Getting my head around the Ursa

Discussion in 'Heavy Assault' started by Saool, Nov 23, 2014.

  1. Saool

    The Ursa calls to me. Which is annoying because I think the Ursa is awful. It calls to me because it is the only Vanu LMG I have not auraxiumed. So I am coming to terms with the fact that despite not liking it, I am more than likely going to get it and use it anyway.

    To that end I keep going to the VR area and running drills with it. All the usual stuff, strafing whilst firing, rapidly moving the cross hairs from point A to point B and back again etc whilst firing, trying to go for head shots etc.

    But I just can't seem to find any love for this thing. The recoil is highly manageable, being all vertical and not great in amount. You can pretty much keep all shots in the same small area without burst firing. But it's just so slow, and that bothers me. I keep thinking I am going to be losing one on ones with this thing by a whisker and thinking any other LMG would have been a win.

    Of course, it's not the sort of gun you want to be in a close range one on one with.

    The sights also bother me. I normally run with a x2 reflex or x2 night vision, but have seen many post saying go with one of the x3.4s. This makes that recoil management that bit harder, especially as I have the mouse sensitivity throttled back when aiming down sights.

    A few notes about my own play

    i. I do a lot of flanking. I'm not big on rushing
    ii. I am poor at cqc
    iii. I just about always aim down sites. Even when I should not
    iv. I perform best at medium to long range engagements
    v. I exclusivity use NMG and Nanoweave, both maxed out
    vi. My accuracy is entirely average at about 19%


    So, can Ursa experts give me advice on how they use it? What scopes do you prefer and what sorts of engagement types and ranges do you use? What set ups do you run with?
  2. _itg

    Not an Ursa expert, but I think you'll learn far more in an hour's time with the weapon in the field than you will from the forum. Try the 2x to start, since you're comfortable with it, and move to the 3.4x if you're having trouble with accuracy at long range. That's what I did with the Gauss SAW, and I still switch between the two scopes depending on engagement range.
  3. Shiaari

    I'm something of an Ursa expert. I have it at Auraxium.

    The Ursa is the VS long-range LMG. It costs 1,000 certs for a very good reason. It's hits really hard, it has the highest muzzle velocty--even without HV ammunition--than any other VS weapon in the inventory, and it is deadly accurate with a compensator.

    You can use the Ursa in any number of applications where you need to keep an enemy at an arm's length away, and need to drop them fast. The Ursa is--thusly--the VS Heavy's anti-Inflitrator weapon. Yes, you can snipe with it.

    My Ursa carries:
    • Compensator
    • Forward Grip
    • HV Ammunition
    • 2x Reflex Sight
    The Ursa's horizontal recoil isn't too bad without the forward grip, but the other rail options are useless for that weapon. It won't do you any good in CQC, so a flashlight or laser sight is pointless. If you go into a CQC fight with the Ursa you'd better have damn good aim, because its low rate of fire penalizes you heavily for missed shots. But, if you can land them... woe be unto any infantry in your way.
    You can snipe using the 2x Reflex if you're good, or you can snipe using any of the higher magnification sights. Just, don't go full auto with anything higher than 2x. You won't hit anything.

    So, I prefer the 2x, because it is more flexible.

    HV ammunition makes the Ursa's selling point--high muzzle velocity--even better. Combine that with a compensator and you got yourself a monster LMG for long-range suppression.

    If you've ever used the Flare you'll have a good idea of what the Ursa is like. They're pretty similar in behavior, but the Ursa does what the Flare does, only better.
  4. Saool

    Thank you for the input. Particularly about the HVA, as that was the one add on I was going to give a miss. The Flare was the first LMG I auraxiumed and I always loved it. That said that was back before the LMG changes. I always considered the Ursa to be a more expensive but inferior long range gun to the Flare.

    Hopefully I will be proven wrong.
  5. UnDeaD_CyBorG

    Well, comparing the Flare and the Ursa, what does one really have above the other?
    When it comes down to it, the Ursa fires slow, yes, but it gains a lot of minor buffs for that little bit of lower firerate.
    It's a splendid gun at 50+ meters (Admittedly my average accuracy is a bit higher).
    It's very manageable.
    And, oddly enough, the attachment combination I got the last few hundred kills to Auraxium with (since I wanted the Betel, and long distance nets fewer kills) was IRNV, Ex-Mags, HVA and Suppressor.
    It sounds really odd, but find a nice position no one expects you, and shoot 20 round bursts with still respectable muzzle velocity. Yeah, other guns may be better at it, but if you really want that auraxium...
    • Up x 1
  6. Erendil

    The Ursa is not a bad weapon. It just requires a different mindset than most LMGs .You're already aware of its major drawback (low DPS) so that's a huge help. Your playstyle also seems to mesh w/ the Ursa (med/long range, lots of flanking, prefer to ADS) so I think you'll do well with it so long as you keep its limitations in mind. :cool:

    The Ursa is still lethal enough for you to roll over any non-HAs you come across, because Overshield. But you can't just rely on your OS to overcome an enemy HA. Get into a 1v1 against an equally-skilled HA up close and you'll lose the flinch war and often get killed because of it.

    So, you have to stack the odds in your favor by maximizing the Ursa's strengths - accuracy and precision.

    First off, my attachments are:
    • Comp,
    • Foregrip,
    • 3.4x red dot.
    • HV ammo is a personal choice. I don't use it because I think the stock 640m/s is fast enough for the ranges I use the Ursa, and I don't like the added recoil since it makes it harder to string headshots at medium range - even if only by a little.

    I do recommend trying the 3.4x out tho. The Ursa's accurate out to almost 150m if you burst fire, and at that range a 2x just won't cut it. And don't forget there's a separate "Scoped" mouse sensitivity slider you can tweak that's specifically for 3.4x scopes and above, if recoil is an issue.

    I also use Resist + ASC exclusively w/ the Ursa. I find it better than NW + Adren because kills aren't as frequent in long range combat. Full Resist also gives you 10 secs immunity to a BASR's OHK ability, which is enough to zero in on a target, kill it, and get back behind cover. :cool: NMG/Adren only give you 2-3 secs immunity before the natural drain weakens it enough to make you susceptible to BASR OHK.

    These are some of the tactics I've used when toting any long range weapon.
    • Keep your distance. Pretend there's a 25m radius bubble around you that no enemy must enter. If that bubble is in danger of being breached, the Perp about to invade your personal space becomes top priority. Either kill him ASAP or fall back to a position that puts him back outside of the bubble.
    • Rely on your familiar flanking and ambushing skills. Surprise is a close friend of low-DPS weapons.
    • Fire from cover whenever possible, and don't hesitate to duck down and break off contact temporarily if you start getting hurt.
    • Don't be the first one to charge into battle. Let your CQC-equipped comrades go first and provide overwatch protection for them as they move forward.
    • Call forth your Inner Visigodo. Don't just try to go for headshots. Live for them. Aim for the head whenever feasibly possible. Go into VR and find the range where you can reliably land 4-6 round bursts into a target's head, and keep that range in mind when you're about to engage enemy HAs.
    • When slicing the pie to clear a room/corner, do so from a distance. You don't have to be right up against a corner or doorway to clear it.
    • When fighting around points of contention (gens, cap points, etc), try to intercept enemy troops before they reach the point. Don't defend a gen/point from inside the room. Find a nearby wall, rock, or other perch that gives you a clear shot of the path the enemy will take to get there and let's you cover its doorways from afar.
    I could go on, but this post is already longer than what I'd intended.... :p
  7. Drag0

    Your play style is very close to mine and I love the Ursa. Mess around with attachments and stuff more -- I dunno but I like the Ursa as my favorite VS weapon.
  8. nehylen

    Just finished auraxing it, and i felt it was a pain. I hesitated with Flare, which didn't convince me, so why not Ursa and its gorgeous model? While it felt a little better, i've never quite felt a synergy with the gun. Not that i did too poorly, but if you compare that with my NS-15M performance (previous one), i kill less (lower kph, lower kdr), it felt less accurate (though my accuracy stats are similar if not slightly better), with little hipfire potential.

    I'm a sucker for NS guns, but it doesn't mean i'm bad with the rest, and i actually loved the Corvus, despite its dps shortcomings. But Ursa/Flare...something felt off. It's not the accuracy i expected. I'm wondering if that is due to the wide move+stand ads CoF of LMGs.
    Yes i shot heads (around 1/3 headshots deathblows on my last 100 kills), but the gun always felt incomfortable to use, forcing me to burst more than i thought to retain accuracy.
    I wanted to like it, or the Flare, but it didn't really work out. My 5th LMG to Betelgeuse is now the LSW, and while it kicks like a mule on that first shot, isn't fantastic by any means, pales compared to the SVA, it feels "right".

    I played it with 1x+comp+grip+HVA, and left HVA for the 200 last kills. A good decision in hindsight, it was a tad easier for long range shooting.
  9. garret0451

    can some1 tell me difference with pulsar lsw and sva88 (dont see much difference , only ads speed) ?
    and what flare differs from ursa (i can see only rof is different) ?
    tests in vr show a bit different recoil pattern , but thats all
  10. Pfundi

    Well the Pulsar LUW has a terrible recoil. I am used to the Carv, the SAW, the EM1 and still, the LUW pushes from side to side like **** and bursting seems uncomfortable. I dislike the weapon pretty much.
  11. vanu123

    It sucks, it should get 600 rpm.
  12. vanu123

    Sva-88 is a worse orion with more rounds and slightly longer range, pulsar lsw has a faster reload outside of that it sucks.
  13. Erendil

    Here are the stats for all VS LMGs: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...LMG&sortcolid=-1&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250

    SVA-88 vs Pulsar LSW:

    Basically the LSW is slightly more accurate during ADS than the SVA, having less vertical and horizontal recoil, faster recoil recovery, and a smaller horizontal tolerance. So it's more controllable and easier to keep on target during sustained fire. With the SVA you have to burst a little bit more.

    In exchange the SVA gets that beautiful .75x ADS movement, slightly better hipfire, a 0 recoil angle, and lower FSRM. In the end the SVA is better since the LSW isn't that much more accurate and the SVA's relative inaccuracy can be mostly overcome with skill, and the .75x ads movement is such a big advantage on its own.

    Flare vs Ursa

    It's a similar story here. The Ursa's lower vertical recoil, horizontal recoil, horizontal tolerance and FSRM make it more controllable and more accurate than the Flare. The Flare OTOH gets faster RoF and soft ammo.

    End result is the Ursa is the most accurate, but least damaging, LMG in the VS arsenal. But honestly, if long range ability is what you're looking for for your HA the Eidolon Battle Rifle is a better choice. The Flare is an interesting alternative to the SVA-88 for close/medium range since you get soft ammo and more accuracy to somewhat make up for the lack of .75x ADSmovement.
  14. garret0451

    i'm always in front lines so BR is not an option. and with headshots i rocked with tmg in cq . i now will play a bit vs on emerald after miller tr , so i was just asking about general difference ,since vs guns look almost same to me
  15. Erendil


    Yeah they really skimped when it came to VS LMG models. Aside from the Ursa they all pretty much look the same.

    If you always fight up front and you did well w/ the TMG in CQC then the Flare is the weapon for you. It's basically a TMG geared towards close/mid range rather than mid/long. It's not quite as accurate during ADS, but in exchange you get soft point ammo and extended mags. SPA + Ext Mags + scope of choice gives you a weapon that can stand on its own in CQC, can put the pressure on for a long time between reloads, and is still accurate out to 60m+.
  16. Drag0

    The Ursa is kind of weird but I like it. I put the 2x optic scope with a front handle and compensator and it works for my style.

    Funny you mentioned the Flare also -- I like that one even more lol!