Thank you for the buff to the Railjack. Haven't tested it, but I plan on testing. For anyone who has tested it, have they gotten to use the buff?
I know they removed that stupid charge up time before firing some time ago.. how else did they buff it?
What, they did? The buff now is making the railjack pierce unlimited infantry in a row, making it useful for blowing through troop concentrations. Even if it doesnt kill, damaging multiple infantry in a single shot is a useful trait. Not stellar, but useful.
I've used the Vanquisher a lot lately (main gun actually). The ammo that lets it cut through two soldiers is absolutely worth it. It is best in large fight situations covering narrow chockepoints where enemies tend to pile up. While killing multiple enemies in one burst/shot is uncommon, usually when killing an enemy - who might have taken some shots at you - the enemy behind will be close to death and picked off in one shot/burst. On a bolt action sniper rifle it might not play out that way as it relies on 1HK with headshots to be effective. In most situations the Bishop with Sabot ammo would probably be better. The Railjack is not good for aggressive CQC sniping, having the lowest magazine, largest refire time, lengthy reload, and scopes only from 6x to 12x zoom.
So what do you think it needs for this buff to really benefit the Railjack? What else do you think needs to change?
Just checked it in VR. They removed the charge up and it no longer goes threw targets but the bullet travels faster. Just another sniper now.
For clarity: its still on the PTS as part of the Arsenal update. So if you tested it on live you are in luck as it wont be just another sniper. Although I agree this isnt some stellar change, there is something to say for using it as a finisher. Many players seem to ignore the option of finishing off wounded enemies with a bodyshot. The ability to pierce enemies lets you kill enemies that hide behind their fellows as they regen. Especially nice in area's with a long stretch of straight cover that you can approach from one side.
The buff seems to be more conceptual, as it is an "ultrahard-hitting" weapon, so it should pierce enemies to signal this power. On a different note I've not considered it to need a buff or be underpowered before. The Railjack still sits supreme in the 'beyond' long range sniping niche, being good at the ranges where regular long range snipers begin to suffer. This adds an entirely new playstyle that is available in certain situation, like how the VS "special" sniper allows to snipe from behind enemy lines without worrying about running out of ammo. If not needing this special feature I'd rather pick a rifle more suitable for the situation at hand rather than wait for a buff for the wrong weapon. They should absolutely avoid transforming the Railjack into a gimmicky but regular sniper rifle, by reducing the bullet velocity or increasing the drop, effectively making it a Longshot/Moonshot with penetrating bullets. Simply because that would remove the ultra-long range sniping niche from the game. One buff however, would be to increase the minimum damage to 500 such that it kills even regular soldiers with one headshot at all ranges. Currently from 335 meters range and beyond it does not 1HK targets other than infiltrators or wounded enemies
* Railjack does not 1HK from 365meters, due to having 2.1x headshot multiplier, not 2.0x. For comparison the Longshot does not 1HK after 300m, and does not 1HK infiltrators with 900 health from ~365m.
I like that idea. Truly, no Infiltrator on the other team can outsnipe you from that range, so countersnipers won't be very effective. And you can't be super aggressive against everyone else because you don't do the needed damage and can't see which targets are low from that range anyways, so that's a good buff imo.
Personally I find the piercing mechanic to be rather useless, I mained bishop for a long while after it was added and only had it damage several targets 3-5 times. Rail jack getting piercing is nice from a thematic perspective (it's a railgun) but not very impactful for gameplay. Imho they should keep the charge up mechanic. Single click? It fires like a normal bolt action sniper rifle. Charge for more than a second? the velocity will be huge, shot will pierce and there won't be bullet drop. You can hold this shot for a max of 2 seconds before it fires.
