The R.Y.N.O. targets multiple enemies in front of Ratchet, and once it fires, a missile hits each. The missiles each do major amounts of damage, meaning they are likely to destroy most targeted enemies, regardless of their size. Once acquired, the player often has no real need to use any other weapon, unless they have run out of ammunition. This is because the R.Y.N.O. is so powerful and so versatile, and its ammunition cheaper than other less powerful weapons, that there is no need to ever use another weapon against any boss or group of enemies.
The player may wish to conserve ammunition and use weaker weapons against larger groups of weaker enemies, but otherwise, the R.Y.N.O. is useful in all cases. The only drawback to the weapon is that it is often acquired by the player at a point when they have finished much of the content of the game, and do not need the R.Y.N.O. to overcome any new challenge.