The standard issue Imperial flashlight! the Lasgun is not a terrible weapon and is extremely flexible and reliable. Consider supporting me on Patreon! www.patreon.com/user?u=3863342 / archwarhammer Intro by Henrik Sigeman
The Guardsman that does.... Is fuckin' Nightmarish to fight. Why? Because he can hold his own against Rebels, Renegades, Traitor marines, Chaos, Tau, All Eldar, Necrons, Orks, And Tyranids. And fights as dirty and exploitative as a Guardsman on top of that.
As for fighting an Astartes with a Lasgun: Your best hope is that they're one of the Astartes who thinks they're too cool to wear helmets. Of course there's probably a reason why they think they're that cool, so you're still fairly screwed.
Fighting Astartes with a Lasgun, your best hope is that you have about 100 other IG friend with you with competent aiming. A single Lasgun shot at range do diddly, but 100 shots every 1/3 a second is a lot of diddly...
To call the lasgun crap because it can't kill Chaos Marines is like calling an M16 crap because it cant do AT duty. OTOH, we dont fight all tank armies, do we?
_"The Legionnaire that scoffs at a lasgun has not charged across an open field against a hundred of them."_ ~Maor the Scarred, Siege-Champion of the Scargivers
Legionnaire: You're right, I haven't. Mostly because that's a fking stupid thing to do. Instead we'll just pop in amongst you with jump packs and drop pods *laughs in chainsword*
To quote 4chan "The weapons are often derisively referred to as "flashlights," based on their individual uselessness, although this is arguably more of an example of how ridiculously tough everything else is in the setting."
Of all the weapons in the vast Imperial arsenal, nothing was more profitable than Kantrael pattern laser rifle model of M36, more commonly known as the Lasrifle, or Lasgun. It's the galaxy’s most popular assault rifle, a weapon all fighters love. An elegantly simple five pound amalgamation of forged plassteel and plywood, it doesn't break, jam, or overheat. It will shoot whether it's covered in mud or filled with sand. It's so easy even a child could use it, and they do. The Valhallens put the gun on a coin. Cadia put it on their flag. Since the end of the Great Heresy, the Lasgun has become the Imperium’s greatest export. After that comes War, Faith in the emperor, and Suicidal Guardsmen.
Ah the mighty Lasgun, winner of some of the most important Military Honors the Astra Militarum has to offer, including: Winning the "Best weapon to mildly annoy an Ork" Award for now 9872 years in a row and getting 2nd place in the Cadian "Best Imperial flashlight contest" of M41.997, only loosing to an actual flashlight.
On the flip side it is the winner of the best disco light award. You just put em to low power setting and ask a tech priest nicely to swap out the crystal from non visible to visible range.
Also, winner of contest to evaporate head of first idiot who makes "lasgun is a flashlight" joke again. Guys, can you please stop with it? If this joke was alive, it would be soo old, so we could use its beard to hang Failbaddon and drag him all the way from Eye of Terror to Terra (and he would finally reach Terra, yay!).
Well, only because they Retconnned it. And the retcon I don't like because it turned Abaddon from "Bringer of Doom" to "Huron Blackheart Mark II", pirate and raider who sacrifices those he finds less useful/loyal in order to get Fat Stacks of Plunder. ... and we already had Huron Blackheart. I want the "Bringer of Doom" for Abaddon.
And now I suddenly want to know who would win in a large-scale battle between the Imperial Guard and the forces of the SW Empire... It would be probably the guardsmen, but who knows, maybe the stormtroopers could pull and underdog victory for a change.
