Starter Weapons Seriously Need Buffs

[Axterix13]

The biggest problems I found when I started post-Christmas were this:

1.  The Mk-1 and Lato are weapons focused on a specific damage type, rather than being relatively even (like the 6/6/6 from the Braton).  Not only that, the focus is on Slash, when you're facing Grineer followed by Corpus.  It's one of those "What are they thinking?  Are they even thinking?" things.

2.  General lack of credits.  I got a Cronus blueprint and made it.  That cleaned me out.  Due to that, couldn't afford to buy another weapon when my next planet was Corpus (yay for that lack of impact on the Mk-1).

3.  General lack of primary and secondary mods, especially damage dealing ones.  Got enough warframe and melee ones to play with, but had squat for mods for primary or secondary.

 

All three issues could stand to be improved.  But at the very least, the starting weapons should be balanced ones, with about equal values for all three base damage types.  That makes them okay against most anything, which is exactly what you want from a newbie weapon, since you have no clue when/how they'll upgrade.

[DuWryght]

Knowing what I know about the game now, I feel as though I would horde my money and hope to luck out in grouping with people until I powered up my frames abilities. Like I did last time, I would cap the nubie gear and be done with it. I have to see what I would invest in. I would honestly try to get a boltor, latron, or burston. You would want to copter if you are going to melee, so the kama(duals) are a good bet if you can get the goods. Vasto is 0 mastery, but neurodes aren't easy to get as a fledgling.

 

I was lucky to start the game late last year. It was pre 2.0 and the nube weapons were about as strong as I had ever seen them. With the poor dmg output, it's one reason why I suggest playing Mag at the beginning. Level 3 pull will one shot mobs for a long time making it easy to farm and gain xp. Loki is definitely going to be a rough path at the beginning.

[NikolaiLev]

Then what would you suggest for the Prime variants? These weapons were meant by design to be superior. They require more work to obtain (at least, they did before Prime trading came along) and are meant to be more powerful.

 

Whether you like it or not, for weapons that fall under the same category (meaning Latron vs. Latron Prime, not something like Soma vs. Phage) there are going to be direct upgrades. It will require some very massive rebalancing to get away from this which I honestly do not see happening anytime soon... or at all, really. It'd be more a shift in policy and design than a rebalancing, really.

 

It'd be plenty easy to make them sidegrades.  Heck, they could stay as upgrades.  But right now the disparity is so ridiculously wide.  It's one thing if Prime weapons dealt 5% more damage or had slightly better status %.

 

And really, "requiring more work" shouldn't be an excuse for them to be better.  Then again, I dislike how grindy they are to get.

 

That's actually kind of flawed logic. The Braton is inexpensive because you've got good credit income. A new player will need to do a lot of missions, and that's if they can figure it out. Everything in the game hints that only crafting makes weapons since there's like... two (if that?)? Weapons you can actually buy with credits.

 

 

Skana and Lato I kind of get, but I really don't think they should be made god awful on purpose (Which they are. Dakra Prime is the only real good sword of that style, Lato is... Lato is used by nobody)

 

They really shouldn't be so godawful, and that's my point.  I wish starter gear was competent (and unique enough) so that even veterans would be seen using them.

 

They should just replace the mk1 with the normal braton and be done with it.

 

Not a bad plan.  But the embarrassing part is the normal Braton is still underpowered compared to other weapons like the Karak or Grakata.

 

The argument "Why? They are starter weapons after all! All starter stuff should be trash." Falls on its face so fast and so hard I think it died or at least fell into a coma. My argument why that argument is invalid? 

 

Excalibur. 

 

Excalibur is a starter frame. Meaning it should be trash, right? I mean everything you get at the start is trash, right? But why is he an "end game" drop then? His parts can be acquired from Pluto. And last I checked Pluto isn't exactly what I'd consider a "beginner area". 

So, DE's giving out trash tier stuff and end tier levels? That's a bit stupid, don't you think? Unless Excalibur isn't trash. And we know he isn't trash because you can see him at every tier of the game. 

 

Now concerning the Mk1, Lato and Skana.

 

MK1 has little to no reason to exist in it's current iteration. Suggestion: Braton becomes the standard issue, Mk1 is statted into a higher damage rifle, preferably with more puncture damage. Model modified a bit to reflect a more "medium range battle rifle" feel. The slower fire-rate tells me this weapon is meant for longer range engagements then the standard. So make the Mk1 something that hits harder. 

