NihilCredo Jun 6, 2011

iram omni possibili modo preme:

plus una illa te diffamabit, quam multæ virtutes commendabunt



iram omni possibili modo preme:plus una illa te diffamabit, quam multæ virtutes commendabunt





A Guide To Your Blacklight: Retribution Toys



Equipment









Helmets , in addition to health and speed (and stamina), also affect your armour and HRV stats. Armour is your protection against headshots (and only headshots), which deal twice the damage reduced by your armour stat. So if you have 10% armour, a headshot deals 90% * 2 = 180% as much damage to you. Helmets with stronger armour generally have worse HRV recharge and duration, and vice versa. There are also three speed-oriented Hazmat helmets which provide protection from elemental damage, at the cost of some HRV recharge.



In most cases, a heavy helmet of some sort (the Allied Ranger is a safe choice) is all the armor you will want to purchase while youre learning, since it puts you past the default 200 health that lots of weapons are aimed at. Once youre in your 20s you can start figuring out if you like speed or heavy builds.









, in addition to health and speed (and stamina), also affect your armour and HRV stats. Armour is your protection against headshots (and headshots), which deal twice the damage reduced by your armour stat. So if you have 10% armour, a headshot deals 90% * 2 = 180% as much damage to you. Helmets with stronger armour generally have worse HRV recharge and duration, and vice versa. There are also three speed-oriented Hazmat helmets which provide protection from elemental damage, at the cost of some HRV recharge. In most cases, a heavy helmet of some sort (the Allied Ranger is a safe choice) is all the armor you will want to purchase while youre learning, since it puts you past the default 200 health that lots of weapons are aimed at. Once youre in your 20s you can start figuring out if you like speed or heavy builds. Chests and legs affect your health, speed, stamina, and number of gear slots.



Generally more speed and less health = more stamina, also fewer gear slots = more stamina. However, the numbers curve weirdly and in some cases are not correctly balanced (eg the Piranha legs are strictly worse than Colossus legs). Until this gets fixed, pay attention to your options.

There is an Armor Optimizer fan-made program if you want to figure out the most efficient parts for your needs. Or just go with whatever looks cool.











and affect your health, speed, stamina, and number of gear slots. Generally more speed and less health = more stamina, also fewer gear slots = more stamina. However, the numbers curve weirdly and in some cases are not correctly balanced (eg the Piranha legs are strictly worse than Colossus legs). Until this gets fixed, pay attention to your options. Tactical gear , aka the backpack item, represents a major part of your loadout and is key to determining your playstyle and role within team play beyond "shoot bad guys". Since they're expensive items, it's worth going into detail for each one:



Revival injector : Throw it at dead teammates to let them get up immediately (with half health). Awesome in pretty much every objective mode, particularly if you're a good guy who cares more about winning than about his K/D.

Repair tool : Lets you repair hardsuits, turrets, barricades, and the tank in Siege mode. Since all but the last one are pretty disposable this is a terrible and useless backpack in anything but Siege matches, where it owns.

Ammunition pod : Drops a single (!) ammo pack that refills the ammo and grenades of the first player to walk over it. I.e. saves you one (1) trip to the depot. This is a horrible backpack that should never be bought for any reason.

Heal injector : Left click to heal allies for 100 points (costs 1/5th of the energy), right click to heal yourself for 50 points (costs the full energy). It's a great equipment for pretty much any build or situation and a very safe first purchase.

Hardsuit Battle Mode : Can give your hardsuit or Siege tank 10 seconds of major resilience. Unfortunately it takes ~1 second to activate so it's almost impossible to protect them from rockets, which are the major threat from any competent team; the recharging is also stupidly slow. All in all a very niche item.

Hardsuit HRV Ping : Lets you do a periodic sonar-like scan of the area while in a hardsuit or tank. Nowhere near as good as the real HRV, and slow as balls to boot, this is a lovely item that should never be bought.

Cloak Mk.1 : Lets you turn invisible to the eye (but not to HRV or infrared scopes), though you can't shoot or use items and there's a noticeable shimmer especially when you sprint. It's pretty useful to avoid being noticed while hacking objectives or to cross dangerously open areas, but ninja-assassination is mostly effective against newer players who don't instantly react to the uncloaking sound. Not a bad item by any means.

Barricade Mk.1 : Hold to (mostly) protect you from bullets unless they hit the slit or your feet (also bash for 125 damage ), deploy to have a stationary and very resilient wall. THE SHIELD is a goon favourite with tons of fun applications, from blocking hallways to safely carrying the flag to just camping out a node in style. Common misconception: carrying it on your back does not protect you from being shot from behind.

Barricade Mk.2 : AKA the riot shield, this is a lighter version of the barricade that won't slow you down or obstruct your view, but can't be deployed. Completely amazing for flag runners, but not much else. The perma-purchase option is real cash only (can be rented with funbux).

Cloak Mk.2 : A slight tweak on the cloak that will keep you "dark" on infrared sights, but has the massive drawback of only staying active for 10 seconds at a time - although it does also recharge much faster. Not a great tradeoff overall, especially since the anti-infrared patch exists. Same market options as the Barricade Mk.2.

Respawn beacon : Drop to let you respawn where you left it (unless an enemy finds it and destroys it) rather than at a regular spawn point. A simple item, quite useful on large maps for camping or to make more attempts at capping the enemy flag.

HRV Cloak : Temporarily hides you from the HRV view (unless you're really close); a little trickier to use than the regular cloak due to the lengthy activation and needing to stay out of sight, but MUCH more effective for ambushing enemies. Can't be permanently purchased (either with funbux or real money), only rented week by week; fortunately it's a common drop from mission chance packs.

Firewall Breach Kit aka the Hack-a-Pack: Makes the hacking minigame trivially fast, doubles the time before an enemy can hack the node back, and gives you a noticeable buff to HRV recharge. A very specialised item that is king of the DOM game mode and makes Siege gates much less of a pain.













, aka the backpack item, represents a major part of your loadout and is key to determining your playstyle and role within team play beyond "shoot bad guys". Since they're expensive items, it's worth going into detail for each one: Gear items are loaded into the slots that your chest and legs provide (from zero to four). Most of them are single-use, though they can be refreshed at a depot with an Ammo Refill (100CP). They fall into a few categories:





Melee weapons . Very fun but not terribly effective compared to, say, a SMG or a shotgun. The combat knife (and the Mk.2 which is a straight upgrade) swings fast but is otherwise poo poo since you can bash with your gun or with a thrown weapon (see below) for similar results; the machete has a much longer lunge and deals 200 damage, although it's slow to equip; and the breach hammer kills in one hit (and does triple damage to hardsuits as well) but it doesn't lunge and needs to have its spring reloaded after every hit. The hammer is your best bet, particularly if you have a fast build that can make up for the lack of a lunge.



