Let's brainstorm some new weapons

[Trenchfox1917]

I know this topic has been done to death but I want it done to deather. Join me as we come up with some weapon ideas.

The weapon variety and customization options are one of the greatest aspects of this great game. I eagerly await the day I can wake up to find that the developers have announced the addition of a new wave of primaries and secondaries. Here are some weapons I hope to see.

Gunner: Heating things up

new primary - "Hellfury" Rocket Battery - This is a boxy contraption ripped straight off an attack helicopter. This weapon fires a continuous barrage of mini rockets in rapid succession. Rockets do direct damage with a small area of effect damage component. Rockets can be customized to leave fire at their impact site, shriek through the air and terrify enemies, or lock on to targets that the gunner keeps his cursor over. One magazine holds 40 rockets. Rockets rapidly accelerate to their terminal velocity after leaving the launch bays.

new secondary - Laser Phaser - This is the weaponized version of frying ants in the sun with a magnifying glass. When the trigger is held down this pistol projects a high intensity laser long distances. As the trigger is continually held the laser's power increases. The laser does more damage the more power it has, and can be modified to ignite enemies, travel through enemies, overcharge on overheat, etc.. If the laser is held too long the gun will overheat requiring it cool down before use again.

Driller: The Thunder down under

new primary - BZZT Lightning Launcher - He's got fire. He's got frost. Now he can harness the power of electricity to deal death to his enemies. This overcomplicated mechanical monstrosity launches actual lightning bolts at enemies. When holding down the trigger, electrical charge will accumulate and pulse zaps of hit scan lightning up to medium range with thundering cracks. Despite its size, this weapon requires precision aim. Lightning will bounce around to nearby enemies when making contact with a target. making it excellent at crowd control. The lightning can be upgraded to fork, cause area damage, extend its range, cause a storm on mactera spawns, you name it.

new secondary - Mini EM Rail Gun - This relatively compact pistol sized rail gun uses extreme electromagnetism to launch large metal projectiles at extremely high velocities. Rather than magazines, the barrel has durability and will literally explode off of the gun when consumed before being quickly replaced in the place of a reload. The projectiles are individually loaded quickly between shots. The base spread increases as durability decreases. Reloading swaps out the barrel. Slow rate of fire, but high damage. Requires holding the trigger to fire. Can be upgraded to deal extra damage to electrically effected targets, bounce between targets, etc. The driller would have a finite amount of ammo but an infinite amount of barrels.

Engineer: Keeping things cool

new primary - Iron Spike Carbine - This weapon is essentially a semi-automatic carbine but it fires high caliber heavy spikes that travel in a slight arc. These spikes do direct damage, stick in enemies, and have a chance to pin enemies in place. Has great armor piercing by default and can be upgraded to do extra damage to frozen enemies. Has some serious recoil but makes up for it with literally stopping power. Its basically the rivet gun you would want if you spent a lot of time killing over sized bugs. Magazine reloaded.

new secondary - Cryo Missile Launcher - This weapon requires the user lock on to a target by holding their cursor on point. Once locked on it fires a seeking missile that freeze the target and anything unlucky enough to be caught nearby in a wide area. Excellent at wiping out waves of mactera, or taking out Praetorians. Particularly handy against bulk detonators. Can be modified to fire an array of micro missiles, to have secondary explosions, etc.

Scout: Letting out his inner assassin

new primary - Bug Exterminating Needle Gun - Modern pest control problems require modern pest control solutions. This air rifle fires high velocity poison darts at enemies that deliver a stacking poison that liquifies them from the inside out. Can be upgraded to make enemies that die from poison let out a neurotoxic cloud, slow enemies, and even have a chance to trigger the pheromone effect. The rifle has a magazine that must be reloaded by pressing r. Holding r pumps the pressure gauge which increases projectile velocity and direct damage. pressure is lost from continuous fire.

new secondary - Throwing Knives - Who else but the scout has the style to pull off something like this? The scout is armed with throwing knives that he whips through the air at enemies. Imagine how snazzy the reload animation would be with juggling and things. Knives alternate between left and right but do not require a reload. Can be upgraded to deal extra damage to poisoned enemies, have serrated blades that deal extra damage to weak points, or even throw a fan of ninja stars. Maybe that last one should be an overclock. C'mon. You know it would be great.

Join me in revelry!

[Syncourt]

Posted this in another thread a while back, though the scout primary suggestion was pretty much added already:

Gunner
An LMG like primary - Belt fed ammo, good accuracy and stability, hard recoil, slow rate of fire and high weakpoint damage. Starts to get inaccurate at high heat but never overheats, pressing R vents the heat.

A railgun like secondary - Hitscan, infinite penetration, high recoil, can charge it up making it more powerful the longer you charge it, charging drains more battery power but is overall more efficient than quick firing, damage is very powerful at full charge, acts like AoE (ignores armor and weakpoints).