 

Lato needs a damage buff. Plain a simple. If anything the lato NEEDS to be the gun that is boring. Good, but boring. It'd kill stuff reasonably fast at reasonable ranges but it'd be a competent pistol. With no interesting traits to it. The "boring" aspect of it would "fix" whatever issue that might arise. 

 

Skana is a whole other beast. Skana needs a redesign. Skana needs to be important simply because it IS important. 

 

 

 

That's Skana's codex entry. "Foundation of their fighting style and pillar of their culture" Mighty big words there for a toothpick, wouldn't you say. 

So, my idea is to make Skana interesting. Like REALLY interesting. Lets say the skana starts off as a lower damage longsword. The chronos would be better BUT, skana gets better as it levels. Not just damage, but things like being able to hit multiple targets, higher crit values and chances, innate damage reflect etc.

"Becomes immensely powerful in the hands of a master." That should be the key words here. That even if you forma the skana, you keep the bonuses, so every forma, every cycle you master it it becomes more and more powerful until it's like something so powerful a cult raises up around it.

I mean I can see us getting markets where you can trade weapons, and could you imagine the price for a skana that's been formad 10 times with this system? Those things should come with their own names. Dragon's Bane, Bloodbreath, Fluffypoke. 

 

Well said.

 

In regards to the OP, the starter weapons are perfectly fine.

 

Running a potatoed MK1 and single Lato - both no forma used, with of course higher grade mods, I was able to one-shot enemies up until Sedna - around level 10 or higher. Regardless, even in Sedna most enemies were downed in less than 3 shots to the chest with Corrosive Damage.

 

It's not a matter of the starter weapons "sucking", it's a matter of the mods.

 

Serration? From Grineer Scorpions. Where? Certainly not on Mercury unless you're playing Apollodorus (Survival). Maybe Lares (Defense), all depending on where the new player wants to go. Other than that, you'd have to skip ahead to at least Earth to see them spawn without some kind of Endless Defense/Survival going on.

 

Split Chamber? If you're lucky - Ruk, Raptor, Leech Osprey at least. Most of which aren't seen until past Venus or Earth.

 

Stormbringer? Grineer Ballista. I don't know about any of the defense/survival missions when it comes to enemy spawn, but anywhere prior to Earth, not likely going to happen. Otherwise you'd have to get to Tier III of a corpus Endless Defense and be lucky.

 

Infected Clip? Corpus Elite Crewman, Crewman / Detron Crewman, Corrupted Lancer. Possibly in Endless Defense/Survival, but I have no idea. At the very least Jupiter.

 

Basically to get anything good, you'd need to work your way up to those points in the game. That's if you haven't succumbed to trading with platinum by that point.

 

In the end - the weapons don't suck. It's getting the mods needed to maximize its potential that really, really sucks.

 

I disagree.  Just looking at the stats of the weapon makes it abundantly clear how pitiful starter weapons are, and I want to see that remedied.  Having a sensible mod progression would be nice (making serration drop from grineer butchers, for instance) but that's just half the battle.

[Strill]

And why shouldn't they be usable late game?  Why should there be weapons that exist just to be outmoded later?  DE can do better than that.  Making more weapons last into late game gives us more choices.  There really is no downside.  There are other ways to give the player a sense of progression.

Very true. They could make weapons that are all sidegrades, so that every weapon has its use and none of them are pointlessly redundant or obsolete. However the catch is that DE doesn't make money by offering a quality experience with a highly-tuned well balanced set of weapons which all offer different interesting strengths, weaknesses, and playstyles.

 

DE makes money by releasing new weapons every few weeks. The easiest way to make these weapons desirable is to make them better than previous weapons. Buffing the Braton MK-1 to offer a new interesting viable alternative to the Braton wouldn't make them any money.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Strill

[Phatose]

They shouldn't be viable because Warframe isn't just a shooter, it's an RPG as well.  Making everything sidegrades robs the game of long term progression.  That long term progression is what has kept me playing this game as long as I have.  I'd hate to see it sacrificed to make this game more of a vanilla shooter - because really, this game will not hold up as just a shooter.  Far too many other games out there that do that far better then Warframe.

