Flak Cannon

Flak Cannon
Lore info
Ammunition	Flak Shells
Game info
Type	Projectile
Appears in	Unreal Unreal Tournament Unreal Mission Pack: Return to Na Pali Unreal Championship Unreal Tournament 2003 Unreal Tournament 2004 Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict Unreal Tournament 3 Unreal Tournament 4
Properties
Primary Fire	Shrapnel spread
Primary Fire	Shrapnel spread
Secondary Fire	Mortar
Secondary Fire	Mortar

The Flak Cannon is a weapon in the Unreal series. It is present in all Unreal games with the exception of Unreal II: The Awakening.

Overview

In general, the primary fire launches flak shell shards, and the secondary fire launches a flak shell bomb. The primary differences between the Flak Cannon's incarnations are the damage it causes, the number of times the flak shards bounce, and the distance the flak bomb flies.

Across all the games, several key components of the Flak Cannon remain the same. Mainly, all Flak Cannons have a "bumblebee yellow" coloration, slight wear, and the fact of the flak shell always visible.

Unreal and Return to Na Pali

Flak Cannon
Game info
Type	Projectile
Properties
Primary Fire	80-180
Primary Fire	80-180
Secondary Fire	220 max
Secondary Fire	220 max
Ammo
Weapon Ammo	10
Weapon Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10
Maximum Ammo	50
Maximum Ammo	50

"The somewhat cumbersome Flak Cannon uses jagged shards of metal for ammunition. Don’t let its lack of pyrotechnic flash fool you: a little shrapnel can dish out a hell of a lot of damage.

Primary Fire: Extremely fast spray of shrapnel, which ricochet off walls, ceilings and floors.
Secondary Fire: Large shrapnel-filled shell explodes on impact, spraying shrapnel in all directions."

– Unreal manual

In Unreal, it was the replacement for the Quadshot. It had one metal extension connecting the weapon together.

Unreal Tournament

Flak Cannon
Game info
Type	Projectile
Properties
Primary Fire	24-192
Primary Fire	24-192
Secondary Fire	225 max
Secondary Fire	225 max
Ammo
Weapon Ammo	10
Weapon Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10
Maximum Ammo	50
Maximum Ammo	50
Death Message	"& was ripped to shreds by &'s Flak Cannon."
Death Message	"& was ripped to shreds by &'s Flak Cannon."

"Primary Fire: Fires chunks of hot jagged shrapnel.
Secondary Fire: Lobs a shrapnel grenade that explodes on impact.

This portable enemy blender can deliver instant death at any range. While the rate of fire is slow, the Flak Cannon’s destructive power is formidable. The primary fire discharges a concentrated explosion containing several pounds of jagged metal shrapnel. At point-blank range, the result is usually lethal. The secondary fire launches a shrapnel grenade that explodes on impact. Few opponents survive a direct hit from a Flak Cannon grenade."

– UT manual

Classification

Heavy Shrapnel

Primary Fire

White hot chunks of scrap metal spray out in a wide spread. (8 shrapnels shoot out per shot, each does 24 damage)

Secondary Fire

A flak grenade is launched out of the gun with a high arc, which will inflict 105 damage on impact in its center with an explosion and spawning 5 flak shrapnels.

Tactics

The Flak Cannon is useful for close combat situations as well as bouncing around corners.

In Unreal Tournament, this weapon acts (and has always acted) as a close-combat weapon. Visually, 2 connectors are used, along with a lighter shade of yellow.

The Flak Cannon is one easy weapon to shred your enemies at close quarters. The primary fire launches linear shrapnels that can deplete any armor and kill the target with a single, or a maximum of 2 hits. The secondary fire hurls a chunk of molten metal at mid-range, which provides splash damage enough to kill one or two players. The secondary fire can also be useful to shoot enemies sitting behind cover. With an ammo capacity of 50, this weapon is handy in a Deathmatch, but need not to be, as in Assault matches.

Unreal Championship and Unreal Tournament 2003/2004

Flak Cannon
UT2003/4
Game info
Type	Projectile
Properties
Primary Fire	30-192 (UC) 13-117 (UT2003/UT2004)
Primary Fire	30-192 (UC) 13-117 (UT2003/UT2004)
Secondary Fire	222 (UC) 90-168 (UT2003/UT2004)
Secondary Fire	222 (UC) 90-168 (UT2003/UT2004)
Ammo
Weapon Ammo	15
Weapon Ammo	15
Pickup Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10
Maximum Ammo	50 (UT2003) 35 (UT2004)
Maximum Ammo	50 (UT2003) 35 (UT2004)
Death Message	"%o was shredded by %k's flak cannon. (Primary) %o was ripped to shreds by %k's shrapnel. (Secondary)"
Death Message	"%o was shredded by %k's flak cannon. (Primary) %o was ripped to shreds by %k's shrapnel. (Secondary)"

"Trident Defensive Technologies Series 7 Flechette Cannon has been taken to the next step in evolution with the production of the "Mk3 Negotiator." The ionized flechettes are capable of delivering second- and third-degree burns to organic tissue and cauterizing the wound instantly. Payload delivery is achieved via one of two methods: ionized flechettes launched in a spread pattern directly from the barrel; or via fragmentation grenades that explode on impact, radiating flechettes in all directions."