***** I don't know... While the movies indeed don't give too much solid info on the quality of the the Empire's ground warfare tech (in particular, the actual firepower of their weaponry is hard to judge, as they either don't hit shit, or when they do it's a "clean" instakill, so we don't know how much damage they actually do), but I think the IG would have the advantage in terms of ground support (actual proper artillery) and their mechanized wargear is equal (AT-ST vs Sentinel? a though call) or better (AT-AT vs Baneblade? hilarious!) than the Empire's. The one point I could say the Empire would win is on the large-scale, as they have a much better infrastructure, faster FTL to move troops and way better information- and logistics-networks, but if it is just two ground armies going at each other with the same number of equivalent weapon-classes and war machines, I think the IG would win... unless they are the IG form one of those novels when they throw a million of them into the grinder to take a bunker instead of firing a single artillery shell, because grimdark. So yeah, lots of variables, but that's what makes it a really fun thought-experiment. :)
Yeah. I mean you can't say "Stormtroopers can't hit crap" or the like. I always hated that Trope because it's clearly not really a case of "Stormtroopers suck" it's "Main characters have plot armor". The standard Stormtrooper Blaster Rifle though definitely is weaker than the Lasgun. Keep in mind that a solid hit to an unarmored target with a Blaster Rifle tends to cause a small wound that doesn't even pierce through the target, and that people might survive. A lasgun with a similar hit would have basically turned the torso into a pile of ash. But we do know that Stormtrooper Armor can stop a blaster bolt to the level that Flak Armor can stop a Lasgun shot (saying it'll still hurt you, but you'll at least have a chance of survival). Though also Stormtrooper Armor laughs at Archaic Weapons (like say an Assault Rifle firing bullets) where Flak Armor doesn't. Lack of consistency? Probably. I mean we could say the Blaster Rifle is more effective than I'd guess but my evidence for its killing potential is based on it shooting people with no armor what so ever (like say Ewoks). Though we see in the Battle of Endor that Stormtrooper Armor does jack against Melee. And this makes sense as Vibro Axes, Vibroknives, force pikes, etc, are somewhat common weapons. And say what you will, the Imperial Guard has no problems mixing it up in melee when it comes down to it. Plenty of Imperial Guard Commanders will give the order to fix bayonets and charge. And that could be the decisive moment. If the Stormtroopers can break the charge (I wonder, they don't seem to have automatic weapons, even their Heavy Blaster is more like an Anti-Material Rifle than a Machine Gun, but on the plus side Thermal Detonators are FAAAR more effective than Frag Grenades, but Stormtroopers don't seem to carry them) that'd give them the win I'd imagine. Where if the Guard gets forces in among the stormtroopers that could be the end of it.
Meacharn1 Well yes as displayed many times a single guardsman is like a drop of water hitting your face facing down a regiment is like the lake that drop came from rising up and bitch slapping.
SO much better than Jedi flashlights its *almost* shameful to compare them its like picking on children but when you fight for the imperium all arrayed before you are mere children against the hammer of the emperor! lol im implying the emperor smashes babies with hammers that cant be good!?
The running gag among my friends and fellow wargamers is that because of how regressive the Imperium's technology is the lasgun is supposed to fire a continuous beam but overheats almost instantly, resulting in the ubiquitous bolts.
what we have today is not laughable. In fact our modern small arms would do just fine against almost anything a lasgun is supposed to do well against, aka lightly armoured targets. They would just lack any potential do to more against tougher targets that the lasgun has a tiny chance of doing. But for that we have heavier weapons and armor just like the guard does. Honestly Earth would be a pretty solid match for a guard force a few million strong. We may very well lose in the end but we would NOT go down easy. The only ground based threat the imperium has over us is space marines.
santhinal Lol the lasgun is lighter than almost all modern weapons while having more ammunition and the stopping power of a .50 caliber round. Modern weapons are the equivalent of autoguns in WH40k. And if you know the lore, autoguns might as well be airsoft rifles.
@@thelouster5815 ya I know, however even in 40K an autogun is actually pretty solid as a weapon against basic infantry like the standard Guardsman. I agree completely that it is still weaker but it is not by that much. Yes our weapons are weaker but saying we would be completely outclassed by the imperial guard is just autistic to the extreme given that even in 40K autoguns regularly kill Imperial guard with the same or similair ease that Lasguns kill imperial guard. All I am saying is that they are almost equally garbage. The only real advantage Lasguns have is in their Robustness and ease of production which is in cannon the reason why the Imperial guard use them.
Same goes for the average Guardsman. Well...the average guardsman is propably dead, but just about any Guard veteran is basically special forces on steroids.
Arch Lasgun monologue Lasgun don't kill Choas Marines Arch siege of vraks Death Korps beat the choas Marines to death with shoves after they ran out of Lasgun batteries.
