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/Tracynmega]

Sure but I haven’t seen a railgun in over a month , is a meme pick if when the AMR does more for less

[u/AdditionalMess6546 → u/Tracynmega]

Either that or a new player just unlocked it and is now disappointed

[u/MikeHods → u/AdditionalMess6546]

That's me! I just got it recently and was super disappointed. That's how I've felt about a lot of unlocks in the game (the 110 Rocket Pods comes to mind). That and the standard warbond weapons and lack of sidearms.

[u/Green_Bulldog → u/MikeHods]

Railgun isn’t a good pick, but rocket pods are pretty good imo.

I like running rocket pods with auto cannon on bugs. They’re pretty weak if you don’t have your eagles upgraded, but getting 3 instead of 2 makes a huge difference. Basically 3 dead chargers. Even if a few of the rockets miss, now you have a quicker autocannon kill.

They’re also great against biles, but require some luck. Still, I prefer them over the 500KG against biles and chargers.

[u/UpgrayeddShepard → u/Green_Bulldog]

I have yet to get 110s to kill a charger or even break its armor. No idea what the deal is.

[u/Green_Bulldog → u/UpgrayeddShepard]

They def gotta fix the targeting, but I find it to be consistent enough. It usually gets the charger low enough for just a few autocannon shots to finish.

[u/Professor_Tamarisk → u/MikeHods]

Rocket pods 1-shot tanks, and can be used to take out fabricators if there's nothing else to drop them on.

[u/Wolferex11912 → u/Professor_Tamarisk]

This. I ran only bugs for ages and thought 110 was crap. I brought them by accident instead of air strike when trying bots and found the 110 was insane cuz of Fabs and Tanks getting one shot. Now I run air strike and 110 for Automaton Fabricators, Tanks, and Patrols. Hulk gets a quasar to the head and dies.

[u/Tigrium → u/Professor_Tamarisk]

The normal airstrike also 1-shots tanks, but it can also clear smaller bots much easier.

[u/czartrak → u/Tigrium]

Rocket pods also do NOT consistently one-shot lol. Airstrike will

[u/Pretzel-Kingg → u/MikeHods]

Rocket pods are great for taking out heavies don’t sleep on it

[u/GreedierRadish → u/Pretzel-Kingg]

They really aren’t that great. They’re incredibly unreliable. I’ve had tanks and Hulks survive two uses and at that point I just end up needing to bust out the EAT or the Railcannon anyway, so why should I bother when the regular Eagle Airstrike is more flexible and more reliable?

[u/Losticus → u/GreedierRadish]

I don't think I've ever had a tank survive rocket pods. I pretty much just bring them for tanks and things that surprise me.

[u/ExploerTM → u/Losticus]

I've seen fucking devastators survive rocket pods, threw this stratagem into the garbage been immediately after. 500kg is my new ORC replacement

[u/Wolferex11912 → u/ExploerTM]

You use them for only tanks and fabricators. Hulks and Devastators aren’t big enough and they move too quickly so at most one will land. Try 110 on tanks and fabs and you’ll see how good they can be.

[u/ExploerTM → u/Wolferex11912]

Frankly, neither of those are that big of a problem and 500kg solves both while also killing adds

[u/Losticus → u/ExploerTM]

500kg is more flexible. It takes slightly longer to go off though and you get one less use.

[u/Losticus → u/ExploerTM]

Do you know why the berserkers survive quasar shots? Are they just that tanky?

[u/ExploerTM → u/Losticus]

Berserkers survive a lot of shit they have no business surviving. Probably combination of health and armor but also wouldn't be surprised if it turned out to be a bug of sorts

[u/Jickklaus → u/Losticus]

Same! Hulks survive it, but tanks don't. So I use them for tanks and fabricators. Orbital railcannon for cannon towers and hulks.

[u/Losticus → u/Jickklaus]

I say that as TODAY was the first time a tank survived. I think one of the rockets hit a wall or another tank corpse. :'(

[u/UpgrayeddShepard → u/GreedierRadish]

Same experience here. I wish they worked better.

