Ripper

The RC-DS Remote Control Disc Ripper, known simply as the Ripper, was a handheld mining tool built to hack and slice through solid rock by launching a spinning sawblade held on a gravity tether. Dangerous even in proper use, it was one of the improvised tools survivors such as Isaac Clarke turned against the Necromorphs.

Function and design#

The Ripper was built to hack and slice through solid rock. It ejected incredibly sharp blades, diamond-coated tungsten discs that spun at up to 17,000 revolutions per minute to cut through whatever lay in front of the tool. Because of the speed and edge of the blades it threw, it was a hazard in untrained hands, an accident waiting to happen.

Its primary function launched a circular sawblade that did not fly free but hovered in front of the tool on a miniature gravity tether, held in place for a span of seconds before it expired. While the blade hung there, the operator could steer it across the work, the tool delivering constant cutting force to whatever the disc touched. The distance the blade floated could be adjusted, and a skilled hand could bring it to bear on close work or hold it out ahead. The secondary function ejected an untethered saw disc at high speed, sent off as a thrown blade that flew until it struck, slicing through more than one obstacle in its path. Across its later models the tool shrank steadily in size, the original giving way to compact builds that resembled a fan-shaped handgun.

Improvised use#

Turned against the Necromorphs, the Ripper's hovering blade made it both a cutter and a barrier. A survivor could hold the tethered disc between himself and an approaching creature, letting it shred anything that pressed in at close quarters, which made it useful in the tight corridors of the USG Ishimura and similar spaces where a foe had to funnel toward the user. The blade had to be kept on target, and if the operator missed he could draw the tether back and re-aim. It came at a cost: the tethered blade was lost outright if the operator was struck, so it was a poor choice when small Necromorphs were already swarming over him, since the disc would be flung away and instantly wasted. The thrown disc of the secondary function carried more force and could cut through several of a creature's limbs at once, useful for holding a group at bay when steering the tethered blade grew too cumbersome. Against the regenerating Ubermorph, a single disc aimed at the knees was enough to take its legs and leave it crawling.