Top Ten Sci-Fi Firearms

[@Spacedock]

Get "Designing the Perfect Space Fighter - A Spacedock Reference Book" here! www.patreon.com/posts/77243474/

[@Myomer104]

Is there any other method of acquiring the book?

[@thatkinginyellow5653]

Worth the buy if anyone is interested in designing some spacecraft concepts. Thoroughly enjoyed the purchase.

[@hoojiwana]

@@thatkinginyellow5653 I'm glad you enjoyed it! - hoojiwana from Spacedock

[@ArmoredAlgebra]

You guys should look at Destiny for some sci-fi stuff on your lists. Destiny exotic weapons could probably have completely filled this list, and, as a gunsmith, I find very interesting as concepts.

[@NeostormXLMAX]

I can’t believe you talked about warframe and didn’t mention the gunblades

[@JustTheJames]

I feel like the needler from Halo deserved to be on this list, becasue it's incredibly unique as well as being iconic. I would have also given an honerable mention to Tracer's pulse pistols from Overwatch, just becasue they reload by rewinding time which is awesome.

[@RorikH]

Oh yeah, the Needlers are the bomb. Also, I feel like it was weird to put a crossbow on the list. Laser guns are already stretching the bounds of firearm, but a crossbow just really doesn't count.

[@Miles614]

I was waiting desperately for the needler

[@yetanother9127]

I've actually been replaying Halo CE Anniversary recently, and it reminded me just how cool the Needler is. The reload especially is very meaty and satisfying.

[@judgedrekk2981]

glorious pink death!!!! most fun weapon to use, always sucks to die to it lolz

[@zenebean]

And of course you could dual wield those monsters, which was insane but so much fun And Tracer's guns are really cool, the idea of only needing to make some super special rounds once and then just "reusing" them is very cool

[@anthemanatheme1638]

Covenant Plasma Rifle. Just the aesthetic is... Beautiful. Really gives it an alien look without being cliché.

[@TheSpearkan]

Normal, RGB, bitcrushed or triple-wielded?

[@blacktronpavel]

Should have been on the list or have an entire list for alien weapons.

[@WollaWalla]

@@TheSpearkan The detexture rifle, obviously

[@deathrex007]

@@TheSpearkanTriple wielded is absolutely busted.

[@viron6734]

It looks nice but is very simplistic: an alien gun that shoots glowy stuff. I can see what it didn't make the list.

[@DrakonPhD]

One of mine is the humble M36 Lasgun from 40k. Its a perfect example of how insane the 40k universe is, because in modern times the Lasgun would be the ideal service rifle (accurate and reliable, simple to build and maintain, decent weight, and most of all it has rechargeable magazines you can reload just by plugging it into an APC/IFV, putting it into a fire, plugging it into a solar panel, etc. Plus it would be a match or penetrate most modern body armor. But because its 40k its one of the weakest weapons around.

[@chrisbingley]

When you read the lore for the lasgun, it sounds ridiculously OP. Then you look at it's stat line and realise that you're not in Kansas anymore Toto.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

And, of course, there's the old Guardsman joke about it: What d'you call a Lasgun with a laser pointer? Twin linked. 😁

[@reliantncc1864]

My copy of "The Imperial Infantrymans' Uplifting Primer" informs me that my lasgun is more than capable of taking any conceivable enemy down in at most a few shots. Really, the only thing that can defeat a lasgun-wielding Guardsman is his own Commissar, if he should fail to maintain said lasgun properly.

[@literalsarcasm1830]

"He who mocks the power of the lazgun has never had to walk through a field of 20,000 of them."

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

@@reliantncc1864 Ha! Well said, soldier! *shoots the next trooper instead*

[@RichBensen]

I quite liked the Widow anti-material rifle from ME2, both for it's deadly headshots and the description that includes the sentence "the Widow Anti-Material Rifle is primarily used by sniper teams in assault missions against armored vehicles or Krogan".

[@shaomari1]

Geth plasma SMG sounds crazy as it spins up, Salarian scorpion pistol mini sticky bombs, Bee plasmid from Bioshock. Not the top weapons but cool nonetheless.

[@TheArklyte]

As Ian from Forgotten Weapons once put "the fiction part comes not with energy weapons, but with having cheap, sturdy and reliable drum mags in the future". Sci-fi guns don't have to be fantasy, they just have to be already existing modern tech made affordable. So good high capacity mags, electric priming, plastic cases and electrothermochemical ammo. And you have automatic gun that would laugh at most sci-fi. Or rather you get stright up "pulse" rifle from Aliens;)

[@jakeaurod]

Do you remember the title so I can search?

[@TheArklyte]

@@jakeaurod if I recall right, it was in a Q&A video. Which one, no idea.

[@xyreniaofcthrayn1195]

that is by far the wisest dumb thing i have heard about fictional weapons ever.

[@sim.frischh9781]

Gun Jesus knows his stuff.

[@steemlenn8797]

Actually that is a good reason why the future uses energy weapons. Batteries are so much more reliable.

[@DrownedInExile]

Awesome list! Here's one obscure weapon from Deep Space 9. The episode had a murderer on the loose, killing his victims with an archaic sniper rifle. It wasn't clear how the killer was getting line of sight. Chief O'Brien figured out he was using a rifle with an advanced scanner and integrated micro-transporter beam. After firing, the bullet could be transported right through walls, and preserve lethal velocity for the target. Pretty cool!

[@chrisdavis2319]

It's built around a prototype Federation Starfleet TR-116 rifle (which itself is neat and unusual in the Star Trek 'verse, since it is an actual rifle, as in a weapon that fires a solid, chemically-propelled bullet through a rifled metal barrel, but using 24th-century tech and materials science, such as tritanium bullets). The micro-transporter enhanced version - after its debut as a tricked-out murder weapon - was eventually developed into the TR-116A and TR-116B, which are available in Star Trek Online. Surprisingly, while shields normally disrupt transporter tech, the TR-116A and B are good for shooting through personal energy shielding.

[@reliantncc1864]

Definitely one of the coolest concepts in weapon design, particularly since it's not actually that crazy. The technology in it already existed in the Star Trek universe. It comes off as what a genius gun designer like Browning might build if given Star Trek tech to work with.

[@CptJistuce]

That was a cool gun, especially how every part of it MADE SENSE in the universe(which is very rarely the case in Treknology one-offs). I seem to recall the episode around it being cool as hell too, but that might be dodgy teenager judgement.

