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Unreal Tournament: 2004 Weapons Guide

Posted: October 6, 2006 16:05:31 • By Meadow Whisper (Natasha L.) • 1602 words

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Hello again! As some of you may remember, I prepared a weapon guide for UT:GOTY, and it was quite well-received by other members of my LAN groups. While I still love the old UT, most people want to play UT:2004 instead. So, now that I've gained adequate proficiency in UT:2004, this is my weapons guide for this game. Each one is listed by number, which refers to its location at the bottom of the HUD.

Primary fire is the function accessed by the trigger (usually the left mouse button). Alternate fire is accessed by the secondary trigger (usually the right mouse button).

Translocator

Slot: 1
Usage: This "weapon" is used for teleporting from place to place. Simply use primary fire to shoot the translocator, then use alternate fire to teleport to the translocator's new location. While it is possible to kill someone by firing the translocator at them, then teleporting on top of them (aka "telefragging"), it's extremely difficult to do and not very reliable. Only use this as a weapon as an absolute last resort (but it makes a great tool!). As an added bonus, UT2004 adds a new feature to the translocator, a remote-operated camera. I personally haven't used this much, but I've heard it works well for scouting. To use it, fire the translocator, then hit Q and scroll with the mouse. You'll be blind to your immediate surroundings doing this, so make sure you have backup or a good hiding spot.
Primary Function: Fire Translocator/Remove Fired Translocator
Secondary Function: Teleport (after firing translocator)
Bonus Function: Remote Camera (hit Q to activate)

Shield Gun

Slot: 1
Usage: A melee/defensive weapon that uses a forcefield to deflect projectiles and attack targets. Its primary fire is similar to the airhammer, it builds up a charge and releases it against your target when you release the trigger, or when you contact an enemy. Secondary fire deploys a deflector shield in front of you, which will defend against most weapons. The secondary fire cannot be used offensively, nor can it be used with other weapons. But, you can use it to block for other players in close combat situations.
Primary Function: Charge (click & hold to build up energy)
Secondary Function: Deflection Shield

Assault Rifle

Slot: 2
Usage: This is a pretty basic weapon, and rather weak, but versatile. If your aim is good enough, the Enforcer can do some serious damage, especially if you have two of them (loot as many as you can from your dead colleagues!). Its secondary fire shoots small grenades, click and hold to build up energy, release to fire one at a time. If you have dual rifles, only one at a time will fire grenades.
Primary Function: Standard Fire
Secondary Function: Grenade Launcher

Biosludge Rifle

Slot: 3
Usage: Usually referred to as the "poop gun", the Biosludge fires the excrement of some exotic fantasy creature that happens to be highly volatile. The Biosludge's fired ammo is closely akin to land mines, so fire it into a high-traffic area for fun results. Don't waste your ammo though, the globs explode on their own after a few seconds.
Primary Function: Rapid Fire
Secondary Function: Charge (click & hold to build up a huge glob, up to 10 ammo units)

Mine Layer

Slot: 3
Usage: This is a new gun for 2004, it fires spider mines on the ground. These mines are semi-intelligent, with legs, and will run and jump at any enemies who come by. You can only have 8 at a time deployed (there's a display when the weapon is active showing how many mines are deployed), the oldest one will explode when more than 8 are fired. The mines will stay in place indefinitely once fired, or until the owner dies. However, you can move them using alternate fire. Target the alt fire laser beam where you want the mines to go, and all of the mines you own will flock to that spot.
Primary Function: Mine Deployment
Secondary Function: Repositioning/Targeting Laser

Shock Rifle

Slot: 4
Usage: This is one of the best low-end weapons in the game. Simple, accurate, and versatile, the Shock Rifle is an excellent weapon for close and long-range combat. The primary function of this gun is instant-hit, and makes a good (though low-power) sniper rifle. The secondary function isn't overly useful, but is well suited for close combat. The secondary fire balls explode when hit by the shock blast, creating a lethal explosion around the area, and this behaviour has been greatly improved since GOTY.
Primary Function: Insta-Hit Shock Blasts
Secondary Function: Shock Balls

