Hard Thorn

The Hard Thorn is a fully automatic assault rifle, though it acts more like an automatic shotgun, and in fact is very similar to the Shotlite Tempest. Each shot of the Hard Thorn sends out a spread of 5 flechettes that deal 102 damage each, for a total of 510 damage per ammunition. Paired with its fire rate of 6 rounds per second (8 rps on mobile), quick 2-second reload, and low 15% movement penalty, this gun won't disappoint most. It also has very cheap ammo, Standard Assault Rifle Ammo.

The Hard Thorn's downsides are its relatively small capacity (of 25 rounds) and its pierce (of 1), which can work backwards as advantage as +1 pierce from Assault Rifle Mastery is a huge benefit.

Like shotguns, the flechettes of the Hard Thorn spread out in long-range combat, thus dealing less damage to a faraway target. However, its classification of Assault Rifle enables it to have more range compared to shotguns with less spread, making it more viable for mid-range combat compared to shotguns.



Though the Hard Thorn has good damage output with its fire rate and five flechettes, this does not change the fact that each shot can hit only one zombie. This means that when fighting swarms zombies, such as a group of Evolved Bloater Elites, two or more Regurgitators, or group of runners. The Hard Thorn could be augmented for Piercing to nullify this problem, but if the level 5 Assault Rifle mastery is achieved, Piercing won't be needed as much.

The Hard Thorn is a great general purpose assault rifle; it can be used for nearly everything. Even zombies that are resistant to physical weapons can be cut down pretty quickly due to devastating damage output. It can rend trash mobs, and Bloaters are shot down in a matter of seconds despite its 1 pierce. It also provides advantage of easier targeting of smaller enemies such as worms, as wider spread can easily hit them. If the player takes the close-range risk of the Hard Thorn against bosses, all early bosses can be dispatched extremely quickly.

A solid weapon for mid-late game, the Hard Thorn will kill nearly anything in its path. Because of its 5 spread-shot (6 on mobile), the Hard Thorn can take advantage of the Heavy Class's Concussion skill. With 40 flechettes per second (before augments) Concussion will transform the Hard Thorn into a very powerful stunlock cannon.

Trivia

 * On all versions of the Hard Thorn, the chainsaw has blood on it, including Black version, which is filtered colorless in most cases.
 * This weapon bears a strong resemblance to the Mark 2 Lancer Assault Rifle from the Gears of War series.
 * The Hard Thorn received a "Christmas Edition" around Christmas (December 25th) 2015. It was called Scissorhands, and replaced the Hard Thorn from Strongboxes and Crafting. Its description was "I can't touch anything without destroying it!" The Christmas name could be a reference to the movie "Edward Scissorhands"
 * Its description in the alpha version was "MEP flechettes".
 * On Mobile the Hard Thorn has 6 flechettes, however total damage remains the same as on PC.