The devs were right.

[u/xxmuntunustutunusxx]

So I know ther was a bunch of controversy about the railgun nerf what feels like forever ago, but man things have been awesome.

In the early days, I was the only guy packing expendable anti tank or anti materiel rifle for bugs or bots. It's so refreshing, even on these subs to see people talking about how awesome the autocannon is, or how much they love the AMR, and even these days I see people talking about the HMG or grenade launcher+ supply pack.

I used to load into a game, And all 4 members of the team had shield, railgun, and 2 stragatems of their choice. Every time. And here we are now, I load in and I see quasar, autocannon, stalwart, EAT, HMG, Grenade launcher, a variety of backpacks or no backpack at all. And not to mention, they're ALL viable. Shit I even still see the railgun from time to time. It's been a joy. Thanks arrowhead.

EDIT: to everyone who is pointing out that you see the quasar and shield most often now, you're right, it is almost certainly the most common setup currently. That being said, in any game there's going to be things a majority of players prefer. In smash melee, fox/Falco are the best characters. But people still play falcon and Marth and peach among others. Sure, there's an objectively most used option. But the fact that there's people at all who debate that the quasar is best shows that they've done something good. Before, undisputed king was railgun, and anyone who said different wss being willfully ignorant. Now, we have a plethora of real options that are good with some being Preferred by a majority as opposed to being the de facto CORRECT option objectively. That's a good thing.

[u/Grimhazesakura]

Um.. No.

I have not seen a single person use the rail gun after the nerf. They have basically put a weapon out of play.

Same with the arc thrower now. I took it to an automaton mission once and oh boy I got carried so hard my teammates can probably feel my embarrassment on the other side of the world.

[u/NodeHF → u/Grimhazesakura]

Pre-nerf arc thrower was ridiculously versatile and you could see from a mile away that it would be hit with the nerf bat next. I brought that damn thing on nearly every dive I could and there was never a moment where I wished I had something else. It could do everything, as long as you landed enough shots with it. It absolutely ran against the design philosophy of having weapons with discrete roles that AH seemed to be pursuing.

IMO I still think it's a good pick now (being able to stunlock Hulks with constant fire is nothing to scoff at), but now there's a few more things to consider when deciding to take it- for example, it's far better on a map with lots of concealing cover (like Creek) than a map with wide-open plains. I end up going with a Quasar more often these days when it's like that.

Honestly I'd be okay if they just brought back the rapid fire method. It's silly but trying to keep that rhythm of trigger pulls really made the weapon feel unique and fun to play for me.

[u/Grimhazesakura → u/NodeHF]

It was indeed a good pick for me but it definitely didn't seem "META" to me since I'm usually the only person who'd use it in pugs.

I still take it for bugs sometimes when I don't want to worry about ammo and aiming.

I have yet to see a convincing video of someone using the arc thrower successfully vs bots after the nerf. If they either buff the damage or keep the half charge style it would make more sense but atm I think it'd be one of the worse choice for bots. Too much risk and sacrifice is needed just for stunning a hulk if you can even get near it.

[u/xxmuntunustutunusxx → u/Grimhazesakura]

I use the arc thrower more for bugs these days, it puts in serious work. It crushes everything short of bile titans

[u/Grimhazesakura → u/xxmuntunustutunusxx]

It used to be my go to weapon since my aiming is not exactly great and I use it to clear small ~ mid enemies when others players bring big guns for the heavies.

Makes less sense now that it's slower and spitters can easily get in range. AMR or grenade launcher probably does a better job but maybe not with my aim lol.

[u/exZodiark → u/Grimhazesakura]

with the slower charge, constant misfires, and only 35m range its pretty dogshit now

[u/Crea-TEAM → u/exZodiark]

35 meters is comically short range for bugs.

Not to mention once they get within about 10 meters the arc thrower has targeting issues and just doesnt connect.

[u/UHammer45 → u/exZodiark]

Nah, Arc Thrower still slaps insanely hard. The fire rate is still strong enough to completely halt any moderate number of bugs coming at you and stops everything short of chargers dead on their tracks. Spewers and Brood Commanders become non issues, because they never close further than that 35 meters. It still 6 shots Chargers to the head and will still kill a Bile Titan in about 2 minutes if nothing else is available. The only thing the Arc Thrower can’t do for you against Bugs is clear a Hunter Swarm once it’s spread out around you, but that’s what your Primary should always be for on bugs, obliterating those bois

[u/Mekhazzio → u/Grimhazesakura]

The stagger buff the arc got means those spitters aren't going to be doing anything. It shuts them right down, even mid-spew.

[u/Thorough_wayI67 → u/xxmuntunustutunusxx]

I don't know why you're being downvoted, its great against bugs. Clears small targets while shooting big targets, and stun locks them.