This weapon is good for a low- to mid-level melee player. The attack button can be held down and it will dismember anything in front of the player (much like a chainsaw or thermic lance). This makes it very good for handling multiple enemies or large, but slow, creatures.
It has a special 'Long Cut' attack, which does 50% damage in V.A.T.S. at the cost of 45 action points (requires a Melee skill of 50).
Rippers do more damage in one action in V.A.T.S. than in normal combat.
When damaging some enemies (like mantises) red blood will be displayed instead of green.
Bugs[]
PCPlayStation 3Xbox 360 Sometimes, a Ripper (Arcade Gannon special version) is in your inventory that is available for use and does not show up in the shop menus, but if it is dropped, you will not be able to pick it up again.