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The R-97 Compact Submachine Gun (SMG), or simply the R-97 SMG or R-97, is a Pilot anti-personnel close-quarter submachine gun manufactured by Lastimosa Armory that appears in Titanfall and reappears in Titanfall 2 with its variant, the R-97 CN (Colonial Navy).

A successor to the weapon, the R-99 SMG, was developed after the end of the Frontier War.

History[]

Design and performance[]

Field notes[]

  • Shot for shot, the R-97 Compact SMG has the lowest damage output of all the primary weapons. But what it lacks in damage output it more than makes up for in its impressive rate of fire. The weapon's blistering cyclic rate makes it an extremely formidable weapon in close-quarter encounters, easily mowing down pilots and AI alike. However, go easy on the trigger. The high rate of fire results in extreme recoil, making it difficult to keep the weapon on-target. Compensate for muzzle climb by firing in short bursts, particularly when engaging targets beyond 15–20 meters.
  • The R-97 is most effective against pilots at close range, where its high rate of fire gives the shooter an edge over their opponents. While this SMG doesn’t kill as fast as the EVA-8 Shotgun, its high rate of fire and 40-round magazine capacity makes it a true contender at close range. As a result, look to engage enemy pilots in buildings, alleys, and other cramped environments where you can take advantage of the weapon’s strengths. Likewise, avoid open areas where this SMG is easily outclassed by most of the other primary weapons.
  • This SMG is an absolute minion killer, perfect for wiping out squads of Grunts and Spectres. Look for newly arrived drop pods, then rush in for the kill. At close range the R-97 is an effective hip fire weapon, allowing you to spray targets with decent accuracy. But at ranges beyond 10 meters, always aim down the weapon's sights. While ammo conservation shouldn't be much of a concern with this weapon, you can always drop enemies faster with headshots.
  • Equip the HCOG as soon as it's available, as it offers faster target acquisition than the standard iron sights. When it comes to mods, it depends on what kind of game you want to play. The Extended Magazine offers an extra 10 rounds per magazine, leading to less-frequent reloads. Scatterfire takes the weapon's rate of fire to a whole new level, allowing the SMG to pump out lethal amounts of lead in a flash, at the cost of extremely fast ammo consumption and more frequent reloads. Or if you want to take a stealthy approach, opt for the Suppressor to remain hidden on the mini-map.
  • Given the close-quarter focus of the R-97, the Run N Gun Kit works pretty well in tandem with Stim or the Prosthetic Legs Burn Card. The Quick Reload Kit can be used to shorten the reload speed of this voracious weapon, specially useful if using the Scatterfire mod. The Stealth Kit can be quite useful if using the Suppressor.

Strengths[]

  • Large magazine capacity
  • Extremely high rate of fire; excels in close quarters, kills fast

Weaknesses[]

  • Weak shot-for-shot damage output
  • Limited effective range; outclassed by carbine and rifles

Titanfall[]

The R-97 is a compact submachine gun that excels at close-quarters combat, due to its extremely high rate of fire and minimal recoil.
— In-game description.

The R-97 is a compact submachine gun that excels in close-quarters combat due to its high fire rate and magazine size. It has the fastest fire rate out of all primary weapons; this, coupled with its large magazine size make it perfect for clearing entire squads in confined spaces. Despite this, it has very low damage output per shot, taking 5 to 6 shots to take down Pilots. Its very short effective range and high weapon kick make it ill suited for combat beyond the shortest of ranges, although burst firing can improve accuracy, the low damage often makes this negligible. Rodeo damage is extremely impressive with the R-97 (second only to the LMG) meaning it can serve an anti-titan role very well. It is possible that the R-97 seen in Titanfall 1 is the "A1" variant mentioned in concept art for Titanfall 2.[1]

This weapon is unlocked at level 6 and is the first item unlocked that is not available by default.

Weapon attachments[]

Image Name Description Unlock / Challenge
Iron sights
Iron Sights Default factory issue gunsight. Default Weapon Sight
Hcog
HCOG HCOG has an open sight reticle, easily acquire and track vertical targets, 1.85x fixed magnification and ammo readout. The Expendables (III) Challenge: Kill 50 Grunts

Weapon mods[]

Image Name Description Unlock
Extended magazine
Extended Magazine Increases the ammo capacity of the weapon. Machine War (II) Challenge: Kill 25 Spectres
Mod suppressor
Suppressor Reduces the firing noise and muzzle flash of the weapon If It Moves... (II) Challenge: Kill 25 Enemies
Scatterfire
Scatterfire Increases the high rate of fire even further, at the expense of accuracy Top Gun (II) Challenge: Kill 15 Pilot(s)

Challenges[]

If It Moves...[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge weapon kills
1
Kill 10 Enemies 500 XP
Challenge weapon kills
2
Kill 25 Enemies 1,000 XP, Suppressor Mod, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge weapon kills
3
Kill 50 Enemies 2,500 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge weapon kills
4
Kill 100 Enemies 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge weapon kills
5
Kill 200 Enemies 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

