Guns and Ammo
By Chris Zimmerman
Despite the inherent talents of Darkwatch™ headliner Jericho Cross—berserker rage, lightning summoning, and essence-draining abilities—the human/vampire bandit still relies mostly on good, old-fashioned firepower when dispensing with his undead opponents. And why not? It wouldn't be an authentic Old West shootout without a huge array of hyper-kinetic guns for you to employ against skeletons, banshees, and animated corpses. As a member of a millennia-old secret society dedicated to protecting humanity from the supernatural, you have quite a selection of one-of-a-kind, occult-fueled ordnance at your disposal. Here's a look inside your armory:
The revolver—simple, but deadly.
Redeemer Revolver
This is a standard-issue pistol—aside, of course, from the built-in option to fan the hammer. Rat-tat-tat! It quickly expends an entire clip in machine gun-style fashion. The most common weapon you encounter, it also packs surprising stopping power and blows the arms, legs, and heads clean off opponents. The accuracy's not so great, however, especially if you go the rapid-fire route. But at point-blank range, well … adios, amigos.
Bring baddies down from a distance with the carbine.
Blackfish Carbine
A modified musket that's been turned into a breach-loading repeater, the carbine has decent range and stopping power. Employ this firearm to eliminate distant gunmen with just a couple of shots. Also useful in close-quarters melee, thanks to a solid heft and (more importantly) bladed handle.
Use the rifle to keep enemies in your sights.
Carson Range Rifle
Equally capable of taking out a vampire or enemy-spawning mark of evil at 200 paces, this one's light on damage potential but great for keeping your distance while harassing adversaries. Hitting the mark's a little difficult—it's not the most on-target option—but an integrated sniper scope more than makes up for any shortcomings.
Talk about shotgun diplomacy.
Argus Shotgun
Forget sawed-off alternatives—this sucker sports four beautiful barrels and one wicked six-inch blade. Save it for use when standing toe-to-toe against a powerful baddie. Two barrels deploy at any given time, spewing flesh-shredding rounds, while the second pair simultaneously reloads. Spread effects are decent, but face it—it's far more fun emptying the chamber right into a zombie's rotting chest.
Time to get medieval with the crossbow.
Dual Crossbow
Arrows make an excellent delivery platform for explosives. The crossbow's triggers fire two projectiles almost simultaneously, so launch your quarrels from a distance and watch enemies ignite. Extremely powerful, it's also highly dangerous; once struck, victims tend to run around wildly, effectively doubling as suicide bombers. Stay far away.
Hey, kids, can you say "kaboom?"
Rail Rocket
A wicked twist on a naval signal cannon, this inspired invention hurls mortars great distances. Steer the fired projectiles while in flight, tracking opponents who turn and flee as certain doom approaches. For close-range combat though, stick with its ability to double as a melee weapon, lest you too suffer the ravages of explosive effects.
TNT … it's dy-no-mite!
Dynamite
More effective than a bullet against adversaries, dynamite's also more difficult to use against them, thanks to its delayed damage effects. Foes scatter once you've lit the fuse; wise players vacate the area as well, or risk being blown to bits.
Bust out your gat on them fools …
Gatling Turret
The turret is an upgrade on the garden-variety Gatling gun, which improves its overall rate of fire. This is most commonly found mounted on mobile vehicles such as the coyote steam wagon. You can't throw, jump, or use Blood Vision while manning one, but an unlimited ammo supply more than makes up for any strategic limitations.
Guaranteed to deliver one-shot kills.
Cannon Turret
Reach out and crush someone with this massively potent weapon. Granted, it has its downsides, such as slow movement speeds, poor turning ability, and blind spots. Still, hit anything with it once, and trust me … that undead cowboy won't get up. Find these aboard Darkwatch trains and steam wagons. Stationary turrets sporting an unlimited number of cannonballs are also a common sight in multiplayer match-ups.
The scepter can be a royal pain.
Darkwatch Scepter
Use this viciously spiked and bladed bad boy—a weapon fit for a king—to crown your opponents or cleave them in twain. Originally offered as an instructional tool for use in the Darkwatch Training Maze, you're also sure to stumble across samples out in the field. An option of last resort in story mode, scepters gain considerable power in multiplayer rounds of Capture the Flag, where they serve as both flag and melee weapon.
Two barrels are better than one.
Warmaker Pistols
Not so hot in terms of stopping power or ammo capacity, these dual pistols are great for sapping an approaching foe's health via a series of alternating shots, which do considerable damage when suffered in rapid succession. Once up close, ailing foes are dispatched with a quick one-two punch melee strike.
