Slugthrower popularity...why?

[Ice]

What is with the slugthrower popularity here? Slugthrowers are supposed to be rare in this genre. Rare because blasters are more powerful, ammo is cheaper and by far easier to find. Most blaster clips can actually be recharged. Slugthrower ammo would be expensive and difficult to come by in SW. Can someone offer a reason outside of it being difficult for a Jedi/Sith to defend against, for the reason slugthrowers here are so prolific? Because honestly, most characters in SW would never be engaging Jedi/Sith.

So against a normal person with a blaster. Someone with a slugthrower is going to constantly be at a severe disadvantage, considering armor is designed to repel the more potent and powerful blaster rounds....

I'm just curious as to why people would do this to their characters.

 

[Barkt Melan]

[member="Ice"]
It's harder to block with a lightsaber.

 

[Mrrew]

^^^^^^^^^^^​

​

​

edit: Actually, I like it because of the specialty ammo oppurtunities.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Ice"]

If you think about mechanics as far as slughtrowers heres my assessment.

A blaster bolt travels at the speed of light but is only comprised of energy, thus when it impacts the energy can dissipate. From my understanding a beam of energy is almost weightless and while it can kill you and punch through armor it can be deflected with a handwave from force users or shields.

Now with slugthrowers there is kinetic force and weight to the round, which means even if your armor repels it, you will feel the kinetic force behind it. For example a military ballistics plate will absorb a direct hit, but it will still knock you on your behind.

Plus think about it. One EMP grenade and your blaster can get fried.

 

[Darth Carnifex]

Because.

 

[Laith Varad*]

Honestly you could reasonably argue several factors count towards slugthrower use on this board. I'd say one possibility is that due to the timeline, the Gulag Plague and Dark times, having occurred slugthrower technology may have become somewhat more prominent again. It's not inconceivable to think that when the Gulag Plague was running rampant and many worlds isolated themselves that technology essentially reversed itself to a degree and more advanced technology started to fall into disuse in favor of more primitive technology. That's not even far fetched considering it has happened in the real history of the world; look at the Dark Ages as a key example. Now that the Gulag Plague has ended advanced technology is being used again but that doesn't mean other technology would simply fade out.

Also, I think people tend to favor slugthrowers when it comes to engaging force users in combat. Not long ago I read a point that blaster fire can be followed and is easier for a force user to defend against with a lightsaber, etc, while a slug is essentially invisible once fired meaning you may have a slight advantage in combat. I'm not advocating for the use of one over the other merely giving a perception of what could be occurring.

Would slugthrowers actually be more expensive than blaster weapons? Difficult to say. In the real world economy depending on where you live you can buy an AK-47 from as low as it would cost to buy a McDonalds Happy Meal in a third world country to $50 in a developed nation. Better technology, easier manufacturing capabilities, etc and you have to believe the creating of slugthrower weapons would probably cost almost nothing if done economically. Ammunition would fall under much the same category.

 

[Captain Larraq]

What is with the slugthrower popularity here? Slugthrowers are supposed to be rare in this genre. Rare because blasters are more powerful, ammo is cheaper and by far easier to find. Most blaster clips can actually be recharged. Slugthrower ammo would be expensive and difficult to come by in SW. Can someone offer a reason outside of it being difficult for a Jedi/Sith to defend against, for the reason slugthrowers here are so prolific? Because honestly, most characters in SW would never be engaging Jedi/Sith.

So against a normal person with a blaster. Someone with a slugthrower is going to constantly be at a severe disadvantage, considering armor is designed to repel the more potent and powerful blaster rounds....

I'm just curious as to why people would do this to their characters.

Because the Mandalorians are special snowflakes that like the sound and feel of good, solid, kinetic weaponry.

And in space... Kinetic weapons are terrifying.

 

[Ice]

[member="Colap Ticon"]

There are plenty examples of personal shields that stop kinetic slugthrower rounds as well though, including the force behind the round. Same as shields that stop blaster rounds. The EMP grenade is a good reason to have a sidearm that is a slugthrower. But I still don't understand making it the primary weapon. The rounds would still be expensive and difficult to find. And once you're out of ammo, it's not like you can just pop into any store and pick up some more.

If RPed correctly, I think people would be ditching their slugthrowers rather rapidly, when they found themselves unable to fire back cuz they couldn't find more ammo.

 

[Nyxie]

[member="Ice"]
I have had to answer this question more times than I can remember - sadly, the answer wasn't remembered quite as thoroughly.

For one, they don't shoot glowsticks of doom.

They don't make dorky peeeeeeeeeeeew sounds as they travel like the resonance of a blaster bolt.

Solid ammunition has different kinds of energy transfer than a blaster bolt; namely kinetic and ablative, rather than heat, and the differences can be night and day.

OOCly: People are nostalgic and we don't live in a world full of blasters, but solid slug firearms - that's something everyone understands.

They're somewhat more effective against lightsaber-armed opponents... though hardly the "most" effective weapon type (ACP or PB are canonically better at this).

A blaster bolt can stun or kill, but any standardized firearm can pack numerous magazines and munitions suited for a plethora of different roles - from darts to stun to ring heads to hollow point to acid(canon) to flamethrower and beyond.

Overall, they do serve certain niches that blasters do not, and a lot of Roleplay happens to cover said niches since, as has been expressed countless times in countless conversations in the past, we only roleplay the heroes and what have you; much of the "real" content is just background fluff to us.

