Pulsar LSW > Every other LMG

May I ask what ADS means?

 

Aiming Down Sight

 

All situations, but long range: pulsar lsw
Long range: sva-88
That point blank situation where you need so much ammo: vx29.

 

I've been playing Medic about 90% of the time and thought I'd give Heavy a try and bought the LSW.

I guess I was expecting a machine gun to do more dmg/TTK and have more range than my Hydra VA45. Needless to say it was a disappointment or it needs Cert'd amo because the only benefit I can see from my limited time on it is the extra amo capacity. Frustratingly, my Heavy seems to die just as fast as my Medic. I guess I need to learn to hit shield the instant I get hit and then try to attack if someone gets the jump on me. It just doesn't seem to make much difference though. The Heavy doesn't seem "heavy" to me. Not only that, the Annihilator is very lack luster vs armor. An Engineer can keep up with the hits on it.

What am I missing?

 

How many points do you have in Nanoweave Armor/Resist shield? I started to notice I was making it through a lot more fair 1v1 fights when I got them up to level 4 and made a conscious effort to land headshots. The Pulsar does let you land multiple headshots with ease which is where I think it shines. The shield can be tough to get used to and having it going before you get hit is ideal, but if you can't it needs to be up asap or you're going down.

Also, I agree the Annihilator has been feeling weak against armor lately. I guess it's to stop insta-death from roaming Annihilator squads, but I've noticed even 3v1 have trouble taking down MBT's.

 

You should hit your ability button on medic immediately too. If you get beat heads up as HA the most likely reasons are: starting to shoot too late (if you're 3+ hits behind you should strongly consider not even engaging), not turning on your shield fast enough or at all, or your accuracy is lower than average.

HA:
- best direct 1v1 class due to its shield (its perk)
- extremely competitive TTK
- largest clip size
- highest base ammo
- AV weaponry (grenade+rockets) [note: You shouldn't be able to kill a vehicle 1v1. If you do they messed up. Also, lock-on are weaker by design.]

You're expecting more o.o?

 

I guess I was expecting a little more survivability along the lines of other games "heavy assault" tanky classes, then again, I have NO certs in armor and resist sheild so that might make the difference..

Thanks guys

 

You should be if you're brave enough to carry a Decimator instead of an Annihilator. Always try to hit them in the rear, their armour is the weakest there and it can't be upgraded (unlike side/front/top). Annihilators have only one advantage, the ability to lock-on to everything non-infantry. That ability comes for a price, there damage is lower than that of a Hades/Nemesis and far lower than that of the S1 or even the Decimator (although the latter one has a shorter range and lower reload speed to compensate for the extra damage).

Decimator vs Annihilator

 

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The Resist shield reduces 45% of the damage you receive.

To add on, the Resist shield will do its job of reducing 45% of the damage you receive as long as you have battery. Keep that in mind. If you have a sliver of battery left and a sniper decides to start shooting shooting you, you could quickly turn it on, take a shot or two, then turn it off. You can get the most out of the resist shield the more active you are toggling it. At times, I will turn it on and off in the middle of a fire fight when I know the enemy can't shoot me (he's reloading and doesn't decide to take out their pistol, or they're at a range where their pistol is useless, or there's something occluding their line of fire, etc). The point is to be conscious about preserving your battery power and to understand that it is not a shield that absorbs all of your damage, but adamage reducer for your shields and health.

It should also be noted that Resist Shield Lv5 only takes 17 seconds to recharge.

You guys should all remember that in Planetside 2, as you go through the different available weapons to your class, the higher the damage, the slower the RoF, and the higher the recoil. In other words, the weapon will require that you more consciously control it. Each gun has a certain aspect about it that you need to get use to if you intend on killing extensively with it. Just because a gun requires that you have to burst fire with it does NOT make it a bad weapon. An LMG that shoots slower does NOT mean that it's shittier than a gun that shoots faster. The two guns you're comparing is a good example of what I am talking about.

The Flare does more damage per shot, but shoots significantly slower. It's an ADS mid-to-long range weapon that favors mid over long. Having a slower rate of fire on a weapon that doesn't require that many bullets to kill people also means:

• You will conserve on ammo significantly
• You won't have to reload as often. This can come in handy when you run into a group of enemies. If you have a faster firing weapon in this scenario, using it incorrectly will mean you will miss your shots, which you will chew through your magazine, which will cause you to reload, which makes you vulnerable. Albeit, the LSW does have a pretty fast reload time, that doesn't mean that it will save you in the event that you run out of ammunition in your magazine.
• You can continuously fire for a longer period of time and when combined with a high damage per shot (which means fewer bullets to kill people with) will equal more kills, providing that you use it correctly and in the right scenario. The same applies to every gun.

BUT...

• If the weapon is intended to be an ADS weapon, then typically, its hip-fire capabilities leave much to be desired
• When you engage a target that has similar damage, but a high rate of fire, and you are *both* accurate with your shots, you will lose. Simple math. More bullets hitting = more damage.
• If the weapon fires too slowly for you, missing one or two successive shots could mean missing out on a lot of damage, way moreso than missing one or two successive shots with an LMG that has lower damage, but a higher rate of fire.

I was going to say more, but I'm going to instead write it in another post.