S-HV Penetrator
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The S-HV Penetrator or Super High Velocity Penetrator is the nail gun of F.E.A.R. 3.
Monolith Timeline[]
F.E.A.R. 3[]
The S-HV Penetrator acts the same as the HV Penetrator in F.E.A.R. First Encounter Assault Recon and the Armacham HV Hammerhead in F.E.A.R. 2: Project Origin, in that it will nail an enemy to the wall (or other surface) with a killing shot. Though it does relatively high damage, only the Phase Commander carries it, making ammo relatively scarce. However, ammo can sometimes be found for it in stockpiles of goods in the later levels.
This weapon is found in Intervals 05 and 07, and has a golden shimmer when dropped by enemies and found in the environment. It takes one headshot, or three body shots, to kill an Armacham soldier, and the Penetrator is more effective against Phase Commanders and Casters compared to most other weapons, due to the weapon's armor piercing properties. It has a reflex circle and dot crosshair and visibly hot projectiles. Damage seems to be slightly less than the G3A3 Assault Rifle, though this is negated by its relatively high rate of fire.
Tactics[]
- Due to the weapon's armor-piercing properties, this weapon can be used effectively against Powered Armor, though unfortunately the only instance in the campaign that this can be put to use is Interval 07.
- Along with the Strader pistol, G3A3 Assault Rifle and Schuller sniper rifle, the S-HV is an excellent weapon for scoring headshots, and as such can be used effectively for headshot-specific challenges.
- If ammo is in abundance, the trigger can be leaned on, turning the Penetrator from a semi-automatic into a fully-automatic weapon. Using the Penetrator in this manner will absolutely tear normal enemies apart, deal heavy damage to Phase Commanders/Casters.
Trivia[]
- If the player holds down the trigger, the Penetrator will fire like an automatic weapon. However, the Penetrator can be unstable at full-auto, so it's suggested the player becomes familiar with the Penetrator before attempting this.
- The spikes fired are a rectangular shape, with a blunt tip.
- When looking down the muzzle of the Penetrator, the barrel is square rather than round, likely because the spikes themselves are rectangular in shape.
- The final version of S-HV Penetrator functions very similar to the PP-19 Bizon, though the magazine used by Penetrator is not helical. However, it's a simpler design that feeds directly from the upper side.
- In the very early stages of development, the Penetrator would be a pistol-like weapon and have fired a flechette type of buckshot.
- When firing the Penetrator, there is a burst of flames from the barrel, showing how hot the spikes are. The spikes themselves also glow for a short time after being fired from the gun, this is only for looks and will no t harm the user in any way.
- When changing the magazine, the weapon makes a sound when removing the magazine and replacing it, this may be the pneumatic device that powers the gun turning off and on.
- The S-HV Penetrator is significantly more powerful than its predecessors, yet the firepower is offset by its rarity in the game. Also, the weapon has lower ammo capacity (144 vs 225) and smaller magazine size (18 vs 25) compared to previous Penetrators.
- Though its predecessors in the F.E.A.R. games had an ammunition display screen on the weapon, the S-HV Penetrator does not. However, there is a ammo counter in the concept art, though in the retail version this is a small blue screen.
- 25 kills with S-HV Penetrator will complete the "Ventilation Expert" challenge that grants the player 5000 points.