Anti-Aircraft Cannon: Difference between revisions

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{{Loadout neutral|"Which piece of you should Heavy send home to momma?"}}

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{{Quotation|'''Anti-Aircraft Cannon''' [https://tf2classic.com/fight_or_flight/day2 publicity blurb]|Instead of bullets, this thumping old beast shoots short-range explosive rounds, so fast you can't see them—or airblast them—in flight. They'll detonate when they hit a surface, but they'll also detonate at a fixed range, dealing midair splash damage that's tough to avoid. (We've reassured Heavy that flak cannon explosive rounds are a lot like bullets.)}}

{{Quotation|'''Anti-Aircraft Cannon''' [https://web.archive.org/web/20250124201828/https://tf2classic.com/fight_or_flight/day2 publicity blurb]|Instead of bullets, this thumping old beast shoots short-range explosive rounds, so fast you can't see them—or airblast them—in flight. They'll detonate when they hit a surface, but they'll also detonate at a fixed range, dealing midair splash damage that's tough to avoid. (We've reassured Heavy that flak cannon explosive rounds are a lot like bullets.)}}

The '''Anti-Aircraft Cannon,''' commonly referred to as the '''A.A. Cannon''', is a primary weapon for [[Heavy]], added in the [[Fight or Flight]] update. It resembles an anti-aircraft cannon, scaled down so as to be carried by a person.

Compared to the stock [[Minigun]], the Anti-Aircraft Cannon has a much slower firing rate, less ammo, and a limited effective range. However, it fires high-damage hitscan bullets that explode when colliding with a surface or a player, or after 900 Hammer Units, dealing splash damage to all enemies in its wake. Despite being hitscan, the bullets still have a 6.5x6.5x6.5 Hammer Unit collision hull, meaning they cannot fit through very small gaps or shoot around tight corners, and can hit enemies even if the user's crosshair is slightly off of them. This also means that the bullets cannot be [[Flame Thrower|airblasted]] by an enemy Pyro, and will not destroy enemy [[Stickybomb Launcher|stickybombs]]. The user can take damage (but not knockback) from their own explosions, so it is necessary to keep a short distance from whatever they are shooting at. This is assisted by the weapon's high knockback, preventing enemies from closing the distance between them and the Heavy. The Minigun's damage penalty against [[Sentry Gun|Sentry Guns]] does not apply to the Anti-Aircraft Cannon.

Compared to the stock [[Minigun]], the Anti-Aircraft Cannon has a much slower firing rate, less ammo, and a limited effective range. However, it fires high-damage hitscan bullets that explode when colliding with a surface or a player, or after 900 Hammer Units, dealing splash damage to all enemies in its wake. Despite being hitscan, the bullets still have a 6.5x6.5x6.5 Hammer Unit collision hull, meaning they cannot fit through very small gaps or shoot around tight corners, and can hit enemies even if the user's crosshair is slightly off of them. This also means that the bullets cannot be [[Flame Thrower|airblasted]] by an enemy Pyro, and will not destroy enemy [[Stickybomb Launcher|stickybombs]].

The user can take damage (but not knockback) from their own explosions, so it is necessary to keep a short distance from whatever they are shooting at. This is assisted by the weapon's high knockback, preventing enemies from closing the distance between them and the Heavy. The Minigun's damage penalty against [[Sentry Gun|Sentry Guns]] does not apply to the Anti-Aircraft Cannon.

In addition, the Anti-Aircraft Cannon will mini-crit enemies who are 128 Hammer Units above the ground, and will mini-crit enemies who are explosive jumping or using a [[Jump Pad]] from any distance. The weapon's high knockback means that enemies can be juggled in the air, allowing for multiple mini-crits on an airborne enemy.

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➕ Shoots explosive rounds that can deal splash damage

➕ Deals mini-crit damage to airborne enemies

➕ Does more damage per shot

➕ Has perfect accuracy

~~➕ Higher damage per shot~~

</poem>

| <poem>

➖ Does less damage per second

➖ Has limited range

➖ Can deal self-damage

➖ ~~Much lower DPS~~

➖ Has less ammo

➖ Scatters enemy stickybombs and mines instead of destroying them

</poem>

|}

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* Now uses player hitboxes instead of player hulls

* Fixed an issue where equipping the Anti-Aircraft Cannon made Shotguns use player hulls for hit detection

* Added missing stats for the Anti-Aircraft Cannon

* Fixed a crash related to firing the Anti-Aircraft Cannon while dead

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== Trivia ==

* Part of the publicity blurb for the Anti-Aircraft Cannon says "Shoot for the moon!". This is part of the quote "Shoot for the moon. Even if you miss, you'll land among the stars". It is commonly attributed to Norman Vincent Peale, who was inspired by the Space Race.

* Although the Anti-Aircraft Cannon's model was overhauled in 2.1.3, the original model released with the Fight or Flight update can still be seen in the promotional art produced for the update pages, and on the achievement ~~icons~~ for ~~Duck Season,~~ Policy of Containment~~, and Red Scare~~. In the game files, a vtf file remains of an ao bake texture from an older version of the model.

* Although the Anti-Aircraft Cannon's model was overhauled in 2.1.3, the original model released with the Fight or Flight update can still be seen in the promotional art produced for the update pages, and on the achievement icon for Policy of Containment. In the game files, a vtf file remains of an ao bake texture from an older version of the model.

~~== Comparisons from ''Team Fortress 2'' ==~~

* The weapon's 40 ammo capacity and its slow, single-shot firing rate may be inspired by Pyro's [[tf:Dragon's Fury|Dragon's Fury]]. Both weapons offer different playstyles from their stock counterparts which have high damage per second.

== Gallery ==

File:Weapon_aacannon.png|First-person view.

File:Weapon_aacannon_og.png|First-person view of the pre-[[2.1.3]] model.

File:Fight or flight heavy.png|Promotional image by {{dev|boba}} and {{dev|Hunter R. Thompson}} of the Heavy with the Anti-Aircraft Cannon, shooting an [[Engineer]] using the [[Jump Pad]] out of the sky. [[Chekhov's Punch]] is in his back pocket.

File:concept_aa_cannon.png|Concept art by {{Dev|Mazern}}

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