Thrown weapons can double as melee weapon (swing with right click), although they aren't as effective as a machete or hammer. When thrown, the knives (5 shots) deal 200 damage at potentially infinite range, the sonic tomahawk (1 shot) instakills, the shuriken (3 in one shot) deal 50 damage and stun - and can stick to walls for 15 seconds as nearly invisible traps - while the tomahawk (1 shot) deals 200 damage and can be exploded like a weak grenade. Shurikens and explosive tomahawks were overpowered for the longest time and got FINALLY nerfed in the August patch, but you may expect some rage to persist about them



Grenades are quite straightforward items. Frag deals damage, HE concentrates the damage tighter, Shock deals less damage but adds a brief blinding/BSOD effect; these are the main ones. Toxic creates a poison cloud that deals major damage over time, won't kill very often but is invaluable for clearing critical spots or stopping pursuers. EMP and Digi deal very little damage but the former causes a longer BSOD and the latter (the only grenade that comes with two shots) creates a digital 'smoke cloud'; neither is as good as a lethal grenade but they have their uses.



Dropped items might as well be called Traps , as they are the trickster's core arsenal. The HRV Blackout is the standout and a pillar of serious play, creating a bubble that blanks HRV detection (but is visible to the naked eye), hiding a player or other items in this category. The Proximity Mine is what you'd expect and a major source of angry chat logs, especially when dropped inside a blackout or in the path of a running pursuer. The Stun Mine is its poor cousin and largely overshadowed by the more versatile shurikens (above). The HRV Decoy creates an illusion in the HRV that won't fool anyone but total newbies, making it a completely useless item; however, the Personal Holo-Decoy creates a far more effective visual hologram (right click for standing still, left click for running ahead) and might easily be the most funny item in the entire game.



Patches are passive items that give limited protection (16-20%) against specific damage types, and annoyingly can't be permaently purchase but only rented weekly. The anti-explosive patch is by far the best, anti-fire and anti-melee will save your rear end once in a while(and are amazing in Onslaught), and anti-toxic and anti-electro are a waste of funbux. The anti-infrared patch is a new addition that makes you dark on infrared scopes, and pretty much only makes sense in pairing with the Cloak Mk.1.









items are loaded into the slots that your chest and legs provide (from zero to four). Most of them are single-use, though they can be refreshed at a depot with an Ammo Refill (100CP). They fall into a few categories: Depot items are what you buy at depots with points scored during matches. Your default selection is pretty solid; when you first try out new items, they should probably replace the flamethrower since it is a bit redundant (the rocket is generally a much easier way to kill a hardsuit) but it can burn enemies pretty fast and it lets you steal hardsuits so it can still be nice.



The function of most depot items is straightforward - big gun, turret, bigger gun, etc. - so I won't bother listing them, especially since they drop from mission packs like candy, but a few tips:



Health Refill: After you've bought something else, if you're not in a hurry and have plenty of spare CP, activate the depot again and buy a Health Refill. In an emergency this will let you heal faster by quickly hitting E -> Space.



The Ammo Refill will also reload your grenades and mines/blackout/decoy (if they've been destroyed already), which is actually its primary attractiveness, since if you were just out of bullets you could always pick up a weapon from a dead player. Weapons purchased at the Depot won't be reloaded, you need to equip and use the Heavy Weapon Refill for that.



Katana: Left click to lunge ahead (275 damage), right click for a slash (200 damage). Even though you can "charge" the lunge while sprinting, spamming the slash is generally the better choice since it's so drat quick.



Bear Claw Grenade Launcher: its grenades will always explode 0.5s after the first time they bounce - no matter how long it takes. So you cannot have grenades explode over somebody's head no matter how long the arc, and if you fire on the floor close to you the grenade will explode almost immediately. Treasure this knowledge, because it is key to turning 12 grenades into 12 bullshit inescapable kills, rather than just spamming an ineffectual rain like most pubbies do.



Trident Minigun: If you crouch, it becomes extremely accurate.



Brimstone Airstrike: The targeting dart can be stuck on players (and Hardsuits) and the airstrike will follow them. Enemy players might be smart enough to run indoors, nulllifying the weapon, but an ally with a dart in it can also chase the enemies in safety thanks to the lack of friendly fire.



Ghost Railgun: It may be the only weapon in the game that goes through targets, so you can enfilade enemies, and more importantly, you can hit a hardsuits weak point even if its on the other side. Also: its not a hitscan weapon, although its extremely fast, so you may need to lead targets a tiny bit.



Hardsuit/Assault Bot Caller: Needs to be called somewhere where there's no roof or other object in the way, otherwise it will fail or in some cases (used to happen on Vortex) the hardsuit will get stuck on the way down. This means it can't be used at all on Metro, by the way, since the whole map is underground. Allies running in front of you will also interrupt the call, so try not to use it too close to a spawn point. Very occasionally the caller will 'freeze' and nothing happens even though all lights are green; switch your weapon back and forth and try again.



Using the Hardsuit: You can fire both weapons simultaneously, which is key in particular to winning hardsuit duels (another important trick is to fire all over the enemy's body and look for the blue sparks that mark the weak point); reloading manually will reload both weapons at once, though, so be careful. You can strafe left-right while boosting, which is important since it lets you boost even through not-perfectly-straight paths. Exiting the hardsuit is instant, and re-entering (if it's yours) is very quick, so always jump out if a flamethrower user catches you in the back but he's alone, or when your hardsuit falls down to 500 health or so in regular combat (escaping a rocket in the same way may be possible but I've never been fast enough to pull it off). Finally, if you have a gaming mouse, switch to the maximum sensitivity settings when piloting a hardsuit, it will let you turn that much faster (this is even more of an advantage with the Scorpion tank in Siege).







items are what you buy at depots with points scored during matches. Your default selection is pretty solid; when you first try out new items, they should probably replace the flamethrower since it is a bit redundant (the rocket is generally a much easier way to kill a hardsuit) but it can burn enemies pretty fast and it lets you steal hardsuits so it can still be nice. The function of most depot items is straightforward - big gun, turret, bigger gun, etc. - so I won't bother listing them, especially since they drop from mission packs like candy, but a few tips:

Weapons









Receivers are the "core" of each weapon. They automatically come with a default set of the other parts (even the ones that aren't on the starter assault rifle, e.g. receiver-specific magazine, bullpup stock).









are the "core" of each weapon. They automatically come with a default set of the other parts (even the ones that aren't on the starter assault rifle, e.g. receiver-specific magazine, bullpup stock). Muzzles affect damage, accuracy, and recoil. They apply to almost all primary and secondary weapons.



A few muzzles are labelled as "suppressors" rather than the default "flashbrake". Weapons with a suppressor make a much quieter sound and have a greatly reduced muzzle flash. Muzzle flash is visible when hipfiring or when aiming with an open scope, but not when aiming with a closed or zoom scope; also, on some maps the flash is much brighter and more annoying than on others (your graphics settings may also affect this).



There is no inherent drawback to using a suppressor, but you are limited to a much smaller selection of muzzles (all but one reduce damage, and all but one reduce accuracy).









affect damage, accuracy, and recoil. They apply to almost all primary and secondary weapons. A few muzzles are labelled as "suppressors" rather than the default "flashbrake". Weapons with a suppressor make a much quieter sound and have a greatly reduced muzzle flash. Muzzle flash is visible when hipfiring or when aiming with an open scope, but not when aiming with a closed or zoom scope; also, on some maps the flash is much brighter and more annoying than on others (your graphics settings may also affect this). There is no inherent drawback to using a suppressor, but you are limited to a much smaller selection of muzzles (all but one reduce damage, and all but one reduce accuracy). Barrels affect damage, accuracy, and running speed. They apply to almost all primary weapons; pistols and shotguns also have their own sets of barrels.