 

[RC 212]

[member="Ice"]

Ammo would actually be fairly easy to make yourself considering the amount of metal alloys and different new chemical compositions found in the SW universe.

 

[Noah Corek]

[member="Ice"]
Personally I don't see where people keep getting the fact that its easier to produce, from my POV, slugthrowers parts would be easier to make, if they are stamped parts like the AK-47. Also for me the rate of fire that a slugthrower can put out and the fact that it is harder to block than a lightsaber makes it a great Anti-Force User weapon. There is also the fact that [member="Mrrew"] mentioned, you can make the slugs everything you wanted, Armor Piercing, Explosive, Poisoned and everything in between.

 

[Ak'lya]

Why do I personally?

Because it came issued. I got it for free. Otherwise, shatter rifles (WHOLE other story there) and blasters for me. I only have a three-shot burst, silenced gun.

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

Now with slugthrowers there is kinetic force and weight to the round, which means even if your armor repels it, you will feel the kinetic force behind it. For example a military ballistics plate will absorb a direct hit, but it will still knock you on your behind.

actually star wars blasters are more a combined plasma/light burst than anything, and it's been more than heavily implied it imparts kinetic force on impact. All that energy releasing is explosive and it's why people are thrown back by blaster bolts. So, really, one could argue that blasters transfer kinetic impact just as well as a slugthrower.

Sarge keeps a slugthrower sidearm on hand, however, just in case. He uses slugthrowers because, during the plague, he was an assassin. That meant needing to be quiet more often than not. Blasters aren't quiet.

He's been known to use blasters though. Specifically an old DC-15A. They're good, reliable weapons with solid damage potential. Just for what he was doing with his life the slugthrower made more sense.

 

[Ice]

Honestly you could reasonably argue several factors count towards slugthrower use on this board. I'd say one possibility is that due to the timeline, the Gulag Plague and Dark times, having occurred slugthrower technology may have become somewhat more prominent again. It's not inconceivable to think that when the Gulag Plague was running rampant and many worlds isolated themselves that technology essentially reversed itself to a degree and more advanced technology started to fall into disuse in favor of more primitive technology. That's not even far fetched considering it has happened in the real history of the world; look at the Dark Ages as a key example. Now that the Gulag Plague has ended advanced technology is being used again but that doesn't mean other technology would simply fade out.

Also, I think people tend to favor slugthrowers when it comes to engaging force users in combat. Not long ago I read a point that blaster fire can be followed and is easier for a force user to defend against with a lightsaber, etc, while a slug is essentially invisible once fired meaning you may have a slight advantage in combat. I'm not advocating for the use of one over the other merely giving a perception of what could be occurring.

Would slugthrowers actually be more expensive than blaster weapons? Difficult to say. In the real world economy depending on where you live you can buy an AK-47 from as low as it would cost to buy a McDonalds Happy Meal in a third world country to $50 in a developed nation. Better technology, easier manufacturing capabilities, etc and you have to believe the creating of slugthrower weapons would probably cost almost nothing if done economically. Ammunition would fall under much the same category.

Hmm. Now this is an interesting argument. Nice. I'd probably agree with you during the gulag plague when everything was falling to pieces. But this is hundreds of years later, and everything (more or less) has restabilized. (albeit with less people. haha) Blasters and their ammunition would still be cheaper and by fair easier to produce though. So i'd imagine hundreds of years after the plague, blaster would have returned to prominence.

Not only that, but you can make blaster rounds invisible. Just head on over to STI, link below, and see. (Sorry shameless plug) lol

Because the Mandalorians are special snowflakes that like the sound and feel of good, solid, kinetic weaponry.

And in space... Kinetic weapons are terrifying.

lol Now i won't deny the sound and feel of a good slugthrower is hard to beat!

 

[Seris Vant]

As everyone says, slugs just serve niche purposes. They're better than a blaster against a Force user or saber wielder because of speed and being unable to see it. And the materials can vary extremely, as well as type.

Can you imaging a cortise tipped explosive round being used against a Jedi. If his saber catches it mid air, it's deactivated and continues onwards (Less speed though), but then explodes on him. And most don't wear super heavy armor.

[member="Colap Ticon"]

A blaster bolt doesn't travel at the speed of light. If it did. We wouldn't be using slugthrowers against Jedi, or at all. Cause he's dead before he blinks, let alone moves.

 

[Ak'lya]

[member="Ice"]
The original Nightstinger was better.

And my version can get through Spaceport security

 

[Sarge Potteiger]

cortise tipped

Wouldn't work. Cortosis is hilariously brittle and there wouldn't be anywhere near the quantity needed in just the tip to deactivate a lightsaber. And, even if it did, it would still be melted through it's contact with the saber, thus making it hilariously ineffective at penetrating whatever armor the FU happens to be wearing. A neat idea, but one that in practice would have... less than stellar results.

 

[Raziel]

Because no one has to roleplay about slogging it out on foot for a protracted campaign.

Most infantry would use blasters simply because the size and weight characteristics of a blaster's power packs is an order of magnitude less than that for black powder weaponry.

 

[Raziel]

If you want to make a weapon that's hard to block, gaffer tape three blasters together and fire simultaneously. Try blocking that with a long, thin stick.

 

[Meanken]

If you want to make a weapon that's hard to block, gaffer tape three blasters together and fire simultaneously. Try blocking that with a long, thin stick.

Why not just use a shotgun? I'm assuming something like that exists in Star Wars.

[member="Raziel"]