I never use meta. I have nothing to prove to anyone. I play for fun.

I don't use meta

Quite an overstatement on the edit. I have a bunch of guns I've collected. I use them all, [i]including[/i] meta guns, because as you might guess they are good. However, and I can say this with all sincerity, I typically go off-meta because of the asymmetric warfare aspect of it. I'm old. I'm 55 and have have comparatively slower reflexes than the average player. If I try to do what everyone else does I'm already at a disadvantage just because of reaction time. I am not quick enough to bunny hop in and spin no-scope 3 players against me with any reasonable chance of success. Likewise, if I try to run Clever Dragon against a squad of Clever Dragons, everyone knows what to expect and are prepared to react to it. First shot is probably going to win, and as I've already established, I'll likely lose that one. Now if I throw something at them they aren't expecting, I can perhaps pull back a bit of that disadvantage. I'm not joking, that Suros scout is actually quite effective against the meta if you can manage your distance effectively. It is incredibly easy to land head shots, it has max stability, and hits like a truck. Cryptic Dragon has similar stats and in the right hands is just as effective. I'm seeing the Suros DIS-47 being used. Had some great matches last night running my 43, particularly on maps like Bannerfall, Pantheon, or Frontier. Yes, I will experiment with secondary. I have a Matador, Deidre's Retort, and a Conspiracy Theory I switch between. I've been swapping between Saladin's Vigil and the Branded Lord. I've used sidearms. Wait, what?! Can you see all the weapons I'm using? I haven't even mentioned Monte Carlo, Grasp, Hopscotch, or Palindrome, all of which I use. No, I'm not the best player. I'm still winning more than losing, and I don't in any way feel forced to run the meta. I can if I choose, but I don't have to.

I know how you feel. I wanted to run a scout or a hand cannon as well as Trespasser for a couple games. But then halfway through the first match I went back to the dragon and matador. I was slightly ashamed of myself.

[quote]I love my hand cannon but forced to run the dragon[/quote] Palindrome archetype (Eyasluna, Finalla's Peril, Imago loop, etc) is top tier, arguably the best archetype in the game. [quote]Got my hands on a wonderful hopscotch but just can't keep up with my clever[/quote] Hopscotch archetype is a joke, you're right. Never used one in Trials since the beginning of TTK. [quote]I do miss my collection of hawksaws....[/quote] Hawksaw archetype is still quite good. Gotta get the 3-burst kills. [quote]And auto rifle? I did enjoy my soulstealer till the cryhards killed that as well. Has anyone seen a scout rifle in pvp ?[/quote] Autos and scouts need buffs, I agree. Especially high impact autos, worst archetype in the whole game. [quote]And lastly, I had a god roll party crasher but even a base stat matador seems to crush.[/quote] Party Crasher has the same max range as a Matador. The guns are basically equal. [quote]And lastly, how about taking back all the nerfs to all the classes and bring some fun back into the game[/quote] Nah. This game should reward gun skill more than just chucking grenades in opponent's general direction.

Ah, malarkey. If I've ever run meta as my main loadout it was by sheer coincidence. I've been basically married to Hard Light for nearly two years now. Y'all can keep your high-end whathaveyous, I'm happy with my rave-dispensing rattlecan. No one's forcing you to use a damn thing, sir. Find a weapon you like and use it until it doesn't matter how cheap they think their 'god roll' is.

If you're not using a shotgun, you're at a disadvantage. If you're not using the clever dragon, you're also at a disadvantage. The only way to beat them is to use the same guns and hope they miss a few shots.

VoC/Found Verdict/ and BTRD-345. You know for having fun in an unfun environment. Reason scouts are seen less is because the CD's flinch from HCR makes them hard to keep on target at times....

I've been using hopscotch, cryptic dragon, and Ill will and I'll do good in some games but I completely agree with this. I just finished a game where every enemy was using the clever dragon. You can easily tell when a game is broken if mainly one type of gun is used in all situations

Seems like the bracket I queue in for SBMM is 100% Clever, Matador or Palindrome, Matador. I like both but damn...it's so stale. I haven't been able to use my Red Death in forever now because it's trash, Thorn is trash, Hawkmoon is trash and Auto Rifles are trash.