Kinetic Weapons Are Just Better: Difference between revisions

== Tabletop Games ==

* ''[[Traveller]]'': Energy weapons do more damage than kinetic weapons and have a far greater ammo capacity, but while a laser ''pistol'' does as much damage as a slug thrower ''rifle'' it also weighs the same and costs as much as a rocket launcher (2,000 cr., for comparison a revolver costs 150 cr. and most rifles cost 1,000 cr. or less).

** The standard issue bolter of [[Super Soldier|the Space Marines]] is not only iconic, but a superior weapon, both in the background and tabletop. The fact they fire 0.75 caliber (and heavy bolter is 1.0") armour-piercing high-explosive (there are also variants from toxic to frag to anti-daemon, of course) rocket-propelled rounds goes a long way to explain it. Bolts are expensive, but if you can get them legally at all, you probably won't pay from your own pocket and/or don't care much about prices in general outside the contexts of bulk trade and large-scale construction.

** Energy weapons exist, and in fact [[Frickin' Laser Beams]] are explicitly both easy to mass-produce and more reliable than kinetic weaponry, but many people still swear by solid-projectile weapons, because a) it's easier to get full-auto fire from an SP weapon than a lasgun, b) It's somewhat easier to get decent armor penetration - many lasguns can be fired in overload mode to much the same effect, but this makes them ''less'' reliable and quickly drains power packs, and c) the roar of an autogun is just so much more ''[[Rule of Cool|impressive]]'' than the ''zzip'' of a lasgun. To be fair, an Imperial pulse lasgun is still a powerful weapon by our standards, strong enough to blow limbs off a human being. It's just most humans' bad luck of being born into [[Crapsack World|the 40k universe]], where their fantastic futuretech guns and body armor have about the effectiveness of a flashlight and wet cardboard against everyone else. Hellguns (heavy-duty laser weapons with backpack power packs) are great, but they are rare, expensive and require more maintenance. And as sniper weapons go, even a hunting rifle is as accurate as a long las (at the same price) and it lacks a scattering shiny beam that hopelessly gives away the shooter's position, and a proper sniper rifle is more expensive, but also more accurate. Plasma weapons are expensive and dangerous due to overheating, and melta (fusion weapons) is great at frying armored vehicles, but even more expensive, and in both cases ammunition costs much more and is available less widely than rounds for common firearms.

*** The Alien Blaster is available in ''[[Fallout 1]]'' and ''2'' as well. Its ammunition is reasonably common in ''[[Fallout 2]]'', and it is one of the better weapons in the game, being as fast as the Gauss pistol, with a much larger clip and a higher maximum damage (but a larger damage variance). It does adhere to the trope in that it is fairly inaccurate.

** ''[[Fallout: New Vegas]]'' meanwhile somewhat averts it. All energy weapons take away some Damage Threshold which is very good for [[Made of Iron]] things like Deathclaws, but guns and ammo are rare and they eat up ammo fast.

** Although, like every other game in the afterblank series, the best weapon depends on the enemy. Projectile weapons are either decent or great against most enemies, which is why they are universally favored, but lasers are exceptional against robots and enemies susceptible to fire, and plasma weapons are devastating to most enemies with shields (which are not designed to defend against plasma). More specialized weapons have more specific applications. In all three games, for example, warp weapons are murderous against armored foes and almost completely useless against unarmored foes (since there's not enough mass to warp).

* ''[[Master of Orion]]''

*** However, in ''Cataclysm'', Somtaaw engineers manage to develop an energy weapon system that specializes in destroying fighters and other small craft. Unfortunately, Somtaaw either doesn't share this technology or the Hiigarans promptly forget it since it isn't present in ''Homeworld 2''.

* ''[[Darkest of Days]]'' future weapons are just [[BFG]]s. Interestingly, the sniper rifles from historical wars are more accurate than the future gun, which is affected by wind and gravity, but historical rifles aren't.

* The ''[[Half-Life]]'' series simultaneously plays this trope straight and averts it while providing justifications for both. Energy weapons are repeatedly shown to be horrifically powerful (the Tau Cannon and Gluon Gun in ''Half-Life'', the former capable of destroying tanks and helicopters, and Combine Dark Energy weaponry in ''Half-Life 2'' and its Episodes) and also the epitome of [[Awesome but Impractical]], requiring enormous amounts of ''radioactive'' fuel to function. As a result, while every faction (the player included) uses kinetic weapons almost exclusively, energy weapons are still used in situations that require a [[Bigger Stick]] and/or when the requisite fuel is readily available.

** The Gravity Gun manages to count as both—on one hand, it's plainly an energy weapon (a ''[[Perpetual Motion Machine|zero point energy]]''-powered weapon in fact); on the other hand, its "ammo" is decidedly material. It also averts the drawback energy weapons had in the first game by requiring no external power whatsoever, due to an extradimensional [[Power Crystal|crystal]].

* In ''[[Vega Strike]]'' [[Magnetic Weapons]] are the most power-efficient weapons, have decent rate of fire and do some [[Deflector Shields|shield]]-bypassing damage, so they are good choice, though mostly in close combat. Same for [[Macross Missile Massacre|rockets]], and they don't even use ship's energy. Lasers usually pierce shields better, don't need ammo, and hit at a greater range—but eat lots of power and as heavy weapons can be installed only on heavy fighters and larger combat-oriented ships. This also what makes the player hate [[Evil Luddite|Luddites]]: their low-caliber mass drivers aren't very deadly, but almost guaranteed to make you pay for armor repair.

* ''Contra'' for the NES invokes this on accident. The Laser Gun powerup is almost useless because firing a second shot will instantly erase the first shot from the screen. Thus, firing rapidly will reduce your gun to little more than a laseriffic chainsaw.

* In ''[[Star Trek Online]]'' this is a major component to early space combat. Use your energy weapons to knock down shields then use kinetic weapons (photon torpedos) to deliver the deathblows. Phasers will do around 100 damage to the hull of an enemy ship, a torpedo can easily go over 2000 damage. The exception is Cruiser players who specialize in [[Beam Spam]] due to torpedoes having a limited firing arc and Cruisers having a low turn speed.

* In ''[http://ogame.org/ OGame]'', a browser game where you basically control a space empire, there is a Gauss Cannon. It apparently fires high-density metal bullets that weigh several tons in a railgun fashion, creating so much concussion that the ground nearby shakes and a huge sonic boom is created. And it is stronger than any other planet-mounted cannon sans the Plasma Turret, beating lasers.

** In addition, the only ships that are [[All There in the Manual|described]] as having kinetic weapons are Bombers (plasma bombs) and Destroyers (has gauss cannons and plasma turrets). Death Stars however just use a [[Wave Motion Gun|graviton beam]].

[[Category:The Power of Index]]

[[Category:Weapons and Wielding Tropes]]