SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle
Weapon Information
Cost:	7,000 credits
Technical Specifications
Damage:	5 (9 maximum)
Ammunition	50 Pulse Rounds
Ammo Capacity:	175 Pulse Rounds
Rate of Fire:	Fast
Effective Range:	Medium-Long
Secondary Fire:	Dead Space - 360° Fire Dead Space: Extraction - Fletchette Fire Dead Space 2 - Grenade Launcher
Upgrade Circuit
Dead Space 1 Requires 17 Power Nodes to fully upgrade.
Dead Space 2 Requires 22 Power Nodes to fully upgrade.
[Source]

The SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle is a military-grade triple-barreled assault rifle with a high rate of fire and large ammunition capacity. The firearm is the standard-issue service rifle for EarthGov servicemen and are common among spaceship and space-station security officers.

Design detailsEdit

The Pulse Rifle rapidly fires a special ultra-low caliber round at hypersonic speeds out of its triple barrel design. Carrying a tremendous amount of energy, the round is designed to squash or "mushroom" on impact, dissipating its kinetic charge into the target while causing immense localized trauma. Against unarmored targets the effect is immediate and definitive, liquefying soft tissues, and cracking bones. If the target is not killed, it will still become incapacitated due to vascular shock after the wound is suddenly flooded with blood. A less obvious upside of this specialist round is that there is almost no penetration against hardened surfaces. This is a definite plus aboard ships and stations where the only barrier between the operator and ravenous vacuum might be a couple dozen centimeters of metal plating.

To date, there are three major variants of the SWS Pulse Rifle; though all three fire rounds along a straight line as their primary fire it is the secondary function of each that differentiate them.

What can be called the type 1 Pulse Rifle appears to be used most extensively aboard corporate space vessels and features a secondary function designed to either terrorize or mow down all targets in all directions. When using the rifle's secondary function, the operator holds the rifle above his head, and the three barrels of the rifle spread outward and fire while spinning, spraying bullets in a 360 degree triple-arc. This will quickly empty the magazine.

In ground-side environments where the outside isn't as hostile as space, the alternative firing cycle has been extensively modified to pepper a target with a circular shotgun-like burst. This mode expends thirteen charged bullets at once.

In dense urban areas where the possibility of mass revolt exists, the Pulse Rifle features a modified launching mechanism that can simulate the destructive effects of a mounted grenade launcher minus many of the risks should it be used in closed environments. 25 Pulse Rounds are "glued" together with an intense electro-gravity impulse charge using technology similar to the normal accelerators. This larger projectile is then lobbed from a central barrel, and on impact the impulse charge is violently disrupted, pulverizing the collected rounds. The atomized matter is used as an efficient medium for a devastating, rapidly dissipating shock wave that can in turn pulverize anything within the blast radius to mush.

VariantsEdit

• Agility Pulse Rifle (5% reload speed, 5% firing speed)
• EarthGov Pulse Rifle (5% alt-fire damage, 10% reload speed)
• Heavy Damage Pulse Rifle (Increased damage)
• Astronaut Pulse Rifle
• Elite Pulse Rifle
• Obsidian Pulse Rifle
• Hot Rod Pulse Rifle
• Military Pulse Rifle
• Heavy Pulse Rifle (Dead Space (mobile) exclusive)

Combat TipsEdit

GeneralEdit

• The Pulse Rifle works well in most situations, but is particularly recommended for taking out fast enemies such as the Twitcher, since it effectively stops them from moving on impact.
• Make sure to keep an eye on the ammo counter.
• Pulse Rounds hit with enough force to halt the vast majority of enemies even if they are in the middle of a charge (Brutes are a notable exception). When it has been fully upgraded a skilled user can mow down hordes of Necromorphs from a safe distance.
• It is important to fire the Pulse Rifle in bursts, unless your target is at point-blank range or you are a very good shot. Accuracy will decrease significantly and ammo consumption will increase if the Pulse Rifle is fired fully automatic.
• Long range engagements should utilize bursts of 4-6 rounds. Any other rounds past that point have a tendency to hit higher than expected because of the bouncing crosshairs. However, in Dead Space 2, the Pulse Rifle's recoil is easier to control, making it a more effective weapon.
• A fully upgraded Pulse Rifle can kill a Slasher with just a few shots to the chest, without the need of dismemberment. So upgrade it when other weapons are not more important to your playing style.
• On a shot-for-shot basis, the Pulse Rifle is the weakest weapon in the game, so be prepared to keep hammering away with those short bursts, and remember that distance is your friend. It should be noted however that you may carry 100 Pulse Rifle rounds per inventory slot. This means that you have a potential of 500 damage (900 upgraded max) per inventory slot used.

Dead SpaceEdit

• When adequately upgraded, the secondary fire will shred enemies apart with ease. However, low-lying enemies on the floor such as Leapers, Lurkers and crawling Slashers will barely be affected by the pulse-storm. Most of the rounds will pass over them.
• The Pulse Rifle is also very efficient against the Leviathan and the Hive Mind because of its constant fire and high ammo count if it is upgraded.

Dead Space: ExtractionEdit

• The Pulse Rifle is generally an overall poor choice throughout Dead Space: Extraction's 'normal' gameplay portions as the weapon is considerably weaker including areas in which it excelled in Dead Space, though its secondary fire does make it useful for taking care of Lurkers, Exploders and Grabbers. Also against bosses it is very effective for the same reason as in the original Dead Space: instant damage over long range with a fast rate of fire.

