [[Weapons#Armour-Piercing|armour piercing]], [[Weapons#High Explosive|high explosive]] or [[Weapons#Incendiary|incendiary]] warheads. Commanders can adapt to different situations in the field by feeding a different ammunition clips into the cannon.  
 
   
 
   
The Heavy Cannon is heavy as its namesake and lacks the speed of the smaller firearms. It makes up for this by being very powerful. The biggest detriment is its small magazine capacity. It can only carry 6 rounds at a time.  
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The Heavy Cannon is heavy as its namesake and lacks the speed of the smaller firearms. It makes up for this by being very powerful. The biggest detriment is its 6 round magazine, which is quickly emptied in battle. While it lacks an automatic firing mode, it remains more powerful and much more accurate than its weaker yet louder cousin the Auto-Cannon.  
  
The Heavy Cannon also lacks an automatic firing mode, however it continues to remain more powerful and much more accurate than its weaker but ultimately more popular cousin, the Auto-Cannon. Except for starting out on a new game, when Heavy and Auto-Cannons are the best offense your weak Rookies can afford (aside from the [[Rocket Launcher]]), these should be tossed by the wayside later in the game (after a few months or so, when you can walk onto a battlefield with a plasma/laser rifle and rocket launchers). As an added paradox, the explosive rounds actually do ''less'' damage than an AP round. AP rounds, however, don't have the benefit of splash damage. Although far from an ideal weapon, some find it useful on higher difficulty levels. On superhuman, for example, it can kill early enemies in one hit, while the Auto Cannon often seems to come up a few hit points short of a kill.
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Do not be fooled by the reduced damage of HE ammo- most alien types have softer underside armor and large terror units suffer QUADRUPLE hits from explosives. This makes the Heavy Cannon a great weapon for pulping [[Reaper]]s, but [[Cyberdisc]]s remain a huge problem for both HE and AP rounds. The narrower damage range for explosives (50-150%) means that even the weakest rolls will maim early game aliens, crippling their ability to reaction fire. These perks make the Heavy Cannon a valuable weapon to survive the early months on Superhuman Difficulty.  
  
One excellent strategy with both Heavy and Auto-Cannons is to wear Power Suits and arm these weapons with HE shells. As long as you don't get a direct hit from one of your own shells, you will feel absolutely no damage whatsoever when using these weapons in short range combat. This is an excellent combination in any indoor setting such as UFOs or even enemy installations.  
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'''HC-AP''' rounds are much more powerful than Pistol and Rifle rounds. However they are quickly made obsolete by the vastly improved quality of [[Laser_Pistol|Laser]] [[Laser_Rifle|Weapons]].  
  
This weapon appears in ''[[X-COM|UFO: Enemy Unknown]]''. For the ''[[TFTD|Terror from the Deep]]'' equivalent, refer to the [[Gas Cannon]].
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'''HC-HE''' rounds allow the cannons to function as a glorified [[Grenade]] launcher, for when you need the power of a grenadier but don't have time to prime grenades. Consider using it when an agent is too weak to carry a [[Rocket Launcher]]. Take care when firing these near objects you want to recover as they will destroy any object on the ground.
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An unconventional but possibly effective tactic, is to prefer HC-HE ammunition for use against lower armoured races, (Sectoids, Floaters, Snakemen) rather than armour piercing rounds or beam weapons.  This is because high explosive rounds create a blast radius, which means that aliens can still be killed even when the soldier firing it does not score a direct hit.  They thus require less real firing accuracy to be effective.  You still only get six shots per clip, however, so for long missions, keep a laser rifle in your backpack for when you run out.
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'''HC-I''' rounds are generally useless for direct confrontations due to the unusual way the game handles [[Incendiary#Damage|Incendiary]] damage. They do however make for compact portable light sources and are useful for starting small fires. If given sufficient time and fuel for burning, aliens can be slowly roasted to death. Unconscious units and objects will not get damaged in fire.  
  
