NC Carbine Reviews

Discussion in 'Light Assault' started by Sayl914, Dec 3, 2012.

  1. Sayl914

    Hi, I have spent entirely too much SC and Certs on guns, I have researched and researched and watched youtube videos and used the guns for hundreds of kills and I hope to help others make informed decisions about their future gun purchases. I have all the NC carbines and have at least 1000 certs spent on upgrades so hopefully others wont make the pitfalls I have and can spend their certs more wisely.


    AF-19 Mercenary: The AF-19 is a solid mid range gun, it does moderate damage for NC guns has reasonable hip fire capabilities and is very controllable when compared to it's competition. It has lacking customization options, which in the end may be a good thing as the output for weapon modifications is very low compared to the cert cost. It can equip a flash suppressor, laser sight, foregrip, every optic but 6x and silencer. This gun has a very fast reload compared to the other guns of its class and that can be a big factor if you are perched in a good position raining death as fast as it can be rained. Attachment wise I think it can go in any direction one wishes, as it doesn't have any advanced options and can be competitive but not dominant at any range.

    Gauss Combat S: Essentially a worse version of the AF-19 Mercenary with slightly more recoil and reload time and slightly lower rate of fire. It trades these things for the ability to equip an insane amount of modifications. This would be a total wash with the glaring exception of the attached grenade launcher. This thing will kill infantry in one hit with a direct hit even shielded heavies and put SERIOUS damage on a max. The switch to the grenade launcher is instant and the shot seem unaffected by flying so flying over someones head and dropping a grenade while you pass over is an effective (if a little cheap) strategy. Dropping grenades into a zerg can really rack up the kills and assists and while the gun itself is very meh as it is a jack of all trades type gun with a little worse performance than the mercenary fully kitted out it is a solid choice for those who can make use of the power of the attached grenade launcher.

    AC-X11: The long range gun for NC carbines, this gun trades hip fire ability and rate of fire for raw bullet damage. This gun has only 20 bullets and 5 magazines, and has some pretty heavy recoil that can be mitigated by its advanced foregrip. For those who want to carbine snipe this gun can also equip high velocity bullets which will increase its minimum damage range by 10% and make the bullets faster. This gun has relatively slow bullets for a long ranged focused gun so high velocity is of high consideration. Single shot headshots at 100m+ will drop most targets in 3 shots so sitting on a perch and spotting and sniping can be effective but the damage drop, slow bullet, and inability to burst at this range will make it difficult to hit targets that are moving in unpredictable ways. Also of note is the raw power of the gun, point blank range even with the recoil and hip fire if all bullets hit it has a very respectable TTK.

    GD-7F: The close range gun for the NC carbines, this gun is really fun to use. It can equip an advanced laser sight which will turn it's hip fire to a very respectable level. It shoots very fast but with weaker bullets and can really mess with an enemies ability to fire back based on its rate of fire. This is the deadliest gun we have for CQB, and when modded to enhance its close quarters capabilities will allow you a better chance of beating heavy assaults indoors and allow more versatility at range than a shotgun would allow. At range the rate of fire and recoil climb makes it hard to use, and the lower damage per bullet makes for "A clip for a kill" situation more than the other carbines.

    In summary I find the carbine selection of NC to be very balanced when compared to each other and recommend for the dedicated light assault or engineer multiple loadouts specializing in the situation that will be encountered for that life. For those who wish to play the game without buying guns with SC, I think any gun purchase is essentially a side grade and should save your certification points for more versatile purchases like AMS sunderer and getting some of the mandatory minimums for performance in other aspects of planetside 2 rather than wasting cert points on gun attachments and guns.

    A good resource for qualitative analysis:
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet/pub?key=0ApH3DlM1yfRAdDJ5N2VoR3IxbEtTTnRRTE1taFVJdlE&gid=1

    For attachments:
    http://planetside.wikia.com/wiki/Carbines


    Sayl - NC Connery
    • Up x 5
  2. Minsc

    Great reviews, especially the blurbs on strategy. I'd vote for stickying this for future LAs who find the forums.
    • Up x 1
  3. Achmed20

    nice but lacks some bug reporting :)


    Gauss Combat S
    Jack of all trades is by all means true. awesome gun, mostly awesome addons and doesnt seem lees poerfull then the AF-19. If you decide to get this thing (and you should) nade launcher, 2x scope and supressor are a must.