Yeah. Especially since the default against which everything is measured in crunch is the space marine, despite beeing rare in fluff. Oh, and they are also like 99 % of the heroes of the books, so its often seen from their perspective. Despite that, the "backround" battles are to 90 % fought by forces for which the lasgun is a good weapon.
Ya. In real life the lasgun would be a really gnarly firearm by today’s standards. However, when you’re going against 40 ft tall bugs or daemons, or an 8ft tall dude with 6in thick armor, that gnarliness gets watered down a lot.
@@FunkBastid if you actually do the math on how much energy each laser puts out should be able to do as much damage as a .50 big rifle basically in the modern day a lasgun would tear apart most military and civilian vehicles a apc would hold for a minute and a tank would take minimal damage it's not as good as a bolter round but much more efficient and a few lasbolts should kill a space Marine maybe 25 30 maybe more or less and this is the absolute least a lasbolt would be able to do
Everyone making fun of the Lasgun. Its the Guardsmen that hold the line and keeps the Imperium in one piece using the "useless" Lasgun. No power armour, no genetic modifications, no super gear. Just standard flak armour, a Lasgun and billions of fellow Guardsmen against the nightmares of the 40k universe and they still hold the line. Astra Militarum is the best.
The Adeptus Astartes are the scalpel used for high importance small margin of error missions but if you need to break something you don't use a scalpel. You grab the hammer that is the Guard
Ah, the imperial lasgun, a devastating weapon for our times... For Warhammer 40k's times.... It's the imperial guard's safety blanket to help lull them into thinking they stand a chance in this mad, mad universe.
Ah, I see now why Space Marines like melee. It must be boring when you're impervious to fire at range.. better get close in just to give the enemy a chance with his lasgun.
dIRECT0R Or because standing and shooting against a squad of guys with lasguns, even in power armor, brings a significant risk of you getting riddled with scorched holes because you were dumb enough to underestimate the power of a laser gun that can blow off human limbs.
Didn't you just hear him say that the flashlights can't hurt marines except in close range!? So why get into close range?? There's a million of 'em - someone is bound to shoot you...
dIRECT0R If you watch the "Why is there melee in 40k" video, he makes it pretty clear that while a lasgun at range won't consistently punch through power armour, it has a slim but still decent chance of hitting a weak point and hurting the marine within. And since lasguns are so widespread, that means you could easily be taking a dozen lasbolts every other second or so in a large battle. It'd actually be quite advantageous for a marine to close to melee with a group of lasgun-armed humans, because he has a major advantage there, whereas, again, if you stand and shoot you might be fine... But it's just as likely you'll get turned into a flambe. In short, Lasguns can *absolutley* hurt a Space Marine at range. Sure, they have a better chance of punching right through armor if they're closer, but that brings problems of its own.
A lasgun has a very, very small chance of punching through power armor at range... with a single shot. But a single shot can cause a small amount of damage to the armor, and if enough of that damage builds up, then punching through the armor becomes a very real threat. That's why space marines still make use of things like cover, and the shock and awe of close combat against regular people with horror weapons like chainswords.
You forgot one thing about the laslock that various sources state yes it only fires one shot but that shot has a fuck ton more punch than a lasgun (in a world bearers book the thing punched through astartes power armor)
There are hundreds of different models of lasguns, probably thousands, each probably has a different spectrum of light for their bolts. That being said, this is 40k, keeping the lore straight from codex to codex, game to game, and book to book etc is difficult to say the least
IRL, laser color is decided by the color of the lens, so it probably varies. Ruby for red, sapphire for blue. Not quite sure about yellow. Maybe a sodium vapor? That would give it a color like a streetlamp.
It generally relies on the gas used to create the laser. Most damaging and long range focus is blue, I imagine that lascannons are this colour, but the cheapest is probably red and there is good reason for picking that colour, as blue flashes on the enemy will quickly destroy all nightvision and then subsequently all vision of the guardsman firing the lasers. Looking at the reflection of a lascanon hitting would burn out your eyeballs regardless of colour. Good idea to use cameras and screens firing them. Very unlikely to be yellow, though could be green. I imagine, being the most visible laser light, it is pretty hard to use without loosing sight too. Plus it would reflect right off orks. But really it is up to you. I think the geeky game designers had it right, over the artists who pick the colours for colour composition and aesthetics over accuracy.
