'KUNAI' - Railgun

RAILGUN Kunai
Fast firing weapon akin to a long-range Vulkan —with a surprising punch, despite a low damage per shot value. Fires a three shot burst that can devastate light targets.

Usage
At first glance, the RAILGUN is underwhelming —lacking the punch to adequately engage hardened targets or the speed to hit enemy aeros, it is a turn off to those expecting the one-hit kill railgun seen in other games.

However the RAILGUN is unique in that its ammo reloads all at once (referred to as a "full-clip reload"). Its high fire rate and instantaneous full reload encourages players to let off a full stream of ammo, rather than the one-shot, one-kill nature of the AC/40. It can pulverize light structures (especially hangars), and at higher marks, its ammo capacity and range increases to the point where a single burst can knock out a CARRIER engine and level any structure with a weakpoint.

A pilot can fire a single round early to trigger the timer-based instant reload. If timed correctly, once the pilot has begun properly firing at their target, the gun will empty out just before the reload kicks in, allowing for virtually uninterrupted fire for almost two whole volleys.

With a base ammo is 3, it can be doubled up quite effectively. Unupgraded and at two loads of ammunition, one can use the reload technique to fire up to 11 consecutive rounds, almost enough to devastate a factory. At most, a triple MK3 railgunner can fire a blistering 21 rounds.

Players with developer tools enabled can also double the ammo carried using the "x2 ammo" cheat. At Mk.3, and with three full stacks, 22 railgun rounds can be loosed in a single salvo. Additionally, the railgun can't fire all 22 rounds off before the 3 second reload thanks to its fire rate — meaning it effectively fires infinitely with 22 rounds.