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  1. #1
    Sharpandpointy's Avatar Senior Member
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    Lonestar in 1.8

    Time for something positive.

    Since the beginning of the game, I've always enjoyed using LMG. Don't know why, other than I enjoy playing a support role, and there was something satisfying about sitting back from my group and chugging away with an M60 at the NPC's they were fighting.

    Anyway, I discovered pretty quickly that it was useless in PvP (and I wasn't interested in such, anyway). And at higher levels - especially at World Tier 5 - it felt like I was using a peashooter against Elites.

    Along came the Hungry Hog and Lonestar.

    With that, at least, I could manage to do quite well against Elites...until Toughness died a tragic death. I realize this was a good thing for some, but for a Hungry Hog user it was a nightmare; so much for sustained fire. So, even when I got the sixth piece (out of a GE, yeah, I got lucky in the DZ), I was kind of meh about it.

    Then 1.8.

    I recently pulled out my Lonestar build. It worked like crazy - with my health higher, I found I could manage the sustained fire (especially since I had Self-Preserved on one of my Hogs). Higher glove benefits (12%), Optimized Hogs and Gear, far better out-of-cover bonus (now 20+% rather than a whopping 11-14%)...set up a Classified 6 piece, and you get the Berserk Talent on top of it, which grants 20% MORE damage and 20% higher rate of fire (translating to roughly 20% higher DPS there as well).

    Set up mostly for Firearms with some Stamina for survivability, making all of my mods have the Crit bonus to help with Self-Preserved, it has easily proven itself.

    It mows down NPC's. With one of my Hogs, I don't even bother with Extended Mag (going for HV for the Crit Chance). I don't want more rounds in the mag - I want to proc Berserk, and a 220 round mag means it takes more time. But with a 110 round mag, after 55 rounds I know if Berserk will proc, and by that point with continuous fire the Hog is giving me +20% bonus at least for killing NPC's, if not more. Berserk procs and I'm up to 70% bonus usually, having murdered 5 NPC's and not stopping shooting. And Berserk often continues to pop after that (i've had it go four times in a row) - it's a non-stop murder machine.

    The damage at this point is appalling, the critical damage even moreso, and I'm getting back 3% of all crit damage into my health. It doesn't keep me from going down if NPC's focus on me, but it slows that down.

    And Underground?

    For me, it has proven to be one of the best ways to take out a group of Hunters.

    When Hunters pop up, we do the thing of running like mad back toward the start of the mission until we arrive at a corridor/hallway/defendable door (my buddy showed me that, credit to him). Then we wait. The Hunters arrive...and walk into a wall of lead, backed up by whatever the rest of the group pulls out. I have had all three Hunters burst through a doorway about 20' from my character, one-two-three, with my only backup being a flame-turret my partner put down, and I've burned down all three of them in seconds (helped because after the first, 10% more damage, the second, 20%...). Put them all down in one 110 round mag.

    Manhunts? I've gotten ahead of the manhunt and engaged at range while other players are fighting up close. I'm not really the person killing the Rogues, but I'm dumping lead constantly into the area, non-stop (two Hogs, switching between them automatically reloads, the second has Competent and yeah,I pulse) and making things so much easier. Manhunts aren't normally my thing, but gawd, that's a blast.

    1.8 and Lonestar Classified has put the fun back into the LMG, as far as I'm concerned. The Hog is pretty damn good now.

    I know others like Big Al, and for straight up one on one PvP it beats the Hog, but it doesn't have the same 'endless stream of bullets' thing happening as a support weapon. OI have one, and like it, but for Lonestar I'm really digging the Hogs.
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  2. #2
    nairda2k9's Avatar Banned
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    Good thread and 100% true. I prefer the Big Al. Was lucky enough to pick up two with Deadly and Accurate. 8500 Firearms is a blast. Only about 365K toughness but with 40% skill haste and 140K skill power, I have a decent heal.

    And yes in Underground I was the dedicated hunter killer.
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  3. #3
    Sharpandpointy's Avatar Senior Member
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    Cool. And I'm not putting down Big Al, either - that thing is a monster, and maybe I'll swap out one Hog when I get a better one.