[Monolake]

I see this argument a lot, and it's completely invalid because one of the best melee weapons in the game, the Galatine, has a mere mastery 3 requirement.  The Flux Rifle is mastery 6 and is a research weapon, yet the Soma is far superior to it.

 

Games don't need to have progress, that's just nonsense.  And like you said, it's far more about mods than weapons.  So all weapons should just be sidegrades of each other.

There are some broken ranks and power/price weapons, but overall the system has a power progress. And such inconsistencies and 'unworthy' weapons need to be fixed.

 

'No progress' would remove any motivation from the game, no one would play RPGs/MMOs if you removed level-ups and loot upgrades. There would be no point in any new weapons if your starting one would be as good as an expensive hard-to-get one (thats why no one bothers with energy research weapons which are crap for the their price now). Even multiplayer shooters that have balanced weapons introduced some form of progress curve and it appeals to wider audience than simple old-school action games.

 

Come to think of it, apparently DE cant decide themselves if they want to have tired weapons or sidegrades, its so random its baffling.

 

If you want every weapon to be much more equal at maxed level with high-ranked mods, but still have diversity and progress of weapons alone then flat value mods might be the solution: https://forums.warframe.com/index.php?/topic/185793-simple-way-to-make-weapons-more-equal-at-maxed-level/

(which I don't think will ever happen in WF)

Edited February 26, 2014 by Monolake

[NikolaiLev]

Very true. They could make weapons that are all sidegrades, so that every weapon has its use and none of them are pointlessly redundant or obsolete. However the catch is that DE doesn't make money by offering a quality experience with a highly-tuned well balanced set of weapons which all offer different interesting strengths, weaknesses, and playstyles.

 

DE makes money by releasing new weapons every few weeks. The easiest way to make these weapons desirable is to make them better than previous weapons. Buffing the Braton MK-1 to offer a new interesting viable alternative to the Braton wouldn't make them any money.

 

This would be a valid argument, if there didn't exist games like Planetside 2 that have weapons that were almost entirely sidegrades, or games like Heroes of Newerth and Dota 2 where new heroes are released for free and the only thing they release is cosmetics which don't give any gameplay-related bonuses.

 

People will still buy new weapons, even if they're worse than old things, just because it's new.  Sure, they may make less money than before, big deal.  They'll make money otherwise by garnering player goodwill and doing something right.  That's a long-term investment in their playerbase, and frankly I think it far outweighs the short-term loss in platinum purchases.

 

They shouldn't be viable because Warframe isn't just a shooter, it's an RPG as well.  Making everything sidegrades robs the game of long term progression.  That long term progression is what has kept me playing this game as long as I have.  I'd hate to see it sacrificed to make this game more of a vanilla shooter - because really, this game will not hold up as just a shooter.  Far too many other games out there that do that far better then Warframe.

 

I just can't agree with that.  As others have said before, mods serve to be the long-term progression in the game.  Dark Souls is an example of an action-rpg game that has weapons that are largely sidegrades of each other.

 

And honestly, I do not play this game for its RPG elements.  So I disagree that it doesn't hold up as one.  I play this game because it has a MOBA-like spell system and acrobatic gunplay, not because I have to grind, and have a mediocre selection of viable endgame weapons.

[fatpig84]

Just unnerf the Lato.

It used to deal 24 damage and that was decent.

Mk1 is still fine.

[NikolaiLev]

Just unnerf the Lato.

It used to deal 24 damage and that was decent.

Mk1 is still fine.

 

How is 16 damage and less rate of fire than the Braton fine?  It's not even worth considering as an option, so there's no reason for it to exist.

 

Straight upgrades are not fun.  Progression can be implemented in more interesting ways than "Your old weapon sucks now, get a better one."

[Amistyrja]

Straight upgrades are not fun.  Progression can be implemented in more interesting ways than "Your old weapon sucks now, get a better one."

But DE wants their tiers =(

[NikolaiLev]

But DE wants their tiers =(

 

Are you sure?  It's been said before; Galatine is mastery 3 yet is far ahead of most melee weapons, even prime ones.

 

And even if they do, that doesn't mean it should be so.  DE needs to learn that their vision isn't always the best one, and that community feedback deserves consideration.

 

The game would be more fun if most or all weapons were sidegrades, and that any upgrades were very small (as in, only a couple more points of damage, 5% of status/crit, and so on).  That way, we'd have more variety.  And variety is good.

