*WARNING - SUPER LONG READ*
TL;DR - Tell me what your favorite pulse rifle is and why.
When it comes to most primary weapon classes, we know which weapons stand above the rest. For example, we know that the Doctrine of Passing trumps all other auto rifles atm, that the MIDA is by far the best scout rifle, and TLW is undoubtedly the best handcannon (excluding Thorn because it's a y1 weapon). But with pulse rifles, it is much more hazy. Some people swear on the bible that Red Death is the best pulse rifle by far, while others say that it's Bad JuJu, and others furthermore will go on and on about Nirwin's Mercy, and, of course, there's the secret GoM cult. It seems like everyone has a different pulse rifle that he/she loves, so I though I'd dedicate this post to deciding which pulse rifles outclass the others, while also offering a general discussion about them, talking about the 4 archetypes and the best rolls that go with each. So here we go:
[b]RoF: 77, Impact: 4[/b]
Weapons within this category - Grasp of Malok
Advantages - lazerbeam stability; quickest time-to-kill for head shots; most forgiving with missed shots; impact barely effected by December nerf
Disadvantages - lowest impact; lowest range; longest time-to-kill for body shots
Best slot 1 perks - Counterbalance, Outlaw, Ragefinder
Best slot 2 perks - Third Eye, Feeding Frenzy, Grenadier
Best middle slot perks - Braced Frame, Hand-laid Stock, Perfect Balance
[b]RoF: 73, Impact: 7[/b]
Weapons within this category - Hawksaw, SUROS PDX-45, Bad JuJu
Advantages - lazerbeam stability; quick time-to-kill for head shots, forgiving with missed shots
Disadvantages - low impact; low range; impact slightly effected by December nerf
Best slot 1 perks - Hammer Forged, Perfect Balance
Best slot 2 perks - Smallbore, Braced Frame, Hand-laid Stock
Best middle slot perks - Counterbalance, Full Auto, Headseeker, Rangefinder
[b]RoF: 66, Impact: 14[/b]
Weapons within this category - Red Death, Smite of Merain, Nirwin's Mercy, Reflection Sum, SUROS PDX-41, The Villainy, Apple of Discord, Hakke Herja-D, No Time to Explain
Advantages- high impact; good range
Disadvantages - less forgiving with missed shots; slower time-to-kill for head shots; impact heavily effected by December nerf
Best slot 1 perks - Counterbalance, Headseeker, Outlaw
Best slot 2 perks - Feeding Frenzy, Third Eye, Grenadier
Best middle slot perks - Braced Frame, Hand-laid Stock, Perfect Balance, Smallbore
[b]RoF: 59, Impact: 30[/b]
Weapons within this category - Spare Change .25
Advantages - highest impact; best range
Disadvantages - slow time-to-kill for both head shots and body shots; least forgiving with missed shots; impact most heavily effected by December nerf
Best slot 1 perks - Counterbalance, Headseeker, Outlaw
Best slot 2 perks - Feeding Frenzy, Third Eye, Grenadier
Best middle slot perks - Braced Frame, Hand-laid stock, Perfect Balance, Smallbore
*After reading this, vote for which archetype you think is best in the poll above.*
[b]My overall Top 5 Pulse Rifles for PvP:[/b]
5. Red Death - little stability and range but amazing exotic perk
4. SUROS PDX-41 - can roll with great stability and range
3. Nirwin's Mercy - amazing vendor roll w/ max stability
2. SUROS PDX-45 - better chance at a great roll than hawksaw
1. Grasp of Malok - outguns all other pulse rifles w/ a good roll
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Oversoul has been my fav gun since I got it, I stand by the 77 rof pulses