So I have looked and looked but have been unable to find a thread on Vanu assault rifles (although oddly enough I found several discussing NC and TR ARs). From what I understand (which is more than likely completely wrong and uninformed mind you) pretty much every Vanu player uses the NS-11A or NS-11 Platinum (which I have) and say it is the best AR out there, but that all the TR and NC players think the NS-11s are total garbage and worse than any of their faction ARs. This leads me to believe that either the Vanu ARs all just plain suck or (more likely) I have just been talking to the wrong people. Any expert Vanu medics out there that use ARs? (I know a lot of people just use a shotgun on every class but I'd like to just hear about ARs). I haven't really played medic at all on my VS main character but I am thinking starting to put some certs into the class and would like to know some of your experiences with the various ARs. I'd say feel free just to make this a discussion thread debating the merits and shortcoming's of each gun because I am sure a lot of other Vanu players are interested in what AR to buy.
IMO H-V45 for close range engagements Pulsar(stock) for everything else. NS-11 is pretty good at both.
NS-11 isn't Vanu... it's all faction. It's accurate, but the VS have rifles that perform better. H-V45 is pretty awesome at any range really. Requires trigger discipline for medium-longer ranged engagements, but it's an effective killer with a little training.
H-V45 Deadly up close and even accurate at long range. it just suffers from bullet dmg degradation closer than most other AR's. Get it. Seriously. It is amazing.
I've been trying out all the rifles up to gold (just need the Equinox now) with the intention of making a thread like walrusjones', but I can put my recommendations and thoughts here. Probably going to be a lot of obvious things. Recommended guns All rounder: NS-11A This gun has loads of nice features - low recoil, large mag with short reload, 0.75 ADS move AND tight hipfire, and a great range of attachments. It feels really easy and satisfying to use. The downside is the low RoF, which means you won't be dominating in CQC - but it is competent at all ranges. Close range: H-V45 Tight hipfire enhanced by adv. laser and massive RoF. That's all you really need to know, this thing is king up close. Works reasonably to medium range with some trigger discipline. Long range: Corvus The most accurate AR we get, high damage, low RoF (it's almost SAW low with only 167 damage), and quite controllable recoil. One of the few automatic weapons I'd bother putting a 3.4x on, but the RoF is so low you can't really use this thing as a close range hybrid. Other VS 167s such as the Pulsar C and Flare kind of can, so that's a bummer. S'all right Pulsar Nothing much stands out about this gun, aside from the VS trademark quick reload. It works alright at short range and medium range, but the NS-11A feels better to me for some reason. Pass Equinox Burst I didn't end up hating this gun as much as expected, but it still feels pointless. With the first shot recoil being applied every 3 shots, and having to hammer the mouse to keep firing, it's harder to control than it should be. If nothing else it teaches good trigger disciple at medium range, but that's about it. CME I cannot think of a reason why this gun exists. Aside from advanced foregrip (which it needs due to higher base recoil), it's bested in most areas by the NS-11A. Equinox It's like the Solstice SF- a low RoF starter with loads of toys. UBGL has a small niche on medic for sunderer busting and a few yuks, but it is pretty situational. Tried the underbarrel shotgun too, but that seems completely impractical. Unlike the pumps (where people claim "if you miss the first shot you're dead" (absolute bollocks)) this is actually the case with the UBSG.
I'm a proud Corvus owner even though it blows chunks at short range due to a extremely low RoF. Hits like a truck though, especially with headshots. I would say the H-V45 is the best bang-for-buck purchase though. Chances are most of you are alpha-squad which means you already own it.
Corvus is my go around gun, I'm pretty happy having chosen it. At long range, it's a Gauss which I find way easier to handle and more precise. Lacks THAT little bit of RoF to make it competitive CQC. I use H-V45 for close range. Outshines anything I see no reason to use the NS11 over these 2 tbh
H-V45 Tears kids apart up close, as others have said. If you need convincing, I just recorded this tonight: I prefer up-close engagements, and this thing suits my play style perfectly.
