TRAC-5 S Comprehensive Review (with Loadouts)

Discussion in 'Light Assault' started by Durandalx, Dec 4, 2012.

  1. Durandalx

    Since my disappointment in the T5 AMC, I was greatly interested in the versatility of TRAC-5 S' (T5S) attachment choices. If I get a weapon that suits my needs, why not to forge my own using the flexible attachment system of the T5S?

    After 4 days of grind I finally have this gun, and here is what I think:

    Characteristics:

    Compared to TRAC-5:

    + Has an additional burst firing mode. It's incredibly useful at long range (if you know how to compensate for it).
    + Switches between firing modes ridiculously fast.
    + Has an ability to equip every single carbine attachment, plus has unique under-barrel launchers.


    - ~0.5-1.0 second longer reload speed
    - 700 RPM compared to TRAC-5's 750


    Strategies:

    The burst fire mode
    provides an amazing alternative to the single-shot option at long range. The recoil makes the third shot stray to the upper-right, however, so the way to compensate for it is to make a short, quick pull to the lower-left as soon as the trigger is pressed. If you are caught pants down and in close-medium range of hostiles, you can easily spam it and aim for upper chest area to take down enemies in close range with the burst fire mode.

    Additionally, because of the quick fire mode switch speeds, you can successfully flip between the fully automatic mode and the burst mode in less than a second.

    When it comes to negatives, the reduced rate of fire greatly helps in ammunition conservation without adding to your TTK too much. The reloading speed, however, is closer to the one of an assault rifle, which can cause some problems when reloading in tense situations.

    Loadout:

    Stormtrooper

    Optic: 2x Reflex Sight. Arguably the most versatile scope for close-medium range, with enough zoom for long range potshots.

    Utility: Underslung Grenade Launcher. It greatly contributes to the versatility of the Light Assault.

    Barrel: Compensator. I usually avoid the dreaded "RECOIL 2 HARD" compensator + grip combo, but in this case I found that when the Compensator is equipped with the High Velocity rounds, it reaches the perfect equilibrium of horizontal and vertical recoil.

    Ammunition: High velocity. Adds 10 meters to the maximum damage range. It does make the recoil moderately high, but is immediately soothed by the compensator.

    We now have a weapon with the range and muzzle velocity of an assault rifle, moderately high rate of fire, decent hip-fire performance (worse than stock carbine, better than stock assault rifle), incredibly easy recoil, and an ability to launch 40mm explosive shells into the face of your opponent.

    Nightstalker (aka The Smoker, aka Where the **** is he?!? aka OH MY GOD THIS IS THE BEST THING EVER)

    Optic: the Night Vision / Thermal Optic. Helps you see at night, highlights enemies, and allows you to see through smoke (!).

    Utility: Underslung Smoke Launcher.

    Oooh, boy. Gotta write about this one separately.

    When fired, it creates a wide smoke source that lasts around 15 seconds. Now, the smoke is thick. With the night vision optic, you can see through the smoke clearly. The enemy can't.

    Think about it. The possibilities are endless.

    Shoot a smoke in the enemy cap point at night, and see the idiots run like headless chickens while you mow them down with automatic fire. Or shoot one right under your feet, creating an ultimate piece of cover that you can see out of, while they can't.

    Barrel: Flash suppressor. It's a must for any night loadout. It makes you much harder to spot, especially if you attack from peculiar angles and switch positions frequently, and it doesn't reduce your range effectiveness.

    Ammunition: Soft point. The scope simply cuts off your vision before a distance in which the High Velocity rounds can be useful.

    This is the ultimate troll loadout. You can go full balls-to-the-wall with this one, just keep in mind that it is most effective at night. At day your smoke will still be effective, but you will be more easily seen.

    Conclusion:

    With it's expanded attachment choice, you can create a weapon that will make you incredibly effective at all ranges. Alternatively, roll with the night, and become the most hated enemy to the NC and VS.

    TL;DR The TRAC-5s is absolutely ******* amazing.
    • Up x 2
  2. lNeBl

    Trac-5s is indeed amazing :) Mostly because of that grenade launcher...when it works.