When will we have a game where they glorify the Imperial Guard ? I know they are far from being as efficient as the Astartes, but come on, they did some cool stuff . What about Cadian regiment ? they see some shit almost every day and the regiment still exists, that's something .
I had a bit of a realization moment while you were talking about the Longlas: at first I thought the notches on the rifle's muzzle were stupid and could have damaged the lens, but the you talked about the reliability issues and my brain went "ooh, that's why he made the notches: to keep track of how many shots he still has before needing to change the barrel". Well played GW and well played you
I've always loved how the Imperial Guard are the most vanilla looking faction, not far removed from real-world soldiers, yet they fire fricken laser beams
kahzhoex Sorry, I probably lack fantasy, but isn't most of the IG bogged down fighting orcs, eldar, tau and tyranids? Or am I trully missinformed and most of the IG's battles are against soft targets such as chaos cultists? Against unarmored soft targets, yeah, it's a super Kalashnikov. Against tough targets it's a flashlight.
JoeRingo118 If what you say is true then why do IG regiments suffer such horrendous losses all the time that they need comissars to force them to fight, if their primary weapon the lasgun is as effective as you say? I really don't get it. Ok, the Death Corps don't need comissars, everyone knows that. And is it true that most comissars rather keep up moral and discipline by leading by example instead of reign of terror? I know Gaunt, Yarrick and Cain are special cases, but what about the rest?
Commissar Yeah, I bet, imagine armies in the 21th century having lasguns and powerpacks with the knowhow to manufacture and maintain both. Most ammo factories would probably go out of business. Btw, since lasguns fire lasers, couldn't their beam be deflected by mirrors?
Grenadier 658244-526455 I play Tau, Necron and Guard, Rush Tau and overwhelm the is the best tactic i can tell. The Tau use U.S military style tactics, so they are pretty hard to beat. Or just play Necron and fuck up those blue Commie bastards
Arch, you really need to be chained to computer and properly motivated with dragon dildos for more frequent release of 40k lore videos! Superb stuff as usual.
That damned website... "Now presenting our latest special product line for your pleasure, 'The Lictor', 'The Gargant', 'The Keeper of Secrets', and 'The Uncle Nurgle Special'."
Carbon 12 And for the more tender customers nervous about interior bleeding and ruptured organs, there's always "The Greater Good". Or alternatively for those with no sense of square peg round hole puzzle solving, there is "The Awakened Monolith". Also available for those on the front lines demanding only the best of personal assault gear, "The Power Fist". Now available in Astartes, Terminator, or Dreadnought size categories. (Batteries not included)
This is probably my favorite out of all your 40k lore videos. It touches upon all the important details and just feels really well structured. Friggin' well done.
As for the regiment that turned their lasguns into 'las-axes' I am thinking they'd be good as shock troops, trench-raiders and the like. If you need one hefty blow to the enemy line, call in the "Huscarls"
Arch Warhammer I really enjoyed Konrad's lore, one of my favourite videos. Either way Friday's are something I always look forward to because of you :D
I like to think an encounter with a chaos space marine and a couple squads of guardsmen would be like that scene from rouge one when its Vader vs. The rebels
Great video Arch! Speaking of the lasguns ineffectiveness against Astartes ,how would the Tempestus Scions stormtroopers hellgun fare in a fight against a space marine?And please consider doing 40k vs Star Wars in one of your future videos ,it would be so awesome (and fucking histerical) to hear you explain how the 40k universe would ASS fuck the ever loving shit out of the star wars universe!
