M5A2 Folsom Carbine

Resistance: Fall of Man
The M5A2 Folsom Carbine is the standard-issue rifle of the US Army Rangers. The Folsom is nicknamed "the paddle" for its wide wooden stock and ability to "spank" an enemy. The M5A2 uses the same .303 round as the British rifle, No. 6 Mk 6. Pressing L1 fires the underslung M200 40mm Grenade Launcher. The M200 uses high-explosive grenades which can immediately multiply the firepower available to an individual soldier. The Carbine is the player's starting weapon.

Single Player

 * The Carbine it is a very common weapon, as all Allies are equipped with the Carbine.,
 * The Carbine is a good multi-purpose weapon. It is very effective against Hybrids and Slipskulls. Aim for their heads and they won't cause much of a problem for too long.
 * It fires more slowly than the Bullseye, but has a much narrower spread and faster bullets, making it more effective at long range.
 * The grenade launcher extension is also extremely useful against the bigger enemies, such as the Steelhead, which can be taken down in one hit, but ammunition for this is usually very sparse, so make sure it isn't wasted when obtained.

Multiplayer

 * The M5A2 Carbine is the starting weapon for the Human forces. It is an mediocre weapon; with average damage, rate of fire and accuracy.
 * The Grenade Launcher is exceedingly powerful and in some cases, could be considered the best weapon in the game. The player does not start out with a 40mm grenade, but can get one from a prototype ammo/grenade kit.

Resistance 2
The M5A2 Folsom Carbine is the standard assault rifle issued by the U.S. military and Black Ops. It has decreased its magazine round to 30 rounds and can only carry 2 grenades for the grenade launcher. Its firing is effective at medium to longer range.

Changes from Resistance: Fall of Man

 * Magazine size decreased to 30 instead of 50 rounds.
 * 2 instead of 3 grenades can now be carried
 * Maximum reserve ammunition decreased, forcing the player to resupply more often.

Strategy

 * M5A2 Carbine's 40mm Grenade Launcher is ideal for eliminating a small group of Chimera.

Single Player

 * The Carbine is generally useful against generic Hybrids and other Chimera.
 * Plenty of ammunition is available around levels.
 * The Grenade Launcher takes longer to reload and the blast radius isn't anywhere near as big. However, if it's round hits the target dead on, it will kill most enemies instantly.
 * Whether by developer oversight or deliberate decision, there is no 40mm grenade ammo in the entire game. To get more, the player must discard their current Carbine for another weapon, and then pick up a new Carbine which will have 2 grenades as part of its standard starting ammunition.

Co-op

 * Only the Medic class can eqquip the M5A2 Carbine and it's the first weapon that they can unlock. It's probably more effective to use the XR-42 Phoenix though, unless the player wants to use the Grenade Launcher.

Multiplayer

 * With the new ability to pre-select a weapon in Competitive, the M5A2 Carbine has become more of a specialist's weapon. It's a good all-round weapon, and provides an adequate solution to both close-range and long-range combat.
 * The Grenade Launcher also allows for quick and easy kills.

Resistance 3
The M5A2 Carbine is the eighth weapon found and can be picked up in the beginning of the chapter Nature of the Beast where Joseph Capelli and Fyodor Malikov were inside the train on their way to New York City when they been attacked by group of Wardens, led by former member of SRPA, Mick Cutler. The first upgrade adds a bayonet to the rifle. The last upgrade allows the player to fire 3 grenades in a horizontal line at once in a spread formation.

It is reclaimed in the prison by killing a Warden wielding it and then picking it up from their corpse.

Changes from Resistance 2

 * Magazine size slightly increased; from 30 to 36 rounds.
 * Upgrades can now be equipped.
 * Reserve ammunition is further increased; from 150 to 216 rounds.
 * More detailed model.
 * Slightly different iron sight

Upgrades

 * Bayonet - A bayonet attachment is added that increases melee damage.
 * Extra Grenades - Fires three grenades at once.

Single Player

 * Ammo for the M5A2 can be scarce in later chapters.
 * Carbine's secondary fire can be effective against small group of enemies at once.
 * Suitable for dealing with multiple distant enemies.
 * The grenade launcher never has to reload unlike the model in the previous games.

Multiplayer

 * The M5A2 is the first weapon players will receive with a preset class.
 * The power of the Grenade Launcher has been nerfed considerably, as it is no longer able to kill a player with one shot even with the final upgrade, unless the Demolition ability is equipped.
 * The M5A2 works great with the Gunslinger and Air Cooled Barrel abilities.
 * You can fire up to two grenades with it if the ability that increases Primary and Secondary fire clip size is chosen.