    The grenade launcher has gotten me out of certain death situations time and time again. I'll be shooting at someone, and someone else will start spraying me from behind or something. Just spin 180, fly in the air, and plant a grenade in his face. Instant kill. I wish I could see the look on their face when their easy kill turns around and one-shots them lol.

    However, there are a few bugs with the grenade launcher. About 30-50% of the time, the grenade won't do any damage at all, and also about 50% of the time, the grenades will not reload when standing on an ammo pack.


    I've considered mixing your 2 builds into one, by perhaps equipping an NV scope, and purchasing the thrown smoke grenades option. But, it seems like regular grenades are superior to ALL the cert point-required grenades in the game...
  3. Durandalx

    Yes, the grenade launcher is unreliable. However, this is obviously a bug, so I am sure they will patch it.

    I would actually take the smoke nades with the night build just for the sake of extra trollishness. Yesterday I stayed in the vanu tank shield generator at an AMP station for full 2 minutes, using a shelf + smoke as cover. It netted me around 8 kills, until I was killed by the generator exploding. It's pretty great.

    EDIT: Oh, and btw, with the IRNV x1 zoom you really don't need a compensator. Just roll with whatever ammo type you want and go with the flash suppressor or naked.
  4. CaptainKapautz

    SOE Dev 1: "Hey, is the n00btube supposed to resupply from an Ammobox?"
    SOE Dev 2: "LOL, No? Why?"
    SOE Dev 1: "Well some guys on the forums just brought it up."
    SOE Dev 2: "Stercus Sanctum! BRB gotta fix that!"

    ...

    :<
  5. okuRaku

    I've been debating whether to go for Smoke+NV for my next upgrades (I play LA and Engi) but this post on reddit has me concerned. I know you already gave the caveat of nighttime but seems like it'd still really lower the effectiveness.

    Also, since you have it, does the thrown smoke grenade look different from the underbarrel one? I was curious if it had the same problem with low graphics settings nerfing it but no one in the thread there replied.

    Thanks!
  6. Durandalx

    Yeah, it was stated a while ago that players can see through the smoke at low. I did get killed a couple of times by a random guy, which was a shame. They should really fix this, but nighttime still amplifies your smoke quite well.

    I think the smoke grenade covers a slightly smaller radius for a slightly lower amount of time, I am not sure however.
  7. DeadlyShoe

    I roll with the IRNV on the Trac-5 already. I find the smoke build intriguing....
  8. Kyouki

    As stated in other threads i love the Trac 5 S and the grenade launcher. i can look at an enemy and they die! i was thinking of using a normal smoke grenade and the underbarrel grenade launcher. The IRNV sights are prob a good idea when it comes to this.
  9. TekkitMiningTurtle

    I really like the "Stormtrooper" loadout. I just got the compensator as my last attachment and now this gun is totally awesome. I can mow down enemys from 65m away with no problem. I dunno if its just me but am i the only one using this? People seem to be using the other one alof more...

    I guess im just the kind of guy thats like "I'm loud? So wut, come at me if u can >:D Oh wait ur dead xD"
  10. MOKUSHI

    What annoys me with the Trac-5 S is the fact that it does very little damage to the enemy. I have taken the High Velocity upgrade since I prefer combat in mid-long range and usually I fail to take dow anyone, although I put around 10 shots in every single one. I am nightstalking with an NV and smoke grenade.
    Is it true the Smoke grenade does damage to vehicles?
    Also, the recoil is really not very friendly, but hey... what else could you take for a universal weapon if you are TR?
  11. blzbug

    Yes. A direct hit with the smoke grenade does the same vehicle damage as a direct hit with a regular UBGL grenade. 625 damage if I recall correctly. That can assist you with AMS takedowns since you need 2 C4 + 2 grenades. With smoke, your grenade not only hurts the AMS, it also provides you cover. On the downside, the smoke grenade won't detonate your C4. You can kill the AMS faster by tossing C4, then using the first GL to trigger the C4. This gives the defenders less time to react, respond and repair.

