A heavy automatic cannon, the Auto-Cannon is available to purchase from the start of the conflict.
The auto-cannon is almost identical to its vanilla counterpart. The primary two changes is that this weapons explosive ammo must be researched before it can be purchased, and that the weapon can be upgraded to fire alloy ammunition, which provides a +10 damage bonus compared to regular armour piercing ammo.
The auto-cannon is a respectfully powerful weapon, the weapons AP/Alloy ammo deals above average damage per shot, and the unlockable explosive ammunition can be effective for clearing terrain and contending with early game Reapers. In terms of accuracy, this weapon is almost on par with its heavier cousin, the Heavy Cannon and the humble Rifle. The core weakness of this weapon is its heavy weight for the gun and its ammunition, making it prohibitive for many soldiers to carry in the early game. The high risk of friendly fire from explosive rounds is also a major concern.
To best use this weapon its suggested to make usage of its auto-fire mode and explosive ammunition in close to mid range combat, two high explosive rounds that hit close to an early game alien is virtually guaranteed to score a kill. Be wary that over usage of explosive ammunition is likely to destroy alien corpses and risks destroying alien equipment, which could represent a major loss of revenue. However circumstances where monetary concerns are minimal, such as Alien Base Assaults or Terror Missions, then this weapon makes for an excellent addition.
If you preference the usage of snap shots, the Heavy Cannon may be a superior alternative due to its higher damage potential. Or the Rifle for higher and more accurate volume of fire and less dangerous friendly fire risks.
Statistics
Power: Dependent
Size: 3 high x 2 wide
Weight: 16
TUs:
Auto: 40% (Accuracy 40%)
Snap: 33% (Accuracy 60%)
Aimed: 80% (Accuracy 90%)
Price: $13,500
Sell Price: $10,125
Minimum Range: 3 tiles
UFO Extender Accuracy values:
Snapshot Range: 22 tiles
Autofire Range: 12 tiles
Accuracy Dropoff: 4% per tile ouside of range.
Ammo
Armour Piercing Clip
Power: 42 Armor Piercing
Capacity: 14
Size: 1 high x 2 wide
Weight: 5
Price: $500
Sell Price: $400
Alloy Ammo Clip
Power: 63 Armor Piercing
Capacity: 14
Size: 1 high x 2 wide
Weight: 5
Manufacturing: $3,000 for parts, 1 Alien Alloys, 50 Engineering Hours
The following lists how many times a soldier can fire the gun by shot type continuously in any given round and the remaining percentage of any left over TUs that cannot be spent as a shot.
