Weapons choice

[Art Blade]

The SMP5 is a great weapon indeed, if you fire it in short bursts rather than emptying a whole clip in a single go  ;D "She" is part of one of my favourite loadouts: 6P9, SMP5, Dart.

[JRD]

After trying a few times that loadout Art just mentioned - and ending up caught in a firefight due to my impatience and the not really silent nature of the MP5 - I swaped the MP5 for something , say, louder  ;D

AK, Golden AK or a shotgun will seat on my primary slot for when I can`t go stealth any more. ;)

[Art Blade]

I almost always play on the easiest difficulty level any game offers (very few exceptions to that "rule"). It really doesn't matter which weapon to choose, then. I know a lot of you guys play way harder difficulty levels, so that will make a difference  :)

[mandru]

My favorite kit is Primary best snipe I can get, Secondary GL and Dart rifle.

Part of the reason I like the AS50 is that it's loud and is like a magnet for mercs.

I will find a good over look at long range and select the first few key targets, usually a sniper or RPG and then as quickly as possible pick off any of the mercs that are standing around trying to figure out where I am.  After the initial flurry of activity I watch for out runners trying to flank my position or even foolishly enough to come straight at me. I can keep hidden and almost empty most site objectives by waiting for the mercs to drop cover come to me.

I've had totally unrelated mercs from neighboring GPs that are surprisingly far away come looking for me lured by the sound my AS50 puts out wanting to join the party.

[Art Blade]

Almost always around Private Property I keep attracting mercs from a nearby GP who start ploughing through that kind of forrest to get to the entrance of PP once I made some noise. Doesn't have to be an AS50, blowing up an AT does attract them, too  ;D

[Dweller_Benthos]

I've gotten pretty good with the M79, I can usually hit a moving truck if I'm standing still. I've also got the long range handled and on the missions where you have to blow something up like the propane tanker at the railyard or the fuel dump at the fishing village, I can hit the target from the upper sniper spots on both areas, usually with one shot. And since you're so far away, there's no real danger of them catching on to you if you need more than one shot.

I've tried the silenced pistol, I have no patience for it, lol. I think I used it once on an assassination mission in Pala, snuck up behind the guy, thinking I could take him out and leave town without anyone being the wiser. Popped him in the back of the head and he dropped without a sound, but of course, the psychic mercs in town instantly knew something was up, that I did it, and started gunning for me. Next time I did that mission, I planted all the IED's I could carry around the area the guy wandered and detonated from the safety of the bus stop and immediately took a bus out of there.

[mandru]

Don't overlook your vehicles as favorite weapons.  I'm so keyed in on running over foot soldiers that I get a little nervous of the quick twitch reflex I've developed in game when I'm out on the highway.  ;)

I still enjoy an early tip (one of my first posts here at OWG) I put forward about baiting Datsun Dummies.  When you meet a DD nose to nose on a road way stop and he will stop and get out to shoot at you.  Look at the angle he has pulled up and stopped at.  If his front bumper shields him back up a little bit.  He will jump back into his car and close the distance and jump out again ready to shoot.

Just keep backing up in small increments and he will quickly leave his driver's door exposed to a forwards rush with your vehicle.  When a merc realizes he's being run down he always forgets about trying to shoot at you and at times seems to be more intent on coming up with good final curse words fitting the moment than actually trying to get out of the way.



Hakim had sent me to Sephapane to retrieve the documents on Greave's bunk so I came flying into town in my GLAT, screeched to a halt and stepped out. Across the street from me a merc upon noting my quick arrival and in no danger what so ever cursed and dove out of the way of a AT that was already parked.  He did look a bit sheepish as he collected himself, then sauntered away around a corner and out of view.

[Art Blade]

Very nice story and observation, mandru :)

I remember a couple of silly encounters when a DD got close, out, and back into his car. If he has to repeat that routine, he'll sometimes overdo it a little and end up careening into a lake, river, off a bridge or flipping his car on one side  ;D

[Ricamundo]

I have to say, i never thought the 6P9 was of much use. You need multiple shots in close to get a kill, and a quick burst of 2-3 shots from the MP5 takes less time and is more effective, imho. I find the MP5 is also more accurate than an AK when at a distance, say several yards. BTW, I always shoot while aiming with the right click, and from a crouch, as i like to think it makes me a smaller target. ;)

The other bad thing about the 6P9 is that it takes up the M79 slot, which as you all know is the best weapon to quickly deal with any car patrols which may try to run you down in the open, something that has happened to me numerous times!

TBH, i never liked the AS50 much either, and i know ive bought it fairly late in a playthru more than once, if for no other reason than i had lots of unused diamonds, but i quickly discarded it it for my beloved Dragonov. Was it the size of the shot clip? I can't remember, but it was something i didnt care for.

[JRD]

The AS50 has a 5 rounds mag versus a 10 round mag used by the Dragunov, plus a hell of a recoil that usually makes me loose sight of the other targets  :(

Some people claim it is good because it is a one shot kill, but actually, for me, the fact that the Dragunov will injure a merc instead of killing him is an advantage - you lure more mercs into helping him  ;D

I remember a raid I pulled at the northern airfield when I finished the sniper at the tower, went up there and picked all mercs in the ground... most of them injured in a pile of screaming and moaning... I slowly walked there and finished them all, one by one, with the rusty machete!!  :-*

One nice thing I did with the AS50 was a convoy mission in southwest Bowa. I was at the safe house uphill, the one you can see the GP near the bridge at the entrance of TaeMoCo mine and they can`t spot you. The convoy passes through that bridge and from the safehouse I used the AS50 to hit the truck till it was black smoking and finally exploded with the last shot.

