The direct sequel to Red Orchestra 2: Rising Storm, Rising Storm 2: Vietnam brings the intense tactical realism of Tripwire Interactive's Red Orchestra series into the the Vietnam War, at the height of American involvement, with the notable continuation of asymmetrical faction elements from the previous title (such as the helicopters and air support of the American forces versus the tunnel spawn system of the Vietnamese forces). Both the United States Army and Marine Corps are present in levels based on their respective battles of the war, fighting against either the National Liberation Front (Viet Cong) or the People's Army of Vietnam (North Vietnamese Army). A new feature of this title is the ability for the player to customize the personal appearance of their in-game character, differentiated between the five factions and the additional helicopter pilot class of the US forces.
The following weapons appear in the video game Rising Storm 2: Vietnam (2017).
Weapons of the US Army, USMC, ARVN and the Australian Army
Sidearms
Colt M1911A1
As with the previous title, the Colt M1911A1 is available as a sidearm to most classes in the US forces as well as the ARVN, with the exception of the Grunt, and the Radioman and Combat Engineer on some maps. The Australian Commander class can also use it. It comes with two spare 7-round magazines. Stout and accurate, the M1911A1's a simple and effective sidearm choice.
Added in the 1.03 update, the M1917 Revolver is an alternative to the 1911 pistol for South Vietnamese forces issued with a sidearm. It is fired in double-action mode with a significantly long trigger pull and poor accuracy, but the hammer can also be cocked manually before each shot to eliminate the delay and the accuracy penalty. The revolver is loaded using two half-moon clips, and comes with 6 spares for a total of the 3 reloads from empty. It cannot be reloaded if less than three rounds have been fired; the player character never ejects a clip if there are still rounds on it, so if 3 to 5 rounds have been fired, he only ejects the half-moon clip with the spent rounds on it by keeping the other one in place with his palm, and one loaded half-moon clip is placed inside the cylinder. If all the rounds have been fired, both clips are ejected and two new ones are put in place.
Added in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the Browning Hi-Power is a standard issue pistol of the Australian Army, complete with 13 round magazines and a fully adjustable rear sight. Reliable damage plus relatively low recoil and mags double the size of most of the other handguns on offer make this a popular backup for anyone playing Aussies.
The M1A1 Thompson was added as the standard-issue SMG for the ARVN faction in the 1.08 ARVN Update. It comes with 30-round box magazines and can be switched between semi and full-auto fire modes. The M1A1's mostly comparable to the VC's MAT-49, a high rate of fire SMG but still relatively controllable and useful at sweeping through rooms at close quarters. The only real con I can give this one is that it suffers from the same overall low amount of spare mags that effects every SMG in the game.
The M3A1 Grease Gun is available to the Pointman, Combat Engineer, and Commander classes. It is issued with 3 spare magazines, and its wire stock can be collapsed for added maneuvrability in tight spaces which, naturally, also decreases accuracy. The Grease Gun is an entertainingly fun SMG which benefits greatly from its slow rate of fire, making it effective at close to medium range.
Introduced in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the Owen Submachine Gun is available to the Australian Scout and Radioman. Like the M1A1, the Owen's mostly comparable to the VC's choice in SMG's. A fast firing, relatively accurate and somewhat controllable gun for sweeping through trench lines.
Introduced in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the F1 Submachine Gun is available to the Australian Scout, Combat Engineer and Commander. While it seems weird given the Owen's already in-game, the F1's slower rate of fire makes it more controllable and accurate in combat. Plus it comes with a bayonet.
The 12-gauge Ithaca 37 pump-action shotgun, used extensively by South Vietnamese in Vietnam, is available to the Pointman and Combat Engineer classes. It comes in three distinct variants :
- the full-size Trench Gun sports wooden furniture, a heat shield, and a bayonet lug which can mount a standard M7 bayonet. It holds 5 shells. The most controllable and simple of all the Ithaca variants, easy to use and easy to run around with in-general.
- the 'Stakeout' Riot Gun is a handier variant, with a pistol grip and no buttstock, that also recoils a lot harder. Note that it isn't an actual 'Stakeout' model : it has a standard 20-inch barrel instead of the shortened 13-inch barrel. A handy shotgun for close quarters maps like Hue City, the Riot Gun's main problem is the lack of an ability to aim down the barrel which is somewhat compensated by the faster ADS time and better maneuverability.
