Size doesn’t matter in the world of AC, especially when you’re talking about the WA Finger. A placeholder for one of the series’ most broken weapons, the Finger finds an unexpected ancestor in a weapon that helped shape the British Empire.
Barely the size of an AC’s fist, the WA Finger machine gun is nonetheless one of the most hated weapons to ever grace Armored Core. While the Karasawa terrorized with staggering single-shot firepower, the Finger dealt fear with sheer, overwhelming numbers.
There was no experience like having your AC get engulfed by the Finger’s literal wall of bullets, and watching helplessly as your AP dropped faster than a rock. And even while From Software gradually nerfed this gun to the point of near-uselessness, we still remember the dread of facing its five fingers of doom.
Now, if you’re thinking that you only have to worry about running into this terror in the AC universe, you are dead wrong.
The brainchild of Swedish engineer Helge Palmcrantz, the Nordenfelt gun was basically several rifles bolted together side-by-side, fired though a push-and-pull action on a lever. It wasn’t too exotic an idea, especially compared to the gatling gun’s multiple rotating barrels, but it was effective.
During one demonstration, a 10-barrelled Nordenfelt unleashed 3000 rounds in just a little over three minutes. Its rifle-length barrels and weight also ensured that despite its oddball appearance, the Nordenfelt was accurate even at long range – giving it a very distinct advantage over the Finger.
So if it was so dangerous, why didn’t the devs decide to make a supersized copy of this, instead of giving us what can only be described as a pimped-out brass knuckle?
It would probably have something to do with the fact that the Nordenfelt was not a true machine gun – its rate of fire was entirely dependent on how quickly its operator could work its lever, which looks something like this:
Yeah, now imagine your AC doing that. Aside from the fact you need both arms to carry the damn thing, it’d look like you were jizzing your enemy to death as you jacked off five penises at once. One second thought, that would have looked awesome.
The Nordenfelt served in the British Navy for several years, and was eventually replaced by the world’s first true machine gun – the Maxim Gun, and the rest is history.