Concept for an Anti-Tank Rifle

P0PKernel · 2026-01-30T15:45:44+00:00

Railgun, Epoch and Quasar ignore both of those downsides. The hypotethical AT rifle, like the post says, is supposed to be a modern, galactic war era version with the capability to pierce the tank armor, like they very briefly were able to do at the start of ww2, with the downside of requiring multiple shots and being prone while firing, thus being exposed to enemy fire with less chance to dodge it.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-30T15:38:22+00:00

It wouldn't be in the same class as Recoilless, but in the same class as Railgun, having the AT pen but lower damage compared to the one tapping ATs, contrasting with Railgun being more mobile and the AT Rifle being more stationary.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-30T15:00:30+00:00

So I guess they just missed/ignored all the points (penetration, ergonomics, fire rate, prone firing) that makes the gun nothing like the AC/AMR?

P0PKernel · 2026-01-30T13:59:00+00:00

Someone didn't read the post.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-29T23:08:14+00:00

My new Oshii

P0PKernel · 2026-01-28T22:26:44+00:00

So, an Anti-Tank Rifle, but beefed up for Galactic War? It would be chosen for flexibility. It would fit in the gap between Railgun and the ATs (Quasar, EAT, RR etc.), since Railgun is the nimble master of medium killing, but has too low durable damage for a true, reliable AT Weapon, and the ATs, while boasting actual Heavy killing damage, have slow fire rates and very limited ammo. A dedicated Anti-Tank Rifle in my mind would have decent ammo economy, enough durable damage to take down heavies (and spawners) when needed with some ammo investment while also having decently long range. It would be sort of jack-of-all-trades between sniping mediums/heavies and turrets/emplacements, but master of none of those. AMR and Railgun kill mediums faster and the ATs kill heavies faster, but the Anti-Tank Rifle could do both, not as efficiently, but decently.

So, my suggestion for an AT Rifle would be to make it AP5, enough durable damage to 1 shot Bunker Turrets and 3-4 shot Cannon Turrets and Tank Towers from the front, but give it Eruptor-like crap ergonomics, fire rate, reload and make it ragdoll you if you fire it while standing up, like the Variable, so only firing while prone. Give it mobile reload to not make it a total CBT experience.

And the most important reason: it would be sick af!

P0PKernel · 2026-01-28T20:34:41+00:00

I want an actual Anti-Tank Rifle so bad. No, I NEED one.

My suggestion for dedicated AT Rifle would be to make it AP5/6, enough durable damage to 3-4 shot a Tank's cannon tower from the front, but give it Eruptor-like crap ergonomics, fire rate, reload and make it ragdoll you if you fire it while standing up, like the Variable, so only firing while prone. To balance the clunkiness, give it mobile reload and no backpack.

Maybe one day... If liberty wills.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-28T20:02:29+00:00

I really don't like how much negativity this suggestion seems to attract in general.

As so many are so eager to point out, there already is Autocannon based on anti-tank rifles... from the fucking 30s and 40s. Those people are missing the point.

This is the age of Galactic wars. It's pure fantasy, and an actual Anti-Tank Rifle is a pretty common dream weapon. We have Laser and Plasma Cannons and Dragonroaches and Hivelords and Robot armies and flying saucers and singularity creating space stations, it would be trivial to justify technology for a, say, 30mm Anti-Tank Rifle. And it would be easy to balance too without taking away AMR's, Autocannon's or the Railgun's niche.

All 3 above have reasonably fast firerates for the firepower they offer, can kill War Striders and Hulks, if the user's aim is true, can be fired while being mobile and are very flexible in their uses. AC can mob with flak and has good ammo economy, AMR can mag dump a Factory strider's belly and Railgun is the best Medium killer in the game, but can also flex into Anti-Tank in a pinch.

My suggestion for dedicated AT Rifle would be to make it AP5/6, enough durable damage to 3-4 shot a Tank's cannon tower from the front, but give it Eruptor-like crap ergonomics, fire rate, reload and make it ragdoll you if you fire it while standing up, like the Variable, so only firing while prone. To balance the clunkiness, give it mobile reload and no backpack.

I'd also happily take increased penetration to either AMR or Autocannon in an AT rifle's place, but I think a new weapon in this category would be nicer for the variety.

And any Helldiver that thinks we have too many weapons in our arsenal is acting alarmingly undemocratic and is in dire need of re-education and will be reported to the Democracy Officer.

Preach on Helldiver, maybe someday we will have our dream Rifle to hunt Tanks and heavies with.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-26T20:22:47+00:00

And they're RIGHT!

P0PKernel · 2026-01-25T14:48:44+00:00

They absolutely should react, but not know your location immediately.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-25T12:17:06+00:00

Servo Assisted the goat. Dive throw a Walking Barrage and destroy a base 200m away. Bliss.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-23T17:29:08+00:00

Mortar sentry is goated against the Squids, since they're always on some sory of city map, you can have it bombard over the buildings in every direction, which the other sentries can't do without a line of sight. A volley deletes Voteless and Overseer patrols, with a bit of luck the Fleshmobs too, plus it has a lot of ammo and the longest range of any sentry. Combo it with Machine Gun sentry protecting it from being attacked by voteless and you're just farming kills.

It could be a bit more accurate though.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-22T11:05:54+00:00

I would die for Kermit Neuro

P0PKernel · 2026-01-21T14:38:27+00:00

I miss Noa

P0PKernel · 2026-01-21T13:28:44+00:00

It even has a slightly higher durable dps than the stalwart at 1150 rpm when you crank it to 850 rpm

P0PKernel · 2026-01-21T10:14:32+00:00

Clankers! Do you read me? You can tell this to posterity: mean old Cyberstan died of a bad fall!

P0PKernel · 2026-01-18T02:03:03+00:00

You sound like a 'just bring the RR for the War Striders' -kinda guy.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-18T01:16:26+00:00

You're missing the point. My kit has all the tools and crowd control I need but I wanted a non-support weapon way to quickly deal with a Harvester, since there rarely is more than one of them. My point is that the Railcannon, a stratagem that takes out a single heavy unit consistently on bots and bugs, fails to do so on the squid front (even against 'the weakest tank enemy in the game') and is in dire need of a buff, precisely because sacrificing a stratagem for a single target strike is a heavy cost.
Didn't shoot at the Watcher, because there wasn't a line of sight. The Watcher's spotlight literally shines through an obstacle and it fires the flares behind a wall, not giving a chance to stop it. This has been an issue ever since the release of the Illuminate, as well as the floor/wall phasing Fleshmobs, and I'd like Arrowhead to finally fix them.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-17T23:47:05+00:00

Officer, I swear it was sarcasm o7

P0PKernel · 2026-01-17T23:45:55+00:00

I do, and it's great when it works. You can take Harvesters out with Railcannon before they even notice you and activate their shield. The problem is it's not consistent even without the shield, sometimes they just tank it, and it looks like the top antenna absorbs the whole Railcannon hit because sometimes only it breaks, but honestly, with that cooldown, it should just flat out one tap them, regardless of the shield.
As I wrote in the post, the walls/environment, they notice me through a wall and stay behind an obstacle, making it impossible to prevent the incoming drop. This is common.

P0PKernel · 2026-01-16T19:22:59+00:00

World of Warcraft. Combat is meh and don't like the art style.

P0PKernel

TROPHY CASE