The joy of using under-used weapons

Discussion in 'PlanetSide 2 Gameplay Discussion' started by UberNoob1337101, Jun 27, 2017.

  1. UberNoob1337101

    Hello there, as all of us may know, this game has a harder time attracting new players, one of the biggest reasons is that they're being absolutely destroyed by BR100+ vets, while at the same time, I'm seeing the vast majority of good players playing Heavy Assault with a low-recoil LMG and the Commissioner or a CQC sniper or a SMG infil with a similar load-out.

    The amount of stomping I've witnessed by said players can be compared to LeBron James dunking a kid with one arm. While we could still give tips to new players or just say that they need to git gud, I believe in another approach :


    You see, any scrub can pick up an Orion/MSW-R Heavy and go on a long killstreak just because he's using a powerful easy-to-use setup.

    Any sniper can be a drag-scope master with TSAR-42/Ghost/SAS-R and win most sniper duels due to never having to worry about tunnel vision or scope sway.

    Anyone can pick up a TAR or Terminus and start facerolling most of the team by one-bursting most people in the head with a high RoF weapon that also has low recoil.


    I could go on and on, but my point is : you're always going to do good when using easy to use powerful gear, but wrecking players while using weapons that are under-used and inferior to the current popular gear is a mark of a truly good player.
    Let's be honest with ourselves, on a competitive level, you wouldn't pick any weapon that isn't top tier. Personally I'm not very impressed when I'm killed by these weapons, but when a player intentionally puts himself at a disadvantage by using weaker weapons and still manages to wreck me, I respect every single kill the dude got, because he earned every one.


    By using non-meta weapons, you can potentially find your new favorite weapon that you enjoy to use even though it might be a piece of crap. After all, fun might be more important than try-harding.
    For example, out of all LMGs I used, I found the Naginata to be my favorite for it's looks and sound it makes while firing. This gun is arguably the worst LMG in the game due to it's abysmal recoil and somewhat low DPS, but this weapon has one huge advantage over the current meta weapons : it gives you the most satisfying kills knowing that you owned try-hard enemies with this glorious piece of trash.

    Another one is the Railjack, this thing has a delay that frequently denies you easy kills and can be very frustrating to use, but there's no better experience than one-shotting an ADADing BR120.

    I've found the Rebel to be a really fun sidearm even though it's inferior to the Commissioner in almost every aspect, but still, it's a blast getting double headshots with this thing even though it's very hard to pull off.


    This doesn't go for weapons either, any scrub can pick up a Heavy and win 1v1s relatively easily, but seeing an Engineer destroy targets without even trying even while outnumbered is an impressive feat and awe-inspiring.


    Long story short : If you enjoy using top-tier stuff and don't want to switch, then more power to you, but if you've always wanted to be the guy who makes people fear and cower behind cover from the mere sight of him no matter what he uses, then try using some of the less-used and arguably under-powered weapons. You'll not only bring the much-needed variety, but also prove that you can absolutely destroy targets even with terrible gear.
    • Up x 9
  2. Zazen

    I agree with you 100%.

    I know a lot of guys from the "Competitive" outfits I've been in over the years that love to masturabate to their Dasanfall stats. But, when you take a closer look you invariably see most only play HA and only use Orion/Beetlejuice, MSW-R or Anchor, faction depending. I don't get it personally, I understand that dunking planetmans is fun. But, after 100,000 kills with the Anchor/Beetlejuice/MSW-R you would think that stacking the deck in your favor 100% of the time would get old...But, apparently not, for these folks. And I'm fine with that, if that's what gets your rocks off and keeps you paying & playing, go for it.

    But, I'm with you OP. I own every gun for every faction and I intend to Auraxium them all if PS2 survives that long! I have my favorites that I will go back to and play with for funsies now and then, but nothing is more fun and keeps the game as fresh as learning to master a new weapon.
    • Up x 5
  3. Campagne

    Definitely.

    I honestly couldn't tell you the names of five different non-directive VS LMGs. Orion, Ursa, Polaris, Flare... uhh....