– Weapon description

Primary Fire

White hot chunks of scrap metal are sprayed forth, shotgun style. The chunks glow as they do in UT, but they also create a trail of yellow behind all the chunks, making it easier to see. The damage they do goes down over their flight time, but a point-blank shot is extremely deadly. This fire mode fires 9 shards that do 13 damage each.

Secondary Fire

A grenade full of shrapnel is lobbed at the enemy, spraying shrapnel in all directions upon detonating. If you're lucky some of the shards it sprays upon detonation will hit your enemies, causing further damage. This means that sometimes you can kill someone with 100 health with a single flak shell even though the shell itself is only supposed to do 90 damage max.

The Flak Cannon in UT2003 is very similar to the one of |UT2004. The only difference is that it generally fires faster and has a slightly bigger arc of the alternate fire. It also has more ammo so it wouldn't be out of ammo too soon, keeping in mind the increase of the speed.

In UT2004, there's hardly a difference between it and the Flak Cannon in UT99 other than a visual change. It had visible circuitry, a TC-036B decal on the front, and 3 connectors on the weapon. Also, the 'weapon equip" animation was simplified to just a pull-out, with the Flak Shell seemingly always there.

Even though not much is known about the Flak Cannon of Unreal Championship, it is supposed to be very similar to the Unreal Tournament 2003 version. Only the appearance differs; it looks like something between Unreal Tournament's Flak Cannon (the 1st person view) and the Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004 model (the 3rd person view) as its back, where the remaining ammo amount was displayed in UT, is left from Unreal Tournament, and the overall looks are updated to be similar to Unreal Tournament 2003 model.

Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

Flak Cannon
Game info
Type	Projectile
Properties
Primary Fire	16
Primary Fire	16
Secondary Fire	80
Secondary Fire	80
Ammo
Death Message	"%o got covered in %k's chunks. (Primary) %o saw %k's smiley face. (Secondary)"
Death Message	"%o got covered in %k's chunks. (Primary) %o saw %k's smiley face. (Secondary)"

"The Flak Cannon was first employed against humans during the suppression of the Green's World Rebellion. Alt-fire lobs a deadly explosive shell. Primary fire detonates the shell in the barrel to fire a spread of hot metal fragments."

– Weapon description

Primary Fire

Fires shards of flak from a pre-exploded shell. The fragments can bounce off of walls and move slowly, so they are easily reflected. They also glow so they are highly visible.

Secondary Fire

A grenade full of shrapnel is lobbed at the enemy, spraying shrapnel in all directions upon detonating. If you're lucky some of the shards it sprays upon detonation will hit your enemies, causing further damage. Difficult to reflect because of it's heavy trajectory.

Unreal Tournament 3

Flak Cannon
Game info
Type	Projectile
Properties
Primary Fire	up to ~184 up to ~147 (vehicles)
Primary Fire	up to ~184 up to ~147 (vehicles)
Secondary Fire	100-190
Secondary Fire	100-190
Ammo
Weapon Ammo	10
Weapon Ammo	10
Pickup Ammo	10 (Version 1.0-1.3) 8 (As of Version 2.0)
Pickup Ammo	10 (Version 1.0-1.3) 8 (As of Version 2.0)
Maximum Ammo	30
Maximum Ammo	30

"Trident Defensive Technologies continues to tweak and refine the flak cannon with their newly released Mk4 "Peacekeeper." In spite of its new name, the flak cannon remains banned from most military conflicts for high incidences of maiming and collateral damage. Still, the flak cannon is the weapon of choice for unconventional warfare in urban terrain. The primary mode detonates the flak shell in the barrel, launching shrapnel forward in a deadly shotgun pattern but often deafening the operator. The cannon also lobs an explosive flak shell that detonates on contact, sending shrapnel in a dangerously wide and unpredictable radius."

– Weapon description

Primary Fire

White hot chunks of scrap metal are sprayed forth, shotgun style. The chunks glow as they do in UT, but they also create a trail of yellow-red behind all the chunks, making it easier to see.

Secondary Fire

A grenade full of shrapnel is lobbed at the enemy, spraying shrapnel in all directions upon detonating. If you're lucky some of the shards it sprays upon detonation will hit your enemies, causing further damage.

The Flak Cannon returns, and it's just as devastating as ever. It has been upgraded to make it more powerful. It had received the biggest overhaul of the Flak Cannon's visual look, replacing the front component with 4 sub-pieces that expand slightly upon equipping the Flak Cannon, the Flak shell shrinking greatly, and a less rifle-related look on the weapon compared to the previous editions.