    - Nade launcher for obvious reasons. 2 grenades extra are great if ...
    the nade wouldnt be so god dam buggy. problem is that in theory it would instakill a whole group. problem is it barely does. it explodes allways but sometimes does minor damage or refuses to do damage at all. 4 out of 10 times it behaves this way and thats realy anoying and makes this thing a bit of a gamble.
    - the 6x scope is completly useless since High velo amo just doesnt work and i doubt the dmg will be high enough to make a real difference.
    - smokenade launcher is nice in theory but wont do anything if your enemy plays on low settings. they are just not displayed at all.

    AC-X11
    - High velocity ammo is a must if you want to snipe with this, problem is, high velo ammo doesnt seem to work. not sure about the damage but the range increas doesnt work.

    personal note: even if its our heighest damage carbine, i find this thing rather bad for sniping. getting headshot on a moving target is rediculous hard, and this usualy will happen after the second shot. and there for you end up with 4-6 shots per target usualy.

    my personal choice is the Gauss-S because its so god dam versatile.
  4. Caracal

    have experience with AC-X11

    Long range, 4-6 shots to kill. You wont be able to auto this, you will squeeze 1-2 rounds per burst. This means 2-4 bursts. The more bursts required, the higher the chance the enemy will move under cover. Many times you will see that you blow rounds without getting a kill, but at least you may get the assist. That being said, you'll be astonished how often an enemy simply wont move.

    Medium range, I think this gun is great at medium range. Its recoil is straight upwards, but it blooms something fierce. So, pulling straight down, dont go full auto (burst in like 5 rounds at a time), and use a sight when ever possible. I really have fun with this at medium ranges. I would recommend a sight for this range, not long range. a 3X-4X sight has treated me kindly.

    Short range, I hate this gun at short range. I cannot tell you how many times I get the jump on people, fire first, and still lose the engagement. I have a feeling that the bloom is causing this (not the recoil). If you burst in short range fights, your TTK increases to the point where the other factions will kill you dead. They can afford to go full auto in close engagements, with this gun you simply cannot sustain accuracy while maintaining full auto. That being said, the lazer sight has helped this, but not by much. If I do get a close range kill, it is when I can use my jet pack to fly over, and disorient the opponent.

    Conclusion:
    So, do not take this thing indoors. This gun excels if you enjoy finding an awkward spot, and sniping from it. Or if you prefer to strike from the roof without going to the ground first. But, if you want to get in close, like flying up a turret wall to surprise people... you may want to look towards another gun.

    This gun also offers a double forward grip upgrade. This confuses me as the recoil seems to go straight up. I will need to research into this double forward grip upgrade before making a recommendation on it.
  5. Antivide

    I dunno about you guys but the AC-X11 rocks in close range too. 5 shot skill with its 200 damage (Player health being 1000). I've actually beat Heavy assaults using their mesh generators in 1v1s as Light Assault with the AC-X11.

    I thought it was crap, but it's actually really good. AC-X11 has low margin for error but rewards good aim. Theoretically someone with perfect aim will perform the best with the AC-X11.
  6. ytman

    A compensator is so helpful for the AC-X11. Much better than the foregrip.
  7. StaticV0iD

    Well,... everything is better than pluggin a foregrip into the barrel of a gun.
    But if you consider to put the foregrip where it belongs, you can use both...

    Furthermore: OPs Post is pretty much BS. No offense.

    1st:
    General:
    Weapon attachements are (ignore the OP) INDEED one of the most important things to spend your certs on,...This is a SHOOTER... Where you SHOOT people most of the time. With your gun.
    So don't waste your certs on gimmicks like more jetpack-power or 5% more health before your gun has the right optics and proper recoil reduction. And don't forget to get a Laserpointer for the Sidearm.
    The only Upgrades which are more important than having a good weapon are the AMS for the Sunderer and the Spawn Beacon at lvl 10.

    2nd:
    Optics: Never get anything with more zoom than the 2x Reflex. I personally use 1x Reflex. You will be obliterated by anyone who uses 1x or iron sights under 50m. It is way harder to follow movements with a 3.4x or higher zoom on closer ranges.
    And with LA you are clearly NOT playin a long range class. You wouldn't be running around with carbines otherwise, which are designed for short to mid range.

