Strategy:Pistol

This article is about strategy for the pistol itself as a weapon, not the category of weapons colloquially known as "pistols". For specific strategies for the individual weapons, please see the associated entries under their names. For "pistols" in general, please see Strategy:Pistol Types.

Overview

Brief Summary

The Pistol is (usually) your starting weapon and, thus, many people assume that it should be discarded for something "better" when it comes along. However, the Pistol (or two Pistols) is not only feasible as a weapon, but quite capable of being used as the ONLY weapon during a game.

It is a basic weapon, which can hold up to 5 mods if the player has access to Whizkid 2.

As a member of the Pistol Type family, the Pistol is a standard weapon that is also capable of being turned into several assemblies : the speedloader pistol, the high power pistol, the storm bolter pistol, the energy pistol, the nanomanufacture pistol, and the demolition pistol. This page will only address the base Pistol and the Pistol with mods applied that do not change it into a separate assembly.

Examination

At first the weapon may not seem like much: 2d4 damage, only six shots in a clip. However, the raw damage-per-second (DPS) drastically increases as you add points into pistol-based traits. Consider the following:

• No traits: 5DPS
• SoG(x1): 7.5DPS
• SoG(x2): 11.67DPS
• SoG(x2)+DG: 19.44DPS
• SoG(x3): 20DPS
• SoG(x3)+DG: 33.33DPS

Over the course of just four levels (achieveable just after Hell's Arena on Ultra-violence) the damage output has increased over six-fold. If we compare to a chaingun with SoBx2 and Finx2 (similar trait boosts) the DPS is only 31.43DPS; while the plasma rifle is obviously superior at 51.43DPS, it also requires nearly twice as much ammo for an ammo type much harder to carry (and often rarer to boot). As a starter weapon, the pistol is certainly a powerful choice.

Pistols are also fairly unique as being a single-target, non-explosive weapon that has a high potential for knockback. Combined with very fast firing speed, it is possible to keep an enemy out of your field of vision by knocking them back every time they come into it. In order to build toward pistols that reliably knockback, consider investing in Son of a Bitch and adding power mods to your pistols. Although (knockbacking is frequently done with shotgun-type weapons, it also requires you to be closer and so the possibility of knocking them out of vision on each hit is significantly lower than with the pistol.)

Advantages to using the Pistol

• Free gun! (In all but very specific challenges, you will start with a Pistol)
• Easy to find and stockpile ammo
• Accurate without modding
• Fast reload time

Disadvantages to using the Pistol

• Extremely build-dependant
• Bullet type damage is commonly resisted