So, the Gauss Rifle Burst... I like it.

Discussion in 'Combat Medic' started by hansgrosse, Jun 1, 2013.

  1. hansgrosse



    Glad to have someone corroborate my findings!

    As I've gained experience with the rifle, I've come to the conclusion that elevation does not factor into the gun's behavior, and framerate isn't as significant as I thought either. At this point I'm completely at a loss as to what makes the thing so erratic sometimes, but I'm still trying to figure it out.

    As for forgetting that you're using a burst gun in close combat situations, that comes with practice. I did it a lot at first too, but these days it's largely a non-issue.



    In any case, please post the results of your comparison between the Gauss S and the Gauss Burst burst fire modes once you have them. I'd be interested to see what you find! :D

    And if you ever discover anything about what causes the gun's inconsistent behavior then please let me know! If I can figure out what causes it, then I can come up with techniques to keep its accuracy consistent. When that happens, it'll pretty much be the perfect burst rifle.
  2. kennonfodder

    lol I got sold here^^ , but wouldnt spend 300 certs

    Concerning the weapons, my questions was does it make sense to switch to the Gauss Burst seeing a long range situation comes up. In that situation, you go to a nearby sundy, switch class/setup, it doesnt make a difference if you roll as a long range engineer or heavy etc.---> same effort (so is the Gauss Burst sooo good that it outclasses the others)

    But I´ll give it a shot, there are not many NC weapons left to check out after six months, the magic of something new is in the air again ;)
  3. hansgrosse


    The answer to your question is yes and no. When the rifle behaves and puts both rounds of its burst on-target, I'd say it's one of the best long-range options in the entire game, and entirely worth switching out to for distance fighting. When it gets unruly and starts pulling its 2nd round its ranged effectiveness drops to "average to good," and you'll probably get similar or better results with weapons from the other classes.

    Essentially, it's an amazing gun if you're willing to put up with how random it can be sometimes. XD
  4. Halvorana

    I just don't see any difference in TTK in any vids I watch, recordings I make myself, VR training, or any other situation that the Burst Gauss operates any differently than the stock Guass (in TTK terms). The first shot multiplier is nice, but that might net you a lucky "I shot that guy in the heel as he was going in a door" kill 1 out of 10000 engagements... not worth it for a gun that is sub par in every other situation.

    The Burst Gauss is just junk in CQC. Yes, it's junk. In the long run you are simply fooling yourself if you think this is working better than the stock Gauss with a laser sight. I would wait till you have tried and failed about 1000 CQC fights before you just make an assumption on one guy you rolled with hip-burst-firing. You will at best have a 50% success rate which does fall into the average KD ratio range, if you find that acceptable, then great.

    With the ranges in planetside being so overtly nutty... the Gauss Burst might full-fill the extreme "I'm shooting targets at the mostest-fartherest-range possible for an Assault Rifle"... the problem is that you are in that range maybe 1% of the time you play the game. Any time you are not at that goofy range the stock Gauss is unarguably better than the burst Gauss, and even if you are at that range the TTK might be 1 extra bullet that the stock Gauss did not connect (If you go into the VR training or just field test the stock Gauss you can kill targets at pretty fregging far away).

    It is not worth any certs or money.
  5. hansgrosse



    Cool story bro, but it's a story so full of assumption, groundless conjecture, and lack of experience with the weapon that it's not even funny. I'm going to respond to this, but I WILL ignore further posts by you if they're not worded constructively. Nerd rage FTL.

    I refuse to let this thread be anything other than a calm, reasonable discussion about the rifle in question. This in mind, I'm going to pretend that's what you came here for as well. Let's address your concerns, one by one. For the short version, refer to the parts highlighted in blue.