[@blacktronpavel]

Shooting through walls, that's almost better than cheat codes.

[@iapetusmccool]

A neat idea, but Why not just transport the bullet directly into the target?

[@FlameBringer84]

Fun fact about the Chemrail. The handle also has a canister of coolant that is pumped into the gun when firing to keep the barrel from overheating.

[@theishiopian68]

I love the phaser rifles from later DS9 and VOY, such a badass shape.

[@brentbartley6838]

Do you mean Voyager's hideous Compression Phaser Rifles? The TNG movie era phaser rifles are the best from Trek followed by the Into Darkness rifle and Enterprise M.A.C.O. rifles IMO.

[@darwinxavier3516]

@@brentbartley6838 I think they're both called compression rifles. I assume they mean the one that looks more like a standard future rifle from First Contact. Pity that Nerf's attempt at it was so damn ugly.

[@theishiopian68]

@@brentbartley6838 HELL no, I'm talking the type 3A phaser rifle. None of that super-soaker lookin shit.

[@anonarchist1936]

Unreal's Shock Rifle deserves at least a mention. Mostly for the sheer fun of firing a slow moving projectile, and then hitting it with the hit scan beam to trigger an explosion.

[@Xalendare15]

Also worth mentioning that (AFAIK) this franchise gave us the concept of the ionized-path Lightning Gun.

[@RickLeMon]

YES! The UT series has some wonderful weapons. The Flak cannon is arguably a shotgun, but it just feels different. But there is nothing more satisfying than a kill with the bio rifle.

[@MrWardonis]

Flak cannon is awesome, too, but the ripper from 99 has always been my favorite.

[@reliantncc1864]

Arguably less fun than telefragging in that game, but yes it's a rollicking good time.

[@Optimus888Amicus]

Yes

[@MrAshleyR]

Mine has gotta be the TR-116 from DS9's season 7. A gun that uses micro-transporters to shoot through walls?! Insane. Not even an honourable mention here? Even more insane.

[@BluegrassGeek]

It's neat, but not practical unless you're going for assassinations, which is why the Federation dropped the program.

[@WillWilsonthesafetyguy]

One of my bridge officers in Star Trek Online never leaves the ship without their TR-116.

[@MrAshleyR]

@@WillWilsonthesafetyguy likewise! They’re honestly the best weapon in game when it comes to the Borg.

[@SuzanneYoungblood-lj3eb]

Awesome mention, love DS9!

[@LoneWolf343]

The micro-transporter was an attachment, and may or may not have a custom design by the assassin using it.

[@Keemperor40K]

My personal favorite are the Tau Pulse Weapons from 40k. They fire a highly ionized pulse, by rapidly super heating a metallic element through a high energy convection field. Even by 40k standards its a brutal weapon, in an elegant package.

[@RXdash78]

And it coms with a free aimbot.

[@PetersonZF]

For the Greater Good!

[@filanfyretracker]

Sounds like something that would sneak out of warframe, only with less war crime additives. Or the Thanix from Mass Effect.

[@ApocGuy]

talking about W40K; anything made by' nids is win automatically. those fuckers can (and will) adapt to anything, given time. if not, sheer numbers (rippers are nasty) or subterfuge (lictors and genestealers) ;) . love space commies weapons and power armor though.

[@Keemperor40K]

@@filanfyretracker pretty much all weapons in 40K are considered war crime generators almost by existence. The Tau Pulse Rifle is like having a man portable 30mm cannon, that will atomize you and pulverize what's left into meat chunks that are ready to server well done if not outright carbonized. But even by 40K weapons this is tame and doesn't get into the depravity that are Dark Eldar weapons. Those are the real intentional, blatant and as painfully as possible war crime generators.

[@Doc41295]

I'll always have a soft spot for Mal's pistol from Firefly and Han's DL44. I love Mal‘s gun because it's just a revolver with some stuff stuck onto the outside to make it look sci-fi and it fits the setting flawlessly, and Han's because, well, it's iconic for a reason. Everybody loves that one.

[@iwiffitthitotonacc4673]

My favorite is the Shock Rifle from Unreal Tournament - first firemode fires a hitscan laser, second firemode fires a slow projectile that is unaffected by gravity. Shooting the projectile with the laser, creates an extremely powerful explosion! It effectively forces players to not move recklessly and consider their options, as going around the wrong corner can mean instant death.

[@evanblack8642]

Raise you the Ripper or Bio Rifle

[@thegreatchimp]

I remember that one fondly. That game was ingenious for pushing alt fire modes into new territory.

[@hoojiwana]

The original combo weapon, a fine choice. - hoojiwana from Spacedock

[@jakeaurod]

I would hit people with that combo before they even came around the corner. Similarly, one of my favorite tactics was to bounce grenades off of walls around corners, or to bounce them off walls in front of me when being chased so that it caught my pursuer off-guard.

[@Taisto-Perkele]

IMO the Shock Rifle is pretty much a mandatory inclusion in lists like this. Power, precision, knockback, area denial, this thing does it all. Not to mention a *_very_* high skill ceiling and the extreme catharsis-factor when you finally git gud with it. PC Gamer named the Flak Cannon as "the greatest gun in PC gaming." While the Flak is definitely in the All Time Top 10 list, we all know who the REAL king of the arenas is...

[@Krautvault]

The Penetrator Rifle from the FEAR series is worth mentioning. Nothing like nailing enemies to the wall in slow motion. Also the Flak Canon and Shock Rifle from the Unreal Tournament series.

[@Bearmauls]

Glad you included a few shots of the PPG from Babylon 5 at the end there. I love that they aren't necessarily better than the slug-throwers that the Earth Alliance can produce, but they're specifically issued to the space forces so there's less worry about punching holes in pressure hulls.

[@alexhail9971]

Call them guns

[@reliantncc1864]

Plus they're amazingly compact. They're absolutely perfect for their role because they'd never get in your way as you go about your job, but they still are there when you need them. I can still hear that "charge-up" noise when they're turned on.

[@Dogbertious]

100% agree about the PPG; comes in a variety of sizes, sounds cool as hell when it fires, and makes sense to issue to people near pressure hulls.