- the 'Duckbill' Conversion is fitted with an extended magazine tube that holds 8 shells, and a muzzle attachment that spreads out fired pellets in a wide, horizontal pattern. While it seems a tad redundant, the Duckbill does have some utility in that it can funnel your shot into a much easier to gauge spread meaning you're less likely to accidentally hit allies with stray pellets. Useful for close quarters maps and areas with pillboxes where a horizontal spread of shot will wipe out whoever is inside.
Both the Trench and Riot Guns are issued with 35 shells of either 00 Buckshot (8 large pellets) or No.4 Buckshot (16 smaller pellets) : the former packs more punch, while the latter increases hit probability at extended ranges because of the sheer number of projectiles. The 'Duckbill' Conversion on the other hand comes with 32 shells of No.4 Buckshot only, to get the most out of its muzzle attachement. It is worth to note that the reload sequence for all the available Model 37 variants is performed incorrecty. When reloading from empty, the player character always puts one shell too many in the magazine tube (5 when there should be 4 for the Trench and Riot Guns, 8 when there should be 7 in the 'Duckbill' Conversion), and does so while the bolt is back so when he racks the action forward, there should be no round in the chamber. And when topping off the magazine tube, he racks the action backward before filling up the magazine tube, which is not only unnecessary but also counter-productive as it ejects an unfired shell.
The M1 Carbine and its fully-automatic variant the M2 Carbine were added in update 1.07. The M1 Carbine is available to Northern Sappers and Riflemen on some maps and comes with 15-round magazines and a well-worn appearance, while the M2 is available as an alternative primary for US Grenadiers as well as the ARVN Pointman and Rifleman and comes with 30-round magazines and can be toggled between semi-auto and full-auto. The M1 and M2 Carbines are best utilized at close to medium range. The M2 is also a good weapon for very close quarters as the .30 Carbine cartridge is more powerful than any of the SMGs on offer.
The M1 Garand has been added as the main rifle of the ARVN. The M1D variant is also used by the ARVN as their standard issue sniper rifle. The M1 Garand balances itself nicely against the more modern weapons favored by the PAVN and NLF, however the .30-06's power means that you have better overall accuracy, more power and a faster reload than most of their weapons. As for the M1D, it's an adequate sniper rifle with more flexibility as you can easily swap over to irons sights.
The M16A1 is the assault rifle of the US Rifleman as well as the ARVN Pointman. It comes with seven spare 20-round magazines that actually hold 18 (a common practice to avoid magazine-related malfunctions), accepts a bayonet, and both the short-range and long-range apertures are usable. The M16 is one of the most effective weapons in the game, given its low recoil, good accuracy and decent power.
The M14 rifle is a large-caliber alternative to the M16 for US Grunts and Radiomen, and is the only rifle available to the Commander role. It is capable of mounting a bayonet, and is issued with five spare 20-round magazines that can be topped off using 5-round stripper clips. Its rear sight can be adjusted for elevation through five settings, from 91 meters all the way up to 457 meters (100 to 500 yards). Although the real-life M14 is select-fire, the in-game version can only be fired in semi-automatic mode (as was common practice during the Vietnam conflict).
Introduced in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the XM177E1 is available to the US Army. The player can adjust the length of the stock which makes the iron sight picture larger and makes the weapon more compact at a cost of controllability on full-auto. The XM177 bridges the gap between the full size M16A1 and the Grease Gun in a very good way, allowing the same power and relative accuracy of the M16 in a size thats useful for tight trenches and tunnels as well as cities.
Introduced in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the L1A1 SLR is available to the Rifleman, Grenadier, Radioman, and Commander classes of the Australian Army. Besides different animations and fire sounds, the L1A1 is mostly comparable to the American M14 with a few caveats. It has a bigger sight picture, slightly faster reloads and fires faster in semi-auto.
The XM21 rifle is available to the US Army Marksman. It comes in two variants :
- the Standard variant is a regular M14 fitted with an AR TEL scope. A great all-rounder marksman's rifle.
- the Suppressed variant (added as part of the August 2017 1.03 update) which is fitted with a sound suppressor instead of the standard flash hider, and fires subsonic ammunition, which means that it's action has to be manually operated after each shot, since the lower power ammunition can't cycle the bolt. Alternatively the gas system might have been cut off by the user to avoid the action noise and make the rifle as quiet as possible. The lower velocity ammunition also means constantly changing the zero is neccessary.
Both rifles come with an AR TEL scope with six magnification setting from 3x to 9x. Each magnification setting also has its own zero setting (the higher the magnification, the higher the zero distance), and it is different for the two rifles because of the different ammunition they fire. The Standard variant starts off at 100m and can get to 700m in 100m increments, while the Suppressed variant begins at 50m and can get to 200m in 25m increments. They also have an alternate aiming mode for close range where the player looks over the scope and uses the dials as impromptu sights.
