Railgun

Railgun (Class 1)

Railguns require the trigger to be held to charge the weapon before firing. The weapon will fire automatically when the charge is complete, but fail to fire if the trigger is released early. Rail slugs are effective at ship hull penetration.

— In-Game Description

A Railgun is a powerful electromagnetic projectile weapon that inflicts both thermal and kinetic damage. Railguns consume a large amount of power and generate significant heat with each shot, but can severely damage a target.

Usage

The Railgun's exceptional penetration allows it to hit ship subsystems even when striking through the opposite side of a hull in most cases. The effective damage of this weapon varies considerably based on shot placement. The Railgun has an armour piercing value of 100, meaning it always does full damage to hull regardless of Armour Hardness, but it is still affected by kinetic and thermal resistances. It is also an impulse attack, causing the target to be physically pushed out of its previous trajectory. The dual kinetic and thermal damage inflicted by a Railgun slug is split, and a successful strike will deal 66.6% of its damage as thermal and 33.3% as kinetic.

Notably, this weapon is relatively ineffective at dealing armor damage, because of its high breach damage and deep armor piercing capabilities. It will almost always hit a module, instead, which will absorb any damage and prevent it from being applied to the hull. While this can be a good thing if hitting a critical module like the Power Plant, this can become a hindrance if instead hitting a relatively unimportant module like Life Support. Also, much of the damage it deals will often be absorbed by any Module Reinforcements, resulting in little apparent damage being dealt until they can be neutralized. However, if the target is effectively using an AFMU, this may take a significant amount of time.

In the right hands, the Railgun is a potent weapon, especially on small ships. The Diamondback Scout and Diamondback Explorer are ideal vehicles for the Railgun due to their excellent heat efficiency and agility, allowing them to easily keep a target in sight. The Railgun projectile moves fast enough that it effectively acts like a laser, with no measurable travel time; this makes it easier to use than many other fixed hardpoint weapons which would require leading the target and estimating its movement.

Due to the high armor piercing, charge up and hitscan properties, the railgun is also good on slower ships, that cannot maintain lock on a target profile as continuously - as the weapon can take full advantage of brief opportunities of fire (such as against a more mobile opponent). The railgun's extensive range also helps with kiting strategies that less mobile ships generally employ.

This weapon is only available in fixed mounts, and in class 1 and 2 hardpoints. It has a range of 3000m, but damage begins to fall off after 1000m. Railgun ammunition, ranging from basic slugs to high velocity munitions, can be Synthesized.

A variation of the Railgun, named the Imperial Hammer, is available as a Powerplay merits unlock. The Imperial Hammer fires a three-shot burst instead of a single shot, with a proportionate increase in power draw and thermal load. Commanders pledged to Arissa Lavigny-Duval gain the earliest access to the module, at Rank 37, with access granted to commanders pledged to other Powers at higher ranks.

Specifications

Class	Rating	Mass (T)	Integrity	Power Draw (MW)	Weapon Mode	Damage Type	Damage	Armor Piercing	ROF	DPS	Distributor Draw (MW)	Thermal Load per shot	Value (CR)
1	D	2.00	40	1.150	Fixed	Thermic Kinetic	23.34	100	1.59	14.3	2.69	12	51,600
2	B	4.00	51	1.630	Fixed	Thermic Kinetic	41.53	100	1.20	20.46	5.11	20	412,800

Engineering

This weapon can be modified by Engineers to enhance its abilities.

Modifications

The following modifications can be applied to this module:

• High capacity
• Lightweight
• Long range
• Short range
• Sturdy

Experimental Effects

The following Experimental Effects can be applied to this module:

• Double Braced
• Feedback Cascade
• Flow Control
• Multi-Servos
• Oversized
• Plasma Slug
• Stripped Down
• Super Penetrator

Purchase Locations

Class	Rating	System	Station
All	All	Shinrarta Dezhra	Jameson Memorial
All	All	Brestla	i Sola Prospect
All	All	Barnard's Star	Boston Base
All	All	Duamta	Polyakov Station
All	All	Altair	Solo Orbiter
All	All	Colonia	Jaques Station
All	All	Delphi	The Oracle
All	All	Cemiess	Titius Station
All	All	Atlantis	Kimura Terminal
All	All	Mizar	Judson Station
All	All	Olgrea	H. G. Wells Terminal
All	All	Exioce	Miller Terminal

Videos

Mango's Manual to the Railgun -Elite-Mango's Manual to the Railgun

Sidewinder Bounty Hunter - No Engineering - Gameplay - Elite Dangerous

Gallery

Concept Art

Class 1 Railgun

Class 2 Railgun