You can compare the stats on the weapon select screen - select on, tick the box on the right then hover over the other. The stats for each weapon are shown side by side
I like the EM1 myself - used it even before it was buffed. Best RoF for an NC LMG IIRC. I think the Gauss SAW S has 167 damage instead of 200 and maybe a smaller mag but some advantages in performance over the Gauss SAW like better RoF or lower recoil - not sure about that. Compare the stats on the weapon select page or try them out in VR training.
I tried auraximating the SAW S, but gave up after about 200 kills or so. To me it feels like a bastardization of the SAW and EM6, except it has neither DPS nor damage to back it up. And it's recoil isn't anything special either... I switched over to the EM1 and I'm actually kind of liking it. Much easier weapon to use IMHO.
I'm a little bit late to the party and i have to admit, that I don't main HA. At the moment I'm playing with the SAW S on my heavy and it is a weapon which excels at nothing. The default SAW is superior at long range and for CQC there are other options. But it is a really good weapon if you don't know what enemy or situation you are going to face. On top of that it has a really fast muzzle velocity and can equip softpoint ammo. But as always it comes down to personal preference. Test the weapon in VR trainung and trail it and then decide for yourself.
EM6 is the would-be default weapon like the Pulsar LSW is for VS LMGs, except DBG did some weird balancing. The SAW S is for the most part the S version of the EM6. It doesn't make much sense though, as the S version doesn't bring any significant attachments but SPA to the EM6 to compensate for lower dps. Which is a logical consequence of the GD-22s (long-range gun) having the default attachments pattern, when the EM6 ("default" gun) has the long-range attachments pattern. LMG balance makes very little sense overall, particularly on the NC side and for the SAW S as the patterns seen among ARs/Carbines are seldom valid for this category.
The Gauss Saw S is in my personal opinion THE BEST NC lmg in the game. According to stats, it may not appear so, but the weapon is HIGHLY controlable, low recoil, you can get every attachment for it to suit your playstyle and it is highly accurate. After fiddling with a bunch of LMG's for my NC, this was the most enjoyable one to auraximise and also the fastest. It's a killing machine 100%
Whats with all the Vanu when your playing NC? Take that Spandex off soldier! On topic.... The EM1 always seems to be the object of hatred for a lot of HAs, for this reason i have never purchased the gun. The Gauss S on the other hand i personally feel is underrated..... The 5 i will be using for the Aurax will be: GD22S Anchor EM6 Gauss Saw Gauss Saw S I feel the best ones would be to remove the Gauss Saw S and replace it with the NS15.... But that gun just bores me! I feel a good use for the Saw S is the Biolab type scenario. Stick the extended mag on there for 150 bullets per mag, SPA and a Compensator and do the spraying lane control to your hearts content.
This thread is about the SAW S, which really should be the EM6 S. I enjoyed the standard SAW quite a bit, personally. As for the SAW S, the things I think it has going for it compared to other options are access to the advanced forward grip and SPA. I don't think any other 167-damage gun has AFG access. I haven't actually really used the SAW S much, so I don't really know how much that's worth compared to, say, the GD-22S's better moving CoF.
They are indeed nice, but the problem is that 167 damage weapons can also get a 3HSK, and there are options with way better RoF(coughcoughcyclonecoughcouch), which leads to an exponentially faster TTK.
I like the SAW S, but I like almost all NC LMGs, but the EM6 has a couple downsides I personally find annoying. The high recoil and worst in class recoil recovery just make it feel ****tier than our other guns, which sours me on the gun even though it does solid damage and can have the largest damage per mag of any of our guns if you run exmags for when you expect a real high intensity fight. While it's true that the EM6 fires faster and has a bigger mag, some people prefer the SAW S because it's superior to the EM6 in several ways. Velocity, availability of SPA, lower first shot recoil, faster recoil recovery, making it feel smoother. The EM6 has (no tie here, every other 167dmg LMG is better at it) the slowest recoil recovery of any 167dmg LMG available. It's just not comfortable to use past a certain range when the strong kick and slow recovery make bursting feel worse than with literally any other comparable LMG. There's always gonna be spergs going "lol if you care about usage comfort over raw damage you're just bad at the game" but I'd just rather have a smooth gun. Yes, the SAW S loses 23rpm and 25 rounds per mag, but it is superior to the EM6 in literally every other way when it comes to shooting the thing, so it feels better to me in general use. There's a reason the GD-22S is good and popular and it's sure as hell not it's middle of the road damage or garbage attachment spread. No, it's the relatively low kick, low first shot recoil (both nearly as low as Ursa and lower than any other 167dmg LMG NC gets) and its best in class recoil recovery combined with standing-moving ADS accuracy somewhat less bad than normal for LMGs. Add remarkably quick reload for the magazine size and you got a gun that only does adequate damage but is practically never going to get in your way as you play. I like the SAW S because it looks like a SAW, which is a cool and good model from the aesthetics point of view, and it sits kind of in the middle between the EM6's bad handling and the GD-22S's amazing handling. The SAW S feels reasonably comfy, has a reasonably large mag with exmag option, does reasonable damage and can mount SPA. It's a functional gun that doesn't diminish my fun by being ugly or annoying to use.
