Best HT/UT weapon(s) for a ST 15, 16, 18, 20 and 25 characters?

[vicky_molokh]

No, I'm talking primarily about ranged weapons, not mêlée. I'm not highly bothered about CR - this has more to do in the hypothetical military combat. After all, BIO provides augmentations for ST, and IIRC some of the templates have them. So I'm wondering with what stuff will these be armed. (Not sure whether to include the effects of powered armor/battlesuits donned over all that muscle. Alternatively, ST20 and 25, IIRC, could be the result of the powered armor bonus.)

[chris1982]

With high ST you can carry some LAWs - or even operate an HMG in your hands... This is some cool stuff... :-)

[lvk]

TL 9, ST 20 (Powered Armor or Combat Android)
APDS HMG + Shaped-Charge MLAWS or AC

TL 10, ST 25 (Powered Armor)
Gauss HMG + HEMP M-LAWS or AC

TL 11, ST 25 (Biomods + Military Cybersuit)
Combination Gadget: APHD Gauss HMG + HEMP Auto EMGL

TL 11^, ST 25 (Biomods + Military Cybersuit)
Semi-Portable Graviton Beam

TL 11^, ST 45 (Biomods + Dreadnoght Battlesuit)
Gravitic Railgun

Also mininukes from safe distance (high ST allows to carry nuclear missiles and enough armor at TL9+).

[Joel]

For UT there's disintegrators and antimater warheads, obviously, but then I doubt they get used that often in games.

The Mortar Box, 40mmPLB on a shoulder servomount or Extra Arm (Weapon Mount, -80%) is pretty awesome if you have the strength for it, can get close enough, and don't mind lots and lots of explosions.

40mm underbarrel goes on everything at TL 9+.

TL 9^ (ST 18) Tactical Screamer has 8d cor with 3 yard radius, Acc 9, RoF 10, and recoil 1. In the not so unlikely event of hitting with all 10 shots, that eats through about 56 DR per second in a 3 yard radius. Hook it up to an E-Cell (or portable fusion reactor) and liquefy all your problems. If nothing else it's unique.

TL 11 (ST 27) Rainbow Strike Laser is perhaps the greatest non-superscience sniper weapon in the book for powersuits, with ETS, it's Acc 18+4 with full damage out to 50,000 yards.

[sir_pudding]

Originally Posted by Molokh

No, I'm talking primarily about ranged weapons, not mêlée. I'm not highly bothered about CR - this has more to do in the hypothetical military combat.

What role? Light Infantry? Vehicle Crews? Bot-Bosses? For combat troops, ammunition weight is at least as important as weapon weight.

[Icelander]

Originally Posted by sir_pudding

What role? Light Infantry? Vehicle Crews? Bot-Bosses? For combat troops, ammunition weight is at least as important as weapon weight.

Indeed.

Weapon weight should always be considered as a weapon system, counting everything needed to keep the weapon operational. Usually, the best weapon is the one that gives the longest time you can spend in combat for a given weight of weapon + ammo while still being able to counter expected threats and take advantage of any tactical doctrines that your side practises.

There is no way to answer this question while considering only ST and Tech Level. Those are inaquate parameters. We need to know the expected style of warfare, the specific technical assumptions behind TL, the political situation, the goals of the military in question (home defence, fast projection of power, long term nation-building, etc.) and the role of the given soldier.

And more, I guess.

[Verjigorm]

Does a Tank count as a weapon? :)

[SuedodeuS]

Away from my books, but in general you want a weapon you can comfortably carry around (and use without having to set it up), can use to send out a large volume of fire, and can carry a good deal of ammunition for. Some sort of LMG using 5.56 ammo (on account of it being so much lighter than 7.62, although you could use it instead) would work nicely. Be certain to pack +P ammunition! For the really high ST, you could get away with an HMG, provided it's possible to fire comfortably without mounting it. If CQB is common, however, you'll probably want a good, rugged assault rifle. You still get an advantage over weaker characters due to both carrying more ammo and doing more damage when you bash someone over the head with the rifle (or stab them, if you attach a bayonet). If armor piercing ammunition is rare, you can instead opt to go with the largest firearm you can use one-handed and a nice big shield (probably a custom one) for use as portable cover. In all cases, a high ST character can opt for carrying around a lot more ammo than more typical soldiers (thus allowing a higher volume of fire) or wearing better armor. At sufficiently high ST, you can get away with doing both!

The above is biased for TL8 or so, but could probably extend to UT.

[lexington]

Originally Posted by SuedodeuS

Away from my books, but in general you want a weapon you can comfortably carry around (and use without having to set it up), can use to send out a large volume of fire, and can carry a good deal of ammunition for. Some sort of LMG using 5.56 ammo (on account of it being so much lighter than 7.62, although you could use it instead) would work nicely. Be certain to pack +P ammunition! For the really high ST, you could get away with an HMG, provided it's possible to fire comfortably without mounting it. If CQB is common, however, you'll probably want a good, rugged assault rifle. You still get an advantage over weaker characters due to both carrying more ammo and doing more damage when you bash someone over the head with the rifle (or stab them, if you attach a bayonet). If armor piercing ammunition is rare, you can instead opt to go with the largest firearm you can use one-handed and a nice big shield (probably a custom one) for use as portable cover. In all cases, a high ST character can opt for carrying around a lot more ammo than more typical soldiers (thus allowing a higher volume of fire) or wearing better armor. At sufficiently high ST, you can get away with doing both!

The above is biased for TL8 or so, but could probably extend to UT.

Sounds like you'd want the Grav Heavy Needler. 100 armor piercing, high damage, high accuracy, rounds per second. *drool*

Of course you probably wouldn't want to use that in an urban setting.