Working on picking up all the medic guns. I'm lacking the NS-11, some shotguns, and the Eridani. Once I've given them all a run through I'll post what I've discovered about each of them. Right now tho, I can tell you that the CME is an absolute waste of SC/certs. The recoil is too high to use reliably at range and it underperforms in almost every other situation. I think I picked it up in some package deal, so it's not a total loss. One key factor to remember is that there are a plethora of playstyles for each class. Some of us have better aim than others, some of us like to rambo, some of us like to sit back and choose our shots. So the only real way to get accurate feedback is to explain HOW you like to play and which weapons you feel fit that. I think some weapons (Hello, H-V45) receive a lot of hype because some have tried it and liked it and it has a very attractive price-tag, but didn't try something else for the same situation. Does the H-V45 work? Absolutely. Can it be equipped on other classes? No. Try the Sirius, you could be pleasantly surprised. As a caveat, I also understand that not all of us have the disposable income/weeks worth of time to save up certs to try new things. Some settle on a weapon because they simply cannot afford to branch out or figure that if something is not broken, why fix it. Please explain WHY you like a certain weapon rather than simply saying "Gun am good. Do like."
https://players.planetside2.com/#!/5428019223849246225/weapons Well I know VS ARs very well. They are very good. H-V45 is the obvious CQC king. Recent changes made the FG ADS ranged fighting not so ideal. Pulsar VS1 was made better, but I haven't tried it enough since the changes. CME is a good long range weapon. It's really similar to the Equinox, but it has advanced forward grip which makes it's recoil more predictable. Equinox is a good weapon with all attachments. It's nice to have an accurate weapon with soft point so you can do a bit better below 50 meters. The problem with the CME and the Equinox tough is that they fall short compared to the NS-11A. The NS-11A has better hip fire CoF, velocity, ADS move speed and pretty similar of not identical values everywhere else not to mention it has both ammo types like the Equinox. The thing is, it also has more damage per magazine which is very important. Now the new cool guy is the Corvus thanks to the recent changes. It's my last little baby. This thing is slow as hell, but it packs a punch and it's very accurate. I'm much more accurate and have much more head shots with it than with any other weapon. I think my HS ratio is 17% compared to the 10-13% I usually get. Oh yeah I forgot the Equinox Burst... LOL Screw it I'm done.
Scientiarum, you're right. You've been talking to the wrong people. I don't play medic much, but my own experience matches up with the advice given to me from fellow DARKies who play medic a ton so I'd say it's pretty accurate. The NS-11x is more like a hybrid between the hv45 and Pulsar. Good a CQC and okay at medium range. It has slightly tighter hipfire CoF than the Pulsar but slightly slower RoF. I'd call it a good alternative generalist to the Pulsar. The HV45 is king up close. The NS-11x ARs is good in CQC as well with its tight hipfire CoF and .75x CQC multiplier, but the HV45 destroys it up close since it has the same CoF and ADS movement speed but has a RoF that's 150RPM higher, and that's a lot of extra lead ripping holes in the enemy. For long range work, there's no question, the Corvus is the way to go. It's the most accurate automatic weapon in the VS arsenal - more accurate than the Pulsar C carbine or Ursa LMG, which is saying something. Sure it has a low RoF, but that doesn't matter so much at long range when you can land long streams of bullets 10-15 at a time and have all of them hit at ranges where just about every other weapon out there is forced to use single shots or short bursts. It's a long distance beast. So the NS-11x is not bad weapon per se but there are more specialized weapons available to VS that are better at what they do.
It's not more accurate, it's AS accurate as those guns (and the Flare). If you include recoil the Pulsar C is probably overall "more manageable" because of the advanced foregrip and lower first shot multiplier. The LMGs aren't as comparable due to higher recoil in both directions. If only they got adv grip...
