Talk:Laser Rifle

Speaking of head shots, UFO:AI has a head shot feature. :)

I'm not entirely convinced that the Laser Rifle is the best weapon in the game, though it is a dramatic step up from conventional weapons in the early game. I recall that often it wouldn't be able to kill the enemy in one shot, while the Heavy Plasma or Plasma Rifle would. Unlimited ammo is a very nice feature, but by the endgame I was usually swimming in plasma ammo and elerium. Also, can plasma rounds destroy certain wall sections that lasers cannot? -Captain Foo 08:19, 29 August 2008 (PDT)

Arguably indeed. It's not the best weapon in the game, but neither is the heavy plasma. It's a good all-rounder though that can match the pace of the Heavy Plasma. What the laser rifle offers over the heavy plasma in addition to the unlimited ammo is one extra free slot on the transport (which you can use to include even heavier firepower) and a faster firing mode. It's moderately powerful enough to tackle anything in the game - if perhaps not with one shot (which is where the speed offsets its lower damage - more shots = more damage). The faster speed also allows the laser rifle to be a more effective reaction-shot weapon (only the pistol and laser pistol are better). Because the aliens are swimming in heavy plasmas, you still have the option of grabbing one off the ground if you need that extra firepower to breach inner UFO walls, so you are not denied the abilities of the heavy plasma by arming a laser rifle. I guess you could say that it offers flexibility. - NKF 14:18, 29 August 2008 (PDT)

Hi again guys. Personally, I do think the laser rifle is the best squad weapon in the game, but mainly for aesthetic reasons. Strictly the heavy plasma gives you the most net firepower, even taking into account the ammo requirements. OK, in a theoretical 'siege' scenario where the aliens were too well dug in and you needed to fire huge numbers of rounds, the laser rifle would come out ahead - but I'm not aware of any such missions. The ammo requirement of the heavy plasma doesn't materially compensate for its increased firepower. In my view this makes it an unbalanced weapon from a game design point of view - similar to Psionics, it is just too 'optimal' to make the game balanced. And that's my somewhat sentimental reason for preferring the laser rifle. Good, clean, effective, does-the-job human technology - none of that alien nonsense!

Actually let me advance an indirect argument why the laser rifle might actually be the best weapon in objective terms as well. Heavy Plasmas sell for a small fortune, and are a large proportion of the total value of all recovered items. If every recovered Heavy Plasma was sold, instead of being used to equip troops, that is a very significant flow of capital investment that can be used to rapidly build up the strategic power of X-COM - building Hyperwave decoders, bases, aircraft, and recruiting more manpower. In this strategy, captured Heavy Plasmas could still be used tactically during a battle for key objectives such as penetrating UFO interior walls. I haven't tested it, but I have a strong belief that would be a faster route to victory. Thoughts? Spike 07:44, 30 August 2008 (PDT)