Many barrels include an iron sight of some sort at the front. When you aim, this will overlap with your scope if it's an open scope, but not if it's closed or zoom. Some open scopes will align nicely with the front sight, others will not, which can be annoying. Unfortunately, Zombie has refused to remove the sights from the barrel models, so you can either deal with it, switch to a closed scope, or tweak your build to use a nicer barrel.









affect damage, accuracy, and running speed. They apply to almost all primary weapons; pistols and shotguns also have their own sets of barrels. Many barrels include an iron sight of some sort at the front. When you aim, this will overlap with your scope if it's an open scope, but not if it's closed or zoom. Some open scopes will align nicely with the front sight, others will not, which can be annoying. Unfortunately, Zombie has refused to remove the sights from the barrel models, so you can either deal with it, switch to a closed scope, or tweak your build to use a nicer barrel. Magazines affect reload speed, running speed, and ammo count; elemental ammo can have other effects. All magazines are specific to their particular receiver.



Quick, express, and light magazines are all straight upgrades over the standard magazines for their respective weapons. The exceptions are the LMG-R, where the three normal-ammo options are all balanced; and the shotguns, where the "default" magazine consists of manually loading individual shells, which is very slow but lets you fire after even a single shell has been loaded, and also has a big running speed bonus.



Elemental ammo are high-level options, have slightly worse reload and running speed stats than even the standard magazine, can only be rented and never be permanently purchased (not even with real cash!), and can be banned in premium servers (and usually are). You'd then expect them to be horribly overpowered - instead, they almost universally suck, with a few exceptions. There are five times of elemental ammo:





Explosive ammo deals 80% as much damage as normal, but makes an annoying noise when you get hit by it, and prevents you from being revived if you're killed by it. It's terrible unless you only care about being annoying.



Toxic ammo deals 40% as much damage as normal, then another 40% over a veeeeeeerryyyy long time period; both are upgraded to 50% if the victim is already poisoned (ie after the first bullet). It also causes an annoying visual effect and some minuscule damage to allies who stand near a poisoned victim. It's terrible unless you only care about being annoying.



Electro ammo deals 90% as much damage as normal, but deals 110% damage to enemies zapped by stunning effects and to mechanical enemies, and it also causes a slightly annoying visual effect. It's terrible.



Incendiary ammo deals 70% as much damage as usual, and another 40% over several seconds for a total of 110%. Most pubbies throw an absolute shitfit whenever you use incendiary ammo, which alone can be a good reason to use it. In reality, though, it's a terrible choice, because while it is slightly better at killing enemies, it's also going to give enemies a lot more time to kill you i.e. it will get you killed a lot. The only gun on which it's unquestionably good is a max-damage bolt action rifle, since you can fire a shot then hide while the burn damage does its work, but a max-damage bolt action rifle is significantly inaccurate so it's a pretty hit-and-miss tactic. (literally).



Magnum ammo has no special effects, but improves damage and range (only range, not spread) at the cost of recoil and running speed. For the majority of weapons the tradeoff is bad as you'll be able to get the same damage rating through muzzles and barrels with less penalties, but on a few primary receivers and on most secondaries magnum ammo lets you reach higher damage values than otherwise. Or perhaps you dont care about recoil at all, so it becomes a viable option.



















affect reload speed, running speed, and ammo count; elemental ammo can have other effects. All magazines are specific to their particular receiver. Quick, express, and light magazines are all straight upgrades over the standard magazines for their respective weapons. The exceptions are the LMG-R, where the three normal-ammo options are all balanced; and the shotguns, where the "default" magazine consists of manually loading individual shells, which is very slow but lets you fire after even a single shell has been loaded, and also has a big running speed bonus. Elemental ammo are high-level options, have slightly worse reload and running speed stats than even the standard magazine, can only be rented and never be permanently purchased (not even with real cash!), and can be banned in premium servers (and usually are). You'd then expect them to be horribly overpowered - instead, they almost universally suck, with a few exceptions. There are five times of elemental ammo: The most important thing you will want to know about Scopes is what they look like (though you will get a 3-day trial of each as you unlock them), so I'm just going to link to the wiki page for reference.



There are two types of scopes: open (mostly under 3x zoom factor) and closed (which includes those described as "zoom" or "infrared"; mostly with zoom factor 3x or greater). Open scopes are faster but leave you exposed to muzzle flash unless you use a silenced muzzle, and the barrel's front sight may get in the way; aiming with a closed scope is slower and has a brief "black-out" transition, but avoids those issues.



A few high-level closed scopes are marked as infrared , and they highlight friends and enemies as shown in the picture above. The downside is that they are slower and have lovely inaccurate awkward crosshairs; there are also a couple of items that make you almost invisible to infrared vision, but they are rarely used.



Since people keep asking that question: there is no "best scope", it's a matter of preference. And since people keep asking that question anyway , the most popular scope is the Silverwood CONS ELO-Tech (level 12), followed by the OPRL Reflex-2 Holo (level 15), with a probable third the Lightsky ELO-Tech R6 (level 24).









is what they look like (though you will get a 3-day trial of each as you unlock them), so I'm just going to link to the wiki page for reference. There are two types of scopes: (mostly under 3x zoom factor) and (which includes those described as "zoom" or "infrared"; mostly with zoom factor 3x or greater). Open scopes are faster but leave you exposed to muzzle flash unless you use a silenced muzzle, and the barrel's front sight may get in the way; aiming with a closed scope is slower and has a brief "black-out" transition, but avoids those issues. A few high-level closed scopes are marked as , and they highlight friends and enemies as shown in the picture above. The downside is that they are slower and have lovely inaccurate awkward crosshairs; there are also a couple of items that make you almost invisible to infrared vision, but they are rarely used. Since people keep asking that question: there is no "best scope", it's a matter of preference. And since people keep asking that question , the most popular scope is the (level 12), followed by the (level 15), with a probable third the (level 24). Stocks affect accuracy, recoil, and running speed. The main set of stocks applies to almost all primary weapons and several secondary weapons; there is a separate set of bullpup stocks that are only used by the burstfire rifle and the bullpup full-auto. Bullpup stocks can affect reload speed in addition to the other stats (since they include the magazine well).



You can mount stocks on light and heavy pistols, but only after you've put a custom barrel on them; such modded pistols are sometimes called carbines. This has the bonus effect that open scopes will now look the proper size instead of being tiny when you aim (because you're now resting the weapon against your shoulder instead of extending your arm).





affect accuracy, recoil, and running speed. The main set of stocks applies to almost all primary weapons and several secondary weapons; there is a separate set of bullpup stocks that are only used by the burstfire rifle and the bullpup full-auto. Bullpup stocks can affect reload speed in addition to the other stats (since they include the magazine well). You can mount stocks on light and heavy pistols, but after you've put a custom barrel on them; such modded pistols are sometimes called carbines. This has the bonus effect that open scopes will now look the proper size instead of being tiny when you aim (because you're now resting the weapon against your shoulder instead of extending your arm). One final, important note: since the August patch, a weapon's running speed modifier (determined by receiver, barrel, magazine, and stock) also directly affects its move-spread and scope-in time stats. So a heavy-rear end weapon may fire bigger bullets with better accuracy and less recoil, but in addition to slowing you down it's going to suck at circle-strafing in close quarters and at quickscoping. This is extra relevant for fat player builds, which used to be able to merrily run the biggest and heaviest weapons because they would hit the minimum speed cap of 7.00 anyway; the free lunch has now been considerably reduced.





