Railgun

Railguns are the dominant form of weaponry across the Settled Systems, aside from laser weaponry. It uses electromagnetic force to accelerate a projectile along a set of rails, creating high-velocity projectiles that are extremely deadly. Most railguns in the Settled Systems use A-magnets (high-powered magnets alloyed with trace amounts of Q-magnets) to power the gun. The electromagnetic force applied to the rails means that in smaller weapons, the rails will degrade extremely quickly, only lasting an average of 3-5 shots depending on the weapon. Most armies in the Settled Systems use breech-loading mechanisms to quickly and easily replace the rails when rendered unusable. Railguns are typically only used on atmospheric planets due to the high-recoil that comes when operating in vacuum conditions. Though a notable exception are spaceships, which can easily counteract the effects of recoil with stabilization thrusters.