    1)"TTK is the same as stock NC1, and its burst accuracy isn't useful."
    Straight-up TTK is a worthless statistic because it doesn't factor in the dozens of other details likely to make an impact on the battlefield. In real (in-game, not REAL real) battlefield conditions, the Gauss Burst proves its worth. I highly recommend that you dump the 130 certs necessary to buy the rifle and whichever scope you like and test it under real combat conditions before you make a final-sounding judgement. Also, the gun's insanely accurate burst makes the difference in FAR more than 1 in 10,000 engagements. Human reaction, especially with internet latency thrown in, is generally not fast enough to avoid the second shot once the first one connects, which means the gun's burst fire accuracy lets us reliably factor in the damage of both rounds as if it's effectively a single shot. If you're any good then both of those shots were probably headshots. At the gun's ideal range, that's 143*2*1.5, or 429. That's most of their shields. If they're already even slightly damaged (which is often the case), then the follow-up burst will kill. Many, many players will give you the chance to place that follow-up burst. Even taking headshots out of the equation, 2x body shots do more than enough damage to threaten wounded soldiers, of which there are generally many on the battlefield, and even when a soldier isn't wounded, he's taking twice the damage of the single Gauss Rifle shot you were likely to land at long range with either of the other versions. There are a LOT of of fairly common situations in which this alone places it above the NC1.

    2) "Gauss Burst is a garbage CQC gun. You're making assumptions about the weapon based on one CQC engagement's-worth of experience. Stock Gauss is better in every way but you don't know that because you have no experience with it."
    - I've heard this repeated many, many times as pertains to burst weapons in general, and to a man, the folks making this assertion have very little time invested with burst weaponry. I'm making no assumptions here. My assessments are based on the time I've put in with the Gauss Burst over several days and in many different situations, more than a few of which were CQC engagements. I'm willing to bet that yours are not. This gun works fine in CQC. Is the Gauss Burst the best thing in the world at CQC? Absolutely not. The weapons specialized in CQC certainly have an advantage up close, but then again that's what they're meant to do. Once you manage to familiarize yourself with their operation, burst rifles operate just as well (and better in some cases, I'd argue) as their non-CQC-specialized automatic counterparts. The Gauss Burst is no exception. As for the stock Gauss Rifle, suffice it to say that it was my favorite weapon in the game for a very, very long time. I know quite well what the stock Gauss is capable of, so believe it when I say that the Gauss Burst can do many practical and relevant things on the battlefield far better than the NC1.

    3) "You almost never get into fights at the ranges where the Gauss Burst is most effective."
    - This depends entirely on how you position yourself during fights. There are plenty of situations in which a long ranged killing machine is desirable when rolling as an infiltrator is not. For instance, I medic for my outfit on a regular basis 'cos it's what I like to do. In this situation sniper rifles are not an option to me, but I DO have the Gauss Burst, and it rarely leaves me wanting. Here's a rundown of just a few of the situations I regularly find the Gauss Burst useful in when in medic mode.
    ---> When assaulting a base I can use the Gauss Burst to pick off defenders on the roofs and battlements as well as those who think they're hidden in cover but have a bit sticking out. It's easy with this gun.
    ---> When defending a base I can use the Gauss Burst to pick off attackers charging across the fields, and you also have the advantage versus those who get smart and decide to play peek-a-boo with you. It's easy with this gun.
    ---> Long-range stalemates happen all the friggin' time in this game. When trading shots with lines of enemies on the other hill over there, the Gauss Burst performs better than any other rifle the NC has access to.
    ---> It's great for sniping engineers manning turrets, and I'd argue it's more effective in this role than any other non-sniper rifle.
    ---> Running into lots of enemy snipers? You're a real threat to them at even their own ideal ranges with this gun, and I'd argue it's a better counter-sniping platform than any other non-sniper rifle.
    ---> When supporting sniper teams, it helps to have a weapon that will let you do damage at the ranges they're fighting at if you have to.
    ---> When supporting HA missile squads or Engi AV turret nests at their ideal standoff ranges, the Gauss Burst's insane accuracy and muzzle velocity will help to actually connect with a few of those potshots you're taking at the infantry below, where you could well have missed entirely with any other gun.
    The Gauss Burst does this all with what approaches the reliability of a semi-auto sniper rifle, with better muzzle velocity and ballistics than any sniper rifle in the game, and without having to contend with ADS sway.


