using M4A3 QF+LS effectively

[TopeyDopey]

I got the loadout sorted out for this pistol combo which i fell in love with and i can now carry 17 AP magazine for 1 fast pistol boi but i cannot seem to use it as effective... i dont think it’s my playstyle the proplem(i think) but i cannot take on runner or t2 bois easily like people say... do i shoot with 2 hand? i feels like it reduces the firing speed and shit... technically i cannot get kills or do as much damage but sometimes i git lucky and unload into some dude and fock him
help me

[JennerH]

2 hand is necessary, and it doesn't affect firing speed for pistols. Doesn't affect movement speed either, so really no reason not to 2 hand pistol

[4000daniel1]

M4A3 QF+LS is a GREAT backup weapon but honestly I don't think you should be using it as your primary unless you got a pretty good reason. And due to how fast it fires I personally tend to take extended mags instead of AP. The thing about it though is that you kinda need to dumb the whole mag into them, which while it is capable of doing so pretty fast it is really hard to do on a fast runner boi who is dodging it. I'd say it works best for xenos running in a straight line or xenos who are downed.

I always just assumed 2 handing pistol affected movement speed like any other gun, so I tended to run around with it 1 handed for the most part and it worked pretty fine. But if there is no reason not to, go for 2 handing I guess.

[TopeyDopey]

well ... i like to go john wick mode... screw rifle... too clunky

[Awesomesauce935]

The way to use it, is to use two

At close range you can vaporise T1's and if you hit enough shots you can kill T2's.

Always have a backup of some kind though, ideally a shotgun, because when those pistols run out you're in the bad.

[Gnorse]

jesus christ no don't use two. the thing can barely hit shit while two handed.

but yes, marines often use it as a backup weapon or as a high damage burst for occasional use. you can't use that shit as a primary due to how quickly it chews through ammo. and if you run out of AP, just ditch it, regular 9mm bullets simply are not good enough.

[JennerH]

M4A3 QF+LS is a GREAT backup weapon but honestly I don't think you should be using it as your primary unless you got a pretty good reason. And due to how fast it fires I personally tend to take extended mags instead of AP. The thing about it though is that you kinda need to dumb the whole mag into them, which while it is capable of doing so pretty fast it is really hard to do on a fast runner boi who is dodging it. I'd say it works best for xenos running in a straight line or xenos who are downed.

I always just assumed 2 handing pistol affected movement speed like any other gun, so I tended to run around with it 1 handed for the most part and it worked pretty fine. But if there is no reason not to, go for 2 handing I guess.

The pistols and the SMG can be 2 handed with no speed penalty ever since they changed how the weapons work with 1 hand shooting, so using them 1 handed will give you a free hand to use but make you inaccurate

[carlarc]

m4a3 QF LS is the ultimate burst damage weapon, that is how you use it. aim correctly and you will drop everything to crit provided youre using AP like a sane human being

[David Stormwell]

m4a3 QF LS is the ultimate burst damage weapon, that is how you use it. aim correctly and you will drop everything to crit provided youre using AP like a sane human being

Not everyone is sane

[Dolth]

It's viable with AP on t1 to young t3 excluding crusher.
Get some macro and an engineer, as for 2 large pistol pouch at req and you have 15ish AP mags.

It CAN be great, yes. But you should really either use BC AG buckshot or BC VF RDS burst AP.

Anything else isn't really viable.

[4000daniel1]

It's viable with AP on t1 to young t3 excluding crusher.
Get some macro and an engineer, as for 2 large pistol pouch at req and you have 15ish AP mags.

It CAN be great, yes. But you should really either use BC AG buckshot or BC VF RDS burst AP.

Anything else isn't really viable.

Other stuff is viable, it comes down to personal preference.

[Gnorse]

there's fun to use and then there's viable a.k.a the meta. don't mix em up.

[Dolth]

Other stuff is viable, it comes down to personal preference.

Yeaaah, no.
Slug isn't viable.
SMG isn't viable.
Revolver isn't viable.
Stock on anything removes it's viability.

By viable I mean a loadout that would let you initiate and kill a regular xeno in less than 4 seconds on your own, alone, while fighting.

What DOA said, really.
Also DOA I was that lurker harassing you yesterday when you were a PFC geared pyro undercover spec on Big Red lol.

[Gnorse]

why you gotta do me like that

[4000daniel1]

Yeaaah, no.
Slug isn't viable.
SMG isn't viable.
Revolver isn't viable.
Stock on anything removes it's viability.

By viable I mean a loadout that would let you initiate and kill a regular xeno in less than 4 seconds on your own, alone, while fighting.

What DOA said, really.
Also DOA I was that lurker harassing you yesterday when you were a PFC geared pyro undercover spec on Big Red lol.

I dunno, there are situations where slug is more useful than buckshot. And yeah, SMG needs a buff but it is what I use as a secondary when I get SG since I believe it is the only gun you can store on your belt.

