It's a liquid rail gun, which means that it uses up an unnecessary amount of material just to fire.

Still more believable and cooler then lasers weapons.

They also have a somewhere between 132 to 450 kilotons of TNT hitting power.

Heat doesn't disperse the same way or as quickly in a non-gravitational environment, concentrate heat on a single point of a ship and you can burn a hole clean through it. No, it doesn't look like Star Wars or Mass Effect, but it's quick and efficient.

GreivousKhan said
With energy weapons. Skalla likes his lazers.And before anyone says otherwise, no the reapers are not shooting energy weapons. It's hyper melted slug, or magneto hydrodynamic, that launches molten metal at a fraction of the speed of light.

That seems rather redundant.

GreivousKhan said
Still more believable and cooler then lasers weapons.They also have a somewhere between 132 to 450 kilotons of TNT hitting power.

Laser weapons are legitimate weapons that, depending on what spectrum you're firing, can have truly devastating effects on organic and nonorganic matter alike. Gamma ray or x-ray lasers, for example, will deliver instantly-lethal doses of radiation into the confines of a ship should they strike the hull (which they will).

Against them, armor won't save you.

Also, 132 to 450 kilotons is laughably weak for a race that's supposed to be beyond ancient and powerful. Modern earth would completely devastate the Reapers if their weaponry is that weak.

ME does have lasers, they just have ridiculously short ranges.

I give them props for using something a bit outside the box.

To bad I don't much care for sci-fi these days.

ASTA said
That seems rather redundant.

Everything in sc-fi is redundant. What would luke do against someone armed with a uzi?

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_YAL-1

600KM doesn't seem like short range to me, and in science fiction, much more powerful generators are assumed. To provide more energy to the general populace and for much more power arduous tasks. So in a ship that's like, twice as tall as this thing is long, and ten times as long as this thing is. I think you could put a SUBSTANTIAL amount of energy into a single rotary mounted laser.

Skallagrim said
Indeed and I have good reason...Melon's people keep spamming the site with kitchen remodeling...

Incidentally my dad sells kitchens.

Just a coincidence.

LeeRoy said
600KM doesn't seem like short range to me, and in science fiction, much more powerful generators are assumed. To provide more energy to the general populace and for much more power arduous tasks. So in a ship that's like, twice as tall as this thing is long, and ten times as long as this thing is. I think you could put a SUBSTANTIAL amount of energy into a single rotary mounted laser.

Apparently not.

Some non sense about the beam 'spreads out', thus decreasing the energy density (watts per m2) the weapon can place on a target. Making any of their high-powered lasers a short-ranged weapon even in space. Then there's some more floop about it needing to cool down after excessive use.

Still 100% chance to hit.

Extensive cooling systems would subvert the need for a 'cooldown' period.

Instead of a singular beam, to remove the spread, have about seven of them. Focusing on one point. All mounted on the same rotor, of course, but contained in a single housing.

The reapers were super cool though. Man, I loved them. Would have totally sided with em if the game gave me the chance.

LeeRoy said
Extensive cooling systems would subvert the need for a 'cooldown' period. Instead of a singular beam, to remove the spread, have about seven of them. Focusing on one point. All mounted on the same rotor, of course, but contained in a single housing.

Join Biowares writers team.

Green said
The reapers were super cool though. Man, I loved them. Would have totally sided with em if the game gave me the chance.

It's called indoctrination. :P

Which I doubt mankind today could fight.

That was supposed to be an option. (Sorta)

The ending was supposed to reveal that like, the Reapers were a billion year long plan to prevent some oncoming apocalypse or something. And you had the choice to destroy them or let them destroy you.

Then again, this is hearsay about cut content from a video game.

@Khan: If I could help write Mass Effect 4 I'd be the happiest man alive, Mass Effect has a bit more meaning to me than I'm willing to divulge.

GreivousKhan said
With energy weapons. Skalla likes his lazers.And before anyone says otherwise, no the reapers are not shooting energy weapons. It's hyper melted slug, or magneto hydrodynamic, that launches molten metal at a fraction of the speed of light.

Lazers? I like particle weapons and kinetic penetraters.

Skallagrim said
kinetic penetraters.

Teehee

Skallagrim said
Lazers? I like particle weapons and kinetic penetraters.

First is kind of like the lasers.

I prefer Ether Gun's and Gauss type weapons myself (which is kind of like kinetic penetrators).

I like Particulate Weapons of Absolute Decimation.

And boy are they a fucking trip.

On the topic of Mass Effect... I thought I would inform you all of the following

GreivousKhan said
It's called indoctrination.

I am a firm believer in the Indoctrination Theory, so...

Particulate Weapon of Absolute Decimation:

Fill a dozen barrels with sand and put it on a ship that can travel AT or NEAR, or a FRACTION of the speed of light. Leave the barrels with open lids so the sand is free to fly out once it's ready. You take the sand and tie it to the front so it doesn't accidentally hit the ship.

Then, you speed the ship RIGHT the hell up and aim yourself at your target. Once you're there, slow down even a single fraction of the speed you're going. The sand is sent FLYING at the speed of light, near light speed, or a fraction of the speed of light. Here's the math:

The speed of light is 1,079,252,848.8 km/hr/299792.458 km/s. A .5 mg grain of sand moving at that speed would have 269,813,212,200 j of force.

For Comparison, a single ton of TNT: 4,184,000,000 j.

Each grain of sand would have more power than 64 tons of TNT. And there's 12 drums full. Like oil drums. Let's say 55 gallon drums, alright. That's 800lbs. Each grain of sand is .5 mg.

The amount of damage that it could do to a planet is no less than complete destruction.

If my math holds up properly.

There's one problem with your math.

Grains of sand surviving re-entry. Even at near light speed, a grain of sand would not survive that intense of a temperature. The fact there are MILLIONS of grains means nothing as each would simply vaporize entering atmo. Sucks, but that's logic for you. All you would do to that planet is give them one HELL of an impressive light show. Granted, it'd scare them like mad. But really, it'd do no damage to a planet.

Planet = Unharmed.
Ships in vacuum = SCREWED.