Hard Thorn

SAS: Zombie Assault 4 Weapon
- Hard Thorn -
Normal [RED] [BLACK]
Normal [Red] [Black]
Manufacturer [?]	Rancor
Ammo Cost [?]	80 for 200 800 for 200 960 (Steam Version) 80 for 200 800 for 400 960 for 400 320 for 200 3,200 for 200 3,840 for 200 (Steam Version) 80 for 200 5120 for 400 XX,000 for 400 (Premium Ammo)
Damage/Pellet	102 192 288 85 (mobile) 160 (mobile) 240 (mobile)
Pierce	1
Pellets/shot [?]	6
Rate of Fire	6 rps 8 rps &
Capacity	25
Reload Time	2 sec
Movement	-15%
Firing Mode	Full-Auto
Weapon Class	Assault Rifle
Damage Type	Physical
Approx. Drop Level	34 82 &
Single DPS [?]	3,060 7,680 11,520
Pierce DPS [?]	3,060 7,680 11,520
Augmented DPS [?]	12,240 30,720 46,080
Crafting Cost [?]	1,666,440 3,600,200 18,001,000 3,332 45,002 540,030

"Each round of the fully automatic Hard Thorn contains 5 razor flechettes, each as deadly as a pistol round. Designed to shred and cause mass hemorrhaging to soft targets."

―Official Description

The Hard Thorn is classified as a fully automatic assault rifle, though it behaves like an automatic shotgun very similar to the Shotlite Tempest. Each shot of the Hard Thorn sends out a spread of 6 flechettes, each flechette deals 102 damage (85 on mobile; higher for RED and BLACK) at close range at 6 rounds per second (8 rps on mobile). With a 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 is a great automatic shotgun, that 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.

Because of its 6 pellets (both on steam and mobile), the Hard Thorn can take advantage of the Heavy Class's Concussion skill, transforming it into a very powerful stunlock cannon.

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 and +10 capacity from Assault Rifle Mastery will improve on these. A fully augmented Hard Thorn at close range and level 5 AR Mastery is equal to Shockfield in damage with a much lower High Damage bullet cost.

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 six flechettes, flechettes can't arc and don't create area damage, thus are "soaked" by a larger tougher enemies. This means that when fighting swarms, a group of Evolved Bloater Elites or massive Elite class bosses (like Regurgitators) can tank your shots, fencing the enemies behind them. 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.

Trivia

• On all versions of the Hard Thorn, the chainsaw has blood on it, including 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".
• Weapon fires 6 flechettes on steam and mobile version, see the image.