The original Starsiege: Tribes game contained eight weapons, plus the targeting laser. These weapons were designed with the jetpack in mind; meant to be fired from above or from a distance. Many of the weapons (or versions of them) survived into Tribes: Ascend.
Blaster
The Blaster is generally considered to be the weakest weapon in Tribes. It fires a red burst of energy that draws on the players energy pool. This burst does a small amount of damage. The biggest downside to this weapon is that it drains energy that the player could otherwise use for jetpacking.
In Tribes 2 the Blaster's shots bounce off surfaces.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Nova Blaster.
Chaingun
Although the individual fletchetes fired by the Chaingun do even less damage than the blaster, the firing rate more than makes up for it. This weapon has a brief spin-up time before firing. Once it spun-up the weapon fires in a spread making it difficult to aim reliably. The spread of the fletchets widens the longer the Chaingun continues to fire. Because of this, the Chaingun is often used to engage enemies who are jetpacking above the player.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Chain Gun.
Plasma Gun
The Plasma Gun fires bursts of plasma over moderate distances. These bursts are fairly slow moving and disperse at a distance, making this weapon better suited for indoor battles. The firing rate of the Plasma Gun is decent however, and it's DPS makes it the best for taking out indoor turrets found on many Tribes maps. The weapon also deals moderate splash damage within a small radius.
In Tribes 2 the Plasma Gun cannot be fired underwater.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Plasma Gun and Plasma Cannon.
Disk Launcher
The Disk Launcher (called the Spinfusor from Tribes 2 onward) is the staple weapon of the Tribes series. It fires energized disks over long distances that explode on impact. The disks fire in a straight line making this a good dueling weapon. The firing rate is moderate and the disks themselves move at medium speed, thus shots need to be well-aimed to hit players at a distance.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Spinfusors.
Grenade Launcher
The Grenade Launcher fires grenades that can bounce around corners and explode after a short delay. The explosive radius on the grenades is fairly high making this a great weapon for clearing out a room. It is also effective to fire down on enemies from the air since the firing rate allows the player to launch multiple grenades in quick succession. Grenades fired from this launcher have a smoky trail so the player can see the arc they fire in.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Grenade Launcher.
Laser Rifle
The Laser Rifle is a sniping weapon and the only weapon in Tribes/Tribes 2 that is hitscan. It fires a powerful beam of energy over long distances. The strength of the beam depends on the amount of energy in the player's energy pool when fired. The Laser Rifle requires the player to have an energy pack equipped, and can only be used by light armored players. When fired the rifle drains the players energy pool making jetpacking difficult, therefor this weapon should not be used to duel other players. The laser rifle deals more damage on a successful headshot, however even this is not enough to kill a lightly armored player in one shot.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Phase Rifle.
ELF Gun
The Electron Flux Gun is an interesting weapon as is draws on the players energy pool to drain opponents' energy. The weapon can also be used to drain shields from base assets. The ELF has a short range and is often used to prevent other players from jetpacking during a duel.
This weapon is currently represented in Tribes: Ascend by the ELF Projector
Heavy Mortar
The mortar is the most powerful weapon in the game and can only be used by heavy-armored players. It fires a green trailed shell that will explode on impact after a short delay. The explosive radius is huge and will destroy almost anything in range. If the shell hits something before the time-delay has elapsed it will bounce. The mortar has a very long range but a long reload time.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Fusion Mortar.
Rocket Launcher (T2 only)
The Rocket Launcher is a Tribes 2 weapon that fires homing missiles at enemy players and base assets. It requires a target lock to fire which takes several seconds. The explosive rocket is powerful enough to kill lightly armored players and several rockets can take down base turrets. The Rocket Launcher cannot be used by light-armored players.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Saber Launcher.
Shocklance
The Shocklance was Tribes 2's attempt at a melee weapon; it can only be used at extremely close range. The Shocklance drains the players energy pool like the laser rifle and deals damage based on the amount of energy in the pool at that time. This weapon is often combined with the cloaking pack to sneak up on enemies inside their base.
This weapon is represented in Tribes: Ascend by the Shocklance .
Grenades
In Starsiege: Tribes there was only one basic grenade that all armor types used. In Tribes 2, grenades were expanded to fill different roles:
- Frag Grenade - This is a basic damage-dealing grenade, similar to the Tribes:Ascend version.
- Concussion Grenade - This grenade deals additional knockback useful for pushing enemy players out of the way. In Tribes: Ascend, the Impact Nitron works in a similar way.
- Whiteout Grenade - Similar to the Tribes: Ascend version, this grenade blinds nearby players for a short time.
- Flare Grenade - This grenade deals no damage, but it causes missles to lose their lock and target the flare instead, useful for any class but also for defending vehicles.
Mines
Mines could be carried by all classes and were very useful for defense or offense, depending on the player's style. The Doombringer carries these in Tribes: Ascend.