Laser Gun

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English 

“	Subatomic Machine Gun mounted to the Top of your Robot provides powerful close range DPS and useful harassing of long range targets.	„
	~ In-game description for top mount SMGs.

Wasp Top-mount SMGHornet Top-mount SMGBlaster Top-mount SMGVaporizer Top-mount SMGDisintegrator Top-mount SMGMk10 Top-mount Carbon 6 SMGMega SMGCarbon 6 Mega SMG

Type	Hardware
Purpose	Close-range sustained damage
Tier Available	1

The Subatomic Machine Gun, or SMG is a type of Hardware Cube in Robocraft. They are the first weapons available to use for all Robocraft players.

Overview

SMGs are weaponry cubes that rapidly fire laser bolts that deal damage upon direct impact. SMGs are hitscan weapons, meaning that the shot "travels instantly" to the target. Individual SMGs have low firing rates, with additional SMGs increasing the firing rate; maximum damage output is capped at 6 guns, with each additional gun simply providing back up.

Pinpoint accuracy with SMGs is achieved through single shots while standing still, allowing robots to harass enemies at long distances and weaken them prior to engagement. Firing a burst or continuous stream of lasers decreases accuracy, but allows maximum damage output over a large area. Firing at full burst is also useful as a deterrent toward assailing aircraft, which can force them to retreat to avoid incurring heavy damage.

SMGs are available in front-mount and top-mount variants. Front-mounts are capable in firing in only one general direction, while top-mounts are able to rotate full circle at the cost of a slightly higher price.

SMGs are available at Level 1 and increase in size with every odd-levelled tier, with their symbol being 'X'.

Pros

• High-firing rate
• Excels at anti-air (Only if tap-firing)
• Works well in tandem with Plasma Launchers
• Good team weapon
• Easy to use
• Well-rounded weapon
• Pinpoint accuracy for single shots
• Hitscan, does not need to lead targets

Cons

• High cost for multiple guns to achieve high DPS
• Interceptors (aircraft with SMGs) difficult to master
• Especially susceptible to Plasma Launcher "Anti-Gunbrella" effect (obsolete - see Barrier Protection)
• DPS falls sharply as the distance between targets increases due to bullet spread
• Fire rate falls sharply as some gun are destroyed
• Decreased damage at further distances (removed in recent update)
• Are the second largest gun behind the Rail Cannon
• Craft has to be in line of fire full time to max DPS
• Accuracy decreased sharply as the weapon fired continuously

Statistics

Note that the following table lists the DPS potential for each gun configuration. Remember the effective DPS you can achieve is affected by several variables such as accuracy (especially at range) and pauses between bursts to reset the reticule. Additionally, the sound effects for even-numbered SMG tiers are the same as those for the odd-numbered SMG tier directly below each. This is due to their former role as S-type variants.

Guns	Firing Interval (milliseconds)	DPS (MK 10)
1	1020	4795
2	520	9405
3	280	17467
4	140	34935
5	113	43283
6+	108	45287

Image	Name	Level Unlocked	Damage	Armor	CPU load	Weight	Resistivity	Barrier protection	Protonivity	Robot Ranking	Price	Price (front mount)	Size(L*W*H)	Firing sound
	Wasp	1	2,347 (90)	3,148	10	8.4	30%	15%	100%	40	900	25 (20)	3x3x3
	Hornet	?	2,875 (187)	5,400	14	10.8	30%	16%	100%	140	5670	45 (40)	3x3x3
	Blaster	?	3,520 (350)	8,499	18	13.2	30%	17%	100%	450	32,805	105 (95)	5x3x3
	Vaporizer	?	4,313 (603)	12,728	22	15.6	30%	18%	100%	1,375	180,428	255 (230)	5x3x3
	Disintegrator	?	5,285 (965)	18,423	26	18.0	30%	19%	100%	4,063	959,546	622(555)	5x5x3
	Mega	97	10,222	31,260	250	27.0	30%	30%	100%	39,063	995,125	1,859 (No front mount variant)	23x22x15
	C6-Mega	97	10,222	31,260	250	27.0	30%	30%	100%	39,063	(GC Only)	2,483 (No front mount variant)	23x22x15

The Carbon 6 Mk10 SMG and Carbon 6 Mega SMG have the same stats as their normal counterparts.

Strategies

How to Use

Basics:

Aside from knowing when to use single-shots and when to use full bursts, SMGs are already very intuitive. SMGs shine in one-on-one combat, with the ability to severely damage or disarm enemy plasma launchers or rail cannons between reload times. Against other SMGs, it is a matter of whose robot has more guns, better placed armor, and the ability of the player to target weak areas.

The SMG is the only weapon with sustained fire and range, this allows for suppressive fire and can be used to force an enemy robot to relocate. It is also particularly useful for resetting a base capture segment by hitting an enemy, and can occasionally save a team from losing if done correctly.