    I think that just about covers it all. If there's anything here you don't agree with then please do post a response, as I welcome reasonable discourse, but once again keep it constructive. From here on out I will not bother responding to obvious exaggerations or insulting insinuations like were found in your previous one.
  6. TeknoBug

    The Gauss Burst in most situations for me is aggravating, the Equinox Burst is a better version however the SABR-13 is significantly better than all burst weapons yet takes some certing to make the recoil manageable. So I use the Gauss S (has 2-round burst mode) which doesn't have the same deviation as the Gauss Burst does in burst mode.

    So no I disagree that the Gauss Burst is one of the best long range in the game.
  7. Imposer

    I got the VS Burst Rifle and while good, not as good as the Gauss Burst (not as good looking either) The extra bullet makes all the difference. Instead of having the recoil of two bullets, it has that of three. Which not only means it will scale up your target more but you also have to wait longer to take your next shot. NC win this one.
  8. MrK

    Back after a few more testing.
    I'll need some even more testing, but so far, the Burst version has several good points about it. I love the fact it's THAT better than other Gauss version when ADS on the move. It's where it really shines above the other Gauss versions. That makes it usefull in medium ranges as well. I'm not sure the better 1st shot multiplier of the S version doesn't make the S a better range weapon, while the Burst is in fact better in medium & CQC.
    There's also probably a lot of personnal preference here, too.
    Each time I try to use the others Gauss version in the same way I use the Burst version, it fails. Where the Burst gets you out of a close range moving ADS headshot engagement, the other 2 ends up spraying the last bullets around and make you die.
    Glad I unlocked it, I'll need some far more long term use to be sure of its potency though.
  9. kennonfodder

    Finally played enough with it to judge

    It´s a really nice weapon. The high velocity and good precision makes it a very competitive weapon at any range. The stats were described in detail already (see above), and it is inferior stat wise, but this gun gives a good feeling and is easier to handle than expected

    Grip and ironsights/NV and go :)

    PS: I tried to use the Gauss S the same way like the Gauss Burst, it doesnt work, not even in the S rifle burst mode. The two weapons are very different and the bullet velocity of the Gauss S is far too low to do the same tricks
  10. MrK

    I'm sticking with it currently.
    I confirm my preference for Burst on CQC / medium ranges, not being affected by CoF issues when moving in ADS is big.
    The big 1st recoil mult. is bad, though.

    Equinox Burst looks kinda the same for ADS on the move, but probably lacks alpha, and its 1st shot recoil mult. is even worse, so it may be a worst verson of Gauss Burst
  11. Aglethe

    This thread has kind of inspired me to start taking a look at the burst weapons. I'm on Matherson which has been kinda... meh lately, so I've been spending more time in VR than anything else these days. So that's where my impressions are drawn from (and my little NoobC alt is a bit strapped for certs anyway ;) ), you may want to apply a liberal dose of salt.

    All that out of the way, I'm finding them to be surprisingly nice. They do seem considerably better at CQC / short ranges (especially with a laser) than their standard counterparts. The burst action seems to make managing CoF easier. You trade some theoretical DPS and extra recoil for that control, but the recoil doesn't matter as much at these ranges, and theoretical DPS doesn't kill people, shots on target do. ;)

    When you start getting out to range though, things seem to get a bit more complicated and each of the various burst weapons begin to take on their own personalities.

    The horizontal recoil on the Gauss Burst really gives me trouble at plinking ranges, I find it hard to control that sudden recoil on the second shot of the burst. Aiming for the left shoulder kind of works and sends the second one to the head when you get it right, but when you do it wrong you lose both shots. I like the straight vertical burst weapons (SABR, Gauss Burst Compact) better for plinking, it's easier for me to land both shots with those. That said, my ttks on distant targets still seem a bit better with the Gauss Burst than doing singles with the regular Gauss Rifle, so there's that for it. The Vanu (and presumably non SABR TR, they get 3 round bursts too) burst weapons don't seem as effective at really long ranges, that third shot's just going to go wide no matter what you do. They may still be a little better than single shots from their standard variants, but they don't keep up with the 2 round burst weapons here.

    At mid to longish ranges I seem to do better with longer bursts from the regular Gauss Rifle. I'm not really a great shot (and I use a trackball, thanks RSI :p ), so I benefit from a little spray and pray at those ranges. It may just be a matter of finding the right rhythm with it though. On the other hand, the Vanu burst weapons do work well for me here. I find it easy to get into a good tempo of balanced spray and control on them (especially the Equinox Burst). I think I'd prefer the Vanu bursts over the standard variants in this bracket.

