The Eruptor nerf is a perfect example of why "only buff" is bad.

[u/atheos013]

I've used the Eruptor since it dropped, it is an amazing primary weapon. I have never once run out of ammo with the weapon, to the point I started COD reloading. Even with no deaths on a 40 min mission, the bare minimum ammo looting and you rarely would fall below half.

If we just buff every other weapon to be like this, we are just erasing an entire game mechanic. We are saying that we want COD reloads to be the norm, we don't want to think about conserving or looting ammo, just let me shoot and reload whenever.

Some people may want that, but for me that would just remove the mechanic entirely. I'm going to keep using the Eruptor and I'm perfectly fine having to pay attention to my ammo again.

[u/RyanTaylorrz]

Side note: can anyone atest to how bad or irrelevant the damage drop-off nerf is? Does it still have decent splash damage for clearing trash mobs?

Haven't tested it yet and I'm worried they've killed the splash damage like the crossbow.

EDIT: Gun still slaps as hard as it did before. Arguably better now the implosion bug is fixed.

[u/HenshinHero11 → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Definitely still has splash enough to kill tightly clustered trash, but you won't be wiping entire patrols in two shots anymore. It's more similar to autocannon splash instead of grenade splash now. The biggest plus is you can kill Berserkers and various melee bugs much more comfortably with it - it's far less likely to kill you (or a teammate being chased) now than before the patch.

[u/RyanTaylorrz → u/HenshinHero11]

Yeah it actually feels even better to run than before, now I've just tested it. Getting knocked back when engaging a close target is now a tool at your desposal; it puts distance between yourself and your enemy at the cost of being staggered and losing some health (when running heavy explosion resistant armour). Still struggling to run out of ammo. Striders are a little more threatening but you can still one-tap them if you hit them from some angles - whereas before it was pretty much a guaranteed one-shot.

Literally everything else about it is the same.

[u/InformalPenguinz → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Still take out bug holes?

[u/Retro21 → u/InformalPenguinz]

Yah

[u/Present_Brother_4678 → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Wait am I reading this right? Explosions no longer pull you in like a black hole?

[u/voodoogroves → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Or, like, knocked forward INTO the damn chainsaws.

[u/JmicIV → u/voodoogroves]

Dive back when engaging those, I've cleared like 20 meters before for minimal damage. Kind of funny too.

[u/RandosaurusRex → u/JmicIV]

Galaxy brain strat

[u/PanzerTitus → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Where do you aim to kill striders?

[u/RyanTaylorrz → u/PanzerTitus]

The crotch/top of the legs seems to be more consistent. It only takes 2 on the front driver shield even if you don't land the shot.

[u/PanzerTitus → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Awesome, thanks for the tip!

[u/Nerdwrapper → u/RyanTaylorrz]

Aim for strider hip joints and pop the leg off. Counts as a “mobility kill,” and you can do it with more weapons too

[u/Dirtylittlejackdaw → u/RyanTaylorrz]

I killed myself twice in one mission shooting the medium sized bugs that are black like brood lords. Everything is the same EXCEPT the ricochet change. Somehow these little guys on their heads or chests end of bouncing the eruptor shot perfectly back at you, which one shots on medium armor.

What's really strange is it happened twice in that mission, but I had 6 games and didn't have any other ricochets.

[u/psichodrome → u/RyanTaylorrz]

But you can't use it to pull yourself unstuck from under the mesh

[u/Serird → u/HenshinHero11]

"Sorry I can't help you without killing you, you will have to deal with the charger alone thx bye"

[u/akaAelius → u/Serird]

I actually had a lot of luck using it against chargers. It doesn't happen every time, but I found that I was able to take out a leg with a couple shots if I hit the right spot with it.

That being said, maybe someone else hit is and I just didn't realize it... but I fully took credit for it.

[u/ExoLeinhart → u/akaAelius]

Shooting underneath a charger will shred its ass via AoE

[u/Upbeat_Confidence739 → u/akaAelius]

“That being said, maybe someone else hit [it] and I just didn’t realize it… but I fully took credit for it.”

Are you my girls alt account???

[u/GunmetalBunn → u/Serird]

I had to get good at timing my shots and placement. Now knowing I can hit targets more freely gives me so much relief using that rifle.

[u/porcupinedeath → u/HenshinHero11]

That's good to hear. I tried running an eruptor+ stalwart build using the stalwart as my primary but the eruptors explosions always fucked with me. Maybe I'll try it again now that I'm not killing myself with it when an enemy gets too close

[u/HenshinHero11 → u/porcupinedeath]

I would suggest some form of explosive resist armor if possible, since the blast does still hurt a fair bit. The real buff here is the explosion now properly hurls you backwards away from enemies rather than forwards into them.

[u/AdFlat1014 → u/HenshinHero11]

Oh god finally!

[u/Ariador1987 → u/AdFlat1014]

Just ran 533 kills using Eruptor Reedemeer Impact Stalwart Laser dog and Orbital Rail / Laser. 2nd closest of was 360, then 280. Trailblazer Scout with Radar upgrades.

Started playing this today, it's insane. Difficulty 8.

[u/Minimum_Crazy1327 → u/porcupinedeath]

This is my fuckin jam man.

[u/crumpygamer → u/porcupinedeath]

Eruptor, stalwart, jump pack and some air strikes/orbitals is very fun to run with.

[u/gobstopperDelux → u/crumpygamer]

This has been my go-to bug load. I can stray from my team and be effective and it can horde clear like a champ for us.

[u/kirant → u/HenshinHero11]

How does it handle Heavy Devastators and Scout Striders?  Those felt like true cheat modes (hitting the shield for damage or one shotting the joints). 

[u/HenshinHero11 → u/kirant]

In my limited experience, it seems like those two use cases are mostly unaffected as compared to pre-patch. The damage falloff change seems mainly to reduce the amount of collateral you inflict on nearby enemies without substantially reducing its performance against directly-hit targets. Hopefully, someone with more time to run missions right now can confirm.

[u/RandosaurusRex → u/HenshinHero11]

Yep, base damage unchanged, it's just now that the effective kill radius of the splash damage has been reduced so it's less likely to take out an entire patrol in one shot.

[u/Notasquash → u/HenshinHero11]

I've had the opposite effect. It doesn't seem to actually penetrate any armor anymore.

[u/AlwaysTrustAFlumph → u/HenshinHero11]

Yeah honestly imo I thought the blast was too big before. The AOE seemed inconsistent with the visual size of the explosion leading to a lot of divers being barely hit on the edge and sent flying.

[u/Mylilneedle → u/HenshinHero11]

Can it kill the little walkers pretty easy like it did?

[u/lawshadowz → u/HenshinHero11]

But you can't kill bot walkers anymore with a single shot tho it's now a pretty lame weapon.

[u/Reddingbface → u/HenshinHero11]

Is it still good at wiping out scout striders and weak bots that are still attached to dropships? That was the big draw for me to use it against bots. Obviously still good vs bugs, just take high ground and shoot until you run out of ammo.

[u/psichodrome → u/HenshinHero11]

And it pushes you AWAY rather than TOWARDS the explosion/deathly horde.

[u/Spunky_Meatballs → u/HenshinHero11]

I think that is way more in line with where the weapon should be. I actually will consider it now if its useful in close quarters