Trying to get into Stalking, but I can't decide on a first side arm. My opinion is stuck between the Commissioner or the Hunter QCX. Both are one shot knife kills, so it doesn't really make a difference, but the speed is what worries me. Three shots for the Commissioner in the time WCX takes to take two shots. But, the Commissioner is hella loud as well. I plan on making a CQC SMG build sometime soon, and I'm wondering which of the two weapons would fit for both a Stalker and CQC build. If anyone has other thoughts on different guns, please post them. And do attachments really matter that much for stalking? Not like anyone's gonna see them... *puts on camo*
Those are both valid options--in fact, any pistol for NC should be acceptable for a stalker, depending on your playstyle. I'm thinking of picking up the QCX myself once I auraxium the LA8 Rebel (about 70 kills to go!). If you're interested in shot+knife kills, keep in mind the Commissioner has to headshot for the combo to work, while the crossbow does not. The Magscatter can bodyshot+knife, and is better/more forgiving in CQC than the crossbow, but it's worthless past 10m, and it's also quite loud (I don't think it has a suppressor option, unless they added it post-PTS). If you want the Commissioner, I'd give the Underboss serious consideration, too, since they both kill in the same number of shots, but the Underboss fires faster. The Underboss also headshot+knifes. I mentioned I've been using the Rebel, and I quite like it for stalker purposes. It's cheap, it does headshot+knife or shot-shot-knife (or headshot x2), and it's extremely quiet with a suppressor. It's pretty accurate, so it's also great for picking off stationary targets at long ranges (for a pistol).
how does the new NC pistol work? looks like it would be a rather good addition to a stalker (or pretty much any infi build) as its a shotgun pistol
Stalking with a xbow and kinife combo takes some time to practice but once you get it down its bloody good fun! With that in mind i still feel the Commi is much more efficient for the stalker. With what you ware wanting however (a single wep for both hunter and stalker) i would say go with the xbow. The reason is that it gives you an option of having a longer range kill (better than the Commi at middle range due to scopes) when using you SMG and will also keep you consealed due to it being silent. It will also give you a very viable option for your stalker in terms of 1 hit knife kills and also picking quiet shots from mid ranges. (Not sure what faction you play but......) I still feel there is one NC gun that doesnt get enough love from stalkers...... Rebal. Its versatile, easily handled and gives you a 1 head shot kinfe combo.
Desperado is a good choice and fairly low on cert cost if you want something that can be silenced. I was having good luck with it until the hit detection bug started hitting me with full force. I haven't actually tried the new shotgun pistol yet, but reviews are mixed. Some people swear by it, others hate it. Xbow isn't actually silenced like it's supposed to be right now, so I'd probably go with the underboss. It fires a bit faster than the commy, and you require a headshot to fully break shields with either one, so you may as well go with the better CQC weapon.
Moin I'm stalking with a silenced magshot atm, gonna go for the Rebel as soon as I've purpled the Magshot.
i prefer the x-bow over the commi, couse with the x bow bodyshot + knife will always kill the target, but if your target has a high nanoweave armor equiped, the commie will need a headshot
Wow, thanks guys. I think I might go with the QCX, simply for the body shot kill. I've been trialing them both the past few days and I seem to get that combo off more often than I do with the Commissioner's headshot. Thought this bit here did catch my attention. Why isn't the bow silenced? If it's been given a voice for a reason, I may end up using the Underboss.
The mag-shot is a fine pistol. Versatile, hits hard, accurate. The Rebel kills a little slower but has a slightly better range. And headshots with it really hurt. The Desperado is a great CQ weapon, and is reasonably flexible to boot. No idea about the mag-scatter other than "use within 10m". The two revolvers are both really good, but as you said they're really loud. They're the go-to choice for a great many players. The crossbow doesn't put you on the mini-map, but that twing noise it makes is very distinctive. When I hear I immedialy start looking around and get out the darklight flashlight if I have one. It's a pretty niche weapon imo, kind of like a baby bolt-action.
As long as the crossbow doesn't put you on the map, I'm good. Just flash it, and knife. If I miss, duck behind a corner and use a med kit/wait. Slightly off topic, but anyone have VS lmg recommendations?
I was running around with the magshot a bit and stalker, it's a pretty good combo. Skip the suppressor however, as pistols have poor velocity and damage dropoff and you definately don't want to hurt it more. Besides cloaking removes your blip anyway.
Commi-knife is no longer guaranteed. It hasn't been for a long time, actually. I like the xbow with a laser. It is quick and easy, plus you have a half decent mid range option. Here's some math I did a while back about knife combos for anyone interested.
It's been a while since i played infiltrator, is it one shot to the head and one shot to the body with commisioner? That's how i used to do it. Tried the hunter crossbow, but it doesn't seem to kill in two shots to body. Either that or somethings up with hit reg, or accuracy when aiming down sight.
A few players are reporting bad hit reg since Hossin, and a lot more have popped up with our most recent. Maintenance tried to fix it, but no one's reported it. I'm liking the Crossbow more if I'm actually sitting down and holding a point with a squad, but Commi if I know there will be a huge pop drop after the facility is capp'd and everyone races off to the next place.
I just changed playing from TR to NC because of the better "sneaky" pistols. You need fewer shots, so you are making less noise. I wouldn't go for the revolver, since the NC already has very powerful pistols and (!) the really good suppressor (250 to 350 dmg against the underboss). (TRs starting pistol kills a little bit faster, but it fires so many shots, it feels not really sneaky-like.)
If you really want to shot+knife, get the QCX. I've beat HA's that were too stupid to pop their overshield right away in 1v1's by doing this. It melts their health away in less than a second, if you get yourself in the right situations shot+knife is devastating.
Xbow also one shots infiltrators so you can go infil hunting. If you get behind a sundy with cloak chuck an EMP into the zerg and empty a clip into them. EMP + one Xbow bolt = death.
Personally, of all the factions, I prefer the NC's LA8 Rebel. At close range, 250 dmg per shot, two headshots will kill even with a silencer, and perhaps four to the body. With 10 rounds per mag that's potentially 5 kills, and it's a really short reload anyway. It's not as rapid firing as the Magshot, but it's usually quick enough to get in those two shots. You have to let Heavies pass you by though, even those who leave themselves exposed and asking for it - most can pop their shield pretty quickly, and then you're fighting a shielded heavy who knows where you are, with a pistol. I enjoyed the Desperado, but even silenced it's pretty loud and requires hitting the target with multiple bursts, which tempted me to spray it more often than I should. Same with the Repeater, though I felt more successful with the TR burst pistol. The Emperor is an all-round solid pick. I like the Inquisitor for it's massive ammo pool, but it tends to take too long to secure a kill. The Commisioner/Underboss, while powerful, is also very loud. It will probably serve you better in 'oh ****' moments though. The crossbow is the better option for a one-shot+knife combo, which is quieter, but relies on getting much closer. I find the crossbow horrible for any other use (except spamming recon bolts as an engie).
Crossbow is very fun to use, but also unforgiving. Silenced Magshot is pretty great and more versatile than a lot of other options.
