MercTech: Gauss Rifles

General Overview
Gauss Rifles in Merctech function identically to their vanilla counterparts, but are available in a range of different calibers, from 200mm to 500mm, depending on the variant. Merctech adds new variants of the Gauss Rifle that were introduced after the Clan Invasion.

Gauss Rifle:
Developed during the Star League-era, the Gauss Rifle would cement itself as being a true mech killer. Unlike other ballistic weapons, which use explosive propellants to launch their projectiles, Gauss Rifles use a series of electromagnets to propel a magnetic slug at hypersonic speeds. Because of this method of firing, Gauss Rifles deal horrendous damage at significantly longer ranges than a comparatively heavy autocannon, while generating virtually no heat. Even its magnetic ammunition, since it contains no explosive propellant, will not explode if struck or heated. The only significant drawback to this weapon is the fragile capacitors used to charge the weapon, as they can detonate if they sustain enough damage.

While the Inner Sphere would lose the knowhow to produce the Gauss Rifle during the Succession Wars, the Clans would refine the weapon, making it more compact and significantly lighter than the old Star League's models. The Inner Sphere would rediscover Gauss Rifle technology thanks to the uncovering of the Helm Memory Core by the Grey Death Legion, and would re-enter production just before the Clans would invade. During the technological renaissance of the after-invasion period, new variations of the Gauss Rifle would appear.

Light Gauss Rifle:
Wanting to match the weight of the Clan Gauss Rifle for use on lighter units, House Marik scientists created what is essentially a downsized Gauss Rifle. While lighter and smaller than the standard weapon, the Light Gauss Rifle fires significantly smaller projectiles that deal nearly half the latter's damage, although it has an even greater effective range, can carry a large amount of ammunition per ton, and is less volatile if the capacitors detonate.

Heavy Gauss Rifle:
While House Marik scientists wanted a lighter Gauss Rifle, House Steiner scientists went the opposite route. Under the typical Lyran mantra of "bigger is better", they created an upscaled Gauss Rifle capable of dethroning the mighty class 20 autocannon for sheer damage potential. Unfortunately, there are a number of significant drawbacks for this kind of firepower, as the slugs it fires are not only exceedingly heavy, but aerodynamically inefficient, leading to a rapid decrease in kinetic damage as the slug travels. In addition, the weapon itself is among the heaviest and largest ever mounted on a battlemech, limiting its use to only heavier units. Finally, due to the sheer size of the capacitors, they will deal significant damage to internals should they detonate.

Additional notes:
Due to the effectiveness of gauss-type weapons, it has become the subject of numerous reported experiments throughout the Inner Sphere, and even the Clans.

One is confirmed as the Magshot, a significantly downsized Gauss weapon being tested in the Solaris Arenas. The weapon has yet to enter production due to an ongoing corporate espionage lawsuit, although it seems likely that it will begin production in the future.

Another experiment is reported to be a Gauss Rifle modified to fire LBX-style cluster munitions.

There are reports of attempts by Lyran scientists to rectify the range issues of the Heavy Gauss Rifle, with the resulting weapon apparently even heavier than the original.

Among the Clans, there are two rumored types of Gauss weapons that involve rapid-fire systems in testing, one as a battle armor-scale Gauss machine gun, and another being a mech-scale, multi-barrel weapon.