[@Bearmauls]

@@reliantncc1864 Yeah, the PPG charge-up noise will always mean 'awesomeness' to me

[@knghtbrd]

PPG is definitely on my list, but wouldn't be at the top. Love how the books (specifically Psy Corps #3) made the PPG very suboptimal in the rain, and the fact that this would catch Mars-born Garibaldi off-guard. Earthforce went all-PPG because it never expected to need to use them on Earth. I just like the detail there.

[@NXPhoenix3]

The bowcaster from Star Wars has a special place in my heart. A high-powered cross between a rail gun and a crossbow with an energy jacket on the projectile for good measure. While heavy and standard patterns requiring extra strength to use its hit like a freight train. The fact the basic platform is highly customizable/modifiable and can also load a variety of specialty round types truly takes it to the next level for me.

[@viperbuzzard01h84]

Man it's a hard choice, I love all the different weapons in sci-fi but some of my top favorites have to be the aliens M41A pulse rifle, the MA5B assault rifle from halo, lancer from gears of war, Morita assault rifle starship troopers, and the bolter Warhammer 40k.

[@Keemperor40K]

Only the Bolter and the Pulse Rifle are sci-fi weapons (mostly). The rest are reskinned real life weapons. They look cool, but the Morita, MA5 and Lancer (minus chainsaw bayonet) could exist today in a real life military.

[@owenlagger]

That’s what makes them cool: their plausibility in the real world

[@Keemperor40K]

@@owenlagger but then they are not sci-fi, just science. This doesn't take away from the coolness factor of the design, but it stops being fiction, as they have become real things.

[@ArcaneAzmadi]

The Morita is actually a piece of crap, and part of the movie's brutal deconstruction, the kind of weapon a bunch of stupid jingoistic fascists would arm their cannon fodder with. It's way too bulky for a common infantryman (conventional wisdom is lighter weapons that are easier to handle, cause less fatigue, and let the trooper carry more amunition is better), it's simultaneously overpowered yet inefficient (it can easily punch through the carapace of the Arachnid troopers, but the Arachnids will fight fearlessly until they've literally been blown to bits so it still takes practically an entire clip to down a single one) and it's unable to take advantage of the Arachnid's weak point (a vulnerable nerve cluster that will kill them in one shot if hit) because _it doesn't have sights._ As a result, the troopers all shoot like they graduated from the Imperial Stormtrooper Marksmanship Academy.

[@infernosgaming8942]

Pistols from Bladerunner. Not quite Sci-Fi but I love the clunky "kachunk" they make when they fire, like a realistic near-future coil gun firing a fat slug out of an old frame. Perfect for the setting.

[@Johnny_Socko]

Deckard's pistol was the first sci-fi firearm that I was truly enamored by. I grew up on Star Trek TOS, and while the Phasers were freaking cool, they were closer to magic than reality. But the Blade Runner pistol was familiar and futuristic at the same time. It was just so purpose-built -- a sidearm powerful enough to retire a Replicant. Iconic. My honorable mention would be the double-barreled laser pistols from The Black Hole, which received a tribute of sorts in Guardians of the Galaxy. (I think they also inspired some designs in Halo.)

[@hamishsewell5990]

Excellent choices! A personal favourite of mine is the DC-17 Interchangeable Weapons System from Star Wars Republic Commando

[@1Dataluke]

Great suggestion from a great game

[@selachianseas999]

Cool gun (if nothing else, it gets around the whole "hammerspace" issue), but the assault rifle mode was a bit underwhelming. Fine for standard mooks, but it really made you dependent on concentrated squad fire to bring down tougher targets.

[@TheOriginalBlue62]

I loved the 'infinite ammo on cooldown' of the DC-15s that came with that package. Decent punch per shot, you could do a lot with it as long as you were careful

[@hamishsewell5990]

@@selachianseas999 that was part of the gameplay I think, the characters in RC aren’t Jedi with lightsabers so a super battle droid is going to require concentrated fire

[@cmedtheuniverseofcmed8775]

You beat me to it. The DC-17m is awesome and actually not as far-fetched of an idea as most people think.

[@pseudonymsam]

My vote goes to the Dominator from the anime Psycho-Pass. It is not just a cool weapon, but it also exemplifies how science fiction can explore futuristic moral quandaries. What happens to a society when a brain-scanning smartgun becomes the judge, jury, and executioner of the law, instead of the justice system that wields it?

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

What happens? It makes a really, really big and unpleasant splatter all over the place. Someone clearly saw what Kenshiro does in Dist of the North Star and said: That needs to be in a pistol.

[@pougetguillaume4632]

The dominator is judge dred's gun but it's not just cool and badass it's also thematically integral to the story. It's an embodiement of the entire plot and is a magic system of its own. Spectacular sci fi weapon from a conceptual standpoint and for everything else it's just judge dred's gun but anime do i need to say anymore?

[@CptJistuce]

Minority Report, but a gun? I like it.

[@DrBunnyMedicinal]

@@CptJistuce Not quite. Minority Report is "Our precogs have told us you are going to commit a murder, so we're here to arrest you and hold you in a medical coma so that won't happen." Pretty damn dystopic. Psycho-Pass is "In a nation where everyone is under very nearly constant biometric surveillance, psychological and audio-visual, and if the AI in charge of the system decides your 'crime coefficient' crosses a legislated threshold, the Public Safety Division's elite cops and enslaved 'latent criminals' are sent to hunt them down and generally kill them very, very gruesomely." It's MUCH more dystopic.

[@malithaw]

Man psycopass was amazing

[@Dreamfox-df6bg]

The Caster Gun from Outlaw Star. It uses literal magic shells. What it fires depends on the shell being used. It can stun, shoot electricity, energy beams up to shell #4, which fires a miniature black hole at the target, which also only affects the target. It might be just a single shot gun, but with ammo like that it ends the fight most of the time. However, the rarity of the shells also makes it a weapon of last resort.

[@furiouskaiser9914]

A while back in a DnD campaign, I ran a cowboy themed artillerist artificier that "used" caster shells as his spell slots for casting his spells. Getting his shells back during rests was just him reloading his own ammo and etching a glyph on the casing. Loved Outlaw Star, Cowboy Bebop, and Trigun, the holy trinity of space western animes, as a kid growing up.

[@d.robertdigman1293]

One of my old favourites is the Sandman pistol from Logan's Run. I love the blackened crater the burning magnesium slug leaves when it hits its target. A classic!

