The NS-11A is free if you purchase a $15 game card from gamestop. I made this mistake several months ago.
You don't get the NS-11A. You get the NS-11P. Functionally identical, it's appearance is slightly different. As a TR medic, the NS-11A/P just isn't worth it. NS-11A/P has a smaller magazine and less stopping power. Its only benefit is better mid-long range accuracy.
The day I decide that the NS-11 is going to be my next buy, is also the day it's on offer. But I can't buy it, because the GU has shown up and I'm locked out of the ******* servers. SOE seems to want me to have some kind of catastrophic aneurysm...