Coilgun best weapon in Close Quarter Combat - human cqc weapon?

[Trifler]

- Industrial Diamond Shot Shells (i.e. Buckshot made of diamond shards instead of lead pellets). Industrial Diamonds are relatively affordable, although they certainly cost more than Lead.

- Standard buckshot fired from the in-game Coilgun would have more range and cause a lot more damage considering the speeds involved.

- I agree with an earlier post that improvements to Laser power sources would be a feasible option. After all, you're studying alien Plasma and Antimatter technologies, among other things. Same weapon, different ammo cartridge, different color beam...

- An electromagnetic Assault Rifle is theoretically doable with a good enough power source, but this falls into the realm of a new weapon. I can see this happening before a five-barrel coilgun in the real world. Actually it would probably go Sniper, then Semi-Auto, and then 3-Round Burst, but anyways... The way I imagine this would be solid metal bullets/slugs/whatever with a basic automatic feeding mechanism as used in modern weapons. The difference would be that the barrel would be a rail or coil accelerator and the ammo would probably feed in as far back as possible, potentially having the magazine attach to or near the shoulder stock. The weapon could release several projectiles each time the accelerator "fired". Full auto wouldn't be possible unless you had the power to keep the accelerator on for several seconds, but firing a 3-shot burst wouldn't take any longer than firing one. The rounds would probably be smaller than those used in a sniper weapon.

- Chemical liquid or gas grenades would certainly work. Biological possibly as well. Biological darts as in X-Com Apocalypse probably wouldn't be a good option since the darts would have to penetrate the alien armor to be effective, which kind of nullifies the whole idea. A toxic gas would probably be rendered harmless since aliens use a breathing aparatus. Something that could quickly be absorbed through the skin and lead to violent convulsions or temporary paralysis (once it kicks in) would probably work best. We have plenty of such nasty things in the real world today so Phalanx would certainly have access to it. Although, a Concussion grenade might work even better. Armor won't offer much protection with those.

Just some thoughts after reading this thread.

[Sarin]

- Industrial Diamond Shot Shells (i.e. Buckshot made of diamond shards instead of lead pellets). Industrial Diamonds are relatively affordable, although they certainly cost more than Lead.

- Standard buckshot fired from the in-game Coilgun would have more range and cause a lot more damage considering the speeds involved.

Erm...don't you need magnetic projectiles for coilgun? AFAIK pure diamond are not magnetically active, altho it might be possible to create irom projectiles with diamond coating.

Speaking about hi-tech projectiles, what about actual hybrid projectile weaponry, that is projectiles propelled by more than one way, for example chemically and electromagnetically? Or...laser propelled projectile? I've heard about experiments with this method used on lager scale...

[Viento]

Hm, looking at this post again, after I've reached the same stage in game again, when all my laser rifles and the standard ones can't even scratch the medium armour aliens.

I actually don't care much what exactly (e.g. regarding technology) happens to change the fact that most weapons just lose their right of existance once medium armour comes into the game - as long as there is some kind of change.

I find it (again) very annoying, even more annoying this time because aliens are much more deadly at my difficulty setting now and even though they have no needlers or heavy needlers yet, it's very hard and sometimes really disillusioning. With the excellent laser weapons rendered useless, small sniper rifles seem to be the only remaining tool at the moment for medium and long range fighting. :/

Viento

[nanomage]

Heavy laser still performs good against medium alien armour, and you can use plasma blades and kerrblades in close combat. Even laser pistol kills them if fired long enough
Coilgun is great too, but i don't think it's "best weapon in Close Combat", as stated by the OP. Plasma blades are definitely better, and heavy needler is no worse too.

[zapkitty]

No new weapons... and yet weapons currently under development or actually in use make the game milieu of what was once "current weapons" pale in comparison. D/F lasers wouldn't stand a chance against solid state laser rifles that out-range and out-power them. Weapons that use plasma for propellant or even use it as a power source for advanced projectiles once they reach the target. Current thermobaric 25mm shells that make the grenade launcher's pb rounds look ridiculously weak.

UFO:AI is a great effort but it wouldn't hurt to admit that it's background tech is a bit dated in some respects.

But, working within said milieu, the infinitely sharp broken shards from the first attempts to make monomolecular  blades gives some bright tech an idea and he improvises a process to make even smaller pieces which he puts edge-on into a nanocomposite cup sabot round for a shotgun... and a very deadly short range weapon results.

But shotguns aren't a new weapon, so... 

[zapkitty]

Another proposed CQC upgrade for an existing human weapon...

... but this would actually require a model change so I don't know...

... using all the new materials tech to replace the handle of the monomolecular blade with a telescoping shaft that extends instantly upon command. The result would be akin to the naginata of medieval Japan and would multiply the damage and the range of the blade.

No, it's not a Minbari fighting pike and I don't know why they'd pick a fight with a fish anyway...

[thunktone]

- An electromagnetic Assault Rifle is theoretically doable with a good enough power source, but this falls into the realm of a new weapon. I can see this happening before a five-barrel coilgun in the real world. Actually it would probably go Sniper, then Semi-Auto, and then 3-Round Burst, but anyways... The way I imagine this would be solid metal bullets/slugs/whatever with a basic automatic feeding mechanism as used in modern weapons. The difference would be that the barrel would be a rail or coil accelerator and the ammo would probably feed in as far back as possible, potentially having the magazine attach to or near the shoulder stock. The weapon could release several projectiles each time the accelerator "fired". Full auto wouldn't be possible unless you had the power to keep the accelerator on for several seconds, but firing a 3-shot burst wouldn't take any longer than firing one. The rounds would probably be smaller than those used in a sniper weapon.

There's already an electromagnetic rifle just like this. Perhaps if the 3-shot burst cost less action points it would be quite effective in cqc.

[Sarin]

If you wanna talk real...I don't think that rapid fire e-mag powered rifle is the way to go. You'd need high temperature superconductors to keep the gun from overheating and extreme power consumption, and I think that is far beyond Phalanx's ability to create.

A hybrid e-mag and laser or plasma propelled gun might work.

[Captain Skill]

I'm firmly of the opinion that unless ammo count is a concern, the Coilgun is hands down the best weapon in the game overall. If you make your shots count, you need never look to any other weapon ever again (barring perhaps the grenade launcher for indirect, aoe fire support, and flashbangs). That said, plasma blades are invaluable for close combat as mentioned; they're guaranteed, reliable, TU efficient instant death.

[Errant]

I'm firmly of the opinion that unless ammo count is a concern, the Coilgun is hands down the best weapon in the game overall. If you make your shots count, you need never look to any other weapon ever again (barring perhaps the grenade launcher for indirect, aoe fire support, and flashbangs). That said, plasma blades are invaluable for close combat as mentioned; they're guaranteed, reliable, TU efficient instant death.

I have to agree with this. The problem is that there are no short-ranged firearms that is equivalent to what the coilgun does at long range. The flamethrower can, yes.....but it isn't *better* at it, and it should be. If nothing else...it's a heck of a lot easier to raise Sniper skill than Close, in my experience.

And yes, I make extensive use of plasma blades. I can afford to: they require no skill whatsoever.

Also, flashbangs ftw.