"Yeah, but if you were infantry, my 'Mech wouldn't notice if it stepped on you." Jal smirked, setting up a fourth target, and loading the corresponding round. "Besides, despite the recoil, I can fire five times without reloading, while you need a new cell per shot, and you have a magazine to reload as well, which slows you down even more."<br/><br/>Jal paused, adjusting the sight slightly. "It's a good Anti-vehicle weapon, and a decent Sniping tool, but at the same time, Gauss weapons are heavy, slow to fire, slow to reload, and impossible to conceal, because of the magnetic coils in the barrel, and because of the condensation trail that follows the path of the shell. Plus you kick up a lot of dust every shot." Aiming carefully, she squeezed off a shot, bracing herself for the recoil and accomodating the blast, followed by smiling at the clear chime of the system saying that the shell would have at the least, caved in the target's head, and carried off much of the upper torso on its path.<br/><br/>"My point is, Keira, that gauss weapons are projectile weapons, that use magnetics, not propellants. Energy weapons have a whole host of other issues that pop up in a combat zone, which is why they're primarily 'mech=mounted, where most of the issues relating to power consumption and stability are rendered moot by using armoured housings and hooking them up to the 'mech's reactors. Besides, we still use the explosive caseless ammo in pulse rifles for basic infantry combat, so projectiles still carry the day, more often than not."<br/><br/>She popped the breech of her rifle, loading the last shell in the magazine as her fifth target moved to the end of the range. "Besides, you saw the wrecks we salvaged yesterday; the worst damage was done by a projectile weapon, not an energy weapon. Though, admittiedly, one can more easily retrofit an energy-based Tool, such as a fusion torch, which is used to slice off damaged armour plates, into a weapon. Even if it's as simple as throwing a live torch into a puddle someone's standing in and watching them get electrocuted."