We did it,he's safe...(brother sergeant of the salamanders slowly wipes battle forged sweat from his pitch black brow)the slaaneshi scum has been driven back...COME BROTHERS,let us take our dead to Prometheus,there are many ashes to collect this day(warp rift opens,salamander fleet retreats into the warp on their way to Prometheus)
your videos about 40k lore are amazing. I did not know anything really about 40k except a videogame I played years ago. I discovered your channel 4 days ago... been binge watching anything I can about 40K. I'm not an expert yet... but I learned a massive amount.Thank you
actually as we learn from various reports of battles using a musket as a club was in close combat expecially in large battles more common than using the bayonett simply because it is simpler and the bayonett requires some skill . This applies even more with the las gun where the gun is shorter making a bayonett kind of unpractical ( of course it is another matter entirely when facing tyranids daemons or whaterver else )
Yeah, but muskets were pretty heavy things made of solid wood and steel... generally speaking a Lasguns is meant to be only a few feet long and made of the lightest and strongest materials the manufacturing planet can reasonably supply. This generally means that they don't have the leverage or the heft to really do much more than stagger a human opponent if you use one as a club, but clip a sword bayonet on the end and you have a fair-sized spear as well as a pretty useful up close fighting blade if you use the bayonet on its own. Obviously there's a lot of variation, this being the IG, so there *are* planets and regiments that use Lasguns made of solid, heavy heartwood stocks and chunky damn wrought iron fittings that genuinely are every bit as deadly as clubs as they are when you actually shoot them.
The bayonet was not as useful in extreme close quarters because it requires you to draw it back at least the length of the bayonet in order to thrust (if it isn't a sword bayonet), if the enemy gets past it. It is quite useful to keep and stab people before that. In theory you'd strike with the butt of the rifle to create the space to stab or slash
wow really nice vid as always Arch. Always thought that lasguns are really really crappy weapons for imperial guard but now you make me se bigger picture and reason behind it thank you :)
Hmh. Since Lasguns apparently have a machine spirit, does that mean that it's a good idea to actually talk to it like it's your buddy to keep it in a good mood? Of course on the other hand, if I was a (semi?)sentient immobile object who's only purpose for existence is to have his "dick" pulled back by a human's finger in order to forcefully "vomit" lasers out towards the human's enemies, I really wouldn't want the human to talk to me afterwards. ... Wait, so anyone that EVER pulls/squeezes a trigger in 40k is a sexual molester. Truly Grimdark. Well, unless the barrel is actually the "dick" that's "jizzing out" the laser and the trigger that's getting fingered is the anu- *GODDAMMIT SLAANESH GET OUT OF MY HEAD!!!*
They do not have a machine spirit in the classical sense. There are machines so sophisticated, that the mechanicums idea of "spirit" isnt actually that far away from the truth, but in case of the lasgun its simply that "you hurt its machine spirit and then it will punch you in the nuts" seem to be easier then saying "if your gun is dirty it might malfunction because....", so they just roll with it.
Sebastian Krant I just want to imagine a bunch of IG actually talking to their Lasguns, and then getting the shit scared out of them by their Commissar showing up and nearly shooting them for suspicions of "Madness and chaos corruption or trying to pull one of those goddamn annoying elaborate "jokes" that the Luggnum Sewer Rats would do!"
Well... there's a bit of a clarity issue with the term. "Machine Spirit" is used in certain cases like most Sci-Fi uses the term "Expert System". Not quite a full AI but has some autonomous functions that can assist a crew or even take over for a crew. You often see this in vehicles like a Land Raider Tank or a Thunderhawk Assault Craft, and when they're referencing a "Machine Spirit" particularly in the tabletop rules that use the Machine Spirit that's what they're talking about. The not quite sentient and self aware AI. However "Machine Spirit" is also a religious aspect term that applies to all technological aspects. And with the way the Warp works in 40k.... they kind of are actually a thing. In fact if you get/read the Imperial Infantryman's Uplifting Primer there's a section in the back that has Inspirational Speeches, Prayers and Litanies for the Guardsman. Several of these such as the "Litany of the Lasgun" are meant to specifically be used to appease the holy Machine Spirit of their weapon. This is something that's kind of ripped off as far as I can tell from BattleTech's setting. In that setting ComStar has the Adeptus Mechanicus role. Mystics who control the most arcane and powerful technology in the Inner Sphere. In their case in order to keep Technology secret from other factions ComStar made up "Mystical Rites" and a Hokey Religion that was to disguise the actual science they were doing to maintain devices as a con job. Just later generations weren't "in on the joke" and thus started thinking the mystical rites were actually necessary. That the FTL communications relay works because you prayed at it, the fact that your prayers and rites of initiation flipped the Sacred Rune of "Ohphee" to "Ohn" wasn't the only reason it worked. In 40k? We don't know if the Mechanicus originally started out in a similar fashion, if the Faith in "Machine Spirits" was a con that everyone has been fooled by or what. We do know however that due to the way the warp works and how it interacts with reality? The fact that everyone is tricked by the Con actually does kinda mean the Lie is Reality now. Though it seems that MIGHT have been the case as a lot of the Litanies and Rites we do see the Mechanicus do that's covered in detail do seem to include basic maintenance as we know it. They might be praying to the Machine Spirit of a Lasgun who is "sick" to recover, but they're also doing things like cleaning the contact points, stripping it down and replacing worn parts in their rites which as a Mechanicus Enginseer might point out "Just as your medicae does, when you are ill they replace the broken oils of your body with fresh fluids, the missing or sundered parts with proper new replacements, and tend to your soul as they do so". So it's weird.