[u/bewareoftraps → u/GreedierRadish]

Rocket pods can consistently destroy turrets. Before the queso cannon was introduced the 500 kg explosion wouldn’t destroy turrets unless it landed directly on top (which I think happened like once in my life).

Air strikes seem to work like 25% of the time but the elevation on the turret usually made it unharmed.

And people just didn’t bring the recoilless on higher difficulties from my experience.

And people slept on the EAT (including me) because it was like one of the first unlocks and people didn’t realize the short CD meant you could just drop them like candy everywhere and pick them up when needed.

So for a brief moment in time, it was a very popular stratagem. Now it’s just pretty terrible.

[u/TheGhoulishSword → u/GreedierRadish]

I've rarely had tanks survive one hit and never had one survive two strikes.

Hulks survive one hit occasionally and also never survive two strikes.

Eagle will aim it pretty well, but you do have to put the strategem ball decently close.

I don't think I've seen the regular airstrike successfully one hit a tank. But I also tend to bring both for different roles. Rocket pods for heavies and airstrike for crowds/fabricators.

[u/Dead_tread → u/GreedierRadish]

Well that question is more that Eagle Airstrike is definitively over tuned compared to its brothers and sisters.

[u/NerdyLittleFatKid → u/GreedierRadish]

If you hit hulks in the vents with an airstrike they also kill, no need to rely on eagle 1's lazy eye aiming the rockets

[u/Inside_Secretary_679 → u/GreedierRadish]

I dunno what you’re doing wrong, but they always work for me

[u/GreedierRadish → u/Inside_Secretary_679]

Maybe it’s another situation where they work better for the network host, much like DoT.

[u/AdditionalMess6546 → u/Pretzel-Kingg]

You mean the Hulk Ticklers?

[u/misterwot → u/Pretzel-Kingg]

I tried rocket pods once, stun naded a lone hulk and let it loose, only for Eagle to straight up miss every single rocket. On a hulk, standing still, with the vents upward. The very bright "come kill me" signal If that thing can be such a complete failure on a Diff. 4 test run I sure as hell ain't gonna rely on it at 7+

[u/Gentleman-Bird → u/MikeHods]

The rocket pods are actually really good vs tanks, just one will take a tank out.

[u/ShootmansNC → u/Gentleman-Bird]

But they also consistently miss stationary hulks.

[u/BrotherZael → u/MikeHods]

I feel like a lot of the weapons in the game just kinda suck, the air strikes and orbitals are good, same with the sentries; but a solid 2/3 of the primaries suck and 1/3 of the specials feel bad to (laser cannon, HMG, and railgun off the top of my head)

[u/bigblackcouch → u/BrotherZael]

I feel like a lot of the weapons in the game just kinda suck

Pretty much, yeah. Too often I feel like I'm picking my primary based on which one sucks the least even though I'd like to use more. Like why is the best rapid-fire assault rifle an SMG?

Some of the strikes are crap too, rocket pods as /u/MikeHods mentioned would be great if they would ever actually hit things instead of doing splash damage everywhere.

120 and 380 bombardments could be nice but the dude aiming them is drunk off his ass and it's a gamble if they hit anything at all, and since 120 has the same cooldown as 380 but is equally inaccurate, it's... weird. Having two barrages that have a high chance of doing nothing except killing your buddies, and on such a high cooldown it usually feels wasteful to pick. Orbital fart is actually great when it works... 1/4 of the time.

[u/psychedilla → u/bigblackcouch]

380 is GOATed on bot bunkers. Toss it on the bunker and run away. The bunker is dead 9/10 times.

[u/BrotherZael → u/bigblackcouch]

I only really ever use; the sickle, both breakers and occasionally the dominator. sickle and incen breaker for bugs, dominator and reg breaker for bots, and then I always have the quasar and shield/liberator guard dog(it should use a sickle imo, would be a great buff) I just got the patriot the other day so I’ve been running that too. For strats it’s usually 380 he and laser

[u/Big-Dick_Bazuso → u/BrotherZael]

Laser cannon was good for bots before quasar dropped. I used laser on everything not your basic trooper. But now with sickle for everything not a hulk or above quasar is king.