Both rifles come with 3 spare 20-round magazines.
The M40 Sniper Rifle is issued to the USMC Marksman with the equivalent of six stripper clips of spare ammunition, for a total of 30 spare rounds. Its distinctively-finished Redfield scope is elevation-adjustable through 6 settings, from 90 to 550 meters (100 to 600 yards), However, unlike the actual scope, it is not adjustable for magnification but locked to 3x. This means the scope's rangefinder doesn't work even though the necessary reticule markings are correctly featured. The scope also covers up the feeding/ejection port so the M40 must be reloaded with individual rounds. The M40 is mostly comparable to the VC's M91/30, a slower but more precise sniper rifle except this one doesn't have any backup iron sights.
The M1918A2 Browning Automatic Rifle has been added as the main light machine gun of the ARVN forces. While it's outdated in comparison to the VC's RPD or DP-28, a lot more classes get access to the BAR for the ARVN to balance it out.
The Browning M1919A6 has been added as the main medium machine gun for the ARVN forces, as their counterpart to the M60. The M1919A6 is the most appropriate LMG in the game in terms of sheer volume of fire. With two whole 150 round belts plus a relatively controllable rate of fire especially when on the bipod, the M1919 is the gun in the game most suited for sustained fire.
The M60 is the main machine gun of the American forces, and only available to the Machine Gunner. "The Pig" is issued with either three 100-round belt boxes, or a single 200-round belt of 7.62x51mm ammunition, with one in five a tracer. Its rear leaf sight is adjustable for elevation in 100-meter increments, from 400m to 1100m. It also has a bipod usable when prone or behind cover. With a relatively controllable rate of fire, decent stability and easy to read sights, It is flexible enough to be useful for use with either the bipod or off-hand in a more mobile role.
Like the Maschinegewehrs from Red Orchestra games prior, firing a sustained burst for too long can damage the barrel, warping it which decreases accuracy drastically. However RS2 lacks the ability to change barrels, unfortunately.
Introduced in the 1.05 "Bushranger" content update, the L2A1 machine gun is available to the Australian Machine Gunner and is outfitted with a bipod. What it lacks in suppressive firepower, the L2A1 makes up for it in flexibility by being lighter, carrying more ammo and having a semi auto switch.
The M79 "Thumper" Grenade Launcher is the only explosive launcher available to the US forces. A variety of 40x46mm ammunition is available for different situations : 6 rounds of High-Explosive and 2 rounds of masking smoke, 6 rounds of HE and another 6 rounds of Buckshot, or simply 9 HE grenades. The HE rounds have a realistic arming distance of about 15 meters : within this range, they won't explode if they hit their target, or a barrier. Unexploded 40mm rounds still so damage, and can kill with a well-placed shot : managing this will earn the player the 'Thumper' achievement. Finally, the M79's rear sight is adjustable for elevation from 50 to 300 meters, in 25 meters increments.
The Combat Engineer can equip a M112 C4 charge. It can either be stuck on a surface or thrown a short distances and is detonated using a M57 firing device.
The Claymore mine appears in-game for the US Army, one's given to the Marksman class and the Pointman has two. It can be placed on the ground, and then detonated with a M57 switch, sending dozens of deadly fragments in the direction the front of the mine faces.
The Browning M2HB appears in-game as counterpart to the DSHk, both as a tripod mounted HMG in fixed locations as well as a portable version for deploying in the field. The M2HB uses 100-round .50 BMG boxes of ammunition.
The M134 Minigun is mounted on the side of the OH-6 'Loach' light scout/attack helicopter, and on the chin turret of the AH-1 Cobra attack helicopter. The RVN/US-aligned forces can also call in air support from an AC-47 "Spooky" - parked AC-47s can be found on the airbase levels.
The Tokarev TT-33 appears as the main sidearm for the North Vietnamese forces. What it lacks in raw power, the TT-33 makes up for in repeat shots with fairly lower recoil allowing you to easily put 2-3 shots on target in comparison to the M1911.
Introduced in the 1.03 update on August 2017, the Makarov PM was made available for Communist forces as an alternative to the TT-33, with similar stats all-around to the TT.
The K-50M is a usable submachine gun for the North Vietnamese sapper. It's a fire hose of 7.62 Tokarev that splits the gap between the folding stock SMG's and fixed stock guns, offering all the fun with the option of sliding the stock in for more compact fun.