Top Gun[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge pilot
1
Kill 5 Pilots 500 XP
Challenge pilot
2
Kill 15 Pilots 1,000 XP, Scatterfire Mod, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge pilot
3
Kill 30 Pilots 2,500 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge pilot
4
Kill 50 Pilots 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge pilot
5
Kill 75 Pilots 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

Machine War[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge spectre
1
Kill 10 Spectres 500 XP
Challenge spectre
2
Kill 25 Spectres 1,000 XP, Extended Magazine Mod, Amped R-97 Burn Card Card
Challenge spectre
3
Kill 50 Spectres 2,500 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge spectre
4
Kill 75 Spectres 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge spectre
5
Kill 100 Spectres 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

The Expendables[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge grunt
1
Kill 10 Grunts 500 XP
Challenge grunt
2
Kill 25 Grunts 1,000 XP,Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge grunt
3
Kill 50 Grunts 2,500 XP, HCOG Attachment, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge grunt
4
Kill 100 Grunts 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge grunt
5
Kill 200 Grunts 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

This Is My Weapon[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge time played
1
Use Weapon for .5 Hour 500 XP
Challenge time played
2
Use Weapon for 1 Hour 1,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge time played
3
Use Weapon for 1.5 Hours 2,500 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge time played
4
Use Weapon for 2 Hours 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge time played
5
Use Weapon for 3 Hours 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

Off the Dome[]

Image Tier Criteria Reward
Challenge headshot
1
Get 5 Headshots 500 XP
Challenge headshot
2
Get 15 Headshots 1,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge headshot
3
Get 30 Headshots 2,500 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge headshot
4
Get 50 Headshots 5,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card
Challenge headshot
5
Get 75 Headshots 10,000 XP, Amped R-97 Burn Card

Titanfall 2[]

Rapid fire SMG.
— Description

The R97-CN (Colonial Navy) was developed by Lastimosa Armory as a close-quarters battle weapon. An upgrade to the popular R97-A1, the CN model was developed with the aid of the IMC Colonial Navy Boarding Party in deep space raid operations. The base platform was too flimsy and cumbersome to be used in tight quarters, so the engineers upgraded most of the R97's exterior housing and internal working components to operate in low vaccuum environments.

Elite Pilots have adopted this weapon as a reliable CQB SMG. Tried and true, this weapon unleashes a wall of lead at 700RPM. Its firing range is effective at 100 metres with a muzzle velocity of 800 m/s and has a muzzle energy of 510j in 9.78 m/s^2 standard gravity. A requirement of the IMC's notorious Pilot Selection Course is for a candidate to use an R97-CN to shoot a 10 cm grouping at 25m on full autom after a 20 km run.

Weapon attachments[]

Image Name Description Unlock
Factoryissuesights
Factory Issue
Stock sights.
R-97 Level 1
Holosighttf2
Holosight
Holographic gunsight.
R-97 Level 3
HCOGRangerT2
HCOG Ranger
Enhanced zoom scope.
R-97 Level 6
ThreatScopeT2
Threat Scope
Makes enemies easy to spot by applying an AR overlay to them. Warning: Disables extra mod slot.
R-97 Level 10
Proscreen
Pro Screen
Attachment that displays lifetime weapon XP count for the weapon.
R-97 Regeneration

Weapon mods[]

Image Name Description Unlock
Extraammo
Extra Ammo
Increased ammo capacity.
R-97 Level 2
Gunrunner
Gunrunner
Shoot while sprinting.
R-97 Level 4
Speedloader
Speedloader
Faster reload.
R-97 Level 5
Gunready
Gun Ready
Fast transition into aiming down the sights.
R-97 Level 7
Quickswap
Quick Swap
Faster transition when switching to this weapon.
R-97 Level 8
Tactikill
Tactikill
Pilot kills increase Tactical availability (Faster cooldown).
R-97 Level 9

Weapon camos[]

Main article: R-97/Customization

Titanfall Online[]

Update history[]

Behind the scenes[]

Appearances[]

Gallery[]

Videos[]

Images[]

Trivia[]

  • It appears to be based on the same platform as the R-101C Carbine assault rifle. This is likely a nod to early days of Titanfall's development, where the R-101C was planned to be a fully modular and customizable weapon.
  • The R-97 apparently fires 5.8x42mm rounds, which would make it an Assault rifle instead of an SMG. But given that the 8.19mm round is what's considered intermediate in Titanfall's universe, and the fact that real weapons such as the MK18 are considered SMG's despite their rifle chambering due to their highly compact nature the SMG designation for the R-97 makes sense.
  • The R-97 may be based on the KRISS Vector, a real-world SMG with a similarly shaped magazine well and a very fast firerate, that being 1200 RPM.

References[]

  1. Titanfall 2 Concept Art
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