Heavy Caliber

[Schregger]

So, ran some vaults today, and got on one of the runs a heavy caliber mod. Im just curious as to how I should treat it. Any weapons that it would work well with and how high I should power it up. Or if I should just sell it for plat.

 

[S0V3REiGN]

Go ahead and Max it but just realize it's not meant for every weapon. Stuff like the Simulor and Opticor are completely unaffected. Weapons like the torid and tonkor actually make great use of the accuracy loss by splitting the rounds for a greater area of damage. A continous fire weapon like Amprex, synapse and ignis don't care for the penalty because of the way they function. Definitely keep it away from bows, sniper rifles and some assault rifles like soma or the Ogris rocket launcher.

Edited April 29, 2016 by S0V3REiGN

[Rambit23Z]

Rank 8/10 works decently on any non-precision weapon.

[Dreddeth]

The Opticor is completely unaffected by it, so if you've got one of them you can stick it on maxed and it'll be basically a second Serration mod.

On everything else, I would strongly advise against going any higher than -30% accuracy, and aside from the aforementioned Opticor, you probably shouldn't put it on anything with a charge or semi-auto trigger, because a miss with such a weapon is a lot more costly than a miss with an automatic. Your Mileage May Vary when it comes to burst-fire weapons.

[Omnimorph]

I find HC is actually a bit of a trap mod.  It looks great on paper, but the accuracy loss is often worse of a hit (often via ammo wastage) to your real, in-game sustained DPS than the damage boost you get.

As Beaglerush says in his XCOM games, if you can't hit 'em you can't kill 'em. 

However, it's fine on weapons where accuracy at range doesn't matter too much.  e.g. if you're spending a lot of time at relatively close quarters (e.g. as in Void Survivals), then it's definitely worth the accuracy hit, because accuracy isn't at a premium in those circumstances.

[SilentCynic]

Regarding how high to rank it: that generally depends on personal preference, but the accuracy loss on most weapons isn't bad.

I'd suggest avoiding Heavy Cal on sniper rifles and bows, but it's a good fit on most other primaries. Things like the Ignis, the Glaxion, and the Opticor, for instance, have virtually no downside when equipping Heavy Cal anyway.

[(PSN)Cwellann]

Max it, use it on beam weapons.  Opticor, Amprex, Ignis (widens the cone, so really great there).  There's also absolutely no downside to using it on the Synoid Simulor, and it works decently on the Tonkor once you get used to the changes.  Avoid like the plague on any crit based weapon (bows, Soma Prime, Latron series, etc) unless your playstyle involves pretty much nothing but barrel stuffing.

[leocww]

I own a maxed HC only (no other lower rank ones), and I usually tap-fire my weapons and never spray-and pray.

That being said, I mostly slap my maxed HC on every weapon possible, given that the accuracy loss is adjustable by my tap-firing gameplay style.

But I avoid putting it on my bows / rifles that requires accuracy at range.

[Specter42]

Hey guys, have you ever put HC on supra?

[Rambit23Z]

58 minutes ago, Specter42 said:

Hey guys, have you ever put HC on supra?

Yes. Makes for a great crowd clearing gun with Shred. And pops spores really easily too, if you're a Saryn player.

[Specter42]

1 hour ago, Rambit23Z said:

Yes. Makes for a great crowd clearing gun with Shred. And pops spores really easily too, if you're a Saryn player.

Woah, i thought i was the only crazy guy who put maxed HC on supra , thanks dude

[Sloan441]

5 hours ago, Specter42 said:

Hey guys, have you ever put HC on supra?

Yes.

It turns into a firehose of death...for whoever happens to stumble into a few bolts.

You don't bring this gun because of accuracy or efficiency (it has little to none). You bring it for mayhem. HC is more mayhem.

 

[tifanator]

Put it on a Quanta. The beam has virtually no accuracy loss, and the cubes... ohhh boy the cubes. GG.