Unreal Tournament 3/Flak Cannon

Weapon functions

 * Primary fire shoots a cone of flak shards.
 * Secondary fire shoots a flak barrel which explodes on contact

Basic use

 * The flak cannon is the easiest weapon to get to grips with; and should be most novice's first choice weapon.
 * It is effective at close, and close to medium range.
 * Primary fire
 * has a wide scatter - so at close range most will hit. At a distance, even if you do hit a target; most of the shards will miss, and therefore damage will be minimal.
 * Flak shards bounces off floor and walls, so can be used cleverly to shoot round corners. They are lethal (possibly to the user as well, watch the rebound) in confined spaces.
 * Secondary fire
 * on contact with the ground or wall, it explodes
 * It causes considerable damage, and is more effective at a distance than flak primary, but is somewhat slow.

Tactical uses of the Flak Cannon in Warfare

 * The flak barrels are the easiest way on foot to quickly damage stationary objects like power nodes
 * Flak shards have considerable momentum that will throw lighter Vehicles back and stop them from crushing you.
 * Flak is effective at damaging vehicles. Stepping to the side of an onrushing vehicle and using flak often works well.
 * The arc trajectory is useful to attack an area e.g. a node from behind ground cover; without exposing yourself to line of sight view of your target.

Tactical uses of the Flak Cannon in Deathmatch

 * My preferred use is to predict where my opponent will be in 3/4 of a second - and fire a flak barrel to hit that spot; then hit that same spot with a flak primary as soon as the barrel is launched. If your guess is right, both shots will hit your opposing player at the same time; which should deliver more damage than the opponent has health.  This is particularly useful if your opponent hasn't seen you.
 * By alternating primary and secondary attacks in a duel; and correspondingly moving closer or further, your opponents will have difficulty in second guessing your moves; which is always a good thing.
 * In a map with low visibility (i.e., lots of twisty passages or caves), always switch to the flak cannon and use primary fire if someone pops out right in front of you. It has superior stopping power and primary fire will not hurt you fired point blank into an enemy. remember also that a point blank flak cannon blast is an instant kill against non-vehicles.

Counters to the Flak Cannon

 * In a close range duel; retreat.
 * Use a shock rifle to physically push your opponent further away
 * Dodge to avoid incoming shots
 * Try to control the environment so that you are aware where your opponent is; and keeping him guessing where you will be.