You stick an aquilla on it and half the army starts talking to it. A lot of people get confused with the machine spirit and think it has something to do with AI, it does not. It is that effect you get when you bash your tv the right way and it gets signal back, or you tap a flourescent light to trick it into lighting, or the way sometimes computers won't work in certain plug sockets and you justify it as "not liking it" People who do not know about computers personify everything that happens to it, simply out of ignorance. Superstition overrides any analysis or understanding. Yet their lives rely on unreliable and misunderstood equipment. The mechanicum reveres anything that even hints towards automatic operation of course, hence their fascination with necrons, as they would like to end up like them, however they are not very successful in their endeavours. Whist they claim any chance action or positive malfunction as the machine spirit, they have made no real progress towards a "fully awakened" machine (which would be the literal incarnation of their deity) and would perceive it to be the return of the emperor, regardless of it's connection with the golden throne.
It's a shame that such a unique weapon with this much lore and interesting mechanics is just referred to as a wimpy flashlight. For all of the other vastly superior weapons it doesn't surprise me, but still it is a little bit sad.
Dont be so sure to judge. Always keep in mind, that GW not only mainly sell tabletop, but absolutly focus on Space Marines and measure everything based on them. A fairly good standpoint, considering, that they are the mascot of the franchise (although I would argue, that their focus on them may have pushed other factions far more in the back than what would be ideal). So yeah, in tabletop, they are relativly crappy, simply because the astartes bolter is the standard, most things are measured on. However, in much other 40k-media, it is extremly popular: The undisputed most important 40k-author Abnett after all wrote the most popular 40k-series, the gaunts ghosts, about the Imperial guard. And his other great bookseries, Eisenhorn, also gives the lasgun much more credit, since Space Marines are not EVERYWHERE (as some more incompetent authors like to have it). Than we have the role-playing games, and if you ever played a pen & paper, you may realize, that a ranged weapon with no consern to reloading or ammunition, multiple settings and upgrades is extremly usefull. It does help, that in only two of the five games, you play a space marine. Although I have to agree with you on how its portrayed in tabletop. I had more than one Dark Heresy round, where (much to the amusement of the rest of us) a player simply underestimated the lasguns potential, because he played tabletop. Seeing him getting butchered was hilarious and deserved, albeit unfortunate for the party as a whole.