[@CitroChannel]

Might not be my _absolute_ favorite, but I've always loved the sheer insane brutality of the Cerebral Bore from the Turok games. Not the most realistic or versatile gun, but the incredibly sadistic savagery of it definitely left an impression on me the first time I played Turok 2: Seeds of Evil. 😅

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

I forgot to mention that gun from Altered Carbon (tv series) with the darts that could return into the gun and kill everything in their path again on their way back. That was hyper-violent but so cool.

[@judet2992]

So a full auto guardians of the galaxy Mohawk arrow guy? Sick.

[@dereinzigwahreRichi]

@@judet2992 kind of, but with less control. The gun shoots straight, the darts stick somewhere, then the darts return on a direct path to the gun. No change in direction mid flight.

[@judet2992]

@@dereinzigwahreRichi ah I see

[@DerpsWithWolves]

I do love the Chemrail... But aesthetically I also really enjoy the modular human firearms from Avatar, even if I'm not that big a fan of the movies themselves. They even had concept art for a chemical / magnetic anti-material rifle, which I don't believe ever made it to screen, but looks chunky and insane. Lots of good tech in those movies, though some of it was a little bit silly in concept or application (Impractically large / exposed pilot, etc). Combination chemical / magnetic weapons are some of my favorite because of how flexible they could be, to the point I've included them as the main guns of many ships in my own hard sci-fi work. You can crank up the coils to fire sub-calibre munitions at hypervelocity, turn the magnets off to lob slower proximity rounds while saving the capacitors for PD lasers, or use only the magnets to launch specialty rounds that might not have a propellant charge - like gun-launched missiles, coms drones, which can then coast the distance without lighting their engines and giving themselves away to thermal sensors. They're functionally the 'shotguns' of space warfare, in terms of the wide range of ammunition they could theoretically handle. If your setting is concerned with keeping ships as light as possible, a good multi-purpose main gun can go a long way to reducing the number of mounts you need.

[@thatstarwarsnerd6641]

“Six men came to kill me one time. And the best of 'em carried this. It's a Callahan full-bore auto-lock. Customized trigger, double cartridge thorough gauge. It is my very favorite gun.[…]I call it Vera.”

[@reliantncc1864]

My days of not taking you seriously are certainly coming to a middle.

[@asdfjoe123]

Shiny.

[@voodoolilium]

I actually never used the Arc Pistol in ME3, but I LOVE the Talon. Lovely little pocket shotty. Always brings a smile to my face. And of course the M7 Lancer, such a good rifle.

[@Robocopnik]

I'd nominate the Beam Magnum from Gundam Unicorn. Sure, not really "handheld" in the traditional sense, but it's a big, cool beam rifle that uses a whole magazine's worth of energy in each shot, and the sound-effect they gave it can only be described as "luxurious".

[@kimarykorlumiose7728]

amen to that

[@mackenziebeeney3764]

I like the pocket phaser in TNG just because of how ridiculously OP it is. Able to vaporize a guy from a single blast. Idc if it can only for once, they just makes it on a tier of high powered sniper weapons for taking out individual enemies. Or assassinations.

[@gordol66]

D'Argo's sword/rifle from Farscape. The rifle railgun from Eraser. The transporter enhanced slugthrower from that one episode in the final season of DS9.

[@hoojiwana]

Haha that railgun was so ridiculous and fun - hoojiwana from Spacedock

[@Del_S]

Qualta Blade >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> Final Fantasy's attempts at Gunblades.

[@NerothLoD]

One that springs to mind is the FCA-26 Rail Driver from Red Faction. To me, this gun was simply mind blowing when I first tried it out. Shooting enemies through walls with the thermal sight was absolutely wild. It was incredibly satisfying to line up several goons and take them all out with a single slug. Insanely satisfying and unfair. Loved it.

[@blu5543]

The Gravitational Beam Emitter from Blame! Its essentially its own character and in its high powered modes deletes everything in that general direction for a few hundred Kilometres.

[@murphy7801]

Delete is the wrong word. It would have to be anti matter to be a delete.

[@blu5543]

@@murphy7801 it is debated how the GBE works but I think delete is correct. antimatter would annihilate anything it hits, but e=mc² means that hitting even the air Infront of you would be the same as a nuke. What we see from the GBE is a beam that goes through everything along with an area around the beam that is suddenly empty of matter. It does cause explosions in some instances but its often the object being hit exploding due to the massive hole in it. The physics of the gun are questionable at best. But to my understanding it's ment to shoot gravitons that warp space-time, Effectively erasing whatever it passes through from existence. Edit: Also it's possible on the boundary between inside and outside the beam instead of erasing atoms it accelerates them outward (due to negative mass) causing the explosions we see. But definitely less powerful than e=mc² would dictate for an annihilation.

[@ichigomaster98]

The Empee from John Scalzi's 'Old Man's War' book series is really really cool. It's a rifle that is fed bricks of nanomachines and a selector for what type of round you want to fire, which takes different amounts of your ammunition depending on which mode you select. It has rifle, flamethrower, rocket launcher, and probably more. It also links up to a personal computer in the user's head to give more control. I highly recommend anyone who likes realistic sci-fi to read Old Man's War series. His other book Red Shirts is hilarious as well.

[@geoffreyentwistle8176]

Freaking love that series! It lends itself well to a lot of creative uses as well - like setting up the rifle in a remote location, then triggering it when your enemy comes around looking for you, or setting it up to fire two-round bursts where the first round is heavy enough to break a light shield, and the second round is left as a hollow-point to deal with the squishy enemy just behind the shield.

[@literalsarcasm1830]

In one of the later books (I believe it's in The Human Division) some CDF soldiers come under fire from a sniper hiding in an apartment building. The squad leader stands up to act as a distraction and let's her combat unitard absorb the hit, but giving away which apartment the sniper is in. One of the troopers then fires a grenade programmed to with mini cameras instead of explosives to pinpoint the sniper's exact location in the room.

[@gmradio2436]

I would like to add 3 time weapons from Singularity. The Kasimov sniper rifle the accelerates the users timestream while aiming, the E-99 Autocannon that reverses the time in the magazine to reuse the same bullets, and the Seeker Rifle that fires guided, time dilating explosive rounds. Although not a weapon the T.M.D. itself could also be considered on the list.

[@BalkanOkami]

They weren't mentioned in the video's script but those impressively small but potent Babylon 5 sidearms at least got a callout in the final montage. They always kind of fascinated me because of the small dimensions but still impressive power, but not in a jokey sort of way (like the "chirping cricket" or whatever it was called from the first Men in Black).

