GTW Flail

GTW-32 Flail Rifle

Weapons in Descent: FreeSpace

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS1

Weapons in FreeSpace 2

Primaries Secondaries Turrets Weapon Comparison Table, FS2

The GTW-32 Flail Rifle

Tech Room Data

A rapid-fire, low energy, ceramic optic focused, krypton laser - used in tactical situations to distract or lead an enemy to their destruction at the hands of other allied fighters - this weapon, if used over an extended period of in-flight battle, can destroy an enemy fighter, but, as a destructive weapon, should only be used as a last resort.

The fast firing rate and high mass of the Flail make it great for changing the velocity vector of an enemy fighter or bomber. It is slightly more effective than the Avenger against shields, rated at damage/second. Its low energy consumption rate makes it useful for prolonged engagements. Note, however, that once you have taken out an enemy's shields, switching to another weapon is advised.

Command Brief Animation

Performance

Statistics

Name	GTW Flail
Range	1 200 m
Rate of fire	6.67 s-1
Velocity	1000 ms-1
Damage	12
Armor damage	1.5
Shield damage	12
Subsystem damage	0.6

Additional properties

• Weapon is a primary cannon (Primary weapon)

Compatibility

The following table refers to weapons compatibility in singleplayer, and does not reflect the compatibility of dogfight variants in multiplayer. A ✓ mark indicates that a ship can mount the weapon, whereas an ✗ mark indicates that it cannot.

Compatibility
Ship Class	Compatible
GTF Apollo	✓
GTF Ulysses	✓
GTF Valkyrie	✗
GTF Hercules	✓
GTF Loki	✓
GTB Athena	✓
GTB Zeus	✓
GTB Medusa	✗
GTB Ursa	✓

Notes

Veteran Comments

Please read the Veteran Comments policy before editing this section.

FS2 veterans playing FS1 retroactively via the Port have a surprise in store with the Flail. This weapon isn't a mere knock-around gun like the Morning Star. It boasts useful shield and subsystem damage values in addition to its ability to knock an opponent silly. The Flail's high rate of fire also makes it much more useful than most guns when installed in the offset triple-rack of an Ursa bomber. It can still be used against subsystems to good effect, and with all the shots you're putting out, it's much easier to find a way to make an enemy fighter fly through them.

Great for close-up fighting, it can be a very frustrating experience to continually be hit with this cannon. It is possible to paralyze an opponent with the proper angle of fire, and render them near-helpless to your missile volleys. With almost as much shield damage as the Banshee, it will peel the shields right off of the target, but it is next to useless on hull plating... so be sure to couple it with another weapon.

Best anti-lag weapon in FS1: highly recommended for multiplayer.

Great fun, your target never gets the chance to hit you, not to mention the amusement you get from rag dolling a fighter. Team it up with the Avenger, Banshee or Prometheus to beat your target's hull, found it easier to use than the Morning Star.

The Flail is fun to use, but its efficiency against waves of bombers is low. I would recommend changing it to Avengers or Prometheus cannons if they are available, simply because your "kills over time" rate is better. If your goal is to defer the arrival of the next bomber wave, give a try to the Flail although it might needlessly elongate the mission or, under some weird circumstances, break it. If you do like using the Flail, increase your primary energy recharge rate as the Flail is not as power-efficient as the Avenger, and you're attacking bombers with it anyway, so having little energy on your engines will not disturb you.

Any fighter that uses the Flail in combination with twin Interceptor missiles is extremely lethal.