== Stats ==
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Heavy and Auto-Cannons become extremely safe to use on Personal Armor troops. As long as you don't get an underside hit from a point blank explosion, you will never suffer more than scratches when using these weapons in short range combat. This is an excellent combination in any indoor setting such as UFOs or even enemy installations.
<b>Heavy Cannon:</b>
 
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS11.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
 
*Size: 3 high x 2 wide
 
*Weight: 18
 
*TUs:
 
**Snap:  33% (Accuracy 60%)
 
**Aimed: 80% (Accuracy 90%)
 
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Non-Manufacturable_Prices|Cost]]: $6,400
 
*Sell Price: $4,800</td></tr></table>
 
  
<table style="border:1px gray solid;"><tr style="border:1px gray solid;"><td style="border:1px gray solid;">
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This weapon appears in ''[[X-COM|UFO: Enemy Unknown]]''. For the ''[[TFTD|Terror from the Deep]]'' equivalent, refer to the [[Gas Cannon]].
<b>[[Weapons#Armour-Piercing|AP]] Clip:</b>
 
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS12.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
 
*Power: 56 AP
 
*Ammo: 6
 
*Size: 1 high x 2 wide
 
*Weight: 6
 
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Non-Manufacturable_Prices|Cost]]: $300
 
*Sell Price: $225</td></tr></table>
 
</td><td style="border:1px gray solid;">
 
<b>[[Weapons#High Explosive|HE]] Clip:</b>
 
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS13.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
 
*Power: 52 HE
 
*Ammo: 6
 
*Size: 1 high x 2 wide
 
*Weight: 6
 
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Non-Manufacturable_Prices|Cost]]: $500
 
*Sell Price: $275</td></tr></table>
 
</td><td style="border:1px gray solid;">
 
<b>[[Incendiary]] Clip:</b>
 
<table><tr><td>[[Image:BIGOBS14.GIF|left|64 px]]</td><td>
 
*Power: 60 IN (6.4)
 
*Ammo: 6
 
*Size: 1 high x 2 wide
 
*Weight: 6
 
*[[Buying/Selling/Transferring#Non-Manufacturable_Prices|Cost]]: $400
 
*Sell Price: $300</td></tr></table>
 
</table>
 
  
 
== Usage notes ==
 
== Usage notes ==
Line 64: Line 100:
 
* Try to kneel when firing.
 
* Try to kneel when firing.
 
* Aimed mode takes extremely long, but is probably the most effective use of ammunition.
 
* Aimed mode takes extremely long, but is probably the most effective use of ammunition.
* Try to keep your second hand free while using the Heavy Cannon.  The accuracy already sucks without having another 20% taken away.
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* Try to keep your second hand free while using the Heavy Cannon.  The accuracy already sucks, so avoid [[Firing Accuracy#Influencing_Factors|the 20% penalty]].
* Until you have Laser Rifles available, there is no better weapon for selectively destroying hard cover than a Heavy Cannon with AP rounds.  
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* Until you have Laser Rifles available, there is no better weapon for selectively destroying hard cover than a Heavy Cannon with AP rounds.
 +
*  On superhuman HE shells can OHKO Sectoids ~90% of the time, floaters 60%, and can typically 2-hit Snakemen. The Auto Cannon-HE sits at 75%, ~40%, and 3 hits respectively.  
  
 
==See also==
 
==See also==
 
{{Equipment (UFO Defense) Navbar}}
 
{{Equipment (UFO Defense) Navbar}}
 
[[Category:Equipment (EU)]]
 
[[Category:Equipment (EU)]]
 +
[[Category:Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense]]

Revision as of 19:38, 20 January 2017

Heavy Cannon

The Heavy Cannon is a devastating, but cumbersome, weapon. Its versatility comes from the fact that it can take three types of ammunition - armour piercing, incendiary and high explosive.

Source: Enemy Unknown Ufopaedia


Heavy Cannon
Size
(h x w)
3 x 2
BIGOBS11.GIF
Weight 18
D. Threshold TBA
Grip Two-Handed
TU Cost Accuracy
Auto -% -%
Snapshot 33% 60%
Aimed 80% 90%
Sale Price $4,800
Research None
Purchase Price $6,400
Armour Piercing
Size
(h x w)
1 × 2
BIGOBS12.GIF
Weight 6
D. Threshold TBA
Damage 56 Armour Piercing
Capacity 6
Sale Price $225
Research
Purchase Price $300
High Explosive
Size
(h x w)
1 × 2
BIGOBS13.GIF
Weight 6
D. Threshold TBA
Damage 52 High Explosive
Capacity 6
Sale Price $275
Research
Purchase Price $500
Incendiary
Size
(h x w)
1 × 2
BIGOBS14.GIF
Weight 6
D. Threshold TBA
Damage 60 Incendiary
Capacity 6
Sale Price $300
Research
Purchase Price $400

While the standard pistols and rifles can technically attack soft targets, veteran commanders quickly learn that survival requires maximum firepower. Enter the cannons - the Heavy Cannon and the Auto-Cannon - two highly versatile man-portable cannons with a selection of shells tipped with armour piercing, high explosive or incendiary warheads. Commanders can adapt to different situations in the field by feeding a different ammunition clips into the cannon.

