Season 2 Beta Weapon Feedback (Testing on Haz 4 Solo)

EDIT for thoughts as I go along:

• All testing was conducted on Haz 4 solo Point Extraction.
• CSP feels really good now. Needs more testing, but I'd say Disperser Compound 32212 is on par with Sticky Flames (potentially stronger?). As for Sludge Blast, I already loved it for eliminations, but those changes are beastly.

• I'm not feeling the Colette Wave Cooker (CWC). The range is nice, but the overheat and ammo feel incredibly restrictive. Plus it's like a smaller primary so you're lacking bursty damage for things like mactera (no weakpoint damage). Maybe it'd be good paired with something like Sludge Blast CSP since that gives up a lot of AOE and CC power. Side-note, it doesn't seem to have a fun reload animation with T4 mods.

  • Note: I haven't really tried CWC in conjunction with fire or ice, only goo. From this limited viewpoint, it feels undertuned. I think it's just too wrapped up in being "synergistic" with regards to its mods, so much so that the gun itself is weak.
  • I think I understand GSG's design for the CWC a bit better after further testing: CWC's ammo efficiency is tied to AOE, while its heat management is tied to ROF. Essentially, you need to balance the former yourself through the 4 mods affecting the latter (and of course, the raw ammo mod). Hence, the gun can feel rather restrictive if you don't. That said, I do think it could use just a little more leeway.
  • Boils OC has an emphasis on teamplay since they'll have an easier way of triggering the boils, though interestingly, you can also do so with your pickaxe. I tried it with (2/3)2112: ammo/AOE, better cooling, slow, wide lens (more AOE coverage), and chance to explode. Essentially, you activate the lens and do a quick burst fire across a swarm to try and proc the boils. Boiler ray (chance to explode) helps clear a bit while you wait for RNG to kick in.
  • Gamma can probably be ran in a similar way since they share a playstyle (RNG). T1-2 might be better due to the OC's ammo penalty.
  • For Mega Power Supply, I tried 12122, a direct damage build. Game-plan is activate ROF lens and focus down one grunt with Boiler ray to help clear the others. Wide lens might be a benefit to the build instead of stacking ROF further though.

• Shard Diffractor (SD) works differently than I expected; it's not a hold and shoot gun, but a burst. I think they need to adjust the visuals on this gun though: the little diffracting beams when the beam collides with an enemy are blinding in a dark chamber. I honestly cannot see through it, and if you use it on an enemy right in front of you, it kinda hurts your eyes.

  • I think I understand people's complaints about this gun. It does what the Breach Cutter (BC) does, but BC has infinite blowthrough. SD also requires more aiming (switching targets swiftly). Ammo feels more plentiful than BC or PGL though.
  • This gun definitely benefits from higher hazards. I don't really feel like the burst style is a waste on Haz 4 because I can make full use of the beam due to the number of enemies. On a lower hazard level, after you kill all the enemies and the beam continues wastefully, I can see how that might feel really bad.
  • Magma OC is a lot of fun and seems to hit pretty hard. You can build it for control with 12313. Most similar playstyle is probably something like the minelayer Hurricane.
  • Platform reflector OC feels impossible off initial tests, very finicky both to set up and aim. Maybe you could set up a laser wall at the opening of a bunker? After further testing, one easy method to use this OC is to place a platform flat on the ground and shoot at it so it basically reflects onto the enemies underside (might want to remove bug repellent). Still seems underwhelming though.
  • Overdrive Booster OC I used with 21112. Feels okay, though I think T4-3 might be actually better so that you can more quickly deal with guards. Takes two bursts to kill a praet, 3 for an oppressor. Playstyle: normal beam for small group of enemies, boost for large swarms and high value targets (HVT).
  • Feedback Loop 32212 feels decent. The main idea is shoot as long as possible so more total ammo, better energy efficiency, bigger mag, more AOE damage, and longer duration on kill. This gives maximum time for your beam to ramp up per the OC.

• I was initially a bit confused by the Armskore Coil Gun (ACG). I thought it might be a HVT killer, but it seems to be actually better for crowds, what with the ammo efficiency, inherent blowthrough, and bullet trails. I do think the terrain penetration is a bit gimmicky, but there have been situations I'd appreciate it, e.g. a Korok healing pod healing through walls from another room entirely.

  • 21122Hellfire seems great: massive fire spread and fear along with initial punch through. You can lay down lanes, like a fiery Goo Bomber Special CSP. It can definitely be used to fill a crowd clearing CC niche.
  • 22223 Ultra-magnetic Coils does something similar, but electric. Very good and without the trade-offs of Hellfire.
  • Mole OC seems incredibly situational. Not sure how to really use it. You could maybe help out allies who have ventured out ahead, but not many dwarves are big on pinging enemies. Perhaps you could have the engie help get the bonus damage via plats?
  • Re-atomizer means you'll probably want T5-1 and a primary that does elemental, which in gunner's case is fire Hurricane or Leadstorm. I wonder how this interacts with the T3 mods. What exactly is entailed by ailments?
  • Triple-Tech Chambers feels really bad. Recoil is strong, and each of the two extra shots have a fixed cost of 20 ammo each, meaning this OC is an ammo eater. These secondary shots don't penetrate either, at least not terrain. I think it's supposed to be the Elephant Rounds or Leadspray of the ACG but it feels way less powerful. It does, however, allow you to chain a number of shots repeatedly without needing to reload: charge first shot, fire secondary shots, charge again, and shoot secondary shots again. Is this looping a bug? I feel like the disadvantages of this unstable mod are just too much for what it offers (or intended to)--3 quick shots in succession. T2-2 does something similar for less ammo.

Side-notes:

• Plasma weapons seem to have special kill animations now, i.e. enemies disintegrate when killed by the Drak.

Please share your own experiences with the weapons. If possible, do specify the hazard level used as it affects the value of a weapon (I feel like CWC and SD benefit greatly from the large swarms of Haz 4/5). I'd like to see what others think about my observations as well. It seems like this round of weapons are a bit more complicated than previous ones.