I'm working toward gaining a new weapon in LMG category and I need something for long range, but offers a good (if not, above-mediocre) fire rate. I looked at the Polaris as an option, but I'm reconsidering my options. What are your opinions on this gun? As a sidenote, I want to find something at 250 certs for any of the VS's arsenal. Any suggestions?
It is decent. The biggest drawback though is the blender-like recoil it has(the LSW also suffer from this) which makes it quite hard to use at longer ranges. It also has a very large muzzle flash, which can get quite annoying, plus a very grating sound to listen to over sustained use. I used to primarily as a hipfire LMG with concs, but since the LMG hipfire nerf this kind of gameplay took a big hit. These days I'd recommend it with a suppressor/SPA/grip + sight/scope of preference(2x reflex for me). More of a close/mid range support/outflanking weapon. It is thankfully very quiet with the suppressor on, and it is accurate enough at anything up to mid range, but for long range there's no substitute for the Ursa really. The Flare is a decent alternative. However, all of the above depends on what long distance mean to you. 100m? 150?
It's not a good weapon. Low damage, poor hipfire even with advanced laser, and recoil that isn't any cleaner than the SVA-88 or Orion. The only thing it has going for it is the number of bullets in the mag, but if you want that the flare packs a similar punch at 75 rounds with better recoil and a higher damage output.
I have gotten the majority of my kills with the Polaris and I own every VS LMG. Probably because of my berserker like playstyle. The majority of players like to cup their balls and shoot around cover aiming down sights. Me? I run in with conc nade and mow players down on the run. I am always moving and fight aggressively and that has netted me many more kills because who gives a flying reaver about K/D ratios these days - yet mine seems to be improving since I changed my playstyle around the polaris. Yes, its not the best hipfire gun out of all weapons (its absurd to compare it to carbines/assault rifles), but its the best of the LMG as far as I know. It also has a solid 100 clip and decent ROF. The damage seems to do me just fine as I can get at least 3 or 4 shots in at close-mid range before a player can react and view down sight / nano shield and that has won me about as many 1v1s as my orion. Only this time I can fire longer down lanes and take on more than one target reliably. I found it excellent with a good conc grenade throw and manage to kill multiple targets in a crowded room before having to reload. In my opinion, assaults are scrappers. Blow up vehicles, get in there and take some yardage. Leave the cover and plinking for medics, engies and snipers.
I got aurxium with all vs lmgs and polaris might seam good, but there is no reason to use it over orion in any fight.
2nd and third posters were knocking the recoil on it, but it really has one of the best recoil patterns of all VS LMGs. The recoil is stronger than that of ursa or sva but its a predictable recoil, having a recoil that climbs to the right side instead of left,up,right. I use it with 2x sight, compensator, rifle grip. I got auraxium with it a long time ago thou, when laser sight on it was the bomb. Thou atm im playing on my laptop and a crappy connection so I usually run lasher when playing HA just so I can actually hit SOMETHING! (mostly just playing medic thou)
I have unlocked all VS LMGs to find the one that fits me most. I stuck with the Polaris and it was the first one auraxiumed. The Polaris sacrifices base stats for controllable recoil and bigger magazine size. It recoils up/right, so it is much easier to compensate than with the regular VS LMGs that recoil up/left-right. There is only one other LMG in the VS arsenal with that trait: the Pulsar LSW. Secondly, the low ROF further reduces recoil, allowing the user to fire longer bursts at medium to long range. For me that trait was especially useful because I am not a great marksman AND I usually have to play on rather low FPS (15-30, depending on time of day and battle size). So the damage and ROF advantage from the other VS LMGs is worthless to when I miss most of the crucial shots from bounce around wildly. The other advantage of the Polaris is the standard 100 bullet magazine. It offers more sustainable fire capacity over the other Vanu LMGs without having to equip an extended magazine (which is only available for the Flar or Ursa anyway). That means you can still use other attachments to reduce recoil even further. Overall the Polaris is a fantastic weapon for medium range combat and fire support. The low ROF means that you usually won't win CQC engagements (and even the advanced laser sight won't change that), but the controllable recoil equalizes medium to long range encounters. The best way to use it is to assume an overwatch position, preferably at the flanks and engage advancing targets that enter sight. Even if you cannot kill them because of the TTK, your allies will usually have an easy time to finish them off. My recommended setup for the Polaris is Compensator, Forward Grip and Soft Point Ammo. A NV scope works great with the weapon, because the max sight range coincides with the effective combat distance. 1x and 2x are also good options, while 3.4x and 4x are a bit too shaky for my taste, even with the rather controllable recoil. I would not recommend using the Advanced Laser Sight with this weapon. Before the LMG base hipfire nerf it was an interesting choise for a mobile CQC build where you hipfire-headshotted your enemies, but that is not viable anymore. TL,DR: Polaris: bad stats but very controllable, good for medium range combat and fire support, suggested attachments: Compensator, Forward Grip, Soft Point Ammo, NV to 2x
I can't look at it as a hipfiring, cqc weapon, though I've never tried using it that way. The low damage is made up for by going for rapid, successive headshots for quick marksman kills. It shines at ads to the head at medium range. It is best treated like an auto scout rifle for a heavy. With a suppressor and hit and run gameplay, you're like an infiltrator with a shield that never runs out of ammo. For more traditional frontline ha, there are other great choices. When you want to play cat and mouse though, it's awesome. (So are recon bolts). Polaris is still useful in more traditional situations if you ads for headshots, but for that role there are other compelling choices as well.
Polaris was my first gun after Orion back in the day and I never regretted my choice. It's still the gun I got the most kills with. It's as solid 250 certs LMG but you'll have to use it wisely as it is a very unforgiving weapon. To win with polaris you MUST have a good accuracy rate (around 30% I'd say) and being able to land headshots. If you are a capable marksman you'll like the polaris. I presonally use it with Adv.laser sight and CQC hipfiring solution. At mid-range you can compensate with your accuracy skill. At long range you'll suck a bit but the relatively low RoF and the 100 mag can make wonders if you small-burst fire and avoid head-on engagements with better ranged-fight ready enemies. Overall I'd say Polaris is a very good solution if you are trying to improve your Orion with something different and relatively cheap. My fav LMG is the NS15 though, if you have the patience for the 1000 certs.