A Big Table Of How Many Bullets It Will Take To Kill Some Of The Most Common HP Totals (credit to sharyth from the official forums):



When you first build your guns, you'll probably want to build a "pubstomper" i.e. a gun tuned against the 200HP default build which is by far the most common (so 40/50/67 damage). It's also worth taking a look at what hero is currently featured in the free rotation, as that will be a popular encounter (eg if Lilith = 237HP is free, 40/48/60 become much better steps). As you become more experienced, pubbies in default gear won't be much of a threat so it may be more efficient to aim for whatever build is in fashion for the e-peen crowd (currently that would be a 224HP build, so 38/45/56 damage).







Primary Weapons



Sorted by recommended range of engagement, from closest to farthest.



Tactical Sub-Machine Gun (TSMG)







Level required for GP purchase: 20; also available via 200 GP chance pack, at any level



Effective range: Short



Rating: Medium



Best premade: "Enforcer"



General tips: If you like to zip around at near-max speed and not worry too much about pesky things like "recoil management" or "right click", this is the gun for you. Stupidly accurate with no recoil, but also no range and little damage - you REALLY REALLY want to be tricky and catch enemies off-guard because you will lose fair fights.



Build tips: Max damage muzzle and tag for 36 damage are a must. Extended magazine highly recommended, although magnum is an option if you don't waste ammo.



Eargasm rating: 8/10. A pleasant high-techy firing sound accompanies one of the best reloads in the game. Click-cluck-tch-click!





20; also available via 200 GP chance pack, at any level Short Medium If you like to zip around at near-max speed and not worry too much about pesky things like "recoil management" or "right click", this is the gun for you. Stupidly accurate with no recoil, but also no range and little damage - you REALLY REALLY want to be tricky and catch enemies off-guard because you will lose fair fights. Max damage muzzle and tag for 36 damage are a must. Extended magazine highly recommended, although magnum is an option if you don't waste ammo. 8/10. A pleasant high-techy firing sound accompanies one of the best reloads in the game. Click-cluck-tch-click! Sub-Machine Gun (SMG)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Medium-low



Best premade: "Blaster"



General tips: Appropriately for the oldest of the SMGs, this gun is a middle-of-the-road approach between the TSMG's tame breeze and the M4X's wild tornado. Customization allows you to tweak it to your tastes, but I would recommend first making sure that none of the other, more specialized CQC guns fits your style.



Build tips: Figure out how much recoil you're willing to deal with, then squeeze as much damage as possible while keeping Spread-Move under three degrees, preferably with a good margin.



Eargasm rating: 5/10. It sounds like a wet fart and the reload is fairly wimpy. The silenced version is much better, at least.





1 Medium-low Appropriately for the oldest of the SMGs, this gun is a middle-of-the-road approach between the TSMG's tame breeze and the M4X's wild tornado. Customization allows you to tweak it to your tastes, but I would recommend first making sure that none of the other, more specialized CQC guns fits your style. Figure out how much recoil you're willing to deal with, then squeeze as much damage as possible while keeping Spread-Move under three degrees, preferably with a good margin. 5/10. It sounds like a wet fart and the reload is fairly wimpy. The silenced version is much better, at least. Burst-Fire Sub-Machine Gun (BFSMG)







Level required for GP purchase: 32; also available via 100 GP chance pack at any level (this will on average be much cheaper than a direct purchase) or in Lilith's 100ZEN premium skin chance packs



Rating: High



Best premade: Ranger



General tips: Despite it firing in 4-round bursts, this quirky gun actually beats the regular automatic SMG handily in terms of damage-per-second, and if that wasn't enough it gains a major boost in range and aiming accuracy. Agile enemies might become a little trickier to handle without spray-and-pray, but the other benefits of the gun are so significant that it's very worth putting in the effort to learn it.



Build tips: Combining a damage muzzle, a damage tag, and magnum ammo (conveniently provided for cheap by the same 100GP chance packs from which you got the receiver) gives you a 50-damage build that is one of the scariest weapons in the game, and it's hard to recommend anything else. Its only flaw is an ammo shortage (7 bursts), but frankly I'd reach for a machine pistol or even a melee weapon before I'd bother with a quick/extended magazine.



Eargasm rating: 6/10. Decent reload, but the firing is kind of stuttery and awkward.





32; also available via 100 GP chance pack at any level (this will on average be much cheaper than a direct purchase) or in Lilith's 100ZEN premium skin chance packs High Despite it firing in 4-round bursts, this quirky gun actually beats the regular automatic SMG handily in terms of damage-per-second, and if that wasn't enough it gains a major boost in range and aiming accuracy. Agile enemies might become a little trickier to handle without spray-and-pray, but the other benefits of the gun are so significant that it's very worth putting in the effort to learn it. Combining a damage muzzle, a damage tag, and magnum ammo (conveniently provided for cheap by the same 100GP chance packs from which you got the receiver) gives you a 50-damage build that is one of the scariest weapons in the game, and it's hard to recommend anything else. Its only flaw is an ammo shortage (7 bursts), but frankly I'd reach for a machine pistol or even a melee weapon before I'd bother with a quick/extended magazine. 6/10. Decent reload, but the firing is kind of stuttery and awkward. M4X







Level required for GP purchase: 15



Rating: Very high



Best premade: Theres only one, and it's pretty good.



General tips: If the BFSMG wasn't up to your taste, the M4X offers a similar package - even more damage, more range, more accuracy - with a different tradeoff: a bit of slowdown, and a TON of recoil. Horizontal recoil. This is the first gun in the list that really requires you to control the barrel, but if you rise to the challenge you're getting a beast that absolutely shreds in brawls and isn't weak when you need to aim either.



Build tips: The impression I get is that there's two kinds of M4X users: those who try to bargain with the recoil, and end up frustrated because it's harsh even at minimum, and those who suck it up and accept having to restrain their spraying at times (or to pray for a lucky recoil-into-headshot). If you're the former, I'd suggest looking at the SMG instead. If you're the latter, don't feel obligated to go for the 50-damage build; unlike with the BFSMG, the tradeoffs here are very noticeable and investing in some accuracy and/or speed is probably a good idea.



Eargasm rating: 3/10. It feels like you got a bee in your ear, and it doesnt so much reload as fall apart and need maintenance.





