EE-4 Blaster Rifle

"While its predecessor ─ the EE-3 ─ focuses on precision and range, the EE-4 was constructed with a short and stubby barrel to allow it to fire more effectively at a closer range with spread shots. Despite the reduction in accuracy at range, the blaster makes up for it with a greater rate of fire."

- In-game description

The EE-4 is a semi-automatic blaster rifle featured in Star Wars Battlefront. It was added to the game in the Bespin Expansion Pack.

Design
Small elements of the EE-3 still remain in the EE-4, despite the two being wildly different. The end of the EE-3's stubby barrel, alongside identical optics, prove that the EE-4 is a real successor to its long-range counterpart. The short and stubby barrel contains cooling vents and, considering that the barrel is much smaller than that of the EE-3, this is the likely explanation for its inferior Cooling Power. However, with the loss of the long barrel comes smaller side barrels, which give the blaster its larger burst and superior power.

History
The EE-4 was most notably used by Sana Starros, Galactic Empire-age Smuggler. In order to pull off an elaborate robbery, she and Han Solo married one another, though Solo often denied this, finding her dangerous to him, as he ran off with her cut of the robbery and abandoned her. Starros would travel the galaxy looking for Han Solo, swearing to exact revenge. The Hutt Contract designated for the EE-4 is named in Sana's honour.

Using the EE-4

 * Strong against: Any weapon at close to medium range
 * Weak against: Long-range blasters firing at a range

Usage The EE-4 is widely considered to be one of ─ if not the ─ best blasters in the game. By virtue of its incredible power and high rate of fire to go with it ─ a near-patented, elusive combination shared by very few other blasters in the game ─ at close to medium range, the EE-4 is a juggernaut and force to be reckoned with. At any range, the EE-4 is capable of dishing out 2-shot kills to the body, making it extremely easy to use, unlike the EE-3. The EE-4 also has the second highest burst in the game, firing a grand total of 6 blaster bolts with each pull of the trigger, beaten out only by the CA-87, whose numerous issues make it vastly inferior to the EE-4 in most situations. However, just like the CA-87, the EE-4 is far from perfect: its horrible accuracy at a distance and low Cooling Power ─ only further worsened by its position as a burst weapon ─ give it a middling performance at range, leaving it often incapable of touching enemies that attack it from a distance. It is also by far the most inconsistent blaster in the game, having a luck-based rate of fire pattern and spread; sometimes, blaster bolts from the rifle will surround your enemy and do nothing, and sometimes they will all hit dead on target and 2-shot kill. The latter, however, is incredibly rare. Load out The Focus Fire Charge Card, of all of the Star Cards available in the game, by far synergises the best with the EE-4, curing its horrible accuracy at a range by giving it a more consistent and defined spread. If close range encounters are more important, use of the Cooling Cell Charge Card can be helpful to offset the blaster's low Cooling Power, although this strategy is more of a gimmick than something viable as such. The game's two long-range rifle Star Cards, being the Cycler Rifle and Pulse Cannon, can again help to offset its big weakness at range, although neither are particularly reliable and might cost you a more useful Star Card.

Against the EE-4
At close range, the main check to the EE-4 is to attack from behind. But this is genuinely one of the few ways to actually beat it at point blank ranges ─ unless your opponent has horrible aim or you happen to be using SE-14C with Explosive Shot or the CA-87, hopes of winning a gunfight with the EE-4 at a proximity are low.

At a distance, it is an entirely different story. Targeting enemies using the EE-4 makes the blaster seem like laughing stock, as its ranged capabilities are so poor that it struggles to fight back. Truthfully any weapon that functions well at range, like the DLT-19X, T-21B, Relby V-10, EE-3, or the DLT-19 makes quick work of its users.

Trivia

 * Despite being a medium-range weapon, it shares the exact same long-range optics as the EE-3.
 * Despite the weapon’s description saying otherwise, the EE-4’s rate of fire is actually slower than the EE-3’s, 800 rpm of the EE-3 vs. 600 rpm of the EE-4.
 * The EE-4 has the fifth worst time-to-kill (36th place) of any blaster in the game at point-blank-range.