    The burst weapons also have a variety of nifty little perks to them as well. Ammo management tends to be better, probably not as much of a bonus for people with excellent trigger discipline, but for most people I suspect it would be a noticeable benefit. Especially with the 30 round 143 weapons where you're kind of hurting for damage per mag to begin with. On a somewhat related note, the 3 round bursts combined with the 40 round mags work well for catching the short reload on the spare shot with the TR bursts (minus the SABR of course).

    Another interesting thing is the three round burst weapons work like a Commissioner for instant kills with a knife. And they have the added benefit of being suppressible. Stealth takedowns anyone ? Probably a bigger thing for LAs than medics I suppose.

    All in all though, Burst weapons seem like one of the best kept little secrets in PS2. Definitely worth taking a look at if you're curious, in VR if nothing else.

    -Ag
  12. Jogido

    pretty much my setup but I used a 3.5 scope
  13. Jogido

    Once you master tapping fast it not much different than the Gauss Rifle at CQC and medium ranges....and I tend to waste less ammo.

    the Gauss burst has HV ammo, which does give it an edge at longer range...esp for moving targets. I usually switch to single shot mode at that range.

    but I think a lot of it is personal preference as well. Some people just won't like the feel of burst weapons
  14. EViLMinD

    I VR'd the 4x with the burst and it seemed right. But, VR is just VR. Gotta fieldtest scopes to get the right fit.

    I used to run 4x on the S whenever I used HVA, but I found 3.4 was a better match. It was more general purpose; a tad better for closer targets. The reaper is more suited to the 4x scopes (w/ HVA).
  15. MrK

    Check my play kill list from last night. I barely do that kind of thing usually (I'm really the typical average guy, the 6+ kill streaks, etc... are usually not my type)
    This is becoming a norm with the Gauss Burst
    I'll definitely stick with it. The gun is awesome.
  16. kennonfodder

    The more I played with the Gauss burst, the more I forgot about the other ARs

    But then there was a moment of boredom which I think most of you experienced players have at a point: where to spend the next 100 certs? So I attached the Gauss Rifle S with HVA ammo...

    Short version:
    what a donkey I was running without it :D Its a fantastic addition and opened my eyes for all the Gauss Rifles. Give it a try S fans (if not already)!

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    Long version, a wall of text, a comparison between the three Gauss family members:
    lets do some stat whoring for that purpose
    https://docs.google.com/spreadsheet...=AR&sortcolid=-1&sortasc=true&rowsperpage=250

    1st shot recoil:
    The biggest flaw of the Gauss Burst is the rather heavy 1st shot recoil of x2.15
    Gauss Rifle NC 1 has also heavy 1st shot recoil of x2.15
    The Gauss S rifle has only x1.5, allowing more precision here

    Recoil in general:
    Default wise, the Gauss Burst is slightly better: 0.30 vertical, 15/0.15 horizontal recoil (grip allowed)
    Gauss default NC 1 has 0,3 vertical, 0.175/0.175 horizontal recoil (grip allowed, but no comp available)
    Gauss S 0.34 vertical, 0.175/0.2 horizontal recoil (grip and comp allowed)
    Attached with a compensator things change here in favor for the Gauss S, comp and grip and its smooth a TR weapon with harder hitting NC bullets

    Bullet velocity:
    The initial bullet velocity of the Gauss Burst is 650m/s, which is the main reason it performs so well (Gauss NC1 has also 650 m/s, makes it an excellent gun).
    The Gauss Rifle S in comparison has only 600, at a slightly lower rate of fire (577 in comparison with 600 for Gauss NC1 and Burst), the small difference in the rate of fire is negligible. However you´ll notice the 50 difference of the bullet velocity, especially when leading targets.

    HVA:
    If you arm the Gauss S with a grip (forget the GL-tubes for a while, heavily nerfed), and a compensator you get a super precise gun. A gun that allows you to fire long bursts of more than 10 bullets without sacrifing accuracy, its almost like a TR gun. It still lacks velocity without HVA, but thats an option for the Gauss S.
    The Gauss Burst can equip the HVA, the Gauss NC1 default not. So how much extra velocity gives the HVA? SOE said those may vary from case to case. I would estimate another 50 m/s, which pushes the Gauss S into the champions league of bullet velocity AR´s.