    If today's C4 nerf stays permanent (I will be p1ssed if it does), smoke might be more important to give you a little extra cover to help you live long enough to trigger the C4.
  12. Parricidium

    I wish the smoke was that good. I really, really do. Alas, it is not so, for the following reasons:

    • IR/NV Scope is widely used.
    • People Q spam through it and they shoot just below the red triangles.
    • People on low settings are virtually unaffected by smoke.
    • Redundancy. LA is already the most mobile class in the game. Smokes can exaggerate this and make sure no one chases, but it's not uncommon for people to fail to chase you anyway.
    • Shooting smokes near you makes a pathetic smoke screen.
    • When scoped there's no way to tell if the smoke is gone or if it's still there. So you can end up in plain view ADS and then you die because the smoke is gone.
    • Not all your teammates will have IRNV, so you screw them over.
    • If you use it poorly, you can actually give the enemies an advantage.
    • LA is about ambushing and attacking from odd angles. If you drop a smoke, they know you're there. Smoke is better suited on classes who can't hide or escape as well as LA.
    I keep going back to the Smoke/IRNV but I just can't seem to make it work. I really wish I could though.
    • Up x 1
  13. Takoita

    "...better than stock assault rifle..." - I sincerely doubt that.

    That said, yeah TRAC5S is awesome. It was more awesome with the old GL, but can still be quite awesome even now.
  14. Iridar51

    IRNV scope has limited range, and not everyone has it.
    Q spam has been adressed, spamming Q puts it on cooldown.
    Low settings been adressed, are you sure it's still the same?
    Smoke can create cover for assaulting allies, or at least make them brave enough to try and push. Never forget psychological aspect of the game.

    Poor usage of anything can create a disatvantage =\
    And I'm not sure smoke grenades still damage vehicles, it needs testing.

    Need I remind you that "old" gl had, like, 50% chance of actually damaging anything?
  15. Parricidium

    Oh, and to add to my list of bulleted points:
    • It has a detonation range, just like the GL. So you can't shoot it at your feet to escape, for example. You have to turn around and fire it behind you or you shoot ahead of you. Either way, less than optimal.
  16. Iridar51

    Yeah, that's the only real problem.
  17. Farlion

    I'd have the Jaguar over the TRAC-5S every day of the week.
    The 5S isn't a bad gun, it's epic for Engineers, but Jaguar is simply better for LA in my onion.

    The Grenade Launcher is a nice toy, but really doesn't shine if are not an Engineer and don't have one around, which happens quite often as LA:
    Most people also use the Night Vision Scope, so Smoke also doesn't really work.

    A Jaguar with a grip makes recoil almost non-existent, so while the TRAC-5S is not a bad gun, the Jaguar outperforms it in my opinion.
  18. blzbug

    The smoke grenade is a weird beast.
    It does direct damage to vehicles somehow. Does the smoke burn the crew's eyes?
    The UBGL has a minimum range so you can't fire it in people's faces as a makeshift OHK shotgun. But the smoke grenade doesn't kill people. Why does it need a minimum range? Firing it at your feet would be one of the handy uses for it!
    Smoke got caught up in the range nerf to the UBGL and fixing it is probably a very low priority for SOE.

    The Jaguar is a great carbine for killing soldiers. But that's all you can do with it. UBGL lets me kill Sunderers, finish off wounded tanks, 1-shot flashes (if they have scout radar), rain death from above while drifting, turn-around 1-shot vengeance kills on the HA that came around behind you, etc. For all that utility, you do lose some 1 on 1 fights that you might otherwise win. For me, the tradeoff is worth it. I'm happy to have a slightly lower k/d if it means I get to pop more vehicles! :)
  19. Parricidium

    This pretty much sums up why I use the Gauss S with UBGL.
  20. MOKUSHI

    I am currently playing with the Trac5S at mid-long range and Jaguar at close range.
    The difference between the two is highly noticeable at CQC, but there seem to be much better close range weapons, like the shotgun that insta kills you... or the SMGs like the Hailstorm that kill you with 3 or 4 hits from a distance I don't believe is real, through a wall. Yeah, I know, sounds like I got killed by a hacker, but this happened many times to me, and I really got confused with the SMG specifications.
    However, I'm sticking to my Trac S and Jag, any advice about efficient gameplay with them will be highly appreciated. :) (e.g. do you aim for the head, do you aim for the balls, do you prefer burts fire or do you spray them like Rambo)