Ion Ripper

 

Ion Ripper
Production information
Technical specifications
Damage Per Hit	50
Maximum Ammunition	200 rounds Bandolier: 250 rounds Ammo Pack: 300 rounds
Fire Mode	Automatic
Ammunition Type	Cells
Rate of Fire	200 shots per minute
Usage
Era(s)	Quake II: The Reckoning
Counterpart	Hyperblaster
[Source]

“	The Ion Ripper fires blasts of glowing energy boomerangs capable of ricocheting off walls. The Ion Ripper is the perfect weapon for launching attacks around corners and areas out of your line of sight.	”
—The Reckoning Manual

The Ion Ripper is a new weapon introduced in The Reckoning. It fires energy "boomerangs" that ricochet off of inanimate objects, allowing out-of-sight enemies to be killed by rebounding shots. They'll eventually dissipate if they don't hit a target. A rebounding shot doesn't damage the player who fired it. It uses cells for ammunition and expends two cells per shot. It has an excellent overall damage output - not quite as high as the Chain Gun or Hyperblaster, but it isn't far behind.

The Ion Ripper competes with the Hyperblaster, BFG10k and Power Shield for its ammunition. Compared with the Hyperblaster, it fires at a less rapid rate and its projectiles don't travel as quickly, but is more ammo efficient; each Hyperblaster shot deals 20 damage, whereas an Ion Ripper shot consumes two cells and deals 50 damage. The Hyperblaster is capable of dealing damage more quickly, but the Ion Ripper can do more damage using the same amount of ammunition.

It only appears in The Reckoning.

Strategy

• For a brief example of the Ion Ripper's ammo efficiency, bear in mind that the BFG10K can kill a Gladiator or anything weaker than that in a single shot, but will expend 50 cells to do so. The Ion Ripper can kill that same Gladiator in eight shots, expending 16 cells. The BFG10K would require two shots (100 cells' worth) to kill a Tank Commander, whereas the Ion Ripper can get that job done in twenty shots, expending only 40 cells.
• In the 2023 remaster, the Power Shield and Power Screen are depleted more quickly by energy weapons. The Ion Ripper is an energy weapon and therefore benefits from this new mechanic, making it a more attractive choice against the Beta Class Super Tank and Beta Class Gladiator than it was before. When the player encounters the four Beta Class Super Tanks in The Reckoning, they'll have an Ion Ripper (assuming they picked it up in the Intelligence Center) but not yet a Hyperblaster or BFG10K, making the Ion Ripper an obvious choice of energy weapon to use against them.

Gallery

Ion Ripper in first-person view.