Talk:ARC-920 railgun

Recoilless
Is it really recoilless? Based on the preview video, it doesn't look like it. Maybe make note of this? As a trivia perhaps? — DESTINY 23:00, 8 August 2012 (EDT)
 * "Nothing is recoilless." - Everyone (Everywhere, anytime). :P
 * That's part of the gun's name so...why not?? Watched the video, its recoilless; the gun automatically opens a port so the user can reload it, its not discharging encasement shells. -- Kells  [Comm |Files ] 23:20, 8 August 2012 (EDT)
 * Uh, nope. There's a lot of recoil after the Spartan fired a round. Recoilless rifles normally eliminate or reduce recoil; this weapon, however, does not show that.— Destiny_sign.pngDESTINY 23:27, 8 August 2012 (EDT)
 * I presume you've fired a lightweight infantry railgun before, so I'll defer to your judgment. On a serious note, the discrepancy with its name and the gameplay function of the ARC-920 is probably due to the latter, knocking the player off-balance visually after using such a devastating weapon. The Onager mass driver cannon in Reach is very similar in-action with the ARC-920, including the visual hindrance.
 * My bad, wasn't thinking about the definition. -- Kells  [Comm |Files ] 00:28, 9 August 2012 (EDT)

It's a coilgun
In the recent video, you can clearly see the magnetic coil in the barrel. 98.24.14.97 22:02, 9 August 2012 (EDT)


 * It's clearly labeled as "railgun", though. Tuckerscreator (stalk ) 00:11, 10 August 2012 (EDT)
 * As per Tuckerscreator: I too saw that movie on Halo Waypoint, and thus I concur. Does not the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon have magnetic coils too? --Xamikaze330 10:28, 10 August 2012 (EDT)Xamikaze330

About the Recoiless thing...
Actually, a railgun would not have any recoil, as, instead of firing a projectile like a normal firearm, it accelerates it using two magnetic rails. The magnetic acceleration would eliminate the need for standard powder and explosion propelled projectiles, and thus it would not have recoil. Recoil was probably added because of gameplay balance issues and the like.

Another thing I find strange with this weapon is the fact that it does very little damage to a vehicle. A railgun would work excellently if it hit the engine of any vehicle, as it could tear through nearly any armor and gut the engine. It would also be absolutely devastating against aircraft, as it could obliterate multiple vital systems.

One last item of information on this, wouldn't this thing actually be useless for ground troops. A railgun fires a projectile at supersonic speeds, and can easily tear through most armors. The problem is that it leaves a relatively small hole. I could see it being useful in space, as all you need to do is punch a hole in an enemy's armor or ship, but on ground it'd mostly be a very weak anti vehicle weapon or an extremely expensive and overcomplicated alternative to the sniper rifle.

--An overtechnical contributor.


 * Electromagnetic force is still force being acted upon the projectile, and all force has an equal and opposite reaction. This is Newtonian physics. Even if it had no moving parts or friction, this would still be true, though the recoil could be lessened significantly. Regarding it's use, note that we have yet to see any unaugmented personnel using it, or any indication that they can. For all we know, the recoil is high enough that only MJOLNIR-equipped Spartans can use it handheld. Thirdly, regarding function at that scale - we know that the Covenant field a number of well-shielded units smaller than vehicles, such as Hunters, and the shielded Brutes and Elites. The Railgun seems designed less for anti-vehicle combat and more for taking out targets such as these, against which standard weaponry has had mixed effectiveness. Remember that officially, the UNSC considers the Spartan Laser a kind of sniper rifle, and the Railgun has been compared to a smaller, quicker equivalent. A sniper rifle fires a specially designed armour piercing discarding sabot round. A Railgun could achieve similar penetration with a less sophisticated, and therefore cheaper, round, though at shorter range. --  Qura 'Morhek   The Autocrat     of Morheka   06:59, 22 October 2012 (EDT)