I don't think the lasgun is even a laser weapon. I mean, in some depictions (idk why, for some reason, or another) the thing ffffing bluddy *RECOILS* (Like what's with that? :/ ), even though it's supposed to be a "laser". So, instead LASgun may instead refer to an acronym instead of a laser. So the acronym could be defined as Linearly. Accelerated. Slugthrower (L.A.S) gun. And it may have a ridiculously nigh-infinite ammo supply, because it shoots rly tiny particles (which would explain the relatively small wound size in comparison to say a Bolter) of a dense metal at sufficiently high speeds (maybe more than mach 10 in order to give the illusion that the lasgun is travelling as fast as lightspeed). I mean...lore-wise this mmmmaaayy make sense? I mean it would definitely explain why the damn lasgun has recoil (and also explain why lascannons are mounted on PAK-40 esque heavy mounts to absorb said recoil), and it would also explain why the lasgun beam has a short range (air resistance, and ablation of the micro-projectile at ridiculously high speeds). Sure, maybe there might be a laser element in the lasgun, but only for maybe heating, and ionizing the air, so that the micro-projectile will experience less resistance from the air. So this explanation might be believable, considering that WH40K takes place in a universe where tech priests prob don't know how a ffffing telephone operates (ok, it may not be like that, but you get the point)
This is why I always liked the idea of a "Plasma Carbine". I have a head canon IG unit that is quasi-0art of the Adeptus Mechanicus and was hidden until after the Black Crusade because of the the Necron Spires. A mechanicus fabricator, later promoted to subsector governor discovers a few STCs and one of the few stable, non-imperially influenced industries. The guardsman units raised from here use a high powered lasgun similar to the Lucius patter but not as strong and looks similar to our modern M16A2's and 3s, but more specialized Guardsman use a plasmagun but it is not as explosive as its unstable cousin. It is a 40-60 round, "Plasma Carbine" that either looks like our modern day M4AIs or SCAR-L using a magazine that fires as solid slugs through some sort of reactive materials and a sort of rail/mass driver system turning the solid slug into a super-heated plasma state projectile that can fire in rapid succession. Coolant is built into the magazines and in concentrated fire it can penetrate Astartes armor at around 150-175 meters after focused fire on weak points. It is also decent at penetrating lower grade ceramite armor and can put a nice dent into anything stronger. It relies on its fire rate and medium accuracy and light weight to get fire superiority.
I think what people overlook is the only reason the Lasgun seems weak is because we only ever hear about the enemies of the Imperium that the Imperial Guard has trouble with. Yeah a Lasgun has trouble fighting Orks. It has trouble killing Eldar. But it doesn't have trouble killing the other several hundred million species the Imperium has exterminated primarily with lasguns and artillery. The only reason the Orks are a threat to the Imperium at all is because they're tough against Lasgun fire. Anything a Lasgun can kill is, by definition, not a threat.
if a was a Imperial trooper and I have the choise between a Lasgun and a orc shooter who looks like shit I would choose the orc shooter ( ? why ? ) because orc shooter does damage and the difference between a bb gun and this ultimate flashlight is the Lasgun makes Pew Pew noise :)
Not exactly existence one (army) the Armageddon Ork Hunters and they use orc weapon and the are ok and a Commissar Yarrick which has a orc power claw + unlimited ammo :)
For one, they won't work because you aren't an ork who believes that they will actually shoot. Second, the recoil is monstrous and will break your arm even if you can fire it. Third, shootas are bloody heavy. Standard humans can't even lift the thing. Finally, shootas have shite accuracy at all ranges and relies entirely on being fired full auto every time all the time as long as there's enough ammo to actually hit something. The fourth point combined with the second point means whichever human uses the shoota will likely end up pulverising himself just by pulling the trigger. Even then, he might likely be so off the mark he hasn't actually killed anything before getting himself killed.
Guess it would depend how pragmatic your assigned Commissar is, though a pragmatic one still wouldn't want you touching an Ork shoota as there would be a high chance of malfunction due to them only working properly for Orks, at worst it could blow up in your face.
I'm guessing that next week will be Space Hulk: Deathwing themed? Which will either be: Dark Angels, their Primarch, the Deathwing part of it, the Space Hulks or the Genestealers. | So we're focusing on the Red Shirts in this one? | 2:04 - Although they're more damaging up close? | 3:20 - They also need a good amount of incense. | 8:40 - So they've had it when against Chaos Space Marines? | 10:10 - They're also not hard to miss as you'd hear them shouting "WAAAGGH!!!" before you see them.
The Las gun powerful against unarmored targets. Aside from the expense of making bullets(ha did that stop the adoption of the musket?) I can't see why the Mechanicus would think this is the best option. A weapon that essentially is more expensive than the soldier wielding it. They must be running by plenty of good faith that they will actually keep the damn thing.
