Initially, the weapon was a bulky, industrial plasma caster, manufactured by Winchester Arms while it performed admirably, it was expensive and required specialized training to use. In extreme cases, the plasma can cause spontaneous dissolution of the target, including separation of soft tissues from hard ones or wholesale molecular destabilization that turns the target into a viscous green fluid. The primary damage mechanism of plasma rifles is thermal transfer, causing serious burns to soft targets and melting hard ones. However, the plasma bolt chamber can be hotwired in order to accelerate the bolt formation process, effectively turbocharging the rifle. The bolts form into toroids in the plasma chamber, which are then sent down a superconducting barrel, propelled by, and in some models stabilized by, electromagnetic claws upon exiting it.

Plasma rifles or plasma casters are high tech weapons firing superheated bolts of plasma, powered by either microfusion cells, heavy energy cells, plasma cartridges, or plasma cores which find numerous applications in military and industrial fields.