Scout
A bolt-action like rifle primary - Slow rate of fire, strong hipfire damage, no focus shot, great stability and accuracy, decent 15 shot capacity.

Dual-pistol secondary - Slow rate of fire, good weakpoint damage, fairly accurate, fires 1 pistol at a time but allows for 30 shot capacity combined.

Engineer
Shredder primary - Fires buzzsaw like projectiles that lose velocity and damage at longer ranges. Can be built for high damage, extra range and penetration or for riccochets between multiple targets with a shorter effective range.

Minelet launcher secondary - Rapid fire mini-explosives with a tiny 1.5m AoE that stick to targets before arming. No magazine/reload, detonates by pressing R or when the target is killed. Can be modified to create fear on the attached target, leading them back into the swarm ready for detonation or CCing them until a better detonation time. Possible frenzy mod that can cause it to attack it's own if multiple minelets are placed on a single target, forcing subjects back into the crowd. The tougher the target the more minelets are required to make it go into frenzy.

Driller
A Tesla style gun - Has a charge up and recharge time, long range (20m), weak damage by default, electrifies targets, can be modified to create bolts of electricity that bounce to another nearby target creating an electrical burst that instantly damages, applies a 5 sec DoT and stuns for 1 second anything in 1m radius of the bolt impact. Or can be modded to allow additional chains and additional damage output the longer you hold the fire button.

Bore gun - Long range, small clip, somewhat slow rate of fire. Drills into the target and explodes. Can be modified to heat or cool or poison them. Each takes multiple shots depending on the type chosen with setting enemies on fire being easiest and poisoning being the hardest (outside of resistances). Poisoned enemies explode into a toxic cloud that can be ignited.

[Trenchfox1917]

I love your overclock spotlight vids! Thanks for contributing!

[lunaticFortune]

Throwing knives against bugs? Hmmmm...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B203twyaMfM

[lunaticFortune]

For some actual content relevant to the thread:

Gunner primary - "Aurora" Plasma Canon (working from Syncourt's idea)
R&D cooked this up from an accident with a malfunctioning sublight engine. Slow, powerful, and mostly self-contained, the Aurora has become a promising anti-armor weapon, so long as you keep a careful watch on its heat output.
Ammo carried as the LMG, entire stock is held without needing to reload. Builds heat as it fires. Does not malfunction at overheat, but heat must be manually vented.
Pinpoint starting accuracy, spread and rate of fire increase as heat builds. Shots have travel time, gain partial armor bypass/weakpoint bonus as heat builds.
Mods may include AoE splash, more shot velocity, fire damage conversion, etc.

Scout primary - ST1-3N Dart Gun (rename for Trenchfox's Needle Gun)
Originally made for medical staff to administer compounds to unruly patients, the ST1 is easily modified to deliver vicious compounds to the native critters of Hoxxes. Just don't mention it to the health inspectors.

Engineer Primary - "Avalanche" Spike Rifle (working from Trenchfox's Ice Spiker)
Any dwarf who works in sub-zero conditions quickly learns to respect the force of a quarter-ton of sharpened ice crashing down from the ceiling. Weaponizing this effect was difficult, but R&D has once again come through, hurling shards of flash-frozen liquid to put the fear of winter into the bugs of Hoxxes.
Medium rate of fire, fires shards of ice with quick travel time and slight drop. Shards have a chance to stun inverse of the distance traveled (less distance = higher chance) and high innate armor breaking. High recoil. Ammunition is carried as tanks of liquid fuel rather than magazines (cosmetic difference only; ammo is still measured as normal). Possible enemy penetration on weakpoint hit (base 1 enemy)?
Mods may include more penetration/penetration without weakpoint hit, replace penetration with AoE, greater stun chance/duration, higher velocity, etc.

[Trenchfox1917]

Originally posted by lunaticFortune:

For some actual content relevant to the thread:

Gunner primary - "Aurora" Plasma Canon (working from Syncourt's idea)
R&D cooked this up from an accident with a malfunctioning sublight engine. Slow, powerful, and mostly self-contained, the Aurora has become a promising anti-armor weapon, so long as you keep a careful watch on its heat output.
Ammo carried as the LMG, entire stock is held without needing to reload. Builds heat as it fires. Does not malfunction at overheat, but heat must be manually vented.
Pinpoint starting accuracy, spread and rate of fire increase as heat builds. Shots have travel time, gain partial armor bypass/weakpoint bonus as heat builds.
Mods may include AoE splash, more shot velocity, fire damage conversion, etc.

Scout primary - ST1-3N Dart Gun (rename for Trenchfox's Needle Gun)
Originally made for medical staff to administer compounds to unruly patients, the ST1 is easily modified to deliver vicious compounds to the native critters of Hoxxes. Just don't mention it to the health inspectors.

