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In the first season of TNG we saw Type 1 phasers alot. To the extent that it seemed like the command staff carried them constantly. After Season 1 they seemed to disappear, even when there use would make sense. Like that mission Riker was on where he was injured and then captured while spying on a pre-warp planet. In fact he was carrying a Type 2. Is there a reason for there disappearance? Were they withdrawn from service for being too small?

They were Gene Roddenberry's idea. He was convinced that ultra-miniaturization was a good way to show advancement, even in the case of a weapon where a certain amount of size is necessary in order to permit accurate aiming. After a while, I think he and the rest of the production staff realized that they looked fucking stupid.

Wesley used one in the episode with the mind-controlling game from Risa. I think that was the last time they were shown (maybe they were withdrawn from line service and issued to cadets only?).

i could see them being useful as, say, close range holdout weapons. But beyond that or the need to carry about small weapons one could pull out in an emergency without attracting much attention to yourself, they're utterly shitty. Ever try aiming with a laser pointer? Takes alot more concentration than with a gun, for example, and it's hard to accurately hit what you're trying to aim at without careful concentration unless it's close up. I'd imagine that's extremely similar to what using a type 1 phaser is like. They're simply not practical weapons to use in a firefight.

The writers realized they were rather poor holdout weapons. Anyone who knows to disarm your Type-2 also knows to scan for a Type-1. We did see them from time to time after the first season of TNG, a few more appearances in TNG, one in the Voyager Pilot, and I think once in DS9 as well.

Personaly I think as just a backup the Type-1 would be excelent for soldiers. Small, easy to conceal, easy to carry, packs enough punch to kill some enemies. Not meant as a primary sidearm, just an emergency backup.

Well it appears to have been used a couple times in Voyager. Got used against a S8472 pretending to be human.

They were mainly withdrawn becuase they were so small you couldn't see what was happening with them.

They redid them for FC but they got reject again...

I've always thought of them as futuristic derringers, a good point-blank holdout piece. As long as the enemy is within 25 yards. Are the TNG era type 1's smaller than the TOS ones?

Thag wrote:Wesley used one in the episode with the mind-controlling game from Risa. I think that was the last time they were shown (maybe they were withdrawn from line service and issued to cadets only?).

It was the episode The Game. Ashley Judd appeared in it too.