[DuWryght]

How is 16 damage and less rate of fire than the Braton fine?  It's not even worth considering as an option, so there's no reason for it to exist.

 

Straight upgrades are not fun.  Progression can be implemented in more interesting ways than "Your old weapon sucks now, get a better one."

 

i have to disagree. There is such a great feel when you get drop your trust rusty dagger for an iron sword in your journey to get the "shiny, kill'em up baddie slayer 9000 Z". You are hard pressed to find an rpg that doesn't try to shell out challenge without tiering enemies items. I don't think anyone figures they will be using the same gear at lvl 0 to ranks beyond content. Likewise, what you are saying suggests people would rather have a lot fewer weapons. Why need a super-fast firing rifle when you have a slower rifle that does the same dmg per 10 shots? Why have the prior rifle when you have a grenade launcher that spreads out the damage....unless it has a cap damage and disperses that between the number of mobs it hits (80/8= 10 dmg equal vs 80 dmg to all mobs it hits). Due to the nature of these types of games (PvE), they push for progression. Lord knows if I see a 7 minutes rookie take down endgame content with their nubie gear, I won't be playing that game long.

 

DE wants people to play longer. There would be little if any need to change weapons if everything was viable at all content areas. Furthermore, without the feeling of progression, there is little to no reward for playing the game any longer than a few missions. I highly doubt anyone at mastery 8 feel even just as accomplished as they felt at rank 1.

[fatpig84]

How is 16 damage and less rate of fire than the Braton fine?  It's not even worth considering as an option, so there's no reason for it to exist.

 

Straight upgrades are not fun.  Progression can be implemented in more interesting ways than "Your old weapon sucks now, get a better one."

 

I have soloed vor again today with another alt. Using excal again.

Dying once this time but again the Mk1 Braton still does the job decently.

 

But previously it was actually easier because the Lato broke him down significantly faster, so the last time I played, I had no deaths. 

As it dealt 24 damage before, the damage and head shots quickly added up. 

 

But this time yeah, I died. 

No shame admitting.

 

However, the firepower is still lacking for grineer def and survival.

But I don't expect to solo those anyway with 0 mods at the moment.

Edited February 26, 2014 by fatpig84

[Amistyrja]

Are you sure?  It's been said before; Galatine is mastery 3 yet is far ahead of most melee weapons, even prime ones.

 

And even if they do, that doesn't mean it should be so.  DE needs to learn that their vision isn't always the best one, and that community feedback deserves consideration.

 

The game would be more fun if most or all weapons were sidegrades, and that any upgrades were very small (as in, only a couple more points of damage, 5% of status/crit, and so on).  That way, we'd have more variety.  And variety is good.

They apparently do, but like people have been pointing out for months, DE doesn't know what goes into which tier- or don't even seem to have decided on the tier order at all.

 

And the sidegrading arsenal thing isn't a very popular idea with many. People prefer to think that straight upgrades add some kind of element on progression.

[Rafarix]

I wish they at least unnerf the lato and its variants. They worked decently, and never was top tier weapons. They were good enough to keep, but no where close being the best of the best.

[Jack_Crowley]

Starter weapons, in my opinion, should have universal damage stats. Other weapons and variants of existing weapons should also be more specialized in types of damage they deal with some minor power creep added in. This would allow newer players to be able to progress through the low to mid level missions with their starter weapons more fluidly. (examples below)

 

Braton Series

   Mk.1 Braton :    6 Impact,  6 Puncture,   6 Slash

            Braton :   3 Impact, 12 Puncture,   3 Slash

Braton Vandal : 15 Impact,   8 Puncture,   1 Slash

  Braton Prime :   1 Impact,   8 Puncture, 15 Slash

 

Lato Series

Lato / Dual Lato :   5 Impact, 5 Puncture,   5 Slash

      Lato Vandal : 12 Impact, 5 Puncture,   3 Slash

        Lato Prime :   2 Impact, 4 Puncture, 15 Slash

[Rehero]

Why?!?!  There is a REASON they're called 'Starter Weapons'.  If you want everyone to start out with an Ignis, Braton, Boar Prime, Paris what would be the point?

Not only did they nerf lato and not only is the damage spread and numbers just way too low even for starter weapons, but they made earth HARDER. So players are coming into the game experiencing it for the first time with an unoptimized damage spread against corpus and grineer. So if they happen to make drag themselves through Mercury and Venus they end up hitting the wall that is earth. I am not saying they should nerf earth as its quite fun the way it is, but only for the people who are ready for it.