Dead Space 2Edit

• The Pulse Rifle has an alternate fire of a rifle-mounted grenade launcher. It's highly advised that this is used against a large number of Necromorphs such as the Pack, or around corners against Stalkers. Do keep mind that when you do it, it gobbles up 25 Pulse Rounds (half a basic magazine), so pick the situation carefully.
• The alternate fire can be used to quickly mop up a group of already weakened Necromorphs, often with less ammo spent than the primary fire. That said, against large, singular enemies, the pulse grenade is far less effective and costly even compared to primary.
• Do not use the secondary fire on Pregnants. It will usually cause them to burst and release their payload. Be careful with the Pulse Rifle in general when a Pregnant is around - it is all too easy to let the recoil carry the line of fire into the Pregnant's belly and cause it to release its payload. Targeting the arms greatly reduces this risk, assuming they still have both legs.
• If, however pregnant manages to release its payload, secondary fire will sweep off them along with any nearby necromorph.
• The Rifle's secondary fire also seems to ricochet for a short distance off nearby hard objects, making it slightly more effective in very tight quarters or backed into a corner, directing the attack ahead of Isaac.
• In Zero-G environments, the secondary fire is an effective way of dealing with enemies such as Lurkers, Nests, etc. Its effectiveness in these situations relies on the lack of gravity which results in the grenade traveling in a straight trajectory, negating the guesswork involved in utilizing the secondary fire at medium/long ranges.
• The primary fire is more powerful than it was in Dead Space. It takes a fewer rounds to stun and dismember enemies. Even on the harder difficulties, it only takes a few rounds to stun a charging Enhanced Slasher.
• In multiplayer, even if a Necromorph is not killed when in the radius of the Pulse Rifles' secondary fire grenade, it will often knock the smaller enemies (such as The Pack or Lurkers) off their feet. This gives the Human team a brief window of time to dispatch the threats as they are completely vulnerable.
• The Pulse Rifle is an excellent choice when engaging a Guardian. The secondary fire mode used immediately after the Guardian expels its tentacles will destroy both the enemy as well as prevent them from expelling any pods.

AppearancesEdit

• Dead Space
• Dead Space: Extraction
• Dead Space 2
• Dead Space 2 : Severed

TriviaEdit

• The Pulse Rifle is the "machine gun" of Dead Space due to its rapid firing and trigger holding for activation.
• In Dead Space when the Pulse Rifle is fully upgraded the barrels seem to have small fire flashes. This maybe because there are no flashhiders, or because the accelerators are more powerful.
• The Pulse Rifle, Seeker Rifle, Divet, Plasma Pistol and Unknown Rifle are the only weapons in the series that are not actually "re-appropriated" mining equipment. They are specifically designed as weapons and not tools.
• P-Sec had several Pulse rifles in their armory as seen in Chapter 2 of Dead Space: Extraction, possibly used for riot control.
• The reload animation is slightly different in Dead Space 2.
• The Pulse Rifle is the only weapon in the Dead Space series to have three different alternate fires.
• As with all weapons in Dead Space, the player can win an achievement\trophy when he\she gets 30 kills with the Pulse Rifle. It is called "Autofire".

• The green advertisement posters in Dead Space showcase the Pulse Rifle which read: "Introduce Your Enemies to Your Friend" is possibly a reference to a line from Scarface, "Say hello to my little friend!".
  • It may also be a reference to the movie Full Metal Jacket, considering that the Pulse Rifle is a known military weapon
  • It is also possibly a reference to the movie Aliens, wherein Corporal Hicks tells Ripley he would like to "Introduce you to a personal friend of mine", and then teaches her to use the Pulse Rifle, a weapon of the same name as that in Dead Space, and also has a Grenade Launcher secondary fire.
• A clicking sound can be heard when Isaac toggles between aiming and idling mode. This sound is the ammo cartridge clicking in and out of place.
• The Pulse Rifle's alt-fire in Dead Space 2 resembles a hand grenade.
• In Dead Space 2, reloading the weapon ejects a cylinder, which is likely the spent energy core used to power the weapon.
• The Pulse Rifle has iron sights, which are composed of a front blade and a rear U-Notch sight. But they are unusable because of the 3-dot laser sight used to aim at targets.
• The Pulse Rifle is the service weapon for Titan Security Officers on the Sprawl. They also use this weapon to attack Isaac Clarke in Chapters 1 and 13.
• The Pulse Rifle appears to utilize some form of ballistic ammunition. This can be most clearly seen when the guards in the First Chapter shoot at Isaac (right before the claw comes down and takes both of them away).
• There is a small glitch in Dead Space 2. In the tram tunnel with Zero-G in the Ishimura, the automatic fire sometimes skips, in which some shots are not fired. However, the glitch has only been experienced at this part, and commencing into the hall that leads to the atrium cancels the effect.
• There is also a bit bigger glitch in Dead Space 2 where the Pulse Rifle will stop firing altogether. This glitch is very rare, and can be solved by switching to a different weapon, then back to the rifle.
• Isaac may have some experience using this weapon from his time in the Merchant Marines.
• Pulse Rifle rounds in Extraction will ricochet off anything other than an enemy.

GalleryEdit

EarthGov Pulse Rifle with a matching EarthGov Security RIG

Agility Pulse Rifle with a matching Agility Advanced RIG

An advertisement for the SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle.

SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle.

Concept art of the SWS Motorized Pulse Rifle.

Concept art for the Pulse Rifle.

The Astro Pulse Rifle.

The "Autofire" achievement/trophy.

Close-up of the Pulse Rifle.

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