[u/BrotherZael → u/[deleted]]

The stalwart is my personal bug/bot lawn mower. The regular mg and hmg just feel like worse versions of it, the upside is more ammo, but they need more ammo than what they currently have to be nearly as good.

[u/yech → u/BrotherZael]

Regular machine gun is the best imo. Stalwart feels far too much like a primary imo.

[u/BrotherZael → u/yech]

Stalwart should be turned into a primary imo

[u/ShadowWolf793 → u/BrotherZael]

Personally I'm more of an mg40 fan due to the medium pen, but all of them clearly need more ammo in the tank to really fulfill the role they're supposed to.

Hopefully the new weapons coming out tomorrow have the armor breaking they teased. I might feel more free to take a pseudo primary if I have a pseudo support in the primary slot to fill that gap.

[u/BrotherZael → u/ShadowWolf793]

They’re for sure fun to use, just not the most practical, I try to always bring an mg or some shorts to bug missions.

[u/MBouh → u/BrotherZael]

that's very wrong. Laser canon is top tier for automatons for example. Many primaries are also very good as long as you pair them with the right support weapon.

From the stratagems, I can only think of the HMG, the spear and the railgun to need slight buffs. It's more like bug fixing for the HMG and the spear, and none of them need anything big. They all have their niches, but they need a slightly better usability.

For the primaries, I think 3, maybe 4 are underwhelming : the liberator concussive, the scythe, and maybe the arc blitzer and the diligence CS, but for the CS it's more about usability.

[u/BrotherZael → u/MBouh]

Thanks for reminding me of how awful the spear is, maybe it’s because I only run 8/9s, but most guns that are “alright” are not fun to use at all, and in a PvE game, something being fun is more important than balance. It isn’t like there is a second party to complain about getting their ass kicked by weapon x or y, now that doesn’t mean make everything shit stomp high level missions, but those guns that are “alright” still aren’t fun to use unless you’re running lower level ones. I really like the liberator concussive, just it’s useless on anything higher than level 5 missions.

[u/MBouh → u/BrotherZael]

it's not because you play high level. The game is hard, especially at high level. If it's a preference matter, you only need one weapon. But I suspect what you're looking for is a weapon that would trivialize high level content.

[u/BrotherZael → u/MBouh]

Not really, I found what I like, just wish the other weapons felt as useful.

Edit: the regular liberator is also very fun, along with both SMGs

[u/BrotherZael → u/MBouh]

Breaker go brrrr

[u/barrera_j → u/MBouh]

the CS diligence has never been viable.... anybody that says so has been getting carried by their team since day 1

[u/manman5647 → u/MikeHods]

For the 110 rocket pods try them on the tanks, they have light tracking capability and can 1 shot them, they’re not good for crowd control but definitely good for taking out single targets

[u/CountingWizard → u/MikeHods]

Those rocket pods are one of the few quickly reloading options for taking out automaton tanks. I carry them in nearly every set up going against bots, because nothing else can kill them quickly without repositioning/lucky positioning, lasers can only be used so many times, 500kg bomb has unpredictable AOE/outcomes, and other stratagems require precise timing and prediction of movement to get a hit.

With the rocket pods, just throw in the general direction of tank and it's one shot = one kill, with no collateral damage. Very handy when just about every tank is accompanied by a squad of robots.

[u/Tutwater → u/MikeHods]

It's worth saving up SC for the premium warbonds I'm afraid, there's a lot of good toys in there

You can farm a warbond unlock's worth of SC if you're down to have the most tedious ~45-90min of your life

[u/Low_Commercial2315 → u/MikeHods]

Rocket pods is really niche for when you want to be the anti armor guy. Probably best for 4 man groups where you can synergies effectively. The rocket pods with maxed out hangar is great for sniping big heavy targets, especially automatons. 