If you're defining accuracy as purely cone of fire, then yes, all the 0.03 weapons are equal, but that's only the primary factor for single shots. When firing multiple rounds, the recoil behavior of the weapon becomes the dominant effect on how many rounds are likely to land on target. The thing about the Corvus is that it has extraordinarily low horizontal recoil. That means it has the least randomness to its recoil and thus the tightest grouping of any automatic small arms in the game. The Flare might be able to land its first round as well as the Corvus does, but the Corvus can land the second, third, and fourth round in nearly the exact same place with automatic fire, while the Flare will have to pause and wait for resettle between shots to get anywhere near the same grouping. Corvus is an absolute monster. You can drill entire bursts right into people's heads out to a substantial range. It's not just the best VS weapon for medium-range work (that's not saying much, anyway, since most of them are TERRIBLE for range) it's the best infantry weapon for it on any faction. I play medic just to use this thing
Yeah, I dig what you're getting at. The Corvus has a pretty good velocity lead on the Pulsar C, too. Just wish the game told us the exact effect of weapon attachments. Wonder if that's something we'd get in a "QoL" update.
Thanks guys keep the discussion going. For now I am sticking with the NS-11 Platinum but am looking into the H-V45 and the Corvus. Is the H-V45 going to be better at close range than the SMGs though?
Here's the long and short of it: The two worst choices are the Equinox Burst and the Pulsar. Don't really need to mention the Burst. And the Pulsar really just doesn't distinguish itself in any role. It has slightly higher RoF than the long-range AR's, but it's far worse in the CQB role than the Viper. It loses to the Equinox for versatility. It loses to the CME and Corvus at range. I don't think it's a bad weapon. There's just no reason to use it over something else. The Viper is a superb close quarter AR, with its 800 RoF and SPA. It's not quite as lethal as the Serpent or other 845 RoF weapons at point-blank range, but it's very close. To make up for it, it's better at range than 845 RoF carbines, as its min damage is one tier higher. It has other perks, too. 0.75x ADS move makes it quite usable in close-quarters ADS. It's an excellent hip weapon as well. Its base hip CoF's are the same as most carbines, and it can mount an advanced laser sight. It's not that great at range, though. It can't mount a compensator or 2x reflex, and its min damage is one tier lower than most 143 AR's. And it also has relatively slow reload, compared to most VS AR's. This can leave you vulnerable if you blow through a mag too quickly. But most high RoF CQB weapons share this weakness. The CME is an excellent weapon for long range engagements. It has good projectile speed at 630, and it has nice recoil characteristics. It has the best vertical recoil-over-time of any VS AR. Horizontal recoil isn't great, but the adv. foregrip helps here. But to like this weapon, you really need to be tuned to angled recoil. The Equinox is there if you want versatility. It can mount any AR weapon mod, including underbarrel accessories. It's definitely usable at range, though it's not as good as the Corvus or CME in this regard. It has about 25% more vertical recoil than the CME and a slightly higher first shot multiplier, with the same recoil angle and RoF. You'd mostly just use this if you want the option of underbarrel accessories. Then you have the Corvus, the weapon which I think is tied with the CME for most effective long-range VS AR (which is better is really down to preference regarding angled recoil). Vertical recoil over time is only about 21% higher than the CME. At the same time, though, it has a quite nice horizontal recoil of 0.15 and can mount both a comp and foregrip. The main reason to go with the Corvus is if you really like unbiased (not angled) recoil, or if you want a VS AR with very low horizontal recoil-over-time. It's these two traits which sell this weapon to people. It's also a 167 weapon, and it comes with the 0.03 standing ADS CoF which goes with that, making single shot or short bursts at extreme range viable. The Corvus really is a bit of a stand-out, being arguably better than the other 167 VS weapons. Its min damage is 1 tier higher at range than the Pulsar C, and it has much nicer recoil characteristics than the Ursa.
I hear the SABR13 is in the same league. Not tried it, though. Number-wise, Gauss Burst is also quite similar, I didn't unlock it so I can't compare. My VR testing where not showing anything exceptionnal with it though. I still find the Corvus to be the best long range infantry auto weapon I have tested so far
I bought the H-V45 on sale today and the thing is a beast. I honestly think it is a better cqc gun than my Eridani. The thing is a beast. Absolutely ridiculous, I love it. It probably beats it at mid-range too I suspect.