Revolver and stock I don't really use but sometimes when I play PFC and go with a shotgun+M41A I sometimes put a railscope, stock, and BFA on the M41A to basically just turn it into a boiler harasser, which I'd say is pretty useful since it gives me something to do while for example defending the FOB, cause buckshot is not nearly as good while defending.

But if viable only means being able to kill a xeno alone in close range then yeah, buckshot is the way to go.

[Kesserline]

Max, if you take a situational gear, you are fucked most of the times.

You have to be ready to fight the MOST LIKELY odds, not the situational stuff.
As a PFC, go for a M41 + M37, dual weapon. MM41 for ranged fighting (and if you can, APR), and M37 for emergencies or CQC situations.
With that, you're good against most battle layouts, and you're devastating useful.

M4A3 got nerfed in terms of damage, mostly because most users used it with QF + LS, and it went that you can empty a full clip in 2 seconds, leading to a gibbing T1/T2, you can even solo T3 with the M4A3 QF + LS and AP, in 2 mags and a claymore.

Yeah, I overused it with Claymore Combo, leading to a 95+% kill ensuring ratio. But Devs stealth nerfed the damage, or armor penetration, even on AP, leading the pew pew to be just decent at emergency weapon, instead of being awesome, or even being good. It's barely decent.

[David Stormwell]

-snip-

M4A3 got nerfed in terms of damage, mostly because most users used it with QF + LS, and it went that you can empty a full clip in 2 seconds, leading to a gibbing T1/T2, you can even solo T3 with the M4A3 QF + LS and AP, in 2 mags and a claymore.

Yeah, I overused it with Claymore Combo, leading to a 95+% kill ensuring ratio. But Devs stealth nerfed the damage, or armor penetration, even on AP, leading the pew pew to be just decent at emergency weapon, instead of being awesome, or even being good. It's barely decent.

Noticed, It was probably nerfed

[Gnorse]

I dunno, there are situations where slug is more useful than buckshot. And yeah, SMG needs a buff but it is what I use as a secondary when I get SG since I believe it is the only gun you can store on your belt.

Revolver and stock I don't really use but sometimes when I play PFC and go with a shotgun+M41A I sometimes put a railscope, stock, and BFA on the M41A to basically just turn it into a boiler harasser, which I'd say is pretty useful since it gives me something to do while for example defending the FOB, cause buckshot is not nearly as good while defending.

But if viable only means being able to kill a xeno alone in close range then yeah, buckshot is the way to go.

tad bit unrelated, but you can learn to think outside the box for your loadouts.
Some smartgunners go QFA pistol in pistol pouch, large pistol mag pouch with ammo and you can put the first aid supplies in your webbing. That leaves an empty belt slot that you can use for anything (machete, second weapon, motion detector, lifesaver belt, B18 nade belt ...)

[4000daniel1]

Max, if you take a situational gear, you are fucked most of the times.

You have to be ready to fight the MOST LIKELY odds, not the situational stuff.
As a PFC, go for a M41 + M37, dual weapon. MM41 for ranged fighting (and if you can, APR), and M37 for emergencies or CQC situations.
With that, you're good against most battle layouts, and you're devastating useful.

M4A3 got nerfed in terms of damage, mostly because most users used it with QF + LS, and it went that you can empty a full clip in 2 seconds, leading to a gibbing T1/T2, you can even solo T3 with the M4A3 QF + LS and AP, in 2 mags and a claymore.

Yeah, I overused it with Claymore Combo, leading to a 95+% kill ensuring ratio. But Devs stealth nerfed the damage, or armor penetration, even on AP, leading the pew pew to be just decent at emergency weapon, instead of being awesome, or even being good. It's barely decent.

Thing is, I tried that and felt like I was never really using the M41A. Cause I have a fairly aggresive playstyle and if something is not in range to be PB'd I'll likely run up closer instead of using the M41. Which is why I've decided to specialize it a lot more. But I dunno, I'm still experimenting and I guess I'll try just going normal M37 and M41 a bit more.

[Dolth]

If your loadout is aggressive then oh boy do a stage découverte with delta.

Jokes aside if you want aggressivity, BC PB works. Armorless works as rear guard or just on your own.
M41A works if followed.

Keep in mind aggressivity is more a question of movement, AKA early chasing, extinguishing a fire path to immediately chase, trapping cades, standing still in fring of a rav to lure and dodge his charge etc.

That's aggressive, I do that with M41 BC AP and buckshot. No offense bit your pistol can't do that.

[4000daniel1]

If your loadout is aggressive then oh boy do a stage découverte with delta.

Jokes aside if you want aggressivity, BC PB works. Armorless works as rear guard or just on your own.
M41A works if followed.

Keep in mind aggressivity is more a question of movement, AKA early chasing, extinguishing a fire path to immediately chase, trapping cades, standing still in fring of a rav to lure and dodge his charge etc.

That's aggressive, I do that with M41 BC AP and buckshot. No offense bit your pistol can't do that.

I personally have not actually been using the pistol recently. I have been going with dual shotguns and the shotgun+boiler harasser loadout I described earlier.