The Spinfusor is the mainstray and iconic weapon of the entire Tribes series. While at a glance similar to rocket launchers of all kinds found in other FPS games, it has enough differences to set it in a class of its own. Unlike other Tribes games which had one general "Spinfusor" every class could pick up and use, Tribes: Ascend features a whole array of different Spinfusors for different classes, which are listed below along with some general characteristics all of them share.
Spinfusor Characteristics
The Spinfusor fires a single exlplosive disc with 100% accuracy wherever you're aiming it. The disc is not affected by gravity, does not lose velocity and will fly in a perfectly straight line until it hits something or reaches the weapon's maximum range which will cause it to automatically explode. Hovewer just like most weapons in Tribes: Ascend the range is large compared to weapons in other FPSes and you can usually hit things even half a map away.
What sets Spinfusor apart from similar weapons in other games(i.e. Quake's Rocket Launcher) is inheritance. Inheritance means that any projectile weapon in the game will be affected by your movement speed and direction. For example if you're traveling forward and fire the Spinfusor, the disc will fly faster than as if you fired it when standing still. When you're strafing left and fire the Spinfusor when your crosshair is directly on an immobile enemy, the disc will miss and land left of him. This makes the Spinfusor a weapon easy to pick up but very hard to master.
Spinfusors deal most damage on direct hit, hovewer because direct hits are usually hard to pull off, fortunately they also deal splash damage. Amount of damage on both direct and splash hits depends on the Spinfusor type; amount of splash damage depends on how far away the target was from the center of the explosion.
All Spinfusors cause knockback. This is more important than knockback in most other FPS games because Tribes: Ascend is a game based on movement and direction of movement. Hitting an enemy with a Spinfusor will usually disrupt his movement, and you can even use the knockback to your advantage by shooting ground under/behind you when skiing to gain velocity at the cost of health.
There are several different Spinfusors in the game, each with its own characteristics.
Spinfusor
- Class: Soldier
- Disc damage: 910
- Splash damage: 650-325
- Normal knockback
The standard issue Spinfusor, instantly recognizable to any Tribes veteran. While it fires a bit slower than ones in previous games, the overall % DPS remains the same and it remains one of the most dependable and versatile weapons in the game - the only limiting factor being your ability to aim it properly. The Spinfusor was a default weapon of the Soldier class, but after it was merged with the Ranger it's now an unlockable weapon. Medium reload speed, tied with the Juggernaut's Spinfusor MKD.
Heavy Spinfusor
- Class: Brute
- Disc damage: 980
- Splash damage: 700-430
- Large knockback
While in previous Tribes games even Heavy classes had to go with the default generic Spinfusor, in Tribes: Ascend the Heavies finally get bigger toys. Heavy Spinfusor deals most damage of all Spinfusors and has a lot of knockback as well, though it carries less ammo and reloads more slowly than other Spinfusors.
Spinfusor MKD
- Class: Juggernaut
- Disc damage: 840
- Splash damage: 600-300
- Huge knockback
An interesting twist on the normal Spinfusor which actually deals less damage but provides largest knockback in the game which will really throw light classes(and flags) around. The lowered damage combined with large knockback can also be effectively used by Juggernauts to boost their normally limited speed when skiing. The disc has a green trail instead of a blue one. Medium reload speed, tied with the Soldier's Spinfusor.
Light Spinfusor
- Class: Pathfinder
- Disc damage: 770
- Splash damage: 550-275
- Low-medium knockback
While it lacks the power of a regular Spinfusor, most Pathfinders use their weapons to boost themselves when skiing anyway - so the decreased damage is actually a welcome change. Hovewer the Light Spinfusor also remains a decent combat weapon. Reloads at a higher rate than the Soldier's, the Juggernaut's and the Brute's associated Spinfusors.
Stealth Spinfusor
- Class: Infiltrator
- Disc damage: 700
- Splash damage: 500-250
- Low knockback
The weakest version of the Spinfusor comes with a nice perk to compensate: it allows you to cloak yourself after firing much faster than when using a "non-silenced" weapon. The reduced knockback makes lining up subsequent shots on a surprised enemy easier. The Stealth Spinfusor is an unlockable weapon. The disc has a red trail instead of a blue one.