In just about every collection of OoD data, the SV-88 outperforms the next best LMGs from other factions by about 30-35% across the board.... the gap narrows to about 10-15% when you consider only weapons used by the highest BRs... but it's always #1. So... why? Playing against it, it always seems to be able to put a lot of bullets on target... very quickly. From my play experience, I think this weapon deals me more deaths when I shot/hit first than any other... So, I'll guess that it's the combination of RPM and bullet velocity that is doing the trick. But - there are other LMGs (like the T-16) with what I'd think are comparable stats... including RPM/Velocity, that perform quite a bit worse.
Not if you're in the business of getting kills. Here are KPU from 09.15.2013-10.05.2013 from the Guass Saw and SV-88; lets see if you can match the KPU to the weapon. KPU Weapon X = 8.56 KPU Weapon Y = 18.16 Well, lets make it a little more sporting; we will only look at the KPU from BR 75-100. (We will add new names so you cannot cheat) KPU Weapon A = 23.78 KPU Weapon B = 17.90 My guess is the projectile velocity, combined with ROF, DPS, no drop and manageable recoil.
The SVA is the best lmg because it has no downsides. It is good in any situation. You can MOVE. Reload quick. Good easy to manage recoil. Great hipfire. Good range and burst fire. The Orion is a close second Third is the gauss saw who was fourth until the EM6 got nerfed because engie kiddies cried.
The big thing about the SVA is the mid-long range effectiveness. the VS *best* Long range guns are supposed to be the: - Flare: which has the issue of the 2nd bullet kick, eg; your first shot is dead on, but the 2nd shot is WAY high (and all subsequent shots) - Ursa: which came out late, after everyone was used to other guns, and is only *marginally* better at long range then the SVA88. The SVA88 stays ahead for most people over the ursa BECAUSE of the .75 ADS movement (all* others are .5).. and if you think about it.. being able to ADS at mid->long range, and maintain high movement, makes you live longer.. which makes it more effective. At those preferring the orion. Your not in the wrong. The orion is VERY effective.. and it's one of 2 CQC options VS has (the other being.. the pulsar?.. I forget. (the ones with advanced laser sight).. and the orion is not a terrible midrange gun.. so, what you end up with is.. most stick to the orion, and the ones who want to try something new; get the SVA88... which leads to seeing it as high effectiveness.. partially because it has high usage.
Its very easy to use compared to pretty much my whole NC character MG-arsenal. Works in every situation. Easy to handle and capable of getting kills at very long distances with very little trigger control needed. Also since its VS weapon you dont have to even think about bullet drop, just aim at upper torso and it will get hits consistently with an occasional lucky recoil headshot. magazine cap of 75 means it can handle multiple opponents without reloading too.
True, smaller than most but the average BR of the users is pretty high so I would bet there is something to it, even if that particular figure happens to be an outlier. I have not yet got into the gritty details yet of looking at within weapon variance over time. Still, it is not out of place to find the NS among the better performing weapons within categories.
As above, the VS LMGs are simply better due to their 0.75 aim-down-sights movement speed modifier, compared to the 0.5 modifier the TR and NC deal with. That means that if a VS heavy is ADS fighting a TR/NC heavy that's ADS, the VS will strafe 50% faster than the TR/NC heavy he's fighting. So the VS heavy will simply win most of those fights. And if you aren't good at ADS, the VS LMGs have better hipfire too. So if a VS heavy is fighting a TR/NC heavy with hipfire, the VS heavy will win most of those fights as well.
The NS-15MP is simply the platinum coloured version of the standard NS-15M. Their stats are identical. The platinum version was a limited offer some time ago, which explains its small user base and their high average BR. For performance comparisons you should stick to the standard NS-15M, since it's available to everyone.
What makes SVA-88 so strong? Awsome versatility: -Decent DPS (for LMG) + 0.75 ADS move mult. + good ADS while moving and hip firing COFs (without compensator) at close range. -Decent horizontal recoil (with foregrip) + moderate vertical recoil (thanks to average ROF and compensator) + good ADS while moving COFs + low first shot multiplier + good muzzle velocity + SPA (optionnal) at mid-long range. No real drawback if you can control the vertical recoil. But there is worse imbalanced stuffs to focus first like comets/fractures against infantries , ZoE, AI secondaries, 143/652 weapons, 200/500 carabines/AR ect... and are more gamebreaking.
