Standard rifles are some of the staple weapon types in Armored Core.
Overview[]
Standard rifles (or just "Rifles" for short) are a fairly common type of arm-mounted weapon that appear in Armored Core. They usually appear in earlier AC designs, before upgrading to different, more powerful weapons like the Pulse or Laser Rifles. However, in many cases, Rifles can hold their own in combat and can quickly take down enemies - even ACs - especially in mid range combat.
Their most prevalent advantage is high accuracy, often coupled with considerable ammo capacity. They also tend to be lightweight weapons with low ammo costs, allowing high mobility and low maintenance expenses. On the other hand, their most notable shortcoming is a limited firepower; they are some of the weakest weapons (only being more powerful than the Handguns and Pulse Rifles), and a Raven looking for more damage output will soon find themselves veering into more specialized weaponry.
Types[]
Technically Rifles consist of many different types, but for the solid ammo category there are only a few:
- Assault Rifles: Firing in short bursts much like their real world counterparts, Assault Rifles are something in between a Machine Gun and a Rifle, slower and more accurate than the former, weaker and less accurate then the latter.
- Sniper Rifles: Stronger, longer ranged but having a small lock box and low ammo along with slow reload, Sniper Rifles are only effective at longer ranges.
- Linear Rifles: Somewhere between the Bazooka and the Rifle, Linear Rifles pack a strong punch, stun and ammo capacity that makes them effective against almost anything.
- Grenade Rifles: Powerful weapons which are the hand-wielded counterpart to the Grenade Launchers, Grenade Rifles are extremely powerful but have poor shot velocity and low ammo supply in addition to still being relatively heavyweight weapons.
Uses[]
As mentioned above, Rifles are extremely versatile making them fair at everything but they don't excel at anything either. They are still quite effective in the right hands and can quickly stack damage with consecutive shots. They aren't the most powerful of weapons, but they shouldn't be overlooked either. Aside from being a traditional starter weapon that has low financial demands, in particular the standard rifles see use in lightweight AC builds that focus on potshots and constant pressure coupled with high speed strafe dodging tactics.