I've been looking at a replacement for my Solstice since I reached my goal of getting the HE Lightning. I tested the VX6 earlier, and TBH, I wasn't really impressed. It looked/felt like the Solstice with a better firing rate, nothing more. I'm considering getting it because of the advanced laser, pretty much nothing else. I haven't tested the shotguns yet because of the long trial cooldown and I'm sure I'll get around to it, but I was just looking for some general opinions. As an engineer I'm fighting mostly in confined quarters like generator rooms, so medium range is really the furthest I want to engage someone.
Serpent. once u get used to it its amazing in cqc and managable recoil, with some bust fire u can take down target in medium ranges aswell reload time a bit long but that's the only con pretty much
Actually i use the Serpent, and my first problem is this ******* reload time. The RoF is so high that if you dont put all the bullets in the target quickly, you are stuck 3 sec on reload reload.... and you die. Ill try the VX, reload time is faster than Serpent.
While I'm not vs, I can tell you depending on the one you get shotguns aren't very effective any farther then melee range. Granted some shotguns offer you less spread, at the cost of either reload time, clip size, damage, or fire rate. You can also always use slug rounds, and while I never used them I heard they greatly reduce your Cqc effectiveness.
it is a matter of getting used to tough.. the first instinct is to hold down fire, but u can actually burst it for much better results , even with the long reload time i prefer it over the vx since u can engage in a bit longer distances and thus making u slightly more effective
The thing is the OP said he'd only be engaging at medium range or closer. In that case the VX wins over the Serpent. The Serpent has a higher ROF, but it has a slightly larger hipfire CoF and an atrocious reload time (for a VS weapon). That reload will get you killed. TBH tho I'd go with a Nova with slugs and an extended clip over either carbine. Aiur, if you haven't tried the VX with its Advanced Laser Sight, you really haven't used the VX at all. The ALS is what makes the VX (and serpent) such a monster at CQC. You can hipfire accurately with it out to 35m or so (for reference, all base spawn rooms are 30m long). And its high damage output is devastating. But I'd still go with a Nova w/ slugs. It's more accurate than either abovementioned carbine during ADS, and 3 hits kills anything up to a fully-shielded HA, which takes 4. The 2-shot headshots are nice too.
I prefer to get weapons that perform differently than ones that I currently have. While the VX6-7 or Serpent have a higher RoF than the Solstice, they all function more or less the same. A shotgun on the other hand is entirely different. The shotgun is a bigger bang for your buck in my eyes.
I went with the Pandora for the Massive damage at close range. Oftentimes I kill the bastards even when they start firing first. Magazine size is only six, so I went with the extended magazine for the barrel bringing it up to ten, a huge increase. That precludes getting the laser sight or forward grip, but at close range you don't need them. Ammo runs out quick too but you can supply your own anyway. You can use slug ammo and a longish range sight if you want to for medium range, or just a different gun.
Keep in mind that unlocking a shotgun will unlock it for all classes that shotguns are available, not just engineer. Both VX6-7 and a shotgun (I prefer Thanatos) can be adjusted for short to mid range fighting. I generally prefer to alternate between a carbine when fighting TR and a shotgun when fighting NC. Just keep in mind that a shotgun without slugs is useless vs anything further than 10m, while by putting slugs you make it a sort of sniping weapon. Sort of because you have the range and you can down people in three shots anywhere in their body, but the projectile is a lot slower than the sniper one, which makes hitting moving targets at a distance rather hard. No infantry weapon can compare to a shotgun at killing maxes either. Kind of what the NC maxes are doing to infantry. Btw, I'd avoid serpent. Comparing it to VX6-7, the serpent is slightly faster firing, but has twice the reload time. Basically with both weapons you eat up ammo at impossible speeds, only with Serpent you need to wait twice the time to reuse it. My personal all favorite carbine is Pulsar C though, good damage and good rate and controllable fire so as to put all shots at a moving target at mid distance. Not as strong as the VX6-7 in close combat though, but a lot better than Serpent in the mid range.
I bought the VX myself, and I thought it was pretty meh stock. Not sure what to get on it, or if I should, considering I have pulsar C and the Nova for my engy/LA needs.