 

I think to reduce RNG in the new player experience and promote quicker progression out of the starter weapons these changes should happen:

-Have Lato, Mk-1 Braton, and Skana gain 3 points a level and cap at level 10 (same space, lower level).

-Upon maxing Lato, Mk-1 Braton and Skana, Lotus should give the player a Serration, Hornet strike and Pressure Point respectively.

-After gaining the first of these rewards she should then point the player in the direction of where to apply them.

-After killing Captain Vor, Lotus should give the player the Cronus and Seer blueprint (with parts) and point them in the direction of the Foundry. (Same as what it currently is but doesn't leave the player in the dark as to what they received)

-Make a Primary Weapon equivalent of the Seer and Cronus to be rewarded from the boss on Venus and have Lotus pop in as the player hits Linea to point them in the direction of Fossa.

 

I feel these changes not only provide an easier intro into modding and crafting but also alleviate the wall the player would hit if they tried to jump straight into earth.

Edited February 26, 2014 by Rehero

[NikolaiLev]

i have to disagree. There is such a great feel when you get drop your trust rusty dagger for an iron sword in your journey to get the "shiny, kill'em up baddie slayer 9000 Z". You are hard pressed to find an rpg that doesn't try to shell out challenge without tiering enemies items. I don't think anyone figures they will be using the same gear at lvl 0 to ranks beyond content. Likewise, what you are saying suggests people would rather have a lot fewer weapons. Why need a super-fast firing rifle when you have a slower rifle that does the same dmg per 10 shots? Why have the prior rifle when you have a grenade launcher that spreads out the damage....unless it has a cap damage and disperses that between the number of mobs it hits (80/8= 10 dmg equal vs 80 dmg to all mobs it hits). Due to the nature of these types of games (PvE), they push for progression. Lord knows if I see a 7 minutes rookie take down endgame content with their nubie gear, I won't be playing that game long.

 

DE wants people to play longer. There would be little if any need to change weapons if everything was viable at all content areas. Furthermore, without the feeling of progression, there is little to no reward for playing the game any longer than a few missions. I highly doubt anyone at mastery 8 feel even just as accomplished as they felt at rank 1.

 

I really can't agree with that "great feeling."  I don't see what's wrong with no needing to change weapons; people would do that anyway for variety's sake.  And I'm not even sure how many people care about mastery ranks.

 

If DE wants people to play longer, they should do it by making the game fun, not tedious.

 

Dark souls is an excellent example of a game where most weapons are sidegrades.  Yet do you see most people relying solely on starter gear?  Nope.  Some people do, but it's often after trying the myriad of unique weapons available.

 

They apparently do, but like people have been pointing out for months, DE doesn't know what goes into which tier- or don't even seem to have decided on the tier order at all.

 

And the sidegrading arsenal thing isn't a very popular idea with many. People prefer to think that straight upgrades add some kind of element on progression.

 

The notion that sidegrading isn't popular is debateable.  The people who post in relevant threads don't seem to like it; but then again, the forum is a very conservative environment in general, so that doesn't say much.

[NikolaiLev]

Giving this a bump for visibility, as the problem hasn't gone away.

[Stephieee]

I made another account just to see what Damage 2.0 would be like for new players. I've spent a good amount of time on it and I can conclude that the biggest issue lies withing the atrocious stats of the Lato. The MK-1 Braton does more damage, is more accurate, has a larger magazine size and can easily be replaced with the Braton for 25k credits.

 

The Lato, even when modded, will still struggle to be anywhere near as useful, especially considering how good it was before Damage 2.0 went live. Before, a simple No Return mod would enable the Lato to dispatch Grineer units on Mercury and Earth with relative ease. As it is now, a new player with limited mods will find it almost impossible to one shot Grineer with the Lato. I found myself taking almost an entire magazine on a single Corpus units one Venus even while modded with magnetic damage. Just because it's a starter weapon doesn't justify it being so very, very terrible. They might as well not give new players a secondary for as much use as the Lato is.

 

Let's also not forget that both weapons lean toward a damage type that both the Grinner and Corpus resist. It's still quite possible to pass the mastery tests up to rank 3 with the starter weapons with the right mods but both weapons are weak, especially the Lato. Even a slight buff to it would make it more useful to new players who need to adjust to the feel of Warfame.