    My toughness runs about 390, and my skill haste is meh, but Self-Preserved helps with that.
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  4. #4
    Solidus...'s Avatar Senior Member
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    Good story but only for those who want use LMG, SG stryker will still outperform any other pve build.
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  5. #5

    berserk and big alejandro

    I use the HH too - similar problems with survivability in P v P - I get mowed down by SMG Hos at short range, which is a really dumb outcome. I have a fully optimised nomad 6pc claissified that at least lets me stand up in extraction point confrontations. I can at least last long enough with the HH and my nomad cpc classified to at least stop 4 man rogue squads from hijacking my gear.

    I have a 6pc lonestar classified and Im going to start optimising that after i have optimised the House and the showstopper (if you cant beat the smg Hos you might as well join them). Ive used it with big alejandro and the berserk is insane with the rpm (modded to about 1300 rpm) on BA. I run through 2000 rounds in about 1 minute. And its nuts to watch. I am going to optimise BA once I have the lonestar gear optimised (my HH is fully optimised).
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  6. #6
    I decided to complete the weekly HVT'S yesterday with my second character. I ended up doing all Of them with LoneStar, using the MK 46 and the Black Market Saiga-12 ( I know It's overused, oh well) the gear set worked out rather well for me at least. I still need some more optimizing though and It's a PVE setup only. I'm On the Xbox one by the way.
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  7. #7
    Cadillac-Jack's Avatar Senior Member
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    I use a Big-Al/MG5 combo also mix it up with a Military L86 LSW and H-Hog

    My build in gear is almost optimized with 6.7k FA/6.5 K Stam and 3k Elec, none of my guns are optimized yet can still rain down lead and melt any NPC in a heartbeat.
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  8. #8
    Originally Posted by Light-Zone2.0 Go to original post
    I use a Big-Al/MG5 combo also mix it up with a Military L86 LSW and H-Hog

    My build in gear is almost optimized with 6.7k FA/6.5 K Stam and 3k Elec, none of my guns are optimized yet can still rain down lead and melt any NPC in a heartbeat.
    What, do you use for the skills(Abilities)? With that setup, which system do you play on?
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  9. #9
    Cadillac-Jack's Avatar Senior Member
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    Originally Posted by ravens416 Go to original post
    What, do you use for the skills(Abilities)? With that setup, which system do you play on?
    I'm on PS4

    I use surprisingly a fire turret for crowd control all my mods are turret mods it keeps them pinned for easy targets and my other skill/ability I use crit Pulse (all my LMG's at the mo have Destructive and a mix of Predatory and vicious/fierce/Deadly etc etc etc also all my LMG's have CHC ranging from 20% to 30% and CHD ranging from 81% to 116%, before pulse,also DTE from 20% to 35% and EAD 41%


    With mods and other stuff ,my FA/DPS is 6.7k/320,000 weapon depending my health/Stam is 500,000/6.5k and Sk power 91,000/3k

    It's a fun build especially when berzerker procs, i don't P v P.
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  10. #10
    Originally Posted by Light-Zone2.0 Go to original post
    I use surprisingly a fire turret for crowd control all my mods are turret mods it keeps them pinned for easy targets
    This definitely works well. I use a Big Al with my Firecrest build - kind of the same thing but reversed focus.

    I'm late to the LMG party and just started using them with a new Lonestar build. It's now my favorite build to run but as the OP said, surviving when trying to unload a clip is a challenge. If there is a reclaimer on the team, I'm 100x more effective. I might try using an LMG with Self-Preserved for situations where there isn't a Reclaimer.

    For skills I use Smart Cover and Support Station. Smart Cover makes a huge difference with the Big Al. I'm going to be using Smart Cover duration gear mods going forth so I can have that thing going as much as possible.

    Another thing I have noticed is that NPCs (particularly LMB) behave differently when you use an LMG. They're not as aggressive in their advances. I switched out to my Lonestar build on the new Grand Central Legendary when we were being overwhelmed and it changed the battle.
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