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The Armacham 10mm High Velocity Penetrator is a weapons-grade nail gun, firing 10mm steel stakes at lethal speeds. It can pin opponents to walls if the target is near a wall when they are hit with a fatal shot, and is found in F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon, F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, and F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate.
Both Timelines[]
F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon[]
The Penetrator is fielded by Replica forces as the standard issue firearm of the Heavy Armors, and are sometimes found in use by Replica Elite Soldiers. This weapon is also commonly found in weapons stashes.
Vivendi Timeline[]
F.E.A.R. Extraction Point[]
The Penetrator appears in F.E.A.R. Extraction Point, and functions exactly as in the first game, though ammo is slightly more common. In the third Interval - Orange Line, the player will encounter mass attack from the enemies using HV Penetrator, before Alma wipes them out.
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate[]
The Penetrator also appears in F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate, where ammunition becomes more abundant, especially in Interval 05 and onwards. Players may find that the extra ammunition allows the weapon to become a viable alternative to more commonly used weapons, such as the G2A2 Assault Rifle. Aside from VES Advanced Rifle, this can be a potent primary weapon in later stages of the game.
Tactics[]
- The HV Penetrator is one of the most accurate weapons in the game, which makes it very useful for taking out targets in partial cover or at longer range. The HV Penetrator is a slow-firing weapon, but it made up for its slow ROF with accuracy and base damage. It boasts higher damage than both the RPL Submachinegun and, in some cases, the G2A2. Its magazine and fire rate are correspondingly lower. Because of the weapon's high accuracy, Slow-Mo is especially effective, allowing for easier precision targeting.
- Despite being powerful, its slow rate of fire can be a problem in point-blank range, especially if the enemy has powerful weapon as well; the player can use Slow-Mo to buy more time to shoot.
- Although it does have good accuracy, it is ill advised in firing this weapon while moving. It suffers from high "bullet" spread, making it quite inaccurate. Therefore, it is recommended to remain stationary and zoom-in. Three to four shots are enough to eliminate most Replica soldiers, while the fire rate is low enough to make single snap-shots easy to perform.
- The rounds fired by the HV Penetrator have an armor piercing property which makes them effective against hardened targets, such as the REV6 Powered Armor and Replica Heavy Armor. However, against defense turrets or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, the armor penetration has no benefit, as these enemies are programmed with no armor and are durable due to high base health only. Against these targets, other weapons, such as the G2A2 assault rifle or VK-12 Combat Shotgun, are more efficient.
- Penetrator ammunition is uncommon until mid-game, so the player should try to conserve its ammo by using it only when its strengths are put to best use. It's a good idea to save ammunition for armored enemies and use it on light targets only when ammo is in excess. If the player find lots of HV Penetrators, its advised to exploit the ammo glitch to get even more ammo.
- Like the pistol and MP-50 Repeating Cannon, this weapon is highly effective against Nightmares, as long as the hit is scored, it is a guaranteed kill, although the reloading sequence is long enough to leave the user very vulnerable if there are too many Nightmares.
- Combining the HV Penetrator and the VES Advanced Rifle is a good option in Perseus Mandate, while the VES is enough for regular soldiers, the HV Penetrator is more effective against armored targets. Also both weapons have less ammunition shortage issues in the later stage of the game.
Trivia[]
- The label "NGD-7" can be seen on the stock of the Penetrator, though it isn't clear what the label stands for or signifies.
- The Penetrator can also pin enemies to surfaces other than walls, even to ceilings, if fired upwards from below the target.
- The Penetrator is sometimes called the "tentpole gun" by players, due to the large rods it fires, which stay stuck into victims.
- In some cases, the victim will still be stuck after the spikes are gone. The same thing can happen with the HV Hammerhead in F.E.A.R. 2 and S-HV Penetrator in F.E.A.R. 3.
- Although the weapon has a vertical stubby foregrip, it is never used by either enemies or the player.
- The stakes fired by the Penetrator are bigger than what the barrel and magazine would allow, suggesting that the spikes expand after they exit the barrel.
- The Penetrator can fire full-auto if the player leans on the trigger, with the rate of fire being about the same as the G2A2 assault rifle.
- The Penetrator has a crude three-pronged iron sight, which is never used by the player or enemies.
- If using against enemies that explode upon death, like Turrets or REV6es, none of the enemies' body parts will be stuck to the environment like standard enemies killed with the Penetrator, this is because these types of enemies are programmed to explode, and as such this will override the Penetrator's "pinning" properties. The spikes are also gone if used against supernatural enemies like Nightmares and Shades.
- It is also the primary weapon of Replica Snipers and Delta Forces members in the F.E.A.R. E3 2K4 demo. Unlike in the final game, it fires like a assault rifle, also the Replica Fatigues Soldiers in the demo have scoped RPL sub-machine guns unlike the holographic sight in the final game.
- The weapon can be found next to workers at times, which may indicate the weapon was used for utility purposes.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jsoF4MeM90