    Now HVA is really a setback for some weapons imo, as for some weapons it makes them almost too hard to control if you not just tap fire (Gauss SAW good example for this). Not here, with the S you can still fire it like a NS/TR weapon.

    Long range Combat:
    At pling pling range 200meters+ the burst with HVA is the best choice. Would estimate the bullet velocity is more than 700m/s here, which is impressive.
    At normal long range, meaning 70-199 meters, there is not so much difference. Correct me please if some of you disagree. All of the three Gauss rifles show good performance here, however the Gauss S only with HVA. I used mostly ironsights while testing.

    Medium rage combat:
    With full auto mode the Gauss S allows you very precise bursts of 10 bullets+, that is better than 2 bullets bursts with a high 1st recoil shot multiplier. The NC1 Gauss rifle is a monster here as well. Still the Gauss Burst can hold its own, very strong in 1v1 situations. Why that? My explanation is that the burst forces you to take that extra 0,5 second of aiming, which always pays off.

    Close Combat:
    In many of these situations the Gauss NC1 is still the best gun imo, closely followed by the Burst. The cone of fire is smaller, the stats of the burst are better for shooting on the move. Then burst firing forces you to aim better etc. All weapons have similar ADS movement multipliers of 0,5x. And the Gauss S? Yes, here you suffer for the compensator. Do you suffer a lot? Thats personal flavor, I would say "yes", you suffer but not that you cannot use it in close combat. A shotgun or good SMG will dominate any Gauss Rifle anyway.

    Gauss S specialty:
    Its possible to switch to burst fire and pling pling mode as well, especially in long range engagements thats pretty usefull. You got a Gauss burst in your hands then, with the option to switch to full auto again.

    Setup:
    Gauss Burst with grip, mostly no HVA (100-200 certs of investment), weapon cost 100 certs (!!)
    Gauss S with grip, comp and HVA (300 certs of investment), weapon cost 500 certs
    Gauss NC1 with grip (100 certs of investment), weapon cost 0 (default)
    What sight you use is a different topic, the ironsights are good enough imo.



    tl:dr Summary:
    Bullet velocity is key. It helps at most distances, especially the longer ones, helps at leading targets. Increases precision and helps also at server lags. All of the Gauss weapons have huge potential. The NC1 is the cheapest entry in the Gauss world, an allrounder weapon with very decent performance in every situation.

    The Gauss Burst can help to improve at longer to extreme ranges and its a fun weapon, who thought that burst weapons are competitive in most situations before (thanks to Hans!). As a training tool to get better trigger discipline priceless.

    The Gauss S with HVA has a completely different feeling (not only the sound differs), it combines an increased precision at all ranges with a high bullet speed, three fire modes and a lot of customization options. Weaker in CQC than her two sisters though.
  17. MrK

    To me, the Burst advantage is different : you retain CoF accuracy in ADS on the move, + you have very good hipfire CoF.
    That makes CQC good, and medium to long, you can move while firing and still be accurate. This is where the weapon truely outshines the other variants
    In the end, it's like the weapon is permanently on Zero CoF state
  18. EViLMinD

    I finally certed mine up. Went with HVA, 4x Trueshot and a grip. Frick does it shoot fast. I love it.
  19. Nixaerie

    Is it possible to have a vid of some of you guys using it? I'm trying but i find the 2nd shot recoil to be messing me at range, so i switch to single shot and try to stay calm and popshot people...but it seems to need something like 10-14 shots (mixed hits & misses i suppose) at mid range (from the VR battlements to the TR tanks in Virtual Training) to kill someone fast clicking and compensating the recoil...

    ...also, with a 4x Scope the recoil becomes really noticeable, nothing to scoff off really, in my mileage...

    Any advice?
  20. MrK

    I stay with x2, personnaly, no more, on mostly every gun I use
    I'll try to see if I've some footage already. Nothing incredible, don't hold your breath :)