Okay everyone, this is gonna be a big post. But lately there has been lots of debate on whether [b] IceBreaker [/b] is better than the [b] Black Hammer [/b] or not. [b] What do [i] YOU [/i] think? [/b] Someone posted the following quote, and then there is my reply. [quote]CHALLENGE: If you really feel (and I quote) "this is the best sniper out there" Leave all you special ammo synth. in your vault, take Black Hammer and fire off all rounds till your left with 3. Now I will have Ice Breaker and will also leave all my special ammo synth. in my vault I will fire off all rounds till I only have 3. Now we go to a strike mission using only our sniper rifles.....do you see where this is going???? No way it is better than Ice Breaker.[/quote] [u]This is my reply;[/u] I like the challenge, but that sortof eliminates part of what is good about the gun. The fact that it can hold more than one clip at a time... Here is a challenge for you...? Take as many synths as you need, I will take a couple, I don't care what we are shooting at, whether it's phogoth or a wall, let's see who can unload more shots within a specific time limit.(I made this challenge only to show that "challenges" can easily be made to favor one side above the other.) When you made that challenge, you biased it so that the ice breaker would win hands down. Because let's face it, if we can't pick up ammo AND our gun doesn't regen, we are screwed. Any gun would be. In your challenge, the ice breaker is best, in my challenge, the BH wins hands down. It's situational. Let's say we are fighting the Archon Priest pre-patch(so we can hide under the deck). If you are under that deck, and you have ice breaker, you can easily knock him down given enough time. While the BH? If you run out of ammo, you are forced to run out there and pick some up. And if the strike is high enough and you haven't cleared enough mobs, it is very easily to go down. Ice breaker wins. Now, new situation. You are at Hard Atheon because you still haven't gotten the mythic Vex. Atheon is 1/4th hp and due to some unexpected event, 3 people had just died, now it is only you, a friend, and the relic holder, with 27 seconds of times vengeance, and you are standing on the middle platform. If you have an IB, you can unload your 6 shits into him and regain 5 more shots until TV is up. 11 shots? Not bad. Will it be enough to down him? Idk. What if I had the BH in that situation? Immediately start unloading and never having to reload(or almost never, due to the fact that Atheon is super easy to hit with a sniper), I could probably get at LEAST 4 shots every 3 seconds. And with 27 seconds left, that makes a total of 36 shots. And if BH has the more Impact? You do the math, which is more damage? And it doesn't have to be Atheon, any enrage boss is the same (aside from Crota because of his shield). But even on Crota, taking out those knights that spawn in the towers? Could make te difference between the sword holder going down or staying up. Same with hitting the Ogres. There are many other situations where this is helpful. Other situations where ice breaker is Handy? There are quite a lot there too! However, for every one, you either have to be running, or hiding to let the ammo regen. I love both guns. But I will be using the BH more often because of the fact of freeing up a different exotic for me. But it's personal. :) Wow, big post. [b]What do you guys think?[/b] [spoiler]I like the BH better. I personally think it is superior to Icebreaker, though that just might be my play style. Also, keep in mind, the BH will become insignificant when IB gets it's next damage upgrade.(next raid) [/spoiler] [u]EDIT #1[/u] After you vote, please come in down and defend yourself! And please keep things nice. Debates are good. Calling someone names just because they don't share your opinion benefits no one. Thanks! :) [u]EDIT #2[/u] Many people seem like they think that I am comparing JUST the snipers. Which I am not, I should've better stated that. I think that overall, you can attain better hear combos utilizing the BH rather than the IB. Obviously you aren't going to be using the sniper 100% of the time. I am also taking into account the possible for exotic primaries and exotic heavies. Opening up those possibilities, while still having one, top notch, sniper rifle that performs amazing in situations where you need a sniper. Again, this is just my opinion! :) thanks for posting everyone.