[NikolaiLev]

I made another account just to see what Damage 2.0 would be like for new players. I've spent a good amount of time on it and I can conclude that the biggest issue lies withing the atrocious stats of the Lato. The MK-1 Braton does more damage, is more accurate, has a larger magazine size and can easily be replaced with the Braton for 25k credits.

 

The Lato, even when modded, will still struggle to be anywhere near as useful, especially considering how good it was before Damage 2.0 went live. Before, a simple No Return mod would enable the Lato to dispatch Grineer units on Mercury and Earth with relative ease. As it is now, a new player with limited mods will find it almost impossible to one shot Grineer with the Lato. I found myself taking almost an entire magazine on a single Corpus units one Venus even while modded with magnetic damage. Just because it's a starter weapon doesn't justify it being so very, very terrible. They might as well not give new players a secondary for as much use as the Lato is.

 

Let's also not forget that both weapons lean toward a damage type that both the Grinner and Corpus resist. It's still quite possible to pass the mastery tests up to rank 3 with the starter weapons with the right mods but both weapons are weak, especially the Lato. Even a slight buff to it would make it more useful to new players who need to adjust to the feel of Warfame.

 

But it's not just the Lato.  The Mk1-Braton has better stats because it's a primary; but even that has horrible stats as well.

[arisaka]

I agree that straight upgrades aren't bad in this game. However, the weapons themselves in Warframe are not straight upgrades, even though some have better base stats than others. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that none of them are fun to use or good...

 

without good mods.

 

Unfortunately, weapons can be straight upgrades, and mods compound the disparity, so you get into a situation where the starting weapons are both inferior to the base stats of EVERY OTHER weapon, and the newcomers don't have mods to give themselves a boost. So yes, they should be buffed. I think completely removing the Mk1 and replacing it with a choice of either the Braton, the Latron, or the Strun is a good idea (for different playstyles), and the Lato should be buffed. The Skana is in even worse of a position - it should be a reliable weapon at any level because of its lore and one that you know will never let you down, so to speak.

Edited March 11, 2014 by arisaka

[NikolaiLev]

I agree that straight upgrades aren't bad in this game. However, the weapons themselves in Warframe are not straight upgrades, even though some have better base stats than others. In fact, I'll go so far as to say that none of them are fun to use or good...

 

without good mods.

 

Unfortunately, weapons can be straight upgrades, and mods compound the disparity, so you get into a situation where the starting weapons are both inferior to the base stats of EVERY OTHER weapon, and the newcomers don't have mods to give themselves a boost. So yes, they should be buffed. I think completely removing the Mk1 and replacing it with a choice of either the Braton, the Latron, or the Strun is a good idea (for different playstyles), and the Lato should be buffed. The Skana is in even worse of a position - it should be a reliable weapon at any level because of its lore and one that you know will never let you down, so to speak.

 

I would be more comfortable with straight upgrades if they were very, very miniscule in nature; a gorgon wraith or prime variant would merely have 2 extra damage or 5% extra status.  Something like that.  However, the disparity at the moment is just horrible, and that's before mods even enter the picture.

 

The modding system has many problems, and this is one of them.  But that's not the point of this topic.  I feel starter weapons are already in a position to be unique, and thus they deserve to be buffed so they're valid choices for veterans as well.  The Skana's description says it's powerful when mastered; so give it excellent crit scaling, making it a formidable choice when potatoed (we don't have an autoattack-reliant crit sword, either).  Give it slightly better status % at base, too.  Weapons can be made good in more ways than simply buffing their damage.

 

The Lato should get status and crit to be on par with most pistols.  There's no reason for it to have less than 10% status.  It should obviously get a damage boost because it's just so far behind other weapons (compare it to the Furis, and it'll become abundantly pathetic).  Aklato needs love as well.

 

Same with the Mk1-Braton.  Hell, even the Braton itself is behind other weapons, with a pitiful 5% status; compared to the Karak, which has 7.5% plus more damage, at the mere cost of 15 rounds.

 

Then there's the Strun, which is by and far behind other weapons like the Hek, for no real reason.  It could stand to get a fire speed boost at the very least.  This isn't even a starter weapon, but I suppose because it's a credit weapon the developers saw fit to nerf it, which just isn't fair.