So I tried Mag-Scatter Sidearm....

....Why does this weapon exist? Wish I trialed before I impulse bought it.

It's going into the garbage bin with the EM1 and the Phoenix.

Yeah, what a piece of trash, tv guided rocket, pffft, who needs this.

Stand still and get plinked.

em1 is ok by me. best NC cqb LM.

Pro tip:
Crouch before shooting rocket so you stay crouched. Also shoot behind walls so you don't have to die...

It doesn't really have a role, as in its role the Underboss is just better, so it is a bit like the EM1 (in that it is outclassed in any role you'd want to take it in by the EM6 or Anchor).

The Phoenix is fine though, just very situationally usable.

Well you have to hold crouch not toggle crouch or you pop back up (as I was informed recently) which helps a bit.

But even so crouching behind a wall doesn't really stop you being sniped, tank spammed, air bombed, or killed by a close range inflitrator or inexplicably by that 1 enemy HA that somehow has got through the 100 people in front of you to shoot you at 3m.
Especially as you can't really fire over walls with the Pheonix if you are close enough to them to get cover from them, rather you have to fire along them.

Being immobile or not constantly moving is literally the worst thing you can do in PS2 for surviablity, it is actually better to be in the open and constantly moving than in cover an stationary most of the time.

That's just not how it works.

You want to trade for the Spiker?

I've seen it used to devastating effect at least once in my TR character; NC base on Amerish held off our armored push with a squad or so of phoenixes.

Our saving grace? Those things have almost no range. The standard NC launcher can at least peg targets at a distance AND hit air targets with some reliability.

Eh, why not, I wouldn't use either.

But TR have best counter to Pheonix - Dakka

Yeah in its situation* it can be very, very powerful, it is just that most situations any NC find themselves in are not those situations.

(*basically enemy within 295m and more than 50m away and very, very good cover and likely also little to no air attacking - so most of the time it needs good AA to work and by that point you may as well have just all pulled Anni's and have been done with it)

Which is why the only place you'll often see it used it when it can be shot out of a spawn room.

dont use it outside of safe room.
And Phoneix is broken right now 50% will not go into guided mode

Bad.

Try the spiker before crying about your sidearms.

Lulz?
This is not a bad sidearm, really. But it's most suitable for infiltrators who actually infiltrate...
Try it on a stalker and use knife for quick instakills. Or open with an EMP to OHK anybody. Just change position afterwards.
It's basically a pocket mauler : 2 bodyshot kill but lower RoF and less ammo (and no headshot kill, unless it's an infiltrator).
Basically not a good all-rounder but it's high alpha is insane for killing the enemy before he knows what hit him. Wouldn't recommend buying it though as it is very bad in most scenarios.
IMHO it's the best of the 3 ES sidearms, so there's nothing to complain about. (but they really should buff all of them slightly)

As for the phoenix it's a good squad weapon. Get some friends and coordinate your shots to absolutely destroy enemy tanks. Yeah, a skillful tank gunner would just shoot them down but there appear to be very few skillful tank gunners in this game... but all in all I still think lancer is the best ESRL (don't even start about the striker). Wouldn't recommend buing this either unless you have many friends who already have it.

it's getting buffed, not the scat however apparently

Phoenix will remain in the garbage bin until it's fixed. At least for me, every second-third shot does not get guided aka just leaves the launcher-and dropps.

Mag Scatter works best as a Stalker but I've had success with it using the Vandal and running out of rounds in the Magazine. It's not a great weapon but it's not bad either. It's a niche side grade, as all weapons really should be.