Approved Tech EO-3 Marksman Rifle

[Errreembuhr]

OUT OF CHARACTER INFORMATION

Intent: To provide a marksman rifle that is powerful and accurate at range
Image Source: https://www.ar15.com/gunstruction/
Canon Link: N/A
Restricted Missions: N/A
Primary Source: N/A

PRODUCTION INFORMATION

Manufacturer: EODD
Model: EO-3 Marksman Rifle
Affiliation: Open-Market
Modularity: No
Production: Minor Production
Material: Plasteel, Rubber stock butt, blaster components

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS

Classification: Blaster
Size: Average
Weight: Average
Ammunition Type: Gas canister and power cell
Ammunition Capacity: 5 shots before cooling is required, 20 per cartridge
Reload Speed: Average
Effective Range: Long Range
Rate of Fire: Very Low
Stopping Power: Very High
Recoil: Low with the bipod deployed, High with the bipod retracted

SPECIAL FEATURES
6x Targeting Scope
Angled Forward Grip
Integrated foldable bipod
Telescoping stock

Strengths:

• Powerful: With a larger amount of gas being utilized per shot than most standard rifles, the EO-3 provides serious stopping power at range.
• User Friendly: The EO-3 possesses a quick-eject power cell system, allowing the user to hasten their reloading of the weapon and maintain a consistent amount of fire on their targets. In addition, for ease of transport and storage, the weapon can be broken down quickly into six separate parts(Barrel, handguard, bipod, scope, receiver, stock) which can easily be stored in a travel case.

Weaknesses:

• Fire rate: For a weapon of its size the EO-3 has an incredibly low fire rate, owing to its high power and considerable recoil, as allowing for anything higher would significantly reduce the accuracy of the weapon, as well as risk critical damage to the weapon.
• Ammunition capacity: To supply the weapon’s high stopping power a considerable drain on ammunition is required, leaving the weapon with only twenty shots per cartridge.
• Sound: The amount of gas put into each bolt fired results in an unmistakable report, one that can’t be suppressed and can easily give away the user’s position to nearby hostiles.
• Heat: The EO-3 builds up a significant amount of heat per shot, requiring a user-initiated cool-down period of fifteen seconds after every five continuous shots. Ignoring this could risk significant damage to the barrel, with warping of the barrel being the most common issue. Firing the weapon after this point carries a very high probability of critical and irreparable damage to the weapon itself in the form of melting of the internal firing mechanisms or, in severe cases, explosive overload.

DESCRIPTION

Troops on the battlefield serve a variety of roles. From the standard trooper with a blaster carbine to the heavy weapons expert. One role, however, is often critical to the success of a mission: the sniper. With precision and power, not to mention their ability to stay hidden from sight while eliminating targets at a range that limits retaliation, a single sniper can force an entire battalion to a halt. They are both a blessing and a curse, depending on which end of the scope you’re on, and the EO-3 was created with the idea to ensure that you are always on the right end.

With all the power of a battlefield-ready sniper rifle in the package of your typical trooper’s blaster rifle, the EO-3 packs a heavy punch without taking up too much space or placing too much of a weight strain on its operator. Using a quick-eject power cell system, the weapon can be reloaded at a prudent speed, which is necessary due to the weapon’s low capacity per cartridge compared to other rifles of its size. And speaking of size, the EO-3 can be broken down quickly into six separate parts and stored in a specially designed case that comes with each weapon on purchase.

Of course, the weapon does not come without its drawbacks. Each shot carries a large amount of gas to allow for a high-powered shot on target, which requires the weapon to have a seriously low fire rate to prevent quick overheating and potential critical weapon failure. In addition, due to its smaller size compared to most commercial sniper weapons, the EO-3 is out-ranged by many, leaving it more suited for counter-sniper and squad marksman operations than as a dedicated sniper weapon.

Still, the EO-3 is a powerful rifle for use in battle, providing accurate and deadly firepower in a smaller package than your average rifle of similar class.

 

[Iona Immarya]

Under Review.

 

[Iona Immarya]

[member="Errreembuhr"] Hello there! I will be looking at your submission with you. Feel free to ask any questions you have as we work on this together!