Link Gun

Slot: 5
Usage: Another good mid-range weapon, the Link Gun (formerly the Pulse Cannon) is a greener, less common cousin of the Shock Rifle. The Link Gun is, unfortunately, one of the most frequently mis-used weapons in the game. Its primary function (pulse balls) is often overlooked, but is very effective at close range. Its secondary function (and most famous) is a steady green beam that eats through whatever you're aiming at. While fun and unique to use, this beam is actually fairly useless. It has a short range, and fires slower than the primary function, and at point-blank range (where most people try to use it as a last resort), it takes twice as long to make the kill as the primary function. So, save the pretty green beam for targets that are within 20 feet of you, but not closer than 3 feet, and only when aimed at the head. Use the primary function for everything else, or a different gun (something more suited to long-distance shots, perhaps). One thing the Link Gun's secondary fire is good for, though, is repairing vehicles and equipment (link nodes, for example). It will consume ammo to do this, but when targetted at friendly equipment, the Link Gun will restore the item's hit points. So, when playing a map with vehicles or link nodes, keep a charged link gun in reserve!
Primary Function: Pulse Balls (fire faster than secondary, travel faster than the Shock Rifle's shock balls)
Secondary Function: Pulse/Repair Beam (slower, but good when targetted at the head, and will repair friendly equipment)

Minigun

Slot: 6
Usage: Fast-firing machine gun, every FPS has one. This one uses the same ammo as the Assault Rifle, and is pretty over-used, especially by bots. Its secondary function is decent enough, but nothing special. Its primary function is rather poor. Use another gun when possible.
Primary Function: Rapid Fire (horribly inaccurate, even at close range, waste of ammo)
Secondary Function: Standard Fire (more accurate)

Flak Cannon

Slot: 7
Usage: My personal favourite, a gun that shoots white-hot shrapnel at your target, much like a shotgun. This is probably the single-best close range weapon in the game. Two shots with primary fire will kill almost anyone regardless of shielding or armour, and one shot of secondary fire is almost a guaranteed one-hit kill (though the secondary function is harder to hit someone with than primary). It can be used at long-range, but it's not recommended. Also, the primary fire from this gun will ricochet at least once per shot
Primary Function: Flak Blast (Faster, somewhat less accurate, but more potential per shot in close groups)
Secondary Function: Flak Grenade (No spread, one hit kill, unpredictable flight path)

Rocket Launcher

Slot: 8
Usage: A basic rocket launcher, every FPS has one. UT's rocket launcher isn't very good at its job, it takes 2-3 hits to kill someone even if they have no armour and have already been hit by something. The 2004 version looks much more like the rocket launchers seen in other games, it only loads three shots at a time instead of 6, and there's no grenade mode. However, one improvement is the ability to fire the multi-charged shots in a tight forward spiral instead of in a fanned-out pattern. Simply tap the primary fire button just after the third rocket loads, right before they launch. If you hit your target, it will be a guaranteed one-hit kill.
Primary Fire: Rapid-Fire Rockets (hover on target for guided mode)
Secondary Fire: Cluster-Fire Rockets (click & hold to charge multiple shots, tap primary fire just before firing to launch in a tight spiral)

Sniper Rifle

Slot: 10
Usage: Another favourite of mine (that my LAN party mates know very well), the sniper rifle is an amazing all-around weapon. While it's intended for long-range use with the scope, it also works well at medium and close range without it.
Primary Fire: Semi-Auto Rifle Shots
Secondary Fire: Scope (click & hold to zoom, click again to reset)

Redeemer

Slot: 10
Usage: This is a very rare weapon, but most maps have one. Its primary fire is rather silly, but its secondary fire (fly-by-wire) is amazing. When using it, steer using the mouse and aim for clusters. The Redeemer's missile can be shot down, though, so fly erratically and make yourself hard to hit. Also, to throw people off and detonate prematurely (in mid-air right in front of a group while they line up shots on you), hit primary fire while flying.
Primary Fire: Standard Rocket (flies in a perfectly straight line)
Secondary Fire: Fly-By-Wire

Enhanced Shock Rifle

Slot: 4
Usage: This is only present when using the Insta-Gib mutator. You get unlimited ammo, and both triggers do the exact same thing. Excellent practice for no-scope headshots with the sniper rifle. Also, like its less-exciting brother (regular Shock Rifle), the Enhanced Shock Rifle is insta-hit (despite its delayed-hit animation).
Primary Fire: One-Shot-Kill Insta-Hit Shock Blast
Secondary Fire: One-Shot-Kill Insta-Hit Shock Blast