The outcry justifies the nerf

[Korben Reynolds]

I love my SAW. I use her for everything. At one point I thought about naming her Vera, but I heard that name was taken.

As weird as it is to say about a gun made of pixels, I like the way the SAW handles so as long as they don't mess with the fire rate or the overall feel of the gun, then I'll take the nerf, adapt to it, and move on.

[Maitreakow]

My concern is the way trion worded it. When they say they are gonna bring it down to the other lmgs level, to me that means way more than a 5% dmg reduction. As far as I'm concerned the other lmgs suck. The vbi lmgs could be easily fixed with a crit mult increase seeing how they are more accurate. But the disruptor needs a complete overhaul or to be removed from the game completely

They said they were bringing it back down to other weapons level, vice other LMGs level. That might be me reading too much into their statement, but I took it as lowering it maybe %10 to be more in-line with other weapon classes top performers.

- just my 2 credits.

[Epyon]

Idiots talking about nerfs again....how about buffing the bad guns? Do peoples brains only go negative? Theres so many guns that are ignored not because other guns are better, but because theyre just plain bad. Bufs are whats needed and if you want something that beats a SAW? Wolfhound, nuff said.

[Sdric]

Idiots talking about nerfs again....how about buffing the bad guns? Do peoples brains only go negative? Theres so many guns that are ignored not because other guns are better, but because theyre just plain bad. Bufs are whats needed and if you want something that beats a SAW? Wolfhound, nuff said.

True.
Even if they lowered the SAW's damage to 120 I'ld most likely use it over a Disruptor.

[Tekrunner]

I agree with the OP, SAWs were too powerful and deserved a nerf. Here are some numbers to support this claim.

First, not taking reloading into account.

The raw DPS of a Frontier SAW is 400*8 = 3200. Only two other weapons have a higher raw DPS:

• VOT Blaster, with a DPS of 350*13 = 4550
• FRC Heavy Assault Carbine, with a DPS of 440*9 = 3960
• Frontier SAW: 400*8 = 3200
• Tachmag Pulser: 125*25 = 3125
• Wolverine: 500*6 = 3000
• VBI TACC AR: 375*7.5 = 2813

The Carbine's DPS is purely theoretical, because of its semi-auto nature. It is impossible to actually fire 9 rounds per second with it, the best you can do is 4 or 5. Adding a burst mod will, in fact, let you achieve the advertised fire rate. But this same mod is also very efficient on a SAW. By my measurements, it increases the fire rate of a SAW by about 25%, bringing its raw DPS to 4000.

As for the Blaster, not only does it chew through your entire ammo pool in a very short time (something which is supposed to be changed), it is also fairly imprecise and has a short range. Its raw DPS can't be increased with a burst mod.

But that's not the whole story. Heavy Carbines and Blasters both have small magazines, so they can't sustain their DPS for a long time. This is why in PvE, where you are usually fighting either large groups of weak enemies, or single big ones, the most interesting metric is DPS including reloading. Here's the ranking according to this metric:

• Frontier SAW: 2248
• FRC Heavy Assault Carbine: 1864
• VBI TACC AR: 1815
• Tachmag Pulser: 1786
• ...
• VOT Blaster: 1542

That's right, the SAW is 20% higher than the next weapon, with the potential for an even higher spread using a burst mod. Note the low number for the Blaster, which is part of why it is so seldom used.

So, not only does the SAW rival or even surpass all the weapons that are supposed to inflict big spikes of damage in a short time, it is way, way above everything else in terms of sustained damage over a long period of time.

PS: all this is not to say that some other weapons shouldn't also be improved. Disruptors, sluggers, berzerkers, birdshot pumps, magnums...

[cusman]

Just for the record the key to topping the arkfall is the wolfhound, not the saw lol. But yes nothing is beating it in a coop

Depends on the Type of Arkfal. Also, the SAW hitting the Crystal Weakspot does tons of damage just like the Wolfhound is capable. Also, an Outbreaker with Strain Reducer mod will do far more damage than you can do with Wolfhound or SAW in any Arkfal.

[divergent ghost]

I disagree my disruptor gets me a kill in 1 sometimes 2 bursts. That doesn't suck at all lol.

[jbob spittlewop]

Just wait till everything in nerfed but birdshots and disruptors lmao, utter chaos.

[Sdric]

You totally ignore crit multipliers Tekky!

Ever used a Wolfhound against Scrappers?

[Shismar]

The SAW is popular because it is fun to play with because of the way it handles and does the job. Making it less viable is simply reducing that fun.

Simple solution: Make other weapons more fun. That does not necessary mean "do more damage". It can also be magazine size, crits or whatever makes players drool.

Defiance needs more fun, not less.