Equinox is comparable to Gauss S and T1S, and being inferior to others AR is the same for the 3 empires. It's a watered down version of the base gun trading worse stats for more attachements. If you don't intent to use underbarrel attachements, don't use the Equi/S versions. True for the 3 empires. Nothing specifically bad for VS here. I'm running Corvus w/ Laser Sight, still prefering versatility over specialization everytime I play PS2. Like I'm using Reaper with laser sight on my NC, or GR-22 with forward grip. This may sound silly, but I find the advantages given by specialization too minuscule to trade for losing 1 part of the gunplay (hipfiring lost on a 167/200 gun without Laser, ADS long range lost on a 143 without Grip). What's the exact point of having Adv Grip on Reaper? It's already super accurate in terms of horizontal recoil. The only exception would be pure CQC gun with Adv Laser Sight as it opens up a completely different gunplay (pure hipfiring strafing monster, usable up to medium ranges), but this like completely cut offs ADS fighting, and it's a gunplay I'm bad at, so I don't use it Anyway, all that to say that Corvus w/ LS is still very viable at all ranges. You have to be very carefull for headshots but they tend to be easier. Maybe that's just a placebo feeling of me, there, but I find the Corvus to be managed easier.
Sadly I would advise you to use the NS-11, even though I disapprove of using the heretical NS weapons. The Corvus does its job well in open fields, but when I play Medic, I normally stick with my squad, which includes going into buildings for the capture points. The Corvus is severely restricted indoors, and its hip fire is garbage. If shooting at a distance, getting ambushed up close will normally mean instant death as the hip fire and slow rate of fire will be outmatched by another gun. For this gun, I would advise aiming for the head, as the slow rate of fire will in most cases allow a target to move into cover. The NS-11 on the other hand is very versatile, though it is worse at range than the Corvus. The ability to change from long range combat to close range combat with relative ease, makes this gun useful for a play style that is constantly on the move from indoor spaces to wide open ranges. Heads shots are always good, but aiming for center of mass will still allow a novice marksmen to secure a kill.
Not quite true. The issue is that the Pulsar is already a worse gun than the other two, so a worse version of it becomes an even worse overall damage profile... a.k.a. the NS-11A's. The Equinox does two things better than the NS-11A: it has a slightly lower FSRM, and it can mount underbarrel launchers. That's it. In every other way it is identical or inferior. Compare with the T1S and Gauss S. The T1S has 698 RPM, same as the Pulsar, all the attachments of an S weapon, the good recoil pattern of the Cycler, and the TR standard 40 round magazine. It's noticeably better than the NS-11A in several categories: it still lacks 75% ADS, the NS-11A's better hipfire COF, and the reload speed, but it has an edge on DPS, DPM, recoil angle, and several other things. The Gauss S is a 167 damage gun, and the 577 RPM profile with access to a Compensator and HVA is advantageous. It's got stronger bullets, comparable DPM, similar reloads, a lower FSRM, and a better ammo pool. Again, there are places it falls flat, but it's a different weapon with different strengths and weaknesses instead of being effectively the same weapon but worse. The CME is ever-so-slightly distinct from the NS-11A, but it still retains the same damage profile and is worse in numerous categories without really being better. VS has two ARs that feel the same and perform functionally similar or outright worse. This makes their guns boring. NC does not have this issue because 143 damage guns are a novelty for them so the NS-11A is at least different, and TR's empire-specific arsenal is basically superior in addition to being more varied. Bear in mind that in any empire there's already one near-indistinct clone in the burst variant, so for VS that's roughly half their available Medic weapons that are essentially the same thing as something they already have. If the Terminus ends up in its current form it will basically be a clone of a clone. Even setting aside effectiveness, it's just dull to have a bunch of weapons that are nearly the same thing. It's not a problem VS LMGs have, and the Zenith added some variety to the carbines. It's mostly an AR issue.
As the resident NC weapon AND NC Medic sperg I would like to say that I haven't really found an area where the Gauss Rifle S falls flat. Compared to the Gauss Rifle it only trades 64dps and 50m/s velocity for a MUCH lower FSRM (1.5x vs 2.15x), the same predictable recoil, a full suite of attachments including SPA, and a very respectable 2 shot burst mode. I usually run it with SPA/compensator/smoke launcher/IRNV and it feels exactly like a Gauss Rifle swiss army knife. It's not only a much better gun than the NS-11A, but it's even better than the default Gauss Rifle in most ways. Compared to the Equinox...
The corvus has been ruined with the last nerf. The first shot recoil on the corvus makes me want to vomit. I mean the entire gun literally shakes back and forth like you are in the middle of 9.0 magnitude earth quake during the first and second shots. Its just a joke of a gun now, they ruined it...Stick with the NS-11A with high velocity ammo and shoot bursts for long range engagements. Superior to the corvus.
The, uh, Corvus still has the lowest recoil of any automatic weapon in the game you know. horizontal is 0.15/0.15 and vertical is 0.3 with a 1.85x multiplier. Very, very low recoil ON TOP OF a low ROF. I think you may literally die if you tried half of the NC's weaponry because most of them have at least double the first shot kick as the Corvus
I prefer forward grip over laser sight on most weapons, even the GD-7F and H-V45, I think there's a total of 2 weapons across 3 faction characters I have that has laser sight attached. I spend more time ADS'ing than hipfiring and I can still kill without laser while hipfiring anyways. Corvus is a pretty sweet gun, probably easiest mid-long range gun to use, even the new A-Tross doesn't even compare with its worse recoil and much slower ROF.
As a fan of well-rounded weapons, I absolutely adore and wholeheartedly recommend the NS-11A. It's accurate and controllable when ADS, it has a super-tight hipfire COF, it sports a very high muzzle velocity, it has attachments for every possible situation, it features .75x ADS movement, it has high-capacity magazines, it reloads very quickly, it has access to 2x sights, and its tracers and firing sound don't automatically tell enemies whether you're friend or foe. In exchange for ALL of this, it has the disadvantage of... slightly lackluster DPS. Even if we pretend that DPS is actually as important as the PS2 community at large makes it out to be, this is still a very, very good trade. The NS-11A and the Corvus are both very good rifles, and ultimately I recommend investing in both of them, but if I could only have one I would invest in the NS-11A.
Do you often find your self dueling other players 1v1? If you do just stick to the ns-11a, the extra strafe speed is going to help you a lot in mid-range/cqc fights. Otherwise go for the corvus, because it doesn't have any recoil and it'll make it easy to win against most enemies at range.