15 Very high Theres only one, and it's pretty good. If the BFSMG wasn't up to your taste, the M4X offers a similar package - even more damage, more range, more accuracy - with a different tradeoff: a bit of slowdown, and a TON of recoil. Horizontal recoil. This is the first gun in the list that really requires you to control the barrel, but if you rise to the challenge you're getting a beast that absolutely shreds in brawls and isn't weak when you need to aim either. The impression I get is that there's two kinds of M4X users: those who try to bargain with the recoil, and end up frustrated because it's harsh even at minimum, and those who suck it up and accept having to restrain their spraying at times (or to pray for a lucky recoil-into-headshot). If you're the former, I'd suggest looking at the SMG instead. If you're the latter, don't feel obligated to go for the 50-damage build; unlike with the BFSMG, the tradeoffs here are very noticeable and investing in some accuracy and/or speed is probably a good idea. 3/10. It feels like you got a bee in your ear, and it doesnt so much reload as fall apart and need maintenance. Bullpup Full-Auto (BFPA)







Level required for GP purchase: 29



Rating: Medium



Best premade: N/A



General tips: The BPFA offers very high mobility, excellent hipfire, and low recoil, at the cost of reduced lethality and range; it's basically the TSMG equivalent in the medium range category. Fast players will enjoy having a bit more versatility as they zip around the map, but most people will gravitate to the AK or AR instead.



Build tips: I'll be honest, I find the BPFA's recoil non-existent (and what little there is, is almost entirely vertical) so I shove on it all the max-recoil parts at the very right of the list, magnum mag included, and call it a day as I dump 56 damage at 2.29° move spread. But if that doesn't work for you, you can - and should - keep a respectable 52-53 damage with just the damage muzzle, after which you still have a good deal of move spread to trade for speed or recoil.



Eargasm rating: 6/10. The vote comes from the average of the firing sound, which is an excellent kick-y effect, with the reload one, which is a horrible cheap plastic tweaking that makes the gun feel about to break every time you press R.





29 Medium N/A The BPFA offers very high mobility, excellent hipfire, and low recoil, at the cost of reduced lethality and range; it's basically the TSMG equivalent in the medium range category. Fast players will enjoy having a bit more versatility as they zip around the map, but most people will gravitate to the AK or AR instead. I'll be honest, I find the BPFA's recoil non-existent (and what little there is, is almost entirely vertical) so I shove on it all the max-recoil parts at the very right of the list, magnum mag included, and call it a day as I dump 56 damage at 2.29° move spread. But if that doesn't work for you, you can - and should - keep a respectable 52-53 damage with just the damage muzzle, after which you still have a good deal of move spread to trade for speed or recoil. 6/10. The vote comes from the average of the firing sound, which is an excellent kick-y effect, with the reload one, which is a horrible cheap plastic tweaking that makes the gun feel about to break every time you press R. Assault Rifle (AR)







Level required for GP purchase: Default weapon.



Rating: Very high



Best premade: No need, just buy a good scope



General tips: Nowadays it's harder and harder to find a top-level player not using an assault rifle specced for high accuracy and move-spread, which is currently the one gun in the game that combines a strong hipfire (in the low 3 degrees) with a range in the 50s and the accuracy to hit there. Sure, the recoil is harsh, but not much harsher than most M4Xes. Since most maps feature a good spectrum of ranges of engagement, the AR's versatility is extremely valuable.



Build tips: As mentioned, 50 damage with near-max accuracy is king; high damage builds are still viable but they're overshadowed by the AK, while low-recoil builds with high capacity magazines have been savagely nerfed by the August patch.



Eargasm rating: 6/10. A loud crackling that isn't actually annoying, but definitely isn't particularly enjoyable either.





Default weapon. Very high No need, just buy a good scope Nowadays it's harder and harder to find a top-level player using an assault rifle specced for high accuracy and move-spread, which is currently the one gun in the game that combines a strong hipfire (in the low 3 degrees) with a range in the 50s and the accuracy to hit there. Sure, the recoil is harsh, but not much harsher than most M4Xes. Since most maps feature a good spectrum of ranges of engagement, the AR's versatility is extremely valuable. As mentioned, 50 damage with near-max accuracy is king; high damage builds are still viable but they're overshadowed by the AK, while low-recoil builds with high capacity magazines have been savagely nerfed by the August patch. 6/10. A loud crackling that isn't actually annoying, but definitely isn't particularly enjoyable either. AK470 (AK)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Very high



Best premade: Theres only one, and it's pretty good (try to aim more often than you hipfire though)



General tips: In theory, the AK is an AR that has more drastic tradeoffs in every direction. In practice, these tradeoffs are easily exploited to make a gun very similar to your favourite AR build but with four to six more points of damage. The main culprit is probably the recoil which, while potentially harsh, only really kicks in after the 3rd-4th bullet, so you'll get a lot of kills from the initial blast. The AK isn't a straight upgrade to the AR, which is much better at sustained bursts, but it's sufficiently better that its competitive ban is understandable.



Build tips: Keep the damage on the high side, 54 or higher; if you stick to 50-ish then the equivalent AR will start to become competitive due to their superior spraying, and don't even think about going sub-50. Asides from that, you'll be trading aiming ability (heavy parts with good recoil) versus hipfire ability (light parts with good speed), and that trade can go either way.



Eargasm rating: 8/10. Sounds great in first person, a satisfying crack with a slight reverb effect, with a reload similar to the HAR. It gets dinged because when someone else fires it the sounds are compressed and muddy.





1 Very high Theres only one, and it's pretty good (try to aim more often than you hipfire though) In theory, the AK is an AR that has more drastic tradeoffs in every direction. In practice, these tradeoffs are easily exploited to make a gun very similar to your favourite AR build but with four to six more points of damage. The main culprit is probably the recoil which, while potentially harsh, only really kicks in after the 3rd-4th bullet, so you'll get a lot of kills from the initial blast. The AK isn't a straight upgrade to the AR, which is better at sustained bursts, but it's sufficiently better that its competitive ban is understandable. Keep the damage on the high side, 54 or higher; if you stick to 50-ish then the equivalent AR will start to become competitive due to their superior spraying, and don't even think about going sub-50. Asides from that, you'll be trading aiming ability (heavy parts with good recoil) versus hipfire ability (light parts with good speed), and trade can go either way. 8/10. Sounds great in first person, a satisfying crack with a slight reverb effect, with a reload similar to the HAR. It gets dinged because when someone else fires it the sounds are compressed and muddy. Light Machine Gun (LMG)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Low



Best premade: Source Code



General tips: As a longtime fan of this mobile turret and its ridiculous 47450 damage per minute, it makes me sad to admit that it barely even qualifies as a niche gun. Yes, you can crouch to counteract the low accuracy. Yes, you can prefire to sink the harsh initial recoil. But now that the last patch has also made it effectively impossible to hipfire the LMG, the drawbacks are just too big to justify saving a single bullet in kill time. Onslaught zombies, and some Helodeck or Metro matches, may provide enough packed enemies to make the huge mags useful, but that's about it.



Build tips: For Onslaught, where it's hard not to hit something, I'd still bring a max-damage low-recoil LMG with incendiary ammo. In regular matches, other goons have had some success with ultralight kamikaze builds.



Eargasm rating: 5/10. The burping noise it makes while firing is menacing but, from the gunner's point of view, uninspiring, and the reload is a clunky mess.





