ROTARY AUTOCANNONS: The Pulse Laser of Ballistic weapons, they fire a stream of high velocity, armor piercing shells. In groups, they are capable of ripping open the heaviest assault units in short order. Their Damage/ Sec. values are extremely high, though it takes a skillful marksman to take advantage of this as they tend to scatter damage more than other types. The weapons will jam if fired continuously, and they are best utilized by firing 3 or 4 second bursts, and allowing the weapon to cool for 3 to 4 seconds. This "50% Duty Cycle" will support a high rate of fire without fear of jams, and also allow for the occasional 5 to 6 second continuous fire, or killing stroke. Just as Pulse Lasers require extra heat sink capacity, plenty of reload capability must be a part of any configuration featuring these weapons.
GAUSS RIFLES OR RAIL GUNS: Accelerate a massive slug to hyper-velocities using a series of magnetic coils. The earliest types were known as Rail Guns, these evolved into the present Gauss Rifles. Massive weapons, with heavy ammunition but capable of outstanding power and range. The Lt. Gauss has the greatest range of any weapon and is a favorite of experienced snipers. The 1200 meter range is redundant, however, as maximum visible range in the game is limited to 1000, in clear conditions. Targets engaged at maximum and near maximum ranges will have to be targeted with the reticule only. Reload times are slow to allow coil driving capacitors to charge, and the ionized gas trail they leave behind makes it easy to locate to unit firing them. The Inner Sphere heavy Gauss, available with the Inner Sphere Mech Pack fires a more massive slug than other types and it's damage is considerably greater. It has serious drawbacks however... range is limited to 600 meters, it weighs 18 tons, carries only 16 rounds of the heavy ammunition and takes up 4 Ballistic or Omni slots. These factors weigh heavily against it's common usage, and a quick look at the specifications will find several more efficient Ballistic weapons available.
Used in conjunction with ER Large Lasers, Clan Gauss Rifles are a primary weapon system of Assault mechs and will quickly destroy most any target. - They are often used by Jump Snipers, as their reload time corresponds neatly with Jump Jet recharging times.
- The 800 meter Gauss Rifle presents a significant threat on the field, it's high
velocity and low heat especially valuable for snipers and in hot climates. -
LONG TOM CANNON: A specialized weapon and difficult to use, it causes extreme damage, but the weapon and it's ammunition are incredibly heavy. With limited range, this slow, unguided projectile is easy for smaller mechs to avoid. A very hot weapon to operate, it generates heat equal to 2 ER-PPC's group fired. The Long Tom cannon does have one unique asset, it fires it's powerful shell in a ballistic arc, allowing it to engage targets while being completely protected from line of sight counter fire and safe from missile lock. That quality, and the tremendous amount of blast effect, make it very useful to the pilot that masters it. Direct hits with the Long Tom are not as effective as near misses, as the majority of the damage is caused by the shock wave and blast effect.
Use elevation indicator to determine approximate fall of cannon shells. Calculator shows ranges for targets at equal elevation to deploying unit, compensate for targets at different elevations by adding elevation for higher targets, reduce elevation for lower targets. Practice with the Long Tom Cannon is even more critical than most other weapons, but driving stubborn groups of jump-snipers from their favorite haunts is worth the effort.
During pre-combat reconnaissance, identify popular enemy strongholds and sniper locations, after determining effective fire support locations, carefully record azimuth and elevation data. This will allow a great deal of destructive ordinance to be placed directly on enemy positions, forcing a tactical shift which can then be exploited. The use of a scout or spotter can greatly improve the accuracy of long range fire support during combat or gathering of data prior to start of hostilities; coordinate tactics with teammates to eliminate enemy positional advantages.
 
AUTOMATIC GRENADE LAUNCHERS - AGL: Also known as "Thumpers", these weapons act as lighter, more versatile versions of the Long Tom artillery piece. The Inferno AGL (IN-AGL) does little physical damage to the target, but delivers 4 points of heat to the target through the use of a incendiary warhead. The High Explosive Armor Piercing AGL (HEAP-AGL) utilizes a warhead that acts as a smaller version of the Long Tom, delivering shack and blast effects over an approx. 20-30 meter radius. The HEAP-AGL has an extremely fast reload capability, Though the damage effects are far less than that of the full sized Long Tom, the quantity of ammunition per tons is only marginally better and heat levels are still quite high. The Smoke AGL has a long reload time and only 2 shots per ton of ammo, but covers a wide area with thick, black smoke. Although temporary, it provides effective cover to conceal movement of forces, allowing redeployment or assault with relative safety.
The judicious use of smoke is extremely effective as a diversionary tactic as well as concealment for movement of resources. A smoke screen will almost always draw enemy resources towards the percieved attack vector. This has the effect of weakening the defensive perimeter at another point, which can then be exploited by the main attck force.
TRACERS: Tracers assist in the deployment of artillery type weapons by simulating the trajectory of the warshot, allowing pilots to judge range and azimuth calculations without wasting valuable and heavy ammunition. They cause no damage and little heat, but provide a highly visible blast effect. The Tracers come in two varieties, designed for use with the Long Tom cannon, and the Automatic Grenade Launchers. Tracers and their ammunition are small and light, allowing most any mech deploying heavy artillery to find room for a tracer as well. The blast effect of the Tracer is similar to that of the warshot itself, alerting enemies of incoming artillery but also making it valuable as a deception or distraction device when installed on light mechs.
CLUSTER BOMBS: Firing 4 shells in a fan pattern out to a range of 1200 meters. Each of the 4 munitions further disintegrates into smaller sub-munitions, which saturate a wide area with damaging fire and explosive shock. The damage is scattered however, and the weapon loses effectiveness at close range, likely due to failure of sub-munition deployment. Also, at very close range the firing unit is at risk of being damaged by the blast. Still, Cluster Bombs can be valuable for sweeping ridges clear of enemy support units, or for area denial operations.
The 4 Cluster Bomb shells fan out in an oval pattern. They will spread approx. 50 meters for every 250 meters of downrange travel. Their unbalanced destructive potential has resulted in their removal from service in all but Black Knight areas of operation.
Cluster Bombs, with their quick reload time can be devastating defensive weapons when used in groups. Chain firing allows the coverage of extended areas and will severely damage any mech caught in the blast area.
MACHINE GUNS: Too ammunition intensive and limited in damage to be considered as a primary, or even secondary weapon. Only marginally effective, even in very large groups, they quickly expend all available ammunition and require considerable time to severely degrade a mechs armor. Not especially useful as a weapon, even against small mechs, the lack of power combined with expendable ammunition make for a poor use of space and weight.
Use the weight for Pulse or Medium Lasers instead, this old technology is best left in the Mechlab.
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