Resistance: Burning Skies
The M5A2 Folsom Carbine is a standard issue human weapon which is used by the Minutemen and the United States Armed Forces. It is the third weapon acquired in the level Staten Island after Tom Riley killed several Leapers in the sewers, found beside the dead soldier before he joins the Minutemen.

Oddly, in this game the second part of the standard M5A2 reloading sound effect (normally used for pulling the charging handle) is instead used for inserting the magazine.

It can fire the grenade by tapping or hold and move the target at the enemies with the touchscreen.

Upgrades

 * Fast Reload - Reload time reduced.
 * Grenade Capacity - Increased grenade capacity.
 * Scope - Adds scoped view.
 * Range - Greater effective range.
 * Reload Charge - Fresh clip does more damage.
 * Larger Explosion - Larger explosions on grenades.

Strategy

 * If the Carbine is equipped with a scope, aim for the heat stack on the Chimera's back and shoot it to make a faster kill.
 * The Carbine's grenade is highly capable for taking out small group of several enemies at one shot.

Resistance: Fall of Man

 * Any of Nathan Hale's allies who possess a carbine will not use the grenade launcher. This is most likely to stop NPCs from killing or injuring the player accidentally with splash damage.


 * In the photograph slideshow in the cutscenes, Nathan Hale's carbine does not have the grenade launcher attachment present. But in the real-time parts of cutscenes, Hale does have a grenade launcher on his M5A2.

Resistance 2

 * Major Richard Blake is the only supporting character to use the Carbine's secondary fire but will only do so if overwhelmed by Leapers in the sewers in Cocodrie, Louisiana.


 * In Cooperative play whenever a Black Ops fire the carbine, the bolts that come out look like giant yellow blobs.


 * Occasionally if a player were to look near a carbine on the ground, it will have a strange bullet-shaped object near it with the SRPA symbol on it. If closely examined, it is far too large to be fired off by the primary Carbine barrel, so it is likely that it is a grenade to be inserted into the secondary fire.


 * On the side of the carbine there is information written on the rifle:


 * Mac Klnnon Armory
 * Roswell, NM
 * Nylon/Carbon
 * Serial #870684-E2


 * This may be a reference to the UFO crash at Roswell, New Mexico in 1947.

Resistance 3 and Others

 * At the butt of the rifle you can see tally marks (most likely kills) which add up to 35.


 * The Folsom is an M14 rifle close to the Mk 14 configuration, using a modern SAGE stock; this is very anachronistic, since the MIL-STD-1913 standard for rail systems was not established until 1995. The shoulder stock and grip are a wooden version of that used by the British L96 sniper rifle, and the grenade launcher is an M203 except in Resistance: Burning Skies, where the un-upgraded version is a Masterkey underbarrel shotgun with the proportions altered.


 * The in-world single 40mm grenade pickup model and the icon shown on grenade launcher ammo boxes in Resistance: Fall of Man is a Russian VOG-25 caseless grenade for the GP series of grenade launchers.


 * In Resistance: Retribution, James Grayson's combat jacket has a picture of two M14 rifles.
 * The concept art of Capelli featured a real-world M14, which may mean that the M14 is planned but not used as a M5A2 replacement.


 * A 50/30 round magazine firing a .303 bullet, plus the weight of the wooden stock, grenade launcher, and full metal barrel, would make this rifle extremely heavy.


 * The Carbine uses a 14 rib 7.62 NATO STANAG magazine, which normally contains 20 rounds.


 * In Resistance 3, after firing the grenade launcher the player can fire it twice without reloading (confirmed in campaign).
 * The M5A2 fires .303 caliber rounds. This is unusual, seeing as the .303 is a British cartridge, and the Folsom is an Amarican Rifle.  It would more likely use the .30-06 caliber bullet that American weapons used in the 1940s and 1950s.
 * In Resistance 3, the Carbine rounds seem to be more powerful than that of a Bullseye unlike the previous games.
 * The earlier designs of the Carbine made it resemble the LR-300, complete with the M203 grenade launcher and the wooden stock/grip seen in today's Folsom Carbine. However this was changed by concept artist Carlo Arellano, who thought that both the gun didn't look right alongside the early design of the Hybrid with the duck-like face.