The Heavy Cannon is heavy as its namesake and lacks the speed of the smaller firearms. It makes up for this by being very powerful. The biggest detriment is its 6 round magazine, which is quickly emptied in battle. While it lacks an automatic firing mode, it remains more powerful and much more accurate than its weaker yet louder cousin the Auto-Cannon.

Do not be fooled by the reduced damage of HE ammo- most alien types have softer underside armor and large terror units suffer QUADRUPLE hits from explosives. This makes the Heavy Cannon a great weapon for pulping Reapers, but Cyberdiscs remain a huge problem for both HE and AP rounds. The narrower damage range for explosives (50-150%) means that even the weakest rolls will maim early game aliens, crippling their ability to reaction fire. These perks make the Heavy Cannon a valuable weapon to survive the early months on Superhuman Difficulty.

HC-AP rounds are much more powerful than Pistol and Rifle rounds. However they are quickly made obsolete by the vastly improved quality of Laser Weapons.

HC-HE rounds allow the cannons to function as a glorified Grenade launcher, for when you need the power of a grenadier but don't have time to prime grenades. Consider using it when an agent is too weak to carry a Rocket Launcher. Take care when firing these near objects you want to recover as they will destroy any object on the ground.

An unconventional but possibly effective tactic, is to prefer HC-HE ammunition for use against lower armoured races, (Sectoids, Floaters, Snakemen) rather than armour piercing rounds or beam weapons. This is because high explosive rounds create a blast radius, which means that aliens can still be killed even when the soldier firing it does not score a direct hit. They thus require less real firing accuracy to be effective. You still only get six shots per clip, however, so for long missions, keep a laser rifle in your backpack for when you run out.

HC-I rounds are generally useless for direct confrontations due to the unusual way the game handles Incendiary damage. They do however make for compact portable light sources and are useful for starting small fires. If given sufficient time and fuel for burning, aliens can be slowly roasted to death. Unconscious units and objects will not get damaged in fire.

Heavy and Auto-Cannons become extremely safe to use on Personal Armor troops. As long as you don't get an underside hit from a point blank explosion, you will never suffer more than scratches when using these weapons in short range combat. This is an excellent combination in any indoor setting such as UFOs or even enemy installations.

This weapon appears in UFO: Enemy Unknown. For the Terror from the Deep equivalent, refer to the Gas Cannon.

Usage notes

The following lists how many times a soldier can fire the gun by shot type continuously in any given round and the remaining percentage of any left over TUs that cannot be spent as a shot.

  • Aimed: 1 Shot, 20% Remaining TUs
  • Snap: 3 Shots, 1% Remaining TUs

Limitations of incendiary damage

The listed damage using incendiary rounds is misleading. Incendiary rounds do ~6.4 damage on a direct hit. The damage values listed in the UFOpaedia do not determine how powerful an incendiary round deals damage; it only determines how wide an area will be blanketed with flames.

Furthermore soldiers cannot gain any form of experience shooting any weapon loaded with incendiary rounds.

Tips

  • Carry a reload or two; you don't have many shots per clip.
  • Try to kneel when firing.
  • Aimed mode takes extremely long, but is probably the most effective use of ammunition.
  • Try to keep your second hand free while using the Heavy Cannon. The accuracy already sucks, so avoid the 20% penalty.
  • Until you have Laser Rifles available, there is no better weapon for selectively destroying hard cover than a Heavy Cannon with AP rounds.
  • On superhuman HE shells can OHKO Sectoids ~90% of the time, floaters 60%, and can typically 2-hit Snakemen. The Auto Cannon-HE sits at 75%, ~40%, and 3 hits respectively.

See also

UFO Badge X-COM: Enemy Unknown/UFO Defense: Equipment
Armour: CoverallsPersonal ArmourPower SuitFlying Suit
Weapons: PistolRifleHeavy CannonAuto-CannonRocket LauncherStun Rod
GrenadeProximity GrenadeHigh ExplosiveLaser PistolLaser RifleHeavy Laser
Plasma PistolPlasma RifleHeavy PlasmaAlien GrenadeSmall LauncherBlaster Launcher
Equipment: Smoke GrenadeMotion ScannerMedi-KitElectro-flarePsi-AmpMind ProbeElerium-115
HWPs: Tank/CannonTank/Rocket LauncherTank/Laser CannonHovertank/PlasmaHovertank/Launcher
Data Item WeightsAlien Weapon Loadouts • Armour Damage Modifiers