The MAT-49 is a usable submachine gun for the North Vietnamese forces. Players can choose between the original French 9mm version or the Vietnamese 7.62x25mm Tokarev conversion, the latter has an increased fire rate. The MAT is a very useful SMG for close quarters combat in either version with a potent high rate of fire, relative accuracy and some stability.
The MP40 was added to the game in Update 1.2 as a submachine gun for the NLF, usable with the Sapper class. It's a more low ROF and controllable SMG in comparison to the other NLF offerings, allowing a bit of sense when you begin pulling the trigger.
The PPSh-41 is another usable submachine gun for the North Vietnamese forces, having a much higher fire rate than the MAT-49. Like in Red Orchestra 2, the PPSh starts off with 35-round magazines, though the original 71-round drum magazines are also available in the loadout screen. The fire selector is also usable on the base weapon. The PPSh serves as a high ROF hose in close quarters maps, entertaining to use and annoying to play with once you start pushing it past 100 meters.
A double-barreled IZH-58 shotgun is usable for the North Vietnamese forces in both full-length, Coach Gun and sawed-off versions. The sawn-off version appears to reload slightly faster and is limited to 00 Buckshot while the Coach Gun and full-length versions are able to use 1oz Slugs in addition to Buckshot. What it lacks in repeat firepower, the DB makes up for in accuracy, especially with the long barreled model. The range this thing has even with 00 buckshot is both hilarious, and aggravating.
Weirdly enough, it was called the "IZH-43" in the beta, which was the replacement to the IZH-58 introduced in 1986, then it was renamed the period accurate "IZH-58". However, in a recent update the IZh-58 was painted gloss black and simply dubbed the "SxS shotgun" likely to address the question of how a Soviet double barreled shotgun ends up in the fields of Vietnam.
Several AK-pattern rifles grouped under the "AK-47" classification are available to the Rifleman on the North Vietnamese side :
- the AKM, with its fixed wood stock, 'bakelite' pistol grip, ribbed dust cover and open front sight ring. It accepts a Type II bayonet and is the most average of all the AK variants with relatively accurate fire, controllable full auto fire and overall good performance.
- the Type 56, that differs with its wood pistol grip, smooth dust cover, higher full auto fire rate and fully enclosed front sight ring. It also has integrated spike bayonet which can be unfolded.
- the Type 56-1 is the underfolding variant of the Type 56. It doesn't have a bayonet but can have the stock folded to make it more compact and less controllable.
All three rifles come with three spare 30-round steel magazines. They can be fired in semi or fully-automatic, and while the fire selector is not animated and stays in the 'Safe' position, for some reason, the hand of the character actually moves down when switching to semi, and moves up when switching to fully-automatic. The rear sight of all the rifles are adjustable for elevation from 100m to 800m in 100-meters increments, which is correct for the Type 56 guns, but not for the AKM which should be able to go up to 1000m.
The Mosin-Nagant M91/30 is available to the North Vietnamese factions in both the standard and sniper rifle variants. While old in comparison to other weapons, the Mosin's accuracy and power give it a niche. It does have an achievement tied for getting kills with it, fittingly named "It Belongs In A Museum!".
The SKS appears as the "SKS-45" to the PAVN/VC forces. A decent all-arounder rifle, the SKS is mostly used by classes who get either this or the shotgun; the SKS is the obvious choice for those who don't want to be an angry Papa-san running around with a hunting shotgun. The MAS-49 was later added for many of the same kits.
The SVD Dragunov appears as another sniper rifle for the North Vietnamese Army. It operates as the North Vietnamese's equivalent to the XM21, a semi auto and more flexible sniper rifle.
The RP-46, the belt-fed version of the DP-28 was added in Update 1.3 as an alternative to either the RPD or DP-28. What it lacks in total ammo capacity and spare rounds is made up for by allowing high power belt fed covering fire.
The RPD appears as the main light machine gun for the North Vietnamese forces, serving as a direct counterpart to the M60 with relatively controllable rate of fire and stability. It uses the 100-round drum by default, but a 200-round belt variant was added in Update 1.2.
The iconic RPG-7 appears as the main launcher for the North Vietnamese forces, coming with the launcher plus 3 rounds. While it must be aimed before you fire, it's effective against both ground targets and helicopters. In a bit of rarely-seen realism, the RPG-7 does have a backblast when fired, so you can accidentally kill yourself or allies with that if you're not careful.
Several maps have DShK heavy machine gun mounted on tripod mounts for the North Vietnamese. Feeding from standard 50-round boxes, the DShK is used both for firing on infantry but especially for anti-air and anti-helicopter roles. A player-deployable version was added in Update 1.2.
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