Unreal Tournament 4

Flak Cannon
Game info
Type	Projectile
Ammo
Maximum Ammo	24
Maximum Ammo	24

"The primary fire mode of the Flak Cannon fires metal shards. The secondary fire mode launches an explosive shell at an arc."

– Weapon description

Primary fire

Shoots a quick burst of shrapnel that ricochets off of surfaces. Extremely deadly up close and in tight environments, less effective at longer ranges. Beware of backsplash!

Alternate fire

Lobs an entire shell in a medium range arc. Harder to predict but extremely deadly in direct aspect. If the shell explodes at the environment it causes a shrapnel splash explosion.

Tips - Shrapnel jumping

Shooting a shell into the ground while close by will propel you upwards. This comes at a large cost to health, so it should be used wisely.

The Flak Cannon makes a return in UT4, with an appearance reminiscent to the UT00-era Flak Cannon.

The primary fire sprays forth white hot chunks of scrap metal, shotgun style. The secondary fire lobs a grenade full of shrapnel at an opponent, spraying shrapnel in all directions upon detonating. The shards it sprays upon detonation may hit your enemies, causing further damage.

Tips and tricks

• For more power, do not fire the flak shells at the walls to reflect into enemies, as it makes them weaker and less accurate. Also don't fire from long range, as the pellets get less accurate over time. Just rush up to the enemy, face forwards, and shoot them to death for best results. If you HAVE to kill them from long range you can use the alt fire anyways, remember that in UT3-4 the "grande" one-shots people without a shield in a direct hit.

Unreal

• Use this on enemies like Titans, Brutes, Skaarj, and even Spinners.

Unreal Championship

"The flak cannon is the deadliest close-range weapon. Its one-hit kill makes it hard to beat in close quarters, and the secondary fire is just as deadly at medium range.
It’s of little use at long range, however, and must be used with care in tight spaces. Flak can ricochet back at you.

The primary fire is like a shotgun blast. It spreads out in the shape of a cone. At near ranges, it turns opponents into pulp. Hold your fire until you see the whites of their eyes for one-shot kills.

The secondary fire lobs a flak grenade that explodes with a tight blast radius. Hitting an enemy dead-on usually results in a one-shot kill. When the enemy is too far away to wipe out with the primary fire, switch to the secondary blast. Don’t aim at the feet, though. A direct hit is far more effective.

Rocket launchers are most useful in tight maps and in areas that are well traveled. The flak cannon is exceptionally useful in tight quarters, where it gives you a great chance of surprising an enemy up close. You can also do damage to groups by firing off the flak cannon in the midst of a battle.
The Flak Cannon is inefficient in multilevel warfare. It’s difficult to hit foes above you, and the secondary fire’s splash damage isn’t strong enough to do much damage when fired from above.
Know your distances, which tell you which attack to use. Aim for the upper torso and don’t be afraid to wait until you get a good, close shot. Your enemy goes down with a single blast."

– Unreal Championship Prima's Official Strategy Guide

Trivia

• With the absence of the Ripper from UT2003 and UT2004, the Flak Cannon's primary firing mode was given an extra boost in its reflective physical properties.
• According to information in Unreal Championship 2, the Flak Cannon was first employed against humans during the suppression of the Green's World Rebellion in 2267.
• In Unreal and Return to Na Pali, due to a bug, enemies such as Skaarj will not dodge the flak shells fired by the Flak Cannon. This makes the Flak Cannon's alt-fire highly effective against certain types of enemies.
  • This is due to bAltWarnTarget being set to false in the weapon's code, a bug that was introduced in a patch on an unknown date.
• According to Jack Porter, the game's AI was punishing on lower difficulty levels when holding the gun, so Steven Polge came with the idea of them firing few Flak pieces.

Preview Notes

Unreal Tournament 2003

"The flak cannon has always been regarded as a "spam" weapon. To reduce this effect, the new flak fires in a more compact pattern, and deflects off of objects only once. After taking a few blasts from this gun, I can assure you it still gets the job done, but requires a little more skill to utilize it effectively. In addition, the secondary trigger still launches those smiley faced little explosive balls of death."

– Unreal Playground

"The weapons have been retuned to be less "spammy" in terms of causing lots of area-effect damage. The flak gun has a lot fewer flak bits bouncing around randomly, and it's now possible to shoot a flak canister in midair to make it explode prematurely."

– GameSpot

Gallery

First-person view in Unreal

First-person view in Unreal Tournament

First-person view in UT2003/UT2004

Promo art for Unreal Tournament 3

Secret Flak Cannon in Unreal

Concept art for Unreal Championship 2: The Liandri Conflict

UT3 Concept Art

UT3 Promotional Render

Unreal Tournament Flak cannon guide

UT4 Flak Cannon guide

Unreal Tournament concept art