Omneco LRG HEL Rifle

Note: this gun was removed in rundown 4 but added back in rundown 5.

A semi-automatic hybrid electrothermal light-gas gun that fills the special weapons slot.

Description
It is one of the first weapons, alongside the HEL Gun, to be released featuring piercing rounds and bullet penetration. It was was released in the Rundown 003 / The Vessel update as a rundown specific weapon.

Gameplay
Compared to its sister weapon, the HEL Gun, the HEL Rifle functions as a sniper, serving as an alternative to the Köning PR 11 Sniper Rifle. Unlike the HEL Gun, the HEL Rifle will one-shot Strikers anywhere in the body, reducing the need for head shots. However, it will only one-shot Shooters in the head. In addition, unlike the Köning, it cannot one shot Big Strikers, even to the back of the head.

Its main and strongest quality is its bullet penetration, being able to kill multiple Strikers in a single shot. In terms of capabilities, it offers high damage and precision but suffers a low rate of fire as it has a very brief charge up time before each subsequent shot. In addition, its small magazine size and long reload make it a poor choice for waves although that can be somewhat rectified by good positioning to take advantage of the piercing rounds.

Fundamentally, the HEL Rifle is best used to pick off Scouts and in long straight passageways where its penetrative abilities wreak havoc. It is a suitable weapon for killing individual Strikers as it one shots them anywhere on the body - although if not using the penetrative effects this can be viewed as inefficient in terms of ammo.

Comparison to Köning PR 11 Sniper Rifle
While similar in range, damage, and combat role, the Köning and HEL Rifle differ in many ways. The most immediate difference is the total ammo count where the HEL Rifle pulls ahead with nearly twice as much total ammo and an additional shot in each mag. The Köning meanwhile has a much higher zoom on its scope and greater overall damage per shot, able to two shot Big Shooters in the head. Further below is a table of comparisons showing what locations on various enemies will cause an instant kill with one shot (if possible).

Comparison to HEL Gun
The biggest difference between the HEL Gun and the HEL Rifle is the latter's ability to one-shot Strikers in the body while the former possesses significantly more ammunition and more ammo per magazine making it more suited to waves than the HEL Rifle.

Versus Big Strikers
Against Big Strikers the HEL Rifle is a bit of a mixed bag. Its range and damage make it a good initial pick, but its propensity to blow entire chunks of the strikers' body parts off means follow up shots may miss, requiring aim correction to reduce time and ammo wasted. This is especially punishing considering the slow fire rate, small mag, and long reload. Put all of this together, and the HEL Rifle is best used with other supporting weapons when taking on Big Strikers/Shooters.

Overall
The HEL Rifle's high damage, range, accuracy, and bullet penetration makes it a good pick for rounding out a team's ranged options.

Pros

 * High damage.
 * Bullet penetration.
 * Long range.
 * Kills small strikers with one shot anywhere on the body.
 * Can penetrate and one shot a minimum of 3 small strikers with a single round*
 * Kills shooters with one shot to the head.
 * Kills scouts with one shot to the head.

* When tested the first striker was hit in the head and the subsequent collateral were both body shots

Cons

 * Low rate of fire.
 * Brief charge time between shots.
 * Low ammo capacity.
 * Small magazine size.
 * Long reload.