    The Rebel is actually a very good pistol for stalkers, as it has an 8m silenced two-shot headshot kill, whereas the Commissioner is super loud and is not suppressible. Also 10-round mag over the 6-round cylinder.
    • Up x 2
  4. Hegeteus

    My final goal in PS2 is to bring my mag-scatter's KD to 2. I didn't make it easy for myself, since I had already 17400 kills before it got buffed and each decimal of improvement is now around 200 kills
    • Up x 1
  5. JobiWan

    I love the crossbow and the battle rifle which are considered by many to be 'bad' weapons.
    • Up x 3
  6. OldMaster80

    Lol. I auraxiumed the Soas-20 before buffs when it still had 20 ammo capacity. The Trap before the recent buff, the KSR-35 using it like a Scout Rifle.

    But the hardest for me was the AMR-66: Auraxiumed with laser sight, compensator, 2x scope and no HVA.

    That really made me cry.
  7. SixNineFour

    I had my SOAS-20 auraxium done about 75% when they buffed it and when I auraxiumed it, I realized I could put forward grip on it.

    I had no trouble auraxiuming the AMR-66 as it was default weapon for my HA, infiltrator and engineer for a while. It is objectively better at long range than any other engineer or HA weapon.
    AMR-66 with grenade launcher and spitfire is quite a nice combo for engineer in the right location.
  8. Chubzdoomer

    I haven't found any of the weapons to be "overpowered" enough for this to actually matter. Every weapon has its strengths/weaknesses--yes, even the ones used by the majority of Heavies.
  9. OldMaster80

    Yes it's good at long range... But I used it from the hip :D
  10. MurgNC

    Yes, I agree that under-sed weapons can be more fun.

    I'm about to auraxium my Magshot pistol. At first I was thinking I'd replace it with a Commissioner, because why wouldn't I use a Commissioner? But it just seems *too* good, almost cheesy good. I think I'm gonna go with the Rebel or Desperado instead!
  11. UberNoob1337101

    Go with Desperado, it's very good and fun and fulfills the finisher/CQC backup role well. The Rebel, while fun to use, isn't particularly great and is fairly niche, so if you really want it, try it out suppressed and/or with a LS. Also, thanks for using new, different gear, I hope you have fun with it!

    Haha, you've already grinded 25000+ kills with it, and I'm quite confident that you'll achieve that too, Mr. Scatman :D
    I might've poorly chosen my words in the OP, but my general messeage is that if high BRs are interested, they could pick up a new weapon to learn and master, preferrably the more underpowered/less used gear or the one notorious for it's high skill floor and ceiling.

    While I do agree that there is no true "OP" weapon, there could be an argument that there are weapons that are a little too good. Not only that, but a whole ton of players use the same weapon over and over (see : Orion/Betelgeuse, Commissioner, low-zoom BASRs) and having more diverse gear choice could spice up the game for everyone.
    • Up x 1
  12. Morpholine

    I'm at nearly 2.5x auraxium on the Lasher.

    She'll get you killed a lot in general use, but when the situation is right, she really shines. One of my favorite weapons in the game.
  13. The Shady Engineer

    Very true. Despite it being considered a glorified nail driver or a beefier submachine gun and despite the Jaguar being kinda better in field conditions, on paper and popular opinion, Lynx is my bae. <3

    Chaining headshots at 910 RPM with that lovely Lynx accuracy chews through heavies something fierce. Really good at range too. Always funny to get tells from people who can't believe they got killed by a supposedly cqc gun from so far away.

    Diversifying my sidearm use recently was also pretty fun. Turns out I like the Inquisitor more than the Commish. Still prefer the pocketSMG Repeater to both but it's fun to experiment.

    Heh, now that I think of it, maining engineer as infantry is already kind of a hipster move. Not that I mind. :D
  14. tamashiiken

    Wow, seeing a post like this is making me feel very nostalgic, bringing back memories of early gaming, once you finished a game, the only way to feel challenged was if you restricted yourself, like doing a level with only pistols etc. I am far too rubbish at this game to start doing that, but it is refreshing and exciting to see this post. Thanks OP and other posters, for giving a noob like me more of a fighting chance while finding more fun in the game by giving yourselves an extra challenge!
    • Up x 1
  15. Sil4ntChaozz

    I personally am horrid at using semi-auto/single shot weapons. But its a good thing to learn to use those,and forces me to play differently then just

    'walk into room
    Bullethose dakka
    Cool they dead'

    I always liked the excellent control players have with underused weapons but I suck so bad its not even proving a point on my end XD.

    My Emissary is badass and no one can tell otherwise!