Engineer Primary - "Avalanche" Spike Rifle (working from Trenchfox's Ice Spiker)
Any dwarf who works in sub-zero conditions quickly learns to respect the force of a quarter-ton of sharpened ice crashing down from the ceiling. Weaponizing this effect was difficult, but R&D has once again come through, hurling shards of flash-frozen liquid to put the fear of winter into the bugs of Hoxxes.
Medium rate of fire, fires shards of ice with quick travel time and slight drop. Shards have a chance to stun inverse of the distance traveled (less distance = higher chance) and high innate armor breaking. High recoil. Ammunition is carried as tanks of liquid fuel rather than magazines (cosmetic difference only; ammo is still measured as normal). Possible enemy penetration on weakpoint hit (base 1 enemy)?
Mods may include more penetration/penetration without weakpoint hit, replace penetration with AoE, greater stun chance/duration, higher velocity, etc.

Whoa! Awesome job on the descriptions.

I really like the mini railgun pistol idea, particularly Syncourt's description as having infinite penetrations and being able to charge the shots. I feel that it would be a better fit for the driller than the gunner only because the gunner already has the bulldog.The laser pistol on the gunner would be something completely different than what he has, and the rail pistol on the driller would give him a magnum style handgun.

Dual pistols on the scout would be a super fun secondary. So would throwing knives..

Overall a weapon that fires heavy projectiles like shotgun slugs or sawblades would be a great addition to the Engineer's weapons. I like the ice spike variation.

Any other weapons we can think of?

I thought of an HMG for the Gunner that has an underbarrel grenade launcher, that fires both at the same time but it might feel a little awkward. It definitely fits the gunner's affinity for large conventional weapons though.

Giving the driller something conventional might be nice, say a multi shot grenade launcher that works differently from the engineer's grenades.

If the gunner doesn't get something rocket oriented, a multi shot rocket launcher would be a satisfying addition as a secondary for the engineer.

A really interesting idea for the scout's dart gun would be a contagion upgrade that spreads the poison when bugs are under the effects of pheromone canisters.

Also, does anyone else think of the saxophone part from Careless Whisper when the scout throws down pheromones? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kas6akz1jWU

[Anomanony]

While I have no idea which class would have this weapon, I'm thinking of something that launches mini minions that will fight for you, also maybe something that would do little damage but fear when you hit an enemy. Could be a spread out weapon so it could scare swarms of enemies. Could be a bit op though.

[lunaticFortune]

Originally posted by Barteks1:

While I have no idea which class would have this weapon, I'm thinking of something that launches mini minions that will fight for you, also maybe something that would do little damage but fear when you hit an enemy. Could be a spread out weapon so it could scare swarms of enemies. Could be a bit op though.

If anything, that sounds like it might be a potential Overclock for the engineer's turret - letting it follow you around like Bosco, but with limited ammo and focused entirely on fire support rather than utility.

[lunaticFortune]

Originally posted by Trenchfox1917:

Any other weapons we can think of?

I've been stalling out on that for a while - as far as standard weapons go, I think most of the bases are covered without too much overlap. I've spent a bit of time trying to think of things a bit more than just "point at dudes, pull trigger" style conventional guns.

A lightning gun primary for driller already has a couple of ideas (spray vs. charge-n-shoot);
Gunner secondaries and scout primaries/secondaries already have a split between slow, high damage and rapid, lower damage;
I tend to think of the more high-tech experimental stuff as more the domain of engineer and driller;
Things relating to rockets I would think would fall to the engineer (tech) or gunner (spike damage), but going with the minelet launcher would make it more fitting for gunner...

I'm over-thinking this, aren't I?

Gunner secondary - "Shrike" Miniature Missile Launcher
A perennial favorite of explosives enthusiasts, the Shrike provides potent anti-armor firepower in a compact platform. The smaller size of the munitions grants faster response time and more precise handling than a full-sized missile launcher - perfect for any cave-diving dwarf needing high explosives on the go.
Single-round magazine, 10 rounds base, fires unguided munitions at medium/high velocity, 2 - 2.5m splash radius. T5 mod allows for missile lock-on with held trigger over 2-3 seconds. T4/5 allows elemental damage split?

[Trollcrates]

honestly i think that new weapons should arrive with new classes like i do not wish that classes become meaningless, like granate launcher is made for engineer, giving someone other something similar could made this class obsolete, let classes be unique, to secure that there is need for less weapons but third row of weapons could not destroy it ;-)

that said i would bring in game some wild west classics like some sort of futuristic winchester and dual wielding colts guslinger style (hats are in game so why not a weapons aswell)

[Trenchfox1917]

Given the new road map it seems that anything like new classes or new weapons will be a long way off. We are likely to see a wealth of balancing and revision done to existing weapons though.

It is not unusual for something to exist in a different form cross class. For example, the engineer has a shotgun primary, while the scout has a double barrel shotgun secondary. This is an example where the existence of a type of weapon does not effect the class identity because the weapons are in a very different form.