So are rifles worth it???

[gamer3213000]

Been looking them over. Looks like their main draw back is slow reload times. Are they as good or better than AC weapons or just a poor mans version??

[unskilled-]

They have a niche roll as a light AC that can hit for more single shot damage but with a considerably longer reload.

Heavy Rifles are only 8t and can hit like an AC20 which by itself is like 12 tons.

They've been buffed tho so they have a rather fast projectile speed so they're way more accurate too.

Pretty good alternative for certain mechs that need the extra tonnage for something like more armor or something.

[ProbablyLose]

I was running a mech with a gauss and a heavy rifle for a while and it worked pretty well as a combo, but I eventually redesigned that mech. I haven't dabbled with rifles since. My reasons for not using them are the cooldown and the limited number of shots per ton of ammo. But the advantage is if you have limited tonnage you can get a bigger punch out of one than you can with a small AC. However, on the subject of a small AC... unlike the way it may be in other battletech and mechwarrior games, in MW5 an AC/2 is really not at all a bad choice to put on a mech. It seems to me that people avoid them more than they try them. You just have to learn how to aim in advance of the moving targets.

[Grubfist]

Rifles are pretty worth it for the weight savings and raw punch. Also Heavy Rifles can go in a medium slot. Slow as hell fire rate though and ♥♥♥♥♥♥ ammo capacity. I put double light rifles in a battlemaster's arm mounts once, that was pretty cool.

[MensRea]

Excellent early game weapon for AI controlled mechs (kind of a poor mans Gauss Rifle): causes them to use it then move onto medium lasers while they are waiting for it to recharge. Put on a medium mech like a Shadow Hawk or BlackJack or a Heavy like a Champion, max amour, and watch your Captain/Major Pilot rack up some decent damage numbers. Late game abandon because you are going to need high, steady DPS output but by then your pilots compensate with 8/9/10 bonus ballistic damage stats. *you could always get the ballistic damage increase/ballistic recharge rate boosts installed from Cantina missions if you want to keep using them but your AI pilots will agro a lot of attention from the high burst damage.

[rmp]

In some situations they are better than the gauss rifles. I put heavy rifles on my Rifleman DNA instead of the default gauss rifles. Two gauss rifles with 2 tons of ammo (only 52 shots) is a whopping 32 tons on a 60 ton mech, there just isn't enough tonnage available. Using heavy rifles with several double heat sinks (enough that overheating almost never happens), I get nearly twice the ammo, more armor, and still had enough left over to upgrade the m lasers to m pulse lasers. Slightly slower rate of fire but hits harder than the gauss, plus, the sound and visual effects of firing and hitting a target with the heavy rifle is far more satisfying.

[MrLuckless]

Originally posted by unskilled-:

They have a niche roll as a light AC that can hit for more single shot damage but with a considerably longer reload.

Heavy Rifles are only 8t and can hit like an AC20 which by itself is like 12 tons.

They've been buffed tho so they have a rather fast projectile speed so they're way more accurate too.

Pretty good alternative for certain mechs that need the extra tonnage for something like more armor or something.

Rifles are deceptively lighter, you save tonnage on the gun but might eat it back up in ammo, especially when heavy rifle ammo is 1 ton for 12 shots. Light rifles have better ammo per ton but have such piddly range and damage that even if you slapped a few on something like a Firestarter I don't think it'd be worth it. Would be fun though, drive by ♥♥♥♥♥ slaps from an anklebiter.

[Cyzxxikz]

I've never cared for light or medium rifles personally. But heavy rifles have a place for sure, for the reasons listed above. Medium slot, great per hit punch for the weight/slot with wonderful velocity.

[Pisaka]

firestarter with ac20

[Duuvian]

I put two or three light rifles in one of the hero Firestarters, it was alright.

[󠀡󠀡]

yes , the heavy rifle.

[George W. Kush]

if you get the mod medium rifle fixes it corrects their damage stats and makes them more viable. heavy rifle with all cantina upgrades that affect reload cooldown can hit 10.32 rpm so it is a viable weapon despite what people say. king crab car with 4 medium rifles rips especially if you chain fire them instead of alpha striking (turn that 11 rpm into 44 rpm~). my king crab 000b i run with 2 heavy rifles 1 plasma rifle & lrm15/20 place it in the hands of an AI and they usually do about 1200 damage or so

[Insano-Man]

My first real forays outside the Jenner were with the Rifleman, with the same Diana that rmp mentioned; two heavy rifles, four medium lasers. This was in YAML, where the tonnage savings let me upgrade the engine and slot in a supercharger.

What I got was something about as fast as a light mech that could sprint in behind enemies, double-tap them in their back armor, and hustle on to the nearest cover. Even assault mechs usually came out of that with their CT in the red. Paired with a co-op player who could draw fire, there wasn't much that could survive that tactic.

Vanilla isn't so forgiving, but let that be a statement on how much raw power that rifles have. A tier 5 heavy rifle is probably the best damage-for-tonnage you can get.

[Epathos]

During my early games, I had a locust with 2 light rifles.

Many lols... much crying.

[George W. Kush]

Locust-PB with 2 light rifles is funny

[pRaX]

Heavy rifles are dope. Small/Medium rifles are... let's say even more situational.