[@reliantncc1864]

Noisy Cricket is what you're thinking of, and honestly it could use a mention in any list of SF small arms. Hilariously impractical, and of course K should never have given it to him.

[@alexanderwatson1980]

@@reliantncc1864 Read the MiB novels that take place after the movies. Elle actually reads the manual on the Cricket and discovers how to hold it so you don't wind up on your ass when firing it. It's all in the wrist.

[@reliantncc1864]

@@alexanderwatson1980 You mean fan fiction? No, thanks. I don't want to hear about some fan's attempt to explain away something that was only included for comedy. If it knocks you backward 20 feet, how you hold it doesn't matter.

[@alexanderwatson1980]

@@reliantncc1864 I get it. Reading is hard for some folks.

[@347Jimmy]

The side-on silhouette of the PPG *is* a snub-nosed .38 Apparently JMS chose this for a "detective's revolver" vibe

[@W4kT3k]

A weapon i like is the Colonial sidearm "clamshell" from Battlestar Galactica. I like the look, it's a real weapon with some covering, unfortunately it was replaced after season one. Love the movie Elysium and all the weapons, District 9 have some great (alien tech) firearms as well.

[@acarrillo8277]

I deeply love the Mattock as well. That gun made ME2 so much more fun when it was added especially for the solider class with max reflexes or adrenaline what ever that time slowing skill was called.

[@addisonchow9798]

The fact that bolters are not here is HERESY.

[@murphy7801]

Bolter isn't very sci-fi. We already have a pistol that does that from I think the 70s. We literally can make a bolter right now. Sci-Fi by definition is speculative in nature.

[@NicMage]

No bolter? This heresy cannot go unpunished!

[@TheArklyte]

Artillery isn't on this list;) On a more serious note, I wish people, who argue bolter would just look up modern artillery tech and not just stop at gyrojet. Then they would have understood how broken that thing is. Active-reactive systems, controlled airburst, ramjet rounds, beam riding and inertial guidance. All of that and more was minituariazed to 25mm, 20mm or even 12mm irl already. The sci-fi part comes from the ability to mass produce said ammo with less then 100k$ per round.

[@addisonchow9798]

@@murphy7801 to be honest I might forgive them if they put bolters in number 1 for top ten sci fi rocket launchers.

[@rommdan2716]

They try too hard

[@g.f.martianshipyards9328]

The rifle that Galactic Federation Marines in the Metroid Prime series use is one of my favourites. It makes so much sense for people in power armor, combining all the upsides of inbuilt and handheld weapons while eliminating the downsides of both. It's a real wonder that no other group of power-armored marines in sci-fi uses a gun design like that.

[@igncom1]

I was NOT expecting the timesplitters reference! For me I do love the humble TNG Phaser. Short, sweet, do many different things tool and weapon!

[@kirkkerman]

Is it a practical design? No. Is it cool and iconic? Absolutely yes!

[@shinyagumon7015]

The phaser is a brilliant piece of worldbuilding; it's a multitool first and a weapon a very distant second. The perfect analogy for Starfleet and the Federation as a whole. It's also fitting how the TNG-style phasers get replaced by the more weapon-like phaser rifles as the Borg and the Dominion enter the scene.

[@yetanother9127]

@@shinyagumon7015 That's part of why I really like the itty-bitty Type 1 phaser. Such a multitude of uses, in a package the size of a garage door opener.

[@05Matz]

@@shinyagumon7015 Yeah, I mentioned the other day to someone who hadn't seen TOS but commented about the early TNG phasers being impractical while watching that show, that as part of the show's... sort of 'less-military' rebrand between the two series, they redesigned the uniforms and equipment to make it clear what the Federation was about: that this is a society so peaceful but also confident in its ability to improvise under pressure to overcome obstacles by understanding them, that their military consists of people who are scientists and diplomats first and soldiers a distant second (even bringing their families with them on fancy ships like the Enterprise) rather than a dedicated full-time military, and the rather un-threatening weapons packed full of utility features were a great prop design / worldbuilding element to help sell that idea. It's almost as much a "poke it with a stick" implement for scientific exploration or a pocketknife for MacGuyvering solutions to problems as it is a weapon.

[@lascrannon]

The Smart Pistol from Titanfall really deserved a spot on this list, it's design is deceptively simple and running around cracking Grunt Skulls mid-Wallrun is genuinely awesome and fun to do!

[@Ryguy199612]

The Smart Pistol from the Titanfall series is a good pick too.

[@bode6795]

I was gonna add the double take too!

[@stoissdk]

The M56 "Smartgun" from Aliens. Basically a German WW2 MG42 joined with a camera steady arm plus the odd bits and pieces. This one plays a big role in some of the most bad-ass scenes in scifi!

[@badhippo]

Vasquez: "Let's Rock!"

[@reentry2538]

The Elysium AK is our personal favorite! Maybe one day we’ll have some of our weapons on your channel! Keep up the good work!

[@DocD173]

Mattock is an excellent choice. Most definitely my favorite scifi rifle

[@lonelystrategos]

No Zat'nik'tel? That's a shame, I think it's one of the greatest sci-fi guns ever.

[@abezilla103010]

By far the alien weapons in the movie District 9. All variants of the AMR ARC series were especially nice to see in action in the movie.

[@347Jimmy]

He should have given them a mention while talking about the gravity gun, considering the Prawn mech had one Vickus killing one of the mercs by yeeting a pig at him was astonishing

[@soulreaperi337]

Andromeda Force Lance will always be my favorite.

[@Tafah_0]

I'm a big fan of the SBC Cannon from Serious Sam, it is a cannon that's designed for two-handed use and can be charged to send a cannonball through an entire row of enemies before exploding moments later. It uses technomagic reversed engineered from the Alien invaders assaulting earth, which allows it to reload by teleporting cannonballs into it and the cannonballs themselves are filled with uranium.

[@tichepotato7992]

Mine has to be Malcolm Reynold's Moses Brothers Self-Defence Engine Frontier Model B. It's a gorgeous gun, and does a fantastic job of combining real-world firearms with more futuristic elements.

[@filanfyretracker]

the sounds of some of the guns in Firefly make me think there is more going on than typical cordite. Like they made some other kind of propellent.