Ammunition Capacity: 5 shots before cooling is required, 20 per cartridge

Tell me more about this as it sounds like it could make a solid weakness. What happens when it cools down? Is it a safety mechanism that prevents firing while it cools? If so, how long does this cooling period last? Or, can people still fire during this cooling period and what happens if they do? Will the barrel melt? Will it suffer from a catastrophic failure (such as it overheating and overloading, so, exploding in their hands?).

This, right here, is a goldmine of a potential weakness, the kind of thing that could really help balance and offsets some of the strengths of this weapon.

Strengths:

• Quick reload: With the power cell and gas canister included in the same ejectable cartridge, reloading the blaster takes less time than average as both the gas and power cell can be replaced simultaneously

Keep in mind that the gas canister tends to outlast the power cell for most blasters, often, by twice, or more. So, when someone reloads their blaster, often, its the power cell they are reloading. Not both.

Take the E-11 for example. You will reload the power cell five times before you will need to reload the plasma cartridge.

To me, this strength strikes me more as 'User Friendly' then quick reload since the 'quick reload' would only really be noticeable if both people were standing next to each other reloading five or more times and the 'quick reload' would only be in a negligible amount of time saved. I say user friendly because its a convenient thing to have as you won't need to reload the secondary ammunition when the time eventually comes. User Friendly can even be stretched to include the fact this thing is easy to carry and store.

If you want to keep the reload speed at High you will need another reason. Could be a superior quick mag ejection system or a well designed cartridge that easily slides in, but combining two in one isn't, itself, a candidate for rapid reload.

​

• Marksman rifle vs. Sniper rifle: The EO-3 is a marksman rifle, not a dedicated sniper rifle, and is outclassed in range by more specialized weapons.

Being 'not as good' as another weapon isn't something I would consider a weakness. Please remove.

On the whole, this weapon is a little too potent to be mass produced. A good way to see it is imagine all the ratings as 'Average' and count it as a '0'. Whenever you make a rating worse, add -1. When you make a rating better, add +1. They don't have to be perfectly equal if you have weaknesses that make sense and help bring in balances.

I am not going to saying, 'Do X and Y', I want us to work together on this to find something that fits your idea for this weapon, so here are some options:

• Drop the production of this weapon.
• Drop some some ratings, I would advise droping reload speed to average regardless of what other stat you lower or route you take.
• Make some more, solid, weaknesses. The sound weakness? Is great, more of those weaknesses, ones that can be exploited by other players in pvp scenarios are what you should think about more then 'fluff' weaknesses like it being expensive. The one I mentioned earlier, with the overheating, dig more into that, talk about what happens when it needs to cool [either not letting the person fire as a safety mechanism or causing it to risk critical failure such as barrel melting or catastrophic failure].

​
Also, if you have any ideas for ways to make this a more balanced weapon for mass-production then go for it. Those are just my suggestions for ways to do so.

 

[Errreembuhr]

[member="Iona Immarya"] thank you for the judgment on the submission's issues, I looked over them and I definitely agree on each point! I dropped the production to limited and the reload speed to average. To that end I edited the information about the reload system, changing it to a quick-eject power cell system, and lumping the reload information in with the third strength and renaming it to 'User Friendly' as suggested, since it did make far more sense to combine the two and play it up as features to make the weapon easier to use.

In regards to the heat output, I replaced the fourth weakness with one specifically detailing how the heat caused by firing the weapon affects it. Details were added about the results of ignoring the need to rest the weapon after five shots, and I did like the idea of it 'catastrophically failing' if kept in use after, so I added that as well.

If there's anything else I need to adjust, or any further suggestions you have, please let me know and I'll make edits as soon as possible!

 

[Iona Immarya]

[member="Errreembuhr"] Now I feel you penalized yourself a bit too much. Low ammo, sound and heat failure are all very good weaknesses, so for stats, you can either keep it as is and bump production to minor or keep at limited and bump your reload back to High. Whichever you prefer.

 

[Errreembuhr]

[member="Iona Immarya"] no worries, I actually misunderstood about production and forgot about minor, for some reason I thought limited was one below mass, so that one is on me! I bumped it to minor, how does it look now?

 

[Iona Immarya]

Awesome. Pending Factory Mentor Review.

[member="Jamie Pyne"], [member="Nadja Keto"], [member="Taryc Ap'Irae"]

 

[Zef Halo]

Approved.