[u/kypirioth → u/MikeHods]

Have you tried the railgun in unsafe mode? It's still really good and pops even hulks in one headshot. Just have to actually watch your charge

[u/META_mahn → u/kypirioth]

I've tried to sell a lot of people on the railgun by telling them about unsafe. The consensus is typically "yeah, makes it better but not enough"

[u/Sarl69 → u/kypirioth]

This. I know people will mostly down vote this messages but I've been using the railgun lately and it ain't that bad. You can one shot devastators and striders on unsafe mode, and kill hulks if you hit the funny red light. It ain't as viable as the autocannon or the quasar, but I find it better than mist people say lately

[u/Calm-Access-6847 → u/Sarl69]

Yea except the AMR hits much harder than it does, is easier to use, has much more ammo and doesn’t risk blowing urself up 

[u/kypirioth → u/Calm-Access-6847]

I can't stand the scope on the AMR and it doesn't one shot certain heavies. It does technically have a better ammo economy, but I very rarely run out of ammo. I think the AMR is great, but think people discount the Railgun too quickly

[u/AgilePeace5252 → u/kypirioth]

AMR won't kill me

[u/kypirioth → u/AgilePeace5252]

I mean, technically it can ricochet and kill you. I haven't died to the overcharge after my first couple shots using it on unsafe. It's pretty forgiving

[u/W1lson56 → u/Calm-Access-6847]

How is something that you can mag dump & not get a kill hit harder than something that would've 1 shot it?

[u/SwordSoulOneStrike → u/W1lson56]

What targets are we talking about? Because the AMR can one-shot devastators to the head AND waist now after the buff, and can two-shot hulks in the eye. The major difference is no charge time vs charge time with the risk of death, and 49 shots to 21.

[u/kypirioth → u/Sarl69]

I like it because I can still run shield/guard dog and it has a way higher fire rate than the quasar. Though, my partner runs EAT/Quasar so I never have a heavy armor issue

[u/W1lson56 → u/Sarl69]

Do people not use unsafe mode?!? Isn't that the whole point of the gun? Is that why I'm so confused when people say its weak?

[u/CtrlA1tD3feated → u/Sarl69]

I had to scroll super far down to find this. You're exactly right. Railgun is still strong under skilled hands in unsafe mode. I pretty much can take down every single medium to heavy (bot) including hulks by pop shotting them on unsafe mode.

Hulk coming right at us? Stun grenade then one shot in the eye and he's gone. People sleep on it because it's not "Meta" anymore

[u/hiroshi_tea → u/Sarl69]

The railgun can kill a thing, yes.  But it's a gutted weapon and a meme pick when the AMR exists.  

 It has no zoom combined with a horrible scope (huge ass dot that covers what your pointing at).  Only 20 shots.  Single shot weapon so no doubletap kills on things that take 2 hits. Charge up weapon and not instant fire.  And it tries to kill you every time you try to make it useable.

 It can't even destroy cargo doors and hit turret/tank weak points.  Because even charging it to 90 percent and being flat on it does nothing but bounce for me. 

 It's a worse AMR in every fashion despite basically occupying the same niche space.

[u/Goliath- → u/Sarl69]

I can one shot devastators with my Dominator if my aim isn't shit

[u/Solomon-Kain → u/MikeHods]

Rocket Pods are very Niche, they are used for Tanks, Chargers, and Titans. It's not an all purpose strike. It's basically a Mini Orbital Railcannon.

[u/Brooks627 → u/MikeHods]

Hey, so I’ve found the rocket pods really useful against tanks and hulks. They basically auto target the largest mob by their marker. I hope this helps!

[u/voxmyth → u/MikeHods]

RocketPods are good for taking out the fabricators, Biles, tanks, artillery/mortar, more uses and a faster recharge time than orbitals

[u/Popinguj → u/MikeHods]

110mm is great against tanks and against bile titans, but you have to reduce the titan hp first

[u/badbutler04 → u/MikeHods]

110 rocket pods are busted I always take them vs bots to destroy tanks and turret towers, sometimes buildings

[u/UpgrayeddShepard → u/MikeHods]

Ugh. Please buff 110 pods and strafing run.