In battle mode, SMGs shine in destroying Protonium crystals of either the Fusion Towers or Protonium Reactor. As mentioned above, SMGs have sustained fire unlike all other weapons, apart from the Nano-Disruptor, which allow them to destroy crystals extremely efficiently by only striking them on their connection points.

Because of the above, SMG robots are often the "Soldiers" of the team, taking hits for weaker robots while pushing in with sustained fire.

VS:

Tanks As a tank is typically more heavily armored than other bots, there is no point in playing into their design's strong point by firing into their bulk. Destroying the bulk of their weapons or all of the tracks on one side will leave them completely stuck and easily circumvented. This can be worked into respawn denial by occasionally hitting a crippled tank with a shot or two, making the game effectively 7v8 until the enemy tank is finally destroyed or rescued.

Flyers Aircraft are the highest priority targets for SMG Bots in any case, especially against plasma bombers. Eliminating or warding off air threats allows other ground units to help in an offense, rather than seek shelter from assaulting aircraft. This is especially true in the role of an interceptor.

Plasma Plasma bots are tricky to fight, as they are extremely high damage early game and devastatingly powerful in the late game. Attempt to goad them into an attack, dodge or bulk out the attack, and fire at their weapons while they reload. This will have the effect of massively reducing their DPS against you in 1v1 situations.

Railgun Closing the gap is all that is necessary in higher tiers. Circling around them prevents their rails from locking on as they have a slow turn speed. Destroying them when you are near is normally easy as they are built to hide and climb rather than to defend themselves from an incoming SMG behemoth.

Nano Disruptor Come up behind them or in front of them and just blast away until they are destroyed. Do not allow any other enemy units to notice as this will make you up to target number one.

Tesla Destroy their tesla blades immediately. Tesla bots are extremely dangerous and should never be given a chance to impart their incredible damage upon you or an ally.

SMG Targeting and distracting enemy SMGs allows for better survival of allied aircraft, which can rain damage unto preoccupied or retreating targets.

In Low Tiers Overtier SMGs are excellent snipers. As all allies are inexperienced and overly optimistic, use them as fodder to bring yourself closer to completing an objective.

See also: Weapon Firing Order#SMGs

How to Counter

SMGs are particularly geared for one-on-one combat, the best counter of which is to travel in numbers. Because SMGs are particularly hampered by terrain, aircraft may abuse this to their advantage, but at the same time put themselves at risk of being shot out of the sky.

For one-on-one encounters with other SMGs, a known tactic could be aiming directly at their guns to minimize their DPS and firepower dramatically. SMGs also have good ambush potential, with the sustained fire often leaving the victim in a panicked state, especially when engaging other craft from a distance.

Trivia

• SMG's old name is laser cannons, and had a limited range (47-52 meters depending on level)
  • SMG is still refereed as laser in game code
• SMG was the first weapon implemented in the game. Before that Robocraft was single-player only and combat was impossible
• SMG used to come in "levels" instead of tiers, numbering five in total. The yellow fins and colouring on even-tiered weapons are a legacy from the S-type weapons that were added to fill the gaps.
• T9 SMGs used to bend in the middle, instead of pivot on their mount. Floppy guns.
• For a period of time, Front-mount SMGs had an accuracy bug, firing just above their target instead of directly at it.
• While a projectile is shown leaving the weapon, this is simply an animation. The weapon itself is hitscan. The reasons for this are explained in this forum post and boils down to the fact that the projectile leaving the SMG travels at approximately 6 million metres per second.
• The T4 SMGs once could only shoot forward.
• The Carbon 6 Mega SMG was initially gifted to players who completed a special limited time event held in game. The event tasked these players with getting 100 kills where a mega smg on the players bot landed the killing blow. The reward for this event was 6 carbon 6 mega smg's for free.
• The Carbon 6 Mega SMG is one of the very few blocks that need to be unlocked via the tech tree, but does not normally appear on it. Instead it is only made available to purchase once the player has unlocked the normal mega smg.
• The Carbon 6 Mega SMG is also unique in the fact that it is the only component outside of the Cosmetic Cubes category that can only be bought with GC.
• The SMG model has undergone a change since the MegaBot Count Down 3 (20/01/2015). The SMG was much more round and bulbous compared to the current more geometric shape.

SMG prior to MegaBot Count Down 3

• The SMG bolt that it shoots has been changed since the first multilayer release, it was larger and would go through the bot instead of dissipating on impact.
• The general name for SMG is refereed in code as KUBE_LASER

Old SMG bolt

Artwork

SMG seem to have a barrel with the interior filled with a glass prism. The back-end possibly is a light emitter, possibly where the laser is made for the weapon. The prism could be there to concentrate the light in to a point.