I have gotten a lot of pistols and never used them, just kept keeping the ones with the highest DMG as I went along. I decided on a new fun build,
3 x Negotiators Dilemna, Memento, Chainkiller chest with Perfect Headhunter, Petrov