1 Low As a longtime fan of this mobile turret and its ridiculous 47450 damage per minute, it makes me sad to admit that it barely even qualifies as a niche gun. Yes, you can crouch to counteract the low accuracy. Yes, you can prefire to sink the harsh initial recoil. But now that the last patch has also made it effectively impossible to hipfire the LMG, the drawbacks are just too big to justify saving a single bullet in kill time. Onslaught zombies, and some Helodeck or Metro matches, may provide enough packed enemies to make the huge mags useful, but that's about it. For Onslaught, where it's hard to hit something, I'd still bring a max-damage low-recoil LMG with incendiary ammo. In regular matches, other goons have had some success with ultralight kamikaze builds. 5/10. The burping noise it makes while firing is menacing but, from the gunner's point of view, uninspiring, and the reload is a clunky mess. Light Machine Gun Recon (LMG-R)







Level required for GP purchase: 28



Rating: Low



Best premade: "Stallion"



General tips: You could think of this gun as a LMG that actually lets you move - it can hipfire as well as any SMG! - at the cost of a huge damage reduction. But its maybe better to think of it as a HAR that doesnt punish you for spamming, thanks to huge magazines and a decreasing recoil, at the cost of accuracy and fire rate. So if all you want is to hold left click down forever then a LMG-R is your gun, but the question is why would you do that instead of killing with a single accurate burst?



Build tips: I'm fond of the light mag (because at 450rpm even 40 rounds are a lot) and of the Jurisdiction barrel (because its range penalty is reduced to 3m); I also wouldn't focus too much on damage, you will often need four bullets anyway. Keep a good hipfire so you don't need to stay too exposed, or your high time-to-kill will be the bane of you.



Eargasm rating: 8/10. Its firing is reminiscent of a good bass line, but the reloading is hit-and-miss: the clanking metal sounds are as likely to please as to annoy.





28 Low You could think of this gun as a LMG that actually lets you move - it can hipfire as well as any SMG! - at the cost of a huge damage reduction. But its maybe better to think of it as a HAR that doesnt punish you for spamming, thanks to huge magazines and a decreasing recoil, at the cost of accuracy and fire rate. So if all you want is to hold left click down forever then a LMG-R is your gun, but the question is why would you do that instead of killing with a single accurate burst? I'm fond of the light mag (because at 450rpm even 40 rounds are a lot) and of the Jurisdiction barrel (because its range penalty is reduced to 3m); I also wouldn't focus too much on damage, you will often need four bullets anyway. Keep a good hipfire so you don't need to stay too exposed, or your high time-to-kill will be the bane of you. 8/10. Its firing is reminiscent of a good bass line, but the reloading is hit-and-miss: the clanking metal sounds are as likely to please as to annoy. Heavy Assault Rifle (HAR)







Level required for GP purchase: 11; also available via 300 GP Grendel chance pack (this will on average be more expensive than a direct purchase) and part of the 2000ZEN Assault Kit package



Rating: Medium



Best premade: "Striker"



General tips: As a heavy gun, the HAR was also hit by the August buff to the speed stat, but not as bad as it could have been. It hipfires worse, but it's far from unusable, and it still has a strong niche as the one fully automatic rifle with a range that can reach over 70m, meaning you can play marksman on the big maps while still adapting to firefights.



Build tips: Don't put everything into accuracy - the recoil will punish you, whether hipfiring or aiming. A 67-damage build will pubstomp wonderfully, but if you don't need that just make sure you catch most people in four bullets and invest in recoil so you can actually go full-auto with this gun; otherwise you might as well have grabbed a BFR or CR. Oh, and with a 22 base mag size, a +2 ammo tag starts to look real nice.



Eargasm rating: 9/10. A hefty chug-chug-chug makes you feel every bit of that fat recoil, and the reload sound is so satisfying you'll actually be glad for the small mag size.





11; also available via 300 GP Grendel chance pack (this will on average be more expensive than a direct purchase) and part of the 2000ZEN Assault Kit package Medium As a heavy gun, the HAR was also hit by the August buff to the speed stat, but not as bad as it could have been. It hipfires worse, but it's far from unusable, and it still has a strong niche as the one fully automatic rifle with a range that can reach over 70m, meaning you can play marksman on the big maps while still adapting to firefights. Don't put into accuracy - the recoil will punish you, whether hipfiring or aiming. A 67-damage build will pubstomp wonderfully, but if you don't need that just make sure you catch most people in four bullets and invest in recoil so you can actually go full-auto with this gun; otherwise you might as well have grabbed a BFR or CR. Oh, and with a 22 base mag size, a +2 ammo tag starts to look real nice. 9/10. A hefty chug-chug-chug makes you feel every bit of that fat recoil, and the reload sound is so satisfying you'll actually be glad for the small mag size. Burstfire Rifle (BFR)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Very high



Best premade: "Fortune"



General tips: Zombie finally got sick of the three-round bullpup surviving endless nerfs and slapped it with a flat -5 to damage. Guess what? It's still very very good . The insane accuracy while aiming lets it headshot almost as well as the true sniper rifles, and in CQC it still beats the AR/AK on pure DPS (though only by a bit, and it's considerably less accurate). Keep owning face with it, and if anyone complains just type "but it got neeeeeerfeeeed".



Build tips: No real change here - first you want almost maximum accuracy, then you can invest in damage for CQC or in recoil for easier sniping. Unlike with the AR/AK, it's OK to go under 50 damage.



Eargasm rating: 7/10. The firing sound itself is nothing to write home about, but when you manage to control the climb in just the right way to get multiple headshot DING!s on a single burst it's one of the best feelings ever.





1 Very high Zombie finally got sick of the three-round bullpup surviving endless nerfs and slapped it with a flat -5 to damage. Guess what? . The insane accuracy while aiming lets it headshot almost as well as the true sniper rifles, and in CQC it beats the AR/AK on pure DPS (though only by a bit, it's considerably less accurate). Keep owning face with it, and if anyone complains just type "but it got neeeeeerfeeeed". No real change here - first you want almost maximum accuracy, then you can invest in damage for CQC or in recoil for easier sniping. Unlike with the AR/AK, it's OK to go under 50 damage. 7/10. The firing sound itself is nothing to write home about, but when you manage to control the climb in just the right way to get multiple headshot DING!s on a single burst it's one of the best feelings ever. Combat Rifle (CR)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: High



Best premade: "Tryhard"



General tips: Who just got its old recoil back? The CR did! And the semi-automatic sniper rifle is now much much scarier, with the way it can easily bodyshot+headshot whole teams much faster than the alternatives. It's not as l33t as OHK'ing with a bolt-action, but it's no less effective. Oh, and you can spam it in CQC if someone sneaks up on you, too.



Build tips: Minimum recoil, 84 damage, extended mag (and +ammo tag), that's it. Ignore accuracy, aiming will always be accurate; you can sacrifice a little from any of those three pillars to get better hipfire, but the CR will never be more than mediocre in that role so don't sweat it.



Eargasm rating: 7/10. The bullets make a nice meaty crackling sound. Adequate reload.