It took 5 shots if I`m not mistaken!  ;)

The escort ATs are still trying to find out what hit them!  ;D ;D ;D

[Art Blade]

The first time I had my hands on an AS50 was during my first playthrough when I found that weapon in some safehouse. I remember that the first shot with it took out two mercs simultaneously with one shot to the chest (the second merc behind him dropped just as well) which impressed me a lot.

There is one thing about the AS50 no other weapon has to offer: with its scope you can see a lot farther than with any other scope in the game. This is the reason I sometimes pick that weapon, when I know I'll have to deal with distant targets.

[Ricamundo]

That was it then, the clip size. I wasnt aware of the extra distance on the AS50 scope, but since i w@&k pretty much exclusively at night, i dont know if that feature would be of any use, tbh.

[Art Blade]

you surely don't see better at night with it but if you can see something with your bare eyes you should be able to see that through the scope as well  ;)

[Ricamundo]

I thought what you meant was that the scope on the AS50 would allow you to see farther than the scope on say, the dart rifle, which is what ive been using mostly this playthru. ;)

[JRD]

I thought Art meant that too... never actually noticed any difference regarding how far one can see with the scopes in the game!

[Art Blade]

I did mean that.

The post that caused your confusion was the info about not seeing better at night as in it's not a thermal scope  ;D

[Yxklyx]

I've started using the USAS-12 and I find it has two nice features:

1. barely if any recoil
2. barely if any muzzle flash

You just got to be easy on the trigger or you'll waste your ammo.

[PZ]

I didn't know that about that weapon - I've not used it much before, but it sounds like it has potential.  :-X

[mandru]

For close range mayhem the USAS-12 is indeed a good choice unless you are trying to keep your shot accuracy averages high in you stats.  I don't remember the exact ratio but the first 3 pellets kill your target and the extra 9 pellets from each round arrive after he's dead so they count against you.

[JRD]

The USAS-12 is great... a jackhammer to the chest couldn't do more damage on short range to a merc that that!

As any other shotgun, its quite useless if you are mid to far from your target, so always have something extra with you like an UZI or MAC-10

[fragger]

I like to pack the USAS-12 from time to time. It's a great stress-reliever, provided you can get up close and personal with it as mandru and JRD have commented. There's something about those rapid-fire blasts delivered to a reeling and staggering merc that makes the day just that much brighter ;D

I also like using it to sort out those pesky DDs on the south-eastern lake road in Bowa. That eastern-patrolling devil has a propensity for front-ending me right where the road narrows between the rock cutting and the bush, just west of the underground house, invariably blocking the road. A quick "blam-blam-blam" soon establishes who has the right-of-way ;D

[wexer9]

I've always loved the sound and feel of the Mac10.  :-() :-X

[PZ]

Before I did any of the main missions, I completed all of the weapons dealer missions to unlock my favorite weapons.  As soon as I stepped out of the Church in Pala and the prompt appeared that I was now free to do whatever I wanted, I headed to the armory to pick up a silent shotgun,  crossbow, and double barrel shotgun - all of the DLC weapons - these I used to do the dealer missions  >:D

After doing all of the arms dealer missions, I had all of my favorites - the 6P9 or silent Makarov for general purpose shooting, the dart rifle as my sniper, and the silent shotgun for devastating close range fire.

Because I'm playing on the console, I have an auto-aim feature that allows me to put the crosshair just above the head of a merc, hit the iron sights key, and the pistol snaps in for a perfect head shot - I can shoot mercs so far away I can barely see them.

[ninzza]

Ok everyone.  I'd like to see some feedback from y'all on this subject.  I carry the AS50 Sniper (for those distant gift deliveries), the Mac 10 pistol for fast close personal encounters and the M249 SAW for some punch.  I know this is noisy Rambo stuff but first time thru and I prefer some stopping power.  I just hope new releases provide the player to clean/oil the weapons in  safe house.
Anyway, folks, what are other choices you have made.
Thanks for the feedback.

One of my favorite weapon load outs:

A sniper rifle (AS50, Dragunov), SAW249 , M79.

Alternate loadouts:

-- AK, DR, M79

[PZ]

I'm changing strategies as needed:

   
• Primary - MP5 for general purpose use or Dragunov when I know I'll have fun with long range targets, especially flammables
• Secondary - 6P9 for just about everything - I like it's low profile (it does not obstruct your view), and it is almost always in hand ready for action.  Alternately, I'll bring IEDs if I want to sneak in some explosives and get away silently.  However, I feel naked without my trusty 6P9
• Special - always the dart because I silently soften up an area before I go in to mop up with the other silent weapons

If there are lots of mercs in close proximity to each other, I'll use the MP5.  If the mercs are scattered about, I'll hunt them down with the 6P9.  Then, as far as special weapons, if I find something cool to play with for a while, I'll pick it up and use it until I can get back to an armory or safe house with special weapons crate to pick up another dart.