Plasma Rifle
The plasma rifle is a very good weapon, far outclassing the Plasma Pistol. On accuracy it has the best Auto and Snap fire of all the weapons in the game (although curiously the Heavy Plasma is more accurate when aimed) and it's powerful enough to kill most aliens with one shot.
Although there's nothing wrong with this weapon, it is rarely used, because the heavy version is better in most respects.
Researching the Plasma Rifle and its clip allows you to begin the Plasma Beam and Hovertank/Plasma projects.
The aliens have apparently bought the argument that the Heavy Plasma is better and tend to abandon other plasma weapons a few months into the invasion. Consequently, if X-Com wants to continue to use the plasma rifle, Elerium has to be used in manufacturing ammunition for it.
Stats
Plasma Rifle:
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Plasma Rifle Clip:
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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, 40% Remaining TUs
- Snap: 3 Shots, 10% Remaining TUs
- Auto: 2 Bursts (6 Shots), 28% Remaining TUs