Choices:
With the Avenger and Collector available from the beginning of the game, and the Vindicator available from very early on, the Soldier has some choices to make with weapons. I think out of all the weapon choices, the three Assault Rifles are the most balanced, meaning that they aren't necessarily upgrades of each other but are more play style options.
What Weapon is Best?
Short Answer: For straight damage, its the Vindicator. The question is, is damage all that matters?
This isn't just a classic RPG where we look at numbers; since its a gun, player skill and player style have a far greater role in the effectiveness of a gun than simply looking at its DPS.
Ranking the Guns (High to Low):
DPS: Vindicator, Avenger, Collector
Damage Per Bullet: Vindicator, Collector, Avenger
Recoil: Avenger, Vindicator, Collector
Accuracy (From cover + From the Hip): Vindicator, Collector, Avenger
Ammo Count: Avenger, Collector, Vindicator
Benefit from Adrenaline Rush: Avenger, Vindicator, Collector
Recoil, Accuracy, and Ammo are just as important as damage when all of these weapons are so important. Sure the Avenger can put more bullets out than the collector, but it cannot be held full auto and consistently get headshots at medium range like the Collector can. The Vindicator has high damage, but even a few misses might mean you have to leave cover to find ammo. The Collector gets almost nothing for turning on adrenaline rush, whereas it covers the Avengers great weakness in recoil and help really line up Vindicator shots.
Ultimately it comes down to personal preference. What's most important is figuring out what you need from your gun and why you need it. For me, I like high rate-of-fire so I have a higher chance of a status effect (disruptor/cryo/incendiary effects), something accurate, and something with plenty of ammo. For me, the Collector fits quite nicely with all of those elements. Its greatest strength, hip firing, is something I use often when moving from point to point, and during speed runs, and I don't have to worry about ammo.
What About the Geth Pulse Rifle?
The GPR is a heavy submacine gun/light assault rifle. Think about a mix between the collector and the tempest and you have the GPR. It has better accuracy, rate of fire, and less recoil than the avenger, but does less damage per bullet. It has very slightly greater DPS than the Avenger. If you don't have the Collector and you want a similar weapon, you may want to try out the GPR. However, usually by the time one gets the GPR, it's late enough that the player has already really found her/his weapon of choice.
For some straight Damage tests, check out this forum post: http://social.bioware.com/forum/1/topic/103/index/1595869
The geth pulse rifle has no values for damage, accuracy, or recoil in the ini file, so it inherits those from the avenger because it's defined as the base weapon in its class. The geth's variable rate of fire doesn't really amount to a major difference and neither does the fact that it's got a slightly higher multiplier against shields and lower against armor. They're practically the same gun with different graphics.
ReplyDeletewhen the geth use the pulse rifle they seem to take down shields quicker than any other weapon - why isnt that the case when using the weapon yourself?
ReplyDeleteWhy don't you ever comment on the m-96 mattock or the m-76 revenant. I've noticed in your youtube vids you don't have them, so I'd think it would be difficult to give an informed opinion to your viewers/readers if you're not informed.
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