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The subject of this article appeared in Unreal Championship. The subject of this article appeared in Unreal Tournament 2003. The subject of this article appeared in Unreal Tournament 2004.

"The Ion Painter seems innocuous enough at first glance, emitting a harmless low-power laser beam when the primary firing mode is engaged. Several seconds later, a multi-gigawatt orbital ion cannon fires on the target, neutralizing any combatants in the vicinity. The Ion Painter is a remote targeting device used to orient and fire the VAPOR Ion Cannon. The Ion Painter offers increased targeting accuracy via its telescopic sight, easily activated by the secondary fire mode of the weapon. Once the Ion Painter has been used to designate a target, it is highly recommended that the user put considerable distance between themselves and the weapon’s area of effect."
Weapon description

The Ion Painter is a weapon appearing in Unreal Championship (under the name T.A.G. Rifle), Unreal Tournament 2003 and Unreal Tournament 2004.

Overview[]

The Ion Painter delivers a delayed but extremely powerful blast which appears to come out of the sky. Set a target or area up for a blast from above, pinpoint a target and use the ion painter’s primary fire to emit a low-power laser beam at the target. (The laser beam isn’t the weapon) After a few seconds, ion cannons from far above bombard the area with ionized plasma causing major area effect damage.

In Unreal Championship and Unreal Tournament 2003, the Ion Painter can usually be found in maps containing the Ion Cannon satellite. When attempting to mark a location, make sure the satellite has a line of sight to it. This isn't the case with Unreal Tournament 2004, where there must be a free line of sight upwards from the target location. Also, as a purely visual effect, there are up to three ion beams firing at the target location. The actual number of beams depends on the line of sight for the individual beams, but doesn't affect the damage output.

Tips and tricks[]

  • The Ion Painter's strategic use is normally confined to blowing up objectives or crowds of unheeding opponents.

Unreal Championship[]

"The deadliest weapon in Unreal Championship is the TAG rifle (Target Acquisition and Guidance). Hold the trigger down long enough for the nearest satellite to lock on your location. When it fires, it obliterates everything in a wide area.
It takes a while to lock on, however, and occasionally loses its lock when an enemy crosses the path. Be careful not to get caught in the blast yourself. You usually only get one shot.

The primary fire is a thin laser beam that, locked on to a spot on the ground, calls in a massive ion strike from a satellite overhead. Don’t aim at people or vertical surfaces. Find a good horizontal spot and try to lead your opponents so they’ll be hit as they cross the blast area.

The secondary trigger zooms your view to see faraway distances, allowing you to find a hiding place and target your enemy from relative safety. This is especially useful in very large maps. Don’t waste this feature by trying to rush shots from close range.

This weapon is most effective used from a considerable distance. You do the most damage if the enemy cannot see you or get to you in time.
The satellite cannot lock on to your TAG rifle beam through a roof, so don’t even bother trying this weapon indoors. You usually won’t find a TAG rifle in indoor environments, and couldn’t use it if you did.
Take into account the delay between the lock-on start and the ion burst, and aim at a well-traveled area rather than the place where your enemy is at the moment you pull the trigger."
Unreal Championship Prima Official Strategy Guide

Unreal Tournament 2004[]

  • It is also useful in clearing out defenders from a power node in Onslaught. It is also effective when used on an unshielded power core.

Trivia[]

  • In early Unreal Championship beta builds it fired rapid projectile laser bursts instead of the single hitscan targeting beam for the Ion Cannon.
  • T.A.G. in Unreal Championship stands for Target Acquisition and Guidance.
  • According to an interview with Juan Pancho 'XceptOne' Eekels, the weapon was still called T.A.G. Rifle until the very late stages of UT2003 development.[1]
  • The Ion Painter was originally planned to replace the Redeemer for Unreal Tournament 2003. However, the Redeemer still made a return.

Developer notes[]

"The Ion Cannon is a satelite up in the sky (in outdoor maps) that you activate by finding the TAG Rifle. With this TAG rifle you can paint your target so that the Ion Cannon up in the sky can allign itself to release this crazy beam of destruction."
Juan Pancho 'XceptOne' Eekels[1]

Preview Notes[]

Unreal Tournament 2003[]

"And then there is the Ion Cannon. This weapon replaces the Redeemer. I have been reading a lot about this weapon, but to see it live is incredible. You fire a beam to light up a spot, and an Ion beam is launched at that spot via satellite. The target must be within line of sight to the satellite, so, unlike the redeemer, this weapon does not work indoors. It will disintegrate anything within the immediate area. Now, when I say disintegrate, I mean it; it literally strips the flesh from the opponent, leaving only a skeleton to fall to the ground. Very impressive. I thought I was going to miss the Redeemer until I actually witnessed the effect of its successor."
Unreal Playground[2]
"There's also a new super weapon for outdoor maps, the tag rifle. If you look up into the sky, you can see a satellite laser platform, and all it takes to bring down a deadly blast is to paint a target with the tag rifle."
GameSpot[3]
"The guys at Digital Extremes also showed us one of the new weapons in the game: the Ion Cannon. Unlike the other weapons in the game, you don't actually wield the Ion Cannon itself -- it's a satellite that floats above the playfield and shoots an Ion beam that damages everything in a wide radius. And if your desired target is close to the center of the beam when it strikes, it will burn the flesh off the model, leaving only a burnt skeleton, which also follows the rag doll physics model as it crumples to the ground. Sounds great, huh? Well, there are a few drawbacks. To activate the Ion Cannon you have to focus your targeting beam on a fixed point for two seconds or so. This leaves you open to attack if you don't watch your back. Also, since the beam is fired from high above, you can only use the weapon in outdoor areas. Hey, you can't have it all."
IGN[4]


Gallery[]

External links and references[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 RaptoR (May 15, 2002). "Pancho Eekels Interview". BeyondUnreal. Retrieved April 17, 2019.
  2. StealthDP (May 26, 2002). "E3 Report". Unreal Playground. Archived from the original on October 11, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  3. Parker, Sam (May 22, 2002). "E3 2002: Unreal Tournament 2003 impressions". GameSpot. Archived from the original on December 9, 2002. Retrieved July 10, 2020.
  4. Blevins, Tal (May 23, 2002). "E3 2002: Unreal Tournament 2003". IGN. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved July 10, 2020.

See also[]


Unreal Championship weapons
Shield GunAssault RifleBio RifleShock RifleLink GunMinigunFlak CannonRocket LauncherLightning Gun
Special weapons: TranslocatorBall LauncherSuper Shock Rifle
Superweapons: T.A.G. Rifle
Unreal Tournament 2003 weapons
Shield GunAssault RifleBio RifleShock RifleLink GunMinigunFlak CannonRocket LauncherLightning Gun
Special weapons: TranslocatorBall LauncherSuper Shock Rifle
Superweapons: Ion PainterRedeemer
Unreal Tournament 2004 weapons
Shield GunAssault RifleBio RifleMine LayerShock RifleLink GunMinigunFlak CannonGrenade LauncherRocket LauncherAVRiLLightning GunSniper Rifle
Special weapons: TranslocatorBall LauncherSuper Shock Rifle
Superweapons: Ion PainterRedeemerTarget Painter
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