    3rd:
    AC-X11: This weapon is RUBBISH. It looks good on paper but has one of the highest (or even THE highest) recoil in the game [considering carbines], in addition it is horribly inacurate if fired while movin or from the hip. If you fire this thing from the hip while movin, you can be happy if you hit anything at all.
    Sure, you could mount a 4x scope and try to keep the enemy at long range, but if you want to play like this you shouldn't be playin LA. Get a Medic then.
    The LA is about flankin the enemy and gettin secondary targets like Gens down... Not about being part of the fireline.
    Therefore you NEED a weapon which delivers a decent allround performance.
    Which leads me to:

    4th:
    Get the Gauss Compact S!
    Save your Certs, steal your mom's purse, rob a liquor store, sell meth or just work for your money.
    BUT:
    This is the best allround carbine for the NC. Just ignore the OP.
    Being able to switch the firemode to single can help A LOT to get targets on longer ranges.
    Get a Compensator and either the nade launcher (which is currently sort of buggy, as mentioned above) OR the underbarrel shotgun, which instagibs any guy on close range with one shot.

    5th:
    AFTER you got your Core Upgrades like the AMS AND got the Gauss S, get C4 lvl 2.
    C4 lvl 1 will greatly increase your usability for the team, by setting up traps or throwing that **** from above into groups of enemies.
    C4 lvl 2 gives you the ability to blow up any tank in the game if you place both packages at the rear.
    Because of his Mobility, the LA is the class on which C4 is absolutely mandatory and a way better investment than on any other class.
    • Up x 1
  8. Ghoest

    Does any one have any thoughts on the Gauss burst vs the merc?
  9. Ghostfox

    Eh, personally love the AC-X11. Find it a beast at short ranges when I get on target fast. You can't reliably hipfire the thing but proper aiming and you can drop people fast with it.
  10. ytman

    If you are quick to sight in with the AC-X11 and hold fire you should win most 1v1 confrontations (assuming first shot). I love the gun and kill with it in CQC most often. However at CQC roles the AC-X11 is far from the best and I'd take that beast of a gun GD-7F. Again though this is coming from an engineer who primarily uses his AC-X11 at a range and camps with a Mana turret in a building.

    But killing Heavies with the AC-X11 in CQC is such a beast of a pwning moment.
  11. Sucellus

    That spreadsheet is very interesting, where did he get all the data about the weapons?
  12. Achmed20

    omg that thing is awesome and it realy instagibs every1 (beside maxes XD)
    just shot a infil in the a55 and he died of pain :D
    you just solved all the problems i ever had.
    i love shotguns but couldnt deal with the range. until the nade launcher is fixed, this is my slung of choice.
    [IMG]


    reload rate sux but hey ... it instagibs :D
    • Up x 1
  13. Swiffle

    I just trialed the Gauss Compact S and it felt worse than every other carbine :/
    I know blah blah grenade launcher OP but damn, gun feels terrible. WTB a TRAC-5 S?
    • Up x 1
  14. okuRaku

    Man I was just about ready to purchase the X11 when I read that they're going to be adding carbines as soon as tomorrow.. Guess I'll hold off for a bit. I like the idea that if I can always headshot it will reward me the most. Do we have the numbers as far as TTK with headshots only for the current guns? I've been trying out the single-shot mode on my Gauss S and it seems like 3 headshots to kill.
  15. Incarnadine

    quote from where? Linkz!
  16. okuRaku

  17. Trysaeder

  18. MykeMichail

    The biggest problem with the AC-X11 is its bloom when moving. Its comparable to an LMG. If you don't stand still to take your shots, chances are you won't hit a thing at ranges over about 30 m.

    That being said, if you stop and crouch, you can go full-auto on a target at up to about 50 m and drop them in no time at all.

    I've ripped through a freshly spawned enemy heavy with his shields up in 9 rounds, and I'm pretty sure he was dead before the 9th round left the barrel.

    Unfortunately for longer range burst-fire the horizontal recoil makes it impossible to control, so you're pretty much limited to single-shot firing or have to drop 100-200 CERTs on the forward and advanced forward grips.

    Finally, if you're running this gun as Light Assault, you might want to consider using an Ammo Bandolier, as even with well-aimed fire you will go through the 120 rounds you get quite quickly.
  19. Chiss

    Yeah.... i'm good at FPS and i die to people who are obviously really bad... all the time :(

    BUT THE GRENADES. I CANNOT GO BACK ON THEM.
  20. Incarnadine

    The grip and adv grip on AC-x11 work? I keep hearing quite a few don't work