[@TheGreatGonzales777]

I love the Hemlok from Titanfall a lot. Very Pulse Rifle inspired, love the Star Burst attachment.

[@ATRStormUnit]

I'm a big fan of the empire-specific Vanu-Weapons in Planetside 2, they do the human-weapons-but-infused-with-alien-tech really well.

[@Keemperor40K]

Personally prefer NC weapons more. Compact hand held coil guns, slow rate of fire, but hit like a brick and look cool.

[@LouseGrouse]

Will always have a soft spot for Planetside 2. There’s something about the NC weapons fire sound design that’s pretty interesting too.

[@corporategunner5972]

Personally, my favorite is the super shotgun from Doom Eternal. I love it's firing sound and it's grappling hook is quite useful.

[@Brad-yq3zm]

I was hoping the Space Marine Boltgun was going to make the list as it’s just a beast of a weapon.

[@murphy7801]

Space marine boltgun is based off of a real pistol that shoots rockets. It's from the 1960s. Hardly call it sci-fi. There called Gyrojets. We could make a boltgun today. Just not very cost effective. So it isn't sci-fi.

[@TheCitizenPain]

@@murphy7801 by that standard most weapons on Spacedock's list aren't sci-fi. But they are, because they're guns in sci-fi settings, and your weirdly narrow interpretation is entirely ignorable.

[@Brad-yq3zm]

@@murphy7801 dude if that’s your line of thinking about half the weapons on this list shouldn’t be there. Also given that 40K is very much in a sci-fi setting it should be there.

[@mmcb2910]

The impression I've gotten is that the people behind this channel don't like/cover 40K all that much, (though maybe that's just because I haven't watched very far back), so it makes sense that he not put its guns ohv this list.

[@alexfrost2799]

@@murphy7801 the gyrojet part is real. The armor-piercing, internal explosive part is not (as far as handheld weapons go). So there are still parts of it that would fall under the sci-fi definition, therefore still fit in the criteria. And the others who have commented on how lucrative your criteria are would be correct

[@andrewdau1299]

I like the rifle and modified AK from Elysium. It's a cool mix between a regular rifle and a rail gun. It feels real like you could see this existing in real life.

[@Alpharius93]

You've done so many of my favourites! For my own list I'd definitely have to include more than one 40k gun though: boltguns, sonic blasters, shuriken catapults, fusion blasters and gauss flayers would defo be in!

[@nickkurzy2246]

personally I love the uniqueness of AdMech weaponry. Arc weapons to fry your enemies with lightning, rifles that fire servitor shot made to hone in on targets, gigantic Anti-material Arquebus firing ultra-dense munitions, and my personal favorite: Radium weapons that actively irradiate the battlefield, the enemy, and the troops using them. oh AdMech, never change.

[@wookiesin3000]

Mass Effect 3's multiplayer had me fall in love with the Execitioner pistol. Perfect for the Adept class. With how fast ability recharge times are all you need is 1 shot between cooldowns; may as well make it über powerful. I also love the lore behind the M-300 Claymore. Kickback is so strong only Krogan can wield it without cybernetic assistance. Otherwise, your arms are sure to break.

[@alexandercain8904]

The Farsight XR 20 from Perfect Dark was amazing! Sniper rifle that shoots through walls with a built in x-ray scope. And that reload mechanic was like nothing I've seen before or since!

[@AnonEMus-cp2mn]

Aaron Beck is one of my favorite sci-fi concept artists because of his work on the weapons of Avatar, District 9, and Elysium. They have a lot of thought put into them and each one has a unique moment where they shine on film by doing something slightly different than conventional weapons.

[@Typhoon-77]

I think you forgot the Holy Bolter, an inquisitor shall arrive shortly

[@montecorbit8280]

The "Noisy Cricket" from the original Men in Black.... The recoil on that one is something fierce!!!!

[@randomnine1863]

I like the breach cutter from deep rock galactic. It's very useful in shooting rock and stone. Bugs do tend to get in the way tho

[@TheSpearkan]

I do have a few that aren't mentioned either here or in the comments but IMO I have a few that definitely stand out to me: 1. The Bolt Caster from XCOM 2 had a rather interesting twist on the existing formula. The weapon packed an astounding punch, being stronger than an LMG, having an aim bonus and having a chance of stunning enemies on hit, but was limited to a single shot before reloading. The weapon made for a great finisher against stronger foes and had a unique techno-medieval aesthetic to it, especially when you added the magnetic and later plasma upgrades to it. 2. Any Tediore gun from Borderlands 2, TPS and 3. While it is a bit general I always found it hilarious the idea of just yeeting the gun at your enemies once you ran out of ammo, with a new digistruct copy being made in your hands afterwards. 3 later added a suite of extra quirks in addition, turning thrown guns either into grenades, bouncy bombs, turrets or even companions, many even talked! The RYNO II from Ratchet and Clank 2/Going Commando. While it is a personal bias as many might prefer later versions. The second one always stood out to me as brutally efficient and satisfying to use. It fired homing missiles like a machine gun and was capable of killing most common enemies in a single shot. If you were lucky enough to get it in the base run without New Game+, you could even turn the notorious bullet-sponge mech boss into paste with ammo to spare. And, again, it felt satisfying, from the electric cocking sound when equipping it to the thump it made as each rocket was fired.

[@CGCAT]

I love the chemrail, great pick. I am a huge fan of the M-99 Saber from mass effect 3. It is an even bigger badder Mattock and I just love the heavy industrial sound it has. The Saber just sounds like an industrial tool mixed with a M1 Garand.( no ping though )

[@selachianseas999]

Eh, I agree on the sound, but the Saber's problem (and that of the Mattock in ME3) is that it's neither fish nor fowl. If you want to pick off targets at range with a couple hits, there are sniper rifles that will do the job better (M-13 Raptor is basically a harder-hitting Mattock with an integral scope and slightly smaller ammo capacity, not to mention a lever-action reload) and up close they don't have the rate of fire or ammo capacity to compete with full-auto guns. As a full-auto Mattock the Harrier is devastating, although it runs out of ammo fast. In ME2 I agree the Mattock is a top contender.

[@SpottedHares]

I like how you showed the exact same rattleguts i use, which makes sense as i cut out the grinding and looked up an optimal parts guide.

[@stevenclark2188]

Having tried to work through how I'd build a railgun the Chemrail is an awesome solution to the problem. You don't have to worry about spot welding the armature to the beginning of the rails if it's already moving fast when it hits them.