1 High Who just got its old recoil back? The CR did! And the semi-automatic sniper rifle is now much much scarier, with the way it can easily bodyshot+headshot whole teams much faster than the alternatives. It's not as l33t as OHK'ing with a bolt-action, but it's no less effective. Oh, and you can spam it in CQC if someone sneaks up on you, too. Minimum recoil, 84 damage, extended mag (and +ammo tag), that's it. Ignore accuracy, aiming will always be accurate; you can sacrifice a from any of those three pillars to get better hipfire, but the CR will never be more than mediocre in that role so don't sweat it. 7/10. The bullets make a nice meaty crackling sound. Adequate reload. Bolt-Action Rifle (BAR)







Level required for GP purchase: 1; also available via 1000 GP Ghost GP Chance pack (this will on average be way more expensive than just buying it directly) and 1500 ZEN Sniper Kit package



Rating: High



Best premade: Warlord



General tips: This is the classic omg360quickscopeOHK gun. Zoom up, shoot (hopefully the head for an instakill in all but exceptional circumstances), dezoom, repeat. There's no bullshit to worry about either, no scope sway or bullet drop, but you also most likely will only get one shot because the HRV (or the blackout bubble) gives your position away. If you can't headshot, leaving enemies at ~20HP so your teammates can mop them up is still good courtesy.



Build tips: You want 180 damage or just under, more than that and you get hard penalties to accuracy; the 'regular' accuracy stat is irrelevant as it only affects hipfire. Recoil, conversely, is critical as it affects your firing rate, so you want it as high as you can; finally, runspeed affects scope-in time but only a little so don't worry too much about it. Scopes no longer have unique scope-in times, so you may now go with whatever you prefer (IR included!). Finally, +AMMO TAG FOR THE LOVE OF GOD



Eargasm rating: 8/10. While the reload sound is a little fussy and creaky, the solid BLAM of the firing is worth the ticket on its own. Particularly when you spot a group of enemies and mow them down in quick succession, you will feel an angel of death.





1; also available via 1000 GP Ghost GP Chance pack (this will on average be way more expensive than just buying it directly) and 1500 ZEN Sniper Kit package High This is the classic omg360quickscopeOHK gun. Zoom up, shoot (hopefully the head for an instakill in all but exceptional circumstances), dezoom, repeat. There's no bullshit to worry about either, no scope sway or bullet drop, but you also most likely will only get one shot because the HRV (or the blackout bubble) gives your position away. If you can't headshot, leaving enemies at ~20HP so your teammates can mop them up is still good courtesy. You want 180 damage or just under, more than that and you get hard penalties to accuracy; the 'regular' accuracy stat is irrelevant as it only affects hipfire. Recoil, conversely, is critical as it affects your firing rate, so you want it as high as you can; finally, runspeed affects scope-in time but only a little so don't worry too much about it. Scopes no longer have unique scope-in times, so you may now go with whatever you prefer (IR included!). Finally, +AMMO TAG FOR THE LOVE OF GOD 8/10. While the reload sound is a little fussy and creaky, the solid BLAM of the firing is worth the ticket on its own. Particularly when you spot a group of enemies and mow them down in quick succession, you will feel an angel of death. Anti-Materiel Rifle (AMR)







Level required for GP purchase: 35; also available via 3995 ZEN Evacuation pack



Rating: Low-medium



Best premade: N/A



General tips: Pro: any hit is an instakill, 3x damage to hardsuits and tanks, your melee attack is a punch. Con: useless hipfire, limited ammo, 1s scope-in time, 4-5s reload time per shot, inaccurate enough to occasionally miss (unless you crouch). If that sounds harsh, it is; a CR or BAR will generally get a lot more kills, although the ability to near-guarantee stopping high-value targets (flag carriers etc.) is awesome in some game modes. Another hidden benefit: no gun will get you called a noob and/or fag quite as much



Build tips: Pick one of the heavy stocks, ignore speed - you should be switching to your secondary whenever you need to move anyway. In fact, the most important build tips is to make sure you have a good and versatile secondary, and that you're really really good with it.



Eargasm rating: 10/10. Fires like the Hand of God and reloads like the Harbinger of Doom.





Secondary Weapons



Machine Pistol (MP)







Level required for GP purchase: 26



Rating: High



Best premade: "Reaver"



General tips: The definition of spray-and-pray, this little beast basically demands an extended mag to do its job, and even so you should not expect to kill more than one guy before needing a reload. Still, if you like consistency, its hard not to land at least a few bullets.



Build tips: Extended mag, damage muzzle. Yawn.



Eargasm rating: 6/10. It's not as bad as the SMG's wet fart, but it's still at least a mouth fart.





26 High The definition of spray-and-pray, this little beast basically demands an extended mag to do its job, and even so you should not expect to kill more than one guy before needing a reload. Still, if you like consistency, its hard to land at least a few bullets. Extended mag, damage muzzle. Yawn. 6/10. It's not as bad as the SMG's wet fart, but it's still at least a mouth fart. Shotgun







Level required for GP purchase: 20



Rating: Very high



Best premade: N/A (in Practice mode some bots carry the "Metal Storm" )



General tips: Point somewhere between the neck and upper chest, fire, and you have a good chance of killing in one blast, and certainly in two. Try not to miss too much, because the fire rate and mag size will make you pay for it, but otherwise youre golden.



Build tips: Pick up a grip (oddly enough, a straight upgrade), a damage barrel, and choose if you want a magazine (for faster reload) or manual shell load (lighter, lets you fire in mid-animation). The stock doesnt matter all that much as long as you avoid the ones with really crazy recoil.



Eargasm rating: 10/10. KA-BLAAAAM!





20 Very high N/A (in Practice mode some bots carry the ) Point somewhere between the neck and upper chest, fire, and you have a good chance of killing in one blast, and certainly in two. Try not to miss too much, because the fire rate and mag size will make you pay for it, but otherwise youre golden. Pick up a grip (oddly enough, a straight upgrade), a damage barrel, and choose if you want a magazine (for faster reload) or manual shell load (lighter, lets you fire in mid-animation). The stock doesnt matter all that much as long as you avoid the ones with really crazy recoil. 10/10. KA-BLAAAAM! Shotgun AR-K (SARK)









Level required for GP purchase: 26



Rating: Medium-low



Best premade: N/A



General tips: Half-sized shells firing at twice the rate in automatic mode may sound like a fair trade compared to its pump-action cousin, but losing the one-hit-kills is a big loving deal. The best way to use the SARK that I've found is to always go for headshots, taking advantage of the fact that a miss isn't nearly as punishing as it is for a regular shotgun.



Build tips: Damage barrel is a must, as is an extended if not even drum mag, because the manual loading is MUCH slower than on the normal shottie. As for stocks, recoil reduction is somewhat useful, while accuracy makes very little difference; speed might actually be best so you can close in a bit faster.



Eargasm rating: 2/10. I owe my apologies to the SMG and MP, this is what a fart gun actually sounds like.