The reason is, that its not the increase in the weapons worth that made the lasgun more expensive, but the decrease in human life worth that made the soldier inexpensive. And here is the beauty for the Mechanicum: First: Lasguns are so standard, they are not stolen on the first chance got. Secondly, they are still cheaper then many other weapons. Thirdly, they are not that bad against armoured targets compared with projectile weapons. To do some average Dark-Heresy-/Only-War-Math the Lasgun does the same damage as a normal assault rifle. However, it has more ammunition, it jams even rarer then said rifle and it can change settings to become more powerfull. When reduced to the same ammunition then an assault rifle it is average 1/8 better then it. And than we are not even considering the nightmare that is ammunition cases. The point is, not only all lasguns have nearly all the same powerpacks. The sniper rifles, the carabines and even some anti-tank-weaponary can use this same thing. Oh, and finally ,they are practicly indestructable, so there is no need to produce that many, unlike the soldiers that carry them, they are reusable.
+Sebastian Krant The undestructable part I do take issue with. They are a chemical laser, and that means they have a chamber with a gemstone or some heavy metal in its middle thats filled with noble gas, and they have silicate glass or again metal lenses. All these need to be kept in perfect alignement for the gun not to accidentaly melt iself. Using it as a club doesnt sound wise.
So if a Bolter is a more expensive, complicated, and sophisticated weapon it could be compared to modern assault rifles of rich nations today while the cheap, versatile and widespread Lasgun is basically the AK47?
I'm pretty sure 300 lasgun lined up in continous fire is enough to take down a chaos space marine. They might have superiour armor, but with that amount of heat they will bake inside their armor before reaching the guard.
Again with a bone-breaking boltgun recoil bullshit... I thought of you better, Arch I mean the whole purpose of Gyrojet system is to minimize recoil, and lots of normal humans use bolt weapons without wearing power anything. Hell, bolt pistol is a standard issue for Commissars, and since it fires the same caliber ammo as boltguns but is shorter and lighter it is bound to have even bigger recoil.
Boltguns are not gyrojets. The bolt is fired in the standard manner of a bullet, with an explosive discharge, and the RPG part happens AFTER the bolt has left the barrel to further accelerate it. Why do you think bolters shoot out cassings when they fire? And that's why an astartes boltgun breaks arms: the size and recoil of shooting a .75 or .998 calibre ammunition, for reference that's what modern light cannons and emplaced weapons shoot. The boltgun of the commisariat, the Garm pattern fires much smaller munitions. And as a futher side-note: those calibres I mentioned were written by an idiot who did not think of scale. Yes, they are too much for an average human to fire comfortably, but at the scale of a normal astartes and his boltguns, those bullets are tiny compared to how large a bolt shell should actualy be.
For futher reference there was a thread once that meassured scales and tried to correct them with logic applied. Suffice to say a standard bolter can fire up to callibre 2.0 ammunition (this he reserved for heavy bolters) while a standard 1.0 calibre (or the .998) would fit normal sickle shaped 24 round magazines of the astartes boltguns. www.bolterandchainsword.com/topic/284381-on-the-scale-mismatch-of-bolts-and-bolters/ EDIT: my personal interpretation? I'm with him on the .75 beeing a human sized bolter, but I would extend the leeway for actual astartes bolt munitions higher. A 40mm grenade (the most common comparison) is actualy calire 1.57 if you convert, so I would say an Astartes standard boltgun fires munitions larger than that, at a minimum the 2' and heavy bolters go even bigger. Yeah not everything in 40k is consistent, most of the times it;s fans fixing the inconsistencies.
And the part where all your reasoning breaks apart is FFG and their RPGs, where mere humans can use astartes gear with only -10 accuracy (because it's too big for human hands) if they're strong enough, although the weapon moves one category up to scale (i.e. bolter is heavy weapon, and bolt pisol is a rifle). No bones breaking by recoil. And it's Canon.
right wingers made corporations people he supports the people that believe Viacom can do that. So...why should I feel bad? mass flagging is something both the far right and left do to each other .
'"And what are the achievements of your fragile Imperium? It is a corpse rotting slowly from within while maggots writhe in its belly. It was built with the toil of heroes and giants, and now it is inhabited by frightened weaklings to whom the glories of those times are half-forgotten legends. I have forgotten nothing, and my wisdom has expanded far beyond mere mortal frailties."' -Ahriman of the Thousand Sons.
James Doody Dying for the Emperor until the Imperial Guard arrives, so they can die for the Emperor until the Space Marines arrive and actually kill things.