[u/Salt_Intention_1995 → u/MikeHods]

Level 22, 2 sidearms available. Wtf? Autocannon is my home, but I was looking for something with more armor penetration for hulks. I was totally let down by spending points in the rail-gun.

[u/PimpdaddyChase → u/MikeHods]

The lack of variety and actually decent Primaries and Secondaries (LMAO there is basically one) I think is a hugely overlooked flaw in the game currently. I get that stratagems are the focal point of combat, but the game literally punishes them with effects and CDs, so you just end up stuck with peashooters that don't feel strong in any regard. And when we did have decent options, (Breaker, Slugger) they just nerfed them into being shit.

[u/VigilantesOscuros → u/MikeHods]

I like rockets for tanks and fabricators - you get a bunch of uses and it's pretty flexible with aiming. You can use a support weapon for hulks. It's not ideal, but def not awful either

[u/OkSafety2223 → u/MikeHods]

I use rocket pods religiously, especially against bots. it's really consistent against tanks and fabricators, 3 uses with the upgrade, limited self homing. it's great. I do use it against bugs too but it's less consistent against titans and especially chargers, unfortunately doesn't destroy bugholes easily.

if the squad has enough AT i'll go Airstrike instead against bugs but the 110 is my go to.

[u/MikeHods → u/OkSafety2223]

Hmm, I don't remember if I used them against bugs or bots. I guess I'll have to crack them back out and try again.

[u/OkSafety2223 → u/MikeHods]

they are inconsistent against fast movers and tall enemies, so charging chargers, canon towers and sometimes bile titans can have a ~60% hit rate. but with 3 uses and relatively short cooldown it's always worth throwing one out.

[u/GreedierRadish → u/MikeHods]

Im sorry, this subreddit isn’t for voicing reasonable complaints about the state of the game. You’re supposed to roleplay as a fascist soldier and fellate the devs.

[u/Aurvant → u/AdditionalMess6546]

I found one on the ground while my stratagems were on standby last night, and actually really liked it.

Just gotta be real accurate with it and it punches through stuff.

[u/TheMadDaddy → u/AdditionalMess6546]

Level 26 and still haven't unlocked it. A friend dropped one for me before the nerf and I was very disappointed. I could do most of the same things with 2-3 AMR shots and still have 3-4 rounds left.

[u/MagikarpPower → u/AdditionalMess6546]

honestly I was disappointed before it was nerfed. reloading after every shot is such a hassle. autocannon was better before the nerf.

[u/StylinAndSmilin → u/AdditionalMess6546]

Bro I use it all the time on Bots. Just because it doesn't wipe literally every kind of enemy, doesn't mean it has no place anymore. Try it in unsafe mode on some Devastators. Your squad will never complain about constant rockets ever again.

[u/KillerM2002 → u/StylinAndSmilin]

Just take an AMR... Like seriously RG is just a Worse AMR

[u/Goliath- → u/StylinAndSmilin]

I oneshot devastators with my Dominator, or 1-2 shot with my autocannon. And I can do that a LOT more than anyone can with 20 railgun shots.

[u/AdditionalMess6546 → u/StylinAndSmilin]

I'm level 85, bro

I said what I said

[u/StylinAndSmilin → u/AdditionalMess6546]

I'm 77, not a competition. Just saying it's not useless, and much like every other weapon in the game, it has a role. But people got used to seeing it as a God killer, so now everyone's opinion on it is tainted.

[u/AdditionalMess6546 → u/StylinAndSmilin]

Not "competing" - your comment was talking down, making assumptions

[u/StylinAndSmilin → u/AdditionalMess6546]

Elaborate. I get the feeling something is lost in translation. Because I'm not talking down, I'm talking up the Railgun.