26 Medium-low N/A Half-sized shells firing at twice the rate in automatic mode may sound like a fair trade compared to its pump-action cousin, but losing the one-hit-kills is a big loving deal. The best way to use the SARK that I've found is to always go for headshots, taking advantage of the fact that a miss isn't nearly as punishing as it is for a regular shotgun. Damage barrel is a must, as is an extended if not even drum mag, because the manual loading is MUCH slower than on the normal shottie. As for stocks, recoil reduction is somewhat useful, while accuracy makes very little difference; speed might actually be best so you can close in a bit faster. 2/10. I owe my apologies to the SMG and MP, this is what a fart gun actually sounds like. Burstfire Pistol (BFP)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Medium



Best premade: "Cyclone"



General tips: Nowhere near as lethal as the shotgun, this P226 knockoff is able to reach about twice as far while still killing in only two 3-round bursts, making it a decent if unexciting option.



Build tips: Extended mag recommended, although magnum is an option; you have the speed to spare. Scope choice is awkward due to a lack of stocks - open scopes will look tiny, while even the weakest closed scopes are probably too strong. Personally I'd just go scopeless for the looks, but a 2x IR scope to take out cloaked stalkers is probably the winning options.



Eargasm rating: 7/10. Nothing amazing, but the way this little bugger spews out upwards of 120 damage like it was no big deal really clicks for me.





1 Medium Nowhere near as lethal as the shotgun, this P226 knockoff is able to reach about twice as far while still killing in only two 3-round bursts, making it a decent if unexciting option. Extended mag recommended, although magnum is an option; you have the speed to spare. Scope choice is awkward due to a lack of stocks - open scopes will look tiny, while even the weakest closed scopes are probably too strong. Personally I'd just go scopeless for the looks, but a 2x IR scope to take out cloaked stalkers is probably the winning options. 7/10. Nothing amazing, but the way this little bugger spews out upwards of 120 damage like it was no big deal really clicks for me. Light Pistol (LP)







Level required for GP purchase: Default



Rating: Very low



Best premade: Don't.



General tips: If you like how it plays, save up money for a heavy pistol receiver, which is better in almost every way. Either that or make the 873rd thread in the official forums suggesting buff ideas.



Eargasm rating: 6/10. It gets style points because with a silencer it will make you feel like an assassin with its nigh-inaudible puff (and its a good e-peen challenge, too).





Default Very low Don't. If you like how it plays, save up money for a heavy pistol receiver, which is better in almost every way. Either that or make the 873rd thread in the official forums suggesting buff ideas. 6/10. It gets style points because with a silencer it will make you feel like an assassin with its nigh-inaudible puff (and its a good e-peen challenge, too). Heavy Pistol (HP)







Level required for GP purchase: 1



Rating: Low



Best premade: "Mauler"



General tips: Being better than the light pistol is no big praise, and the heavy pistol is still only decent at best, with limited range and limited damage. Its intended role was probably as a middle ground between the shotgun and the revolver, but it is so much less lethal that no amount of versatility can make up for it. At least it looks cool.



Build tips: You definitely want a barrelled setup (also called a carbine) for at least 53-54 damage, and for maximum tacticool points. Extended mag necessary, as usual. Make sure your spread-move is under 3°, you will still primarily hipfire this.



Eargasm rating: 7/10. Probably the closest to a classic BANG! BANG! in this game.





1 Low Being better than the light pistol is no big praise, and the heavy pistol is still only decent at best, with limited range and limited damage. Its intended role was probably as a middle ground between the shotgun and the revolver, but it is much less lethal that no amount of versatility can make up for it. At least it looks cool. You definitely want a barrelled setup (also called a carbine) for at least 53-54 damage, and for maximum tacticool points. Extended mag necessary, as usual. Make sure your spread-move is under 3°, you will still primarily hipfire this. 7/10. Probably the closest to a classic BANG! BANG! in this game. Snub 260







Level required for GP purchase: 37



Rating: Medium-high



Best premade: N/A



General tips: A revolver with less damage and the inability to mount a scope, but a much higher fire rate, its a great weapon for people who can control their spamming and a great trap for spammers who will get themselves killed while reloading.



Build tips: The Precision mag turns it into the longest-range secondary in the game, though the lack of a scope means its much much harder to make use of that range compared to the revolver. The High-Caliber mag turns it from a three-shotter into a two-shotter, but loses you accuracy, recoil, and most importantly three bullets, making it even more unforgiving; even so, its still most likely a good trade. Magnum is sort of halfway between regular and HC, though IMO not worth the expense.



Eargasm rating: 8/10. Less meaty than the revolver, but still pleasantly loud, particularly when spammed.





37 Medium-high N/A A revolver with less damage and the inability to mount a scope, but a much higher fire rate, its a great weapon for people who can control their spamming and a great trap for spammers who will get themselves killed while reloading. The Precision mag turns it into the longest-range secondary in the game, though the lack of a scope means its much harder to make use of that range compared to the revolver. The High-Caliber mag turns it from a three-shotter into a two-shotter, but loses you accuracy, recoil, and most importantly three bullets, making it even more unforgiving; even so, its still most likely a good trade. Magnum is sort of halfway between regular and HC, though IMO not worth the expense. 8/10. Less meaty than the revolver, but still pleasantly loud, particularly when spammed. Revolver







Level required for GP purchase: 5



Rating: Very high



Best premade: None, they all suck. Rent the receiver (and a scope).



General tips: Two bullets to the body will kill anything, at a respectable range, with a more than respectable accuracy; what this means is that this gun will serve you well as long as you dont screw it up by spamming it like it was a heavy pistol or something.



Build tips: Open scopes will look tiny, so look to closed scopes for this (either a 3x or the IR 2x, because its range is still limited). If you're making GBS threads GP out of your rear end, magnum ammo is a marginal but welcome upgrade.



Eargasm rating: 9/10. Bodyshot them and you'll feel like Dirty Harry; headshot them and you'll feel like Wild Bill Hickok. Sweet rolling reload, too.





5 Very high None, they all suck. Rent the receiver (and a scope). Two bullets to the body will kill anything, at a respectable range, with a more than respectable accuracy; what this means is that this gun will serve you well as long as you dont screw it up by spamming it like it was a heavy pistol or something. Open scopes will look tiny, so look to closed scopes for this (either a 3x or the IR 2x, because its range is still limited). If you're making GBS threads GP out of your rear end, magnum ammo is a marginal but welcome upgrade. 9/10. Bodyshot them and you'll feel like Dirty Harry; headshot them and you'll feel like Wild Bill Hickok. Sweet rolling reload, too. Breech-loaded pistol (BLP)







Level required for GP purchase: 36; also available in the 3995ZEN Evacuation pack



Rating: Not really applicable



Best premade: N/A



General tips: This is a tool more than a weapon, and only to be paired with a primary that reloads very quickly. With an explosive shell, its basically like having three weaker, un-cookable grenades; make sure to aim, and remember that theyre probably better at delaying a pursuer or un-nesting a camper than they are at actually killing people. The incendiary shells can only kill people on a direct hit, making them much worse, but they gain the ability to burn hardsuit pilots, saving you a depot slot. Never use the scattershot round, get a shotgun instead if that's what you want.



Eargasm rating: 7/10. It doesn't actually make much sound at all; the fun comes from the shell blowing up with a figurative trollface, or sizzling as it puts your enemy on medium-rare. NihilCredo fucked around with this message at 21:11 on Nov 8, 2013