Gallant

The M41 Gallant was an assault rifle produced by Atreus. Introduced shortly after Gate's entry into the Web of the worlds, the Gallant was head and shoulders above the Great War-era "needle autoguns" in use by most of the Web. It was also a savvy business move by Eusic Mori, using Guardian-level technology to build a needle weapon suited to the tastes of the wider Web.

With an ergonomic design, lighter materials, precision engineering, and optional under-barrel grenade launcher, the Gallant was dubbed "the rifle from the future." The Gallant was purchased in droves; to this day, it is one Atreus's best-selling products.

However, the Gallant had some issues. This was Atreus's first needle weapon and it showed; it was somewhat over engineered, over complicated, and prone to breaking during extended field use. Some cynics even claimed this was a business move to ensure a steady sale of replacement parts. This become a big problem for the rifle, as corporate turmoil at the company led to disruption in parts manufacturing and supply chains.

The nascent Kuat Consortium responded by launching its N4 line of assault rifles (see: N4A Alpha Assault Rifle and N4B Bravo Assault Rifle, focusing on reliability and pointedly using a larger caliber than the Atreus weapon (7.62 mm vs. 6.8 mm). Although the Gallant had better accuracy at long range, the company's leadership was kind of a giant clusterfuck at that time and transitioning away from the weapons manufacturing business. Kuat's needle weapons become the Web's standard.

There are still many of these rifles floating around, which is to be expected, given how many Atreus sold back in the day. Although largely replaced by Kuat's N4 rifles in the military, the Gallant is still common among "second line" units, mercenaries, and enthusiasts (who insist that the gun still has the best range and accuracy in its class, 'when properly maintained'.)