Difference between revisions of "Ultra AutoCannons"

Revision as of 17:13, 31 December 2019

Ultra AutoCannons, or UACs, are an advance in AutoCannon technology that seeks to boost the weapon's damage-per-second (DPS) by increasing rate-of-fire.

Overview

Schematic of Ultra AutoCannon

Generally Ultra AutoCannons offer high burst DPS capabitities compared to less frquently shooting Standard AutoCannons, the down side being that they can overheat and jam with prolonged firing which will result in a lengthy cooling period. This is especially true of the heavier UAC10 and UAC20, which are capable of dealing tremendous damage but have a limited window to do so.

UAC projectiles aren't explosive, so they won't deal splash damage or cause screenshake.

Like with the Standard ACs, there are four classes of Ultra AutoCannons: UAC2, UAC5, UAC10, and UAC20. Inner Sphere and Clan versions are identical, except Clan UAC5 which cools bit slower than it's IS counterpart.

Weapon Stats

Gameplay & Hints

(C)UAC2

• Rapid firing Ultra AutoCannon-2 offers long range combined with Light Kinetic Damage, which deals more damage to vehicles and air units.
• Low projectile damage requires prolonged firing to cause notable damage.
• Efficiency against air units (especially high velocity ASF) depends highly on pilot's capability to lead the stream of projectiles.

(C)UAC5

• The Ultra AutoCannon-5 is more similar to the heavier UACs than to the UAC2, as it fires bursts of three as opposed to the UAC2's sustained barrage.
• Kinetic damage does decent bonus damage to air units.

(C)UAC10 and (C)UAC20

• Ultra AutoCannon-10 and Ultra AutoCannon-20 are prime assault weapons that feature both high burst damage and impressive DPS.
• Both shoot bursts of two Heavy Kinetic projectiles.
• Series of bursts cause significant amount of heat
• One drawback of these weapons is they carry so few rounds in a ton (UAC10 48Ammo/ton UAC20 32Ammo/ton) making it easy to run dry if care isn't taken.

Canon

The first Ultra AutoCannon introduced was the UAC5 in 2640 by the Terran Hegemony. Although the Inner Sphere would completely lose the technology in 2915 due to the destructive Succession Wars the Clans went on to introduce the UAC2, UAC10, and UAC20 in the 2820's. As with the LBX10, the secrets to the UAC5 would be rediscovered in the Inner Sphere with the help of the Helm Core in 3035 and the pressures of the Clan Invasion would lead to them to also introduce the UAC2 and UAC10 in 3057. An Inner Sphere version of the UAC20 didn't appear until 3060.

In Classic BattleTech the Clan versions of the UAC are significantly lighter and more compact in addition to having an advantage in range. Additional weapon characteristics include an ability to switch between standard and ultra firing modes, with the weapon behaving like a Standard AutoCannon while in standard mode and firing twice while in ultra mode. Operating in ultra mode carries a risk that the weapon will burn out and be rendered useless for the remainder of the battle, however.

BattleTech reference

Usage

The following assets equip UACs: