Lounge Guns provides a step-by-step guide to unlocking and crafting the new CQ7 assault rifle in Star Citizen by building reputation with Rico Battaglia through combat and scanning missions, culminating in a blackbox retrieval mission that rewards the blueprint. The video also covers material gathering and crafting tips for optimal weapon quality, along with combat testing that highlights the CQ7’s unique firing characteristics compared to other rifles.
In this video, Lounge Guns provides a detailed guide on unlocking and crafting the new CQ7 assault rifle in Star Citizen. The CQ7 is a bullpup assault rifle available in patch 4.9, purchasable at various gun stores, but crafting an upgraded version is preferred. To unlock the blueprint for the CQ7, players need to build reputation with Rico Battaglia, a mission giver in Nyx, reaching the trusted associate rank by completing specific missions such as scans, mining, and ship boarding combat contracts.
The quickest way to build the initial reputation is by completing ship-in-distress combat contracts, which provide 300 XP each and involve fighting enemies aboard a Caterpillar ship and repairing its power plant. Players are advised to equip armor, a rifle, and a repair tool, preferably the two-handed SRT tool for faster repairs. After reaching the prospective associate level, scanning contracts become more efficient for reputation grinding. These involve detailed scans of specific asteroids like torite, ice, and beexolite, which can be done reliably in one area without traveling between locations.
To reach the trusted associate rank, players must complete 12 scanning missions. At this level, the sought-after blackbox retrieval mission becomes available, which rewards the CQ7 blueprint upon completion. This mission involves retrieving a black box from a wreck while facing enemy ships. Players need a ship with enough interior space to carry the black box, and after fighting off the enemies, they must return the box to the Grand Bazaar in Levsky, not the freight elevator as is common with other contracts.
Once the blueprint is obtained, players can craft the CQ7 using materials like iron, aluminum, and heestite. Iron impacts the weapon’s damage and fire rate, while aluminum and heestite influence recoil. Iron and aluminum are abundant in Nyx asteroids, but heestite requires travel to other locations like Fuego in Pyro. Lounge Guns emphasizes a quality threshold of around 700 for crafting materials to ensure a superior weapon, and after gathering and refining the materials, he assembles the rifle and customizes it with attachments such as a suppressor, scope, and laser pointer.
In testing the CQ7 during combat missions, Lounge Guns finds the rifle enjoyable to use, noting its differences from other weapons like the Killshot Space AK. The CQ7 has a higher rate of fire but less stopping power and exhibits more recoil yaw, requiring players to adjust their aiming style. He plans to continue using and refining the weapon throughout patch 4.9 and invites viewers to share their experiences with the CQ7 and Rico Battaglia’s missions. The video concludes with a call to like, subscribe, and engage with the channel.