[@derekp2674]

Back in the days when we had multiple railgun development projects in the UK, one laboratory built a 10mm round bore hybrid laboratory chemical/railgun system known as "Hyper". This reportedly achieved muzzle velocities up to about 4200 m/s. At the time, I was working on a 10mm square bore plasma armature railgun with no significant pre-injection velocity. The best this achieved was about 3000 m/s.

[@Phyrestryke]

One of my favorite sci-fi guns from the 1980's was the Looker gun from the movie Looker. It fired a light pulse that hypnotized the target causing them to lose track of time. Another gun from that era was from the Tom Selleck movie Runaway where the bad guy played by Gene Simmons had a handgun that fired homing bullets that were programmed to people's dna.

[@miguelgonzalezgarcia9488]

Skippy deserves a spot.... "BAD USER!"

[@MsCreepyChan]

I just love the sheer simplicity and chunkiness of the TNG era Hand Phaser.

[@chrisbingley]

The Boltgun. I mean, what could be better than a fully automatic firearm, that shoots rocket propelled grenades that are designed to explode INSIDE the target. Oh, and the recoil on the standard version will shatter a human's arm if they're dumb enough to fire it.

[@kierancassidy5456]

One of my favourites is the humble bolter. They look cool, can use a number of specialized rounds and just the idea of explosive gyro jet rounds are cool.

[@WrathOfGrapesN7]

Can't believe that you didn't put the M7 Lancer from Mass Effect 3 on here, that thing is a beast and it easily out matches the Mattock.

[@Myomer104]

Mount an AR Heavy Barrel and magazine capacity upgrade, and you cease needing any other gun.

[@selachianseas999]

That was kind of fun to see the starting "basic piece of crap" rifle from ME1 come back as a near-gamebreaker. The only ME3 character of mine that didn't use it as a primary weapon was the adept, and only because I wanted to change up the loadout from my engineer build. Even on the soldier and sentinel builds I'd swap their N7 Typhoons out for it on certain loadouts (e.g., if I wanted my soldier to carry a thermal-scoped N7 Valiant and Venom).

[@selachianseas999]

@@Myomer104 The only real competition the Lancer had as an assault rifle was from the N7 Typhoon, which is much heavier and less controllable but comes with native armor/cover-piercing and some nasty bonus damage attributes. For other DLC guns, well, the Venom is pretty much a one-shot kill against anything short of a Banshee or Atlas on normal (and makes a mess of the general area) and the N7 Piranha in the hands of a vanguard (or Wrex and Grunt in Citadel) is just obscene.

[@iDEATH]

I think one of my favourite obscure ones would have to be the "Render" from this late TSR (at least I think it was before WotC bought them) TRRPG, "Alternity." It amplified and distorted gravity at the target point, essentially twisting and ripping apart anything in close proximity. It was just such a gruesome high concept sci-fi weapon that it really stuck with me all these years. Also, props for mentioning the Arc Pistol! There were a lot of cool classes in the ME multiplayer, but my favourites were the Asari Adept and Justicar, for the Biotic detonations. The Arc Pistol was the perfect sidearm for them. Man, I miss that multiplayer; it was so damn fun.

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

One thing I wish we saw more in sci-fi (outside of videogames) is guns with alternate firing modes. A multi-weapon that functions like a carbine at range and a shotgun in close quarters could be really useful for your sci-fi factions.

[@MegaKnight2012]

Ah, you mean the Peacemaker guns used by Judges in the 2012 Dredd movie. But yes, it's weird that in games like Halo, the Spartans don't have any rifles with shotgun, grenade launcher, laser, or plasma weapon attachments, or even switching between semi and full automatic fire (which is of course for gameplay mechanics to pick up lots of guns)

[@mitwhitgaming7722]

​@MegaKnight2012 Honestly, while I like the idea of Spartans being trained to use anything effectively, I find it surprising they lean into the Spartan-sized weapons more. Like the Space Marines and their Bolt Guns. The only examples I can think of are the Spartan Laser and the upsized Magnums occasionally mentioned in the novels.

[@corinthianimperialstudios704]

@@MegaKnight2012 especially given the Aliens inspiration the UNSC had in CE, hell some concept art for the rifle which would become the MA5B has similar functionality to the Pulse Rifle. Except instead of the pump action underbarrel GL being tube fed it has this giant frak off 12 gauge looking magazine which I hate but it's still far closer to the M41A than the MA5B ended up being in the end.

[@murphy7801]

TBF a kinda similar idea is Deus ex invisible war has a universal ammo type for all guns.

[@MegaKnight2012]

@@mitwhitgaming7722 Yeah, it's real weird the Spartans don't have more personalized weapons. Given they're strong enough to flip tanks, there are standard issue guns they might break (some real guns have freaking plastic triggers), or they should at least have no problem with recoil.

[@cmedtheuniverseofcmed8775]

Star Wars: Republic Commando's DC-17m blaster was awesome. It was completely modular, quickly switching different barrels, ammunition, and parts to make it usable for various operations in just a few seconds. Surprisingly, that's actually a more realistic concept for current infantry warfare that's slowly happening more and more as time progresses.

[@heavyarms55]

How did you go through this video and NOT even mention Han Solo's DL44 blaster pistol? Maybe it's not a big deal in Disney Wars but in the original expanded universe it was a big deal. Almost as iconic as the Millennium Falcon. It was a powerful enough blaster to burn through Stormtrooper armor but compact enough to holster and still use as a pistol.

[@niteriderevo9179]

my fave weapon is the early playstation2-era Oni game's scram cannon.. only 5 shots, but each shot is a cluster of about 10 micromissiles that fly randomly in roughly the direction you fired it until they track onto enemies, they then beeline those enemies.. loved sneaking up into a room, popping a shot, then quickly sneaking back off before the enemies in that game could do anything.. though my lot of characters largely use beamrifles or linear rifles/cannons.. nothing more than a nasty sounding whipcrack from the linear weaponry

[@marcosmunizperez9881]

the holy BOLTER!

[@NeutralGuyDoubleZero]

The Halo magnum or needler could've used a spot on here. Ones iconic for such portable manpower, and the other for how unique it's ammo and design are

[@MrStrikecentral]

Not happy it didn't make the final list, but I am pleased that the ZX-1 from Fifth Element at least got an honorable mention. Who wouldn't want a gun with a self-destruct button?

[@ilejovcevski79]

Geth assault rifle! Not because it's supper effective or something (though it can be made to work with flaming ammo, thus giving some AP capability to an already great SP gun), but mostly because of the alien-ess of its aesthetics and the sheer futurism it screams with. Also... there's something poetic about using the enemy's weapons against them!

[@MegaDan5]

My favorite weapon happens to be the Rail Drivers from the various Red Faction games. They may be slower-firing (or in the case of the original, single-shot), but they pack a heavy punch.

[@badhippo]

And with the alt-mode, you can see through surfaces, and shoot freely at the red-bodies you can see running about...

[@WeakestBrazilianMale]

Wow, a Deep Rock Galactic honourable mention, i could not have seen that commig, Rock and Stone brother! Also, not my favorite from DRG, but I really like how the cryo cannon works. It freezes enemies and makes them more fragile, which combines with the driller's axes and drills. It can also shoot ice spears and snowballs for an instant freezing AoE, which I like very much, even though I prefer the sludge for sheer usefulness

[@Anly_Space]

Rock and Stone to the bone!

[@hoojiwana]

The Cryo cannon combo with the melee damage drills is just perfection - hoojiwana from Spacedock

[@widmo206]

We are unbreakable!

[@mmcb2910]

Deep rock is great for extremely satisfying guns. They have missiles, lasers, plasma, grenades, miniguns, shotguns, and even an upgraded version of the M1 Garand that lets you levitate while aiming it.

[@felsenaxt6237]

Did I hear a Rock and Stone?!

[@livingcorpse5664]

My favorite is the DOOM 3 Plasma Rifle. Because it's a plasma gun, a bullpup, the plasmoiods or bolts look pretty and it just had a really cool sound effect.

[@anon_y_mousse]

Oh yeah, definitely on my list as the best plasma rifle in any game.

[@SuzanneYoungblood-lj3eb]

While I was only naming sci-fi movie weapons, then there's all the cool sci-fi series guns, Star Trek, Babylon 5, Battlestar Galactica, among others

[@2011Kestrel]

I’ve got a thing for the Needler from the Halo franchise. While I prefer to use other weapons in game, I love how it looks and reloads, it’s rapid fire action, and watching those tracking darts home in on a target. And those few times I actually manage to get a super combine is so satisfying.

[@Johnny_Socko]

That actually became my favorite gun in Halo 2 and 3, because of its ability to easily take out Elites & Brutes. I feel like they nerfed it somehow in later games, because I was never as good with it after 2 & 3.

[@SteelRaven11]

The rail gun from the movie Eraser was the only reason many people bothered walking into the theaters for that flick. The numbers for it are dumb but it influenced the look of fictional rail gun for the next decade.

[@ScottGladstein]

The beautiful Pfläger-Katsumata Series D 5223 that Rick Deckard uses in Blade Runner is a classic looking gun. Elegant and shiny- like a piece of artwork held in your hand

[@Jawmax]

Well since you mentioned Deep Rock Galactic I guess I should mention my love for the Drak Plasma Carbine and the Lok 1 Smart Rifle. Rock and Stone!

[@JohnCBobcat]

Point of interest: The FR-27, when broken open to reload, shows both front and rear sights remaining in the same relative plane to each other (and the barrel) the whole time. Ergo, no change to zero. Something like the FN FAL (or the L1A1 SLR), if it were to be reloaded the same way, might compromise zero because the rear sight stays put with the butt and the front sight is on the barrel so it pivots. Optics above the barrel, as long as they're forward of the latch, would likewise retain zero.

[@d.robertdigman1293]

I think also some of the District 9 weapons deserve a mention here. Neill Blomkamp knows how to design weapons with business ends that are unambiguously nasty!

[@Entillzha]

This is probably very unique but I really love the Liberator Handguns and later on the Scorpio ones from Blake's 7.

[@willabyuberton818]

The Scalpel-LE from H3VR is a drum fed ultracompact full-auto 12 gauge shotgun. Ut can use any 12 gauge shell, but comes with HE rounds right out of the box. Is it effective? No. Is it fun? YES.

[@ultrajd]

Love the Javelin bit. “Because..” Boom! “…Through walls.” Also WHERE IS MY BOLTER?!

[@dominarrygelxvi973]

District 9 movie, only shown briefly in a firefight and once while being tested on a prawn. It fires some kind of lightning bolt and vaporizes flesh instantly, but has a significant recharge time.

[@anon_y_mousse]

If we're going to include video games too, then I'll say the fuel rod cannon from Halo 2 has always been one of my favorites. Also the guns they used in both TekWar and Babylon 5. And back to video games, the WarHeadLauncher from Unreal Tournament and the Shock Rifle, the Plasma Rifle from Doom 3 was probably my favorite take on any plasma rifle. If we include mods, then the ChaosUT mod had one of the best crossbows in any game, as you had the poison bolts that slowed enemies down, but the explosive bolts were so awesome.

[@geoffreyentwistle8176]

My own personal favorites are from the mech-based tabletop RPG, Lancer. Specifically, a fan-made accessory which includes the Dragonsbreath Cutter: a superheavy, high-powered waterjet cutter, that mixes grey goo nanites into the cutting fluid to start consuming anything it hit but didn't kill. A close second is the Apocalypse Cannon, which is a frame-mounted weapon for the largest base game mech that's a slightly scaled-down version of a capital ship spinal mount weapon. And close thirds are the Midnight Blue and Midnight Red, which are relatively small single-shot weapons designed to fire grey goo ammunition, and in the game fluff are used by mechs that basically dissolve your body down to its nervous system into nanomachines. In those instances, because the mechs are basically the same thing as the ammunition, the pilot reloads the gun by inserting their finger into the chamber, and then breaking it off, leaving it to form the new round.

[@Diannalover]

A solid list, well done, and as a fellow Mattock stan, I salute you. I'd also add in the Type 7 Particle Weapon from the original First Encounter Assault Recon game. It's a sniper rifle, if a sniper rifle could reduce an unarmoured target to a smoking, electrified skeleton, or gib them entirely, and even in a game with a lot of interesting and creative weapons, it really stands out.

[@goodsirj.8672]

The bone shredder from borderlands 2 is always the gun nearest and dearest to my heart. The idea of a double barrel, bullpup, dual magazine submachine gun capable of rapidly unloading buckshot has always been a dream of mine.