So, the Ursa is on sale today and I'm wondering whether I should give it a go. The only other LMG's I have are the SVA-88 and, of course, the Orion.
The Ursa is one of my favorite lmgs. Use your Orion and SVA for short/medium distances. Have a separate build for the Ursa which you pull if you expect to do some long range fighting.
The Flare can kinda work for long range if you slap a foregrip on it and are able to control its recoil. It's really more designed for medium range tho. The Ursa is the only true long range LMG in the VS arsenal, and even then it's still inferior to TR/NC alternatives. If you're interested in a good long range weapon for VS HA I'd suggest taking a look at the Eidolon Battle Rifle. It's semi-auto only so it's a different playstyle than an LMG, but IMO it's a better at long range than any LMG, and you get to use it as both HA and Engie.. Since you seem to like the Vandal Scout Rifle you'll probably like the Eidolon too.
The Ursa did get a nice buff though. It's a pretty good overall weapon. More horizontal recoil than an NC LMG, but less than just about any other and with the gentler vertical recoil of a VS LMG. It's a lot like the Corvus, which is a weapon some people love and some people hate.
Not imo, the flare does it just aswell for way less certs. The ursa is just too expensive to be worth it.
Yeah, it lacks the burst fire mode of the Flare but it is more accurate and fires slowly enough you can actually very accurately count your bursts to conserve ammo. It is superior in every way at longer ranges to the flare and not bad enough at mid ranges to call it a true downside in comparison to the flare although it might be a little noticeable at first for lower aim players. In CQC both the flare and the Ursa is pretty much garbage. Between the two I would save up and go for the Ursa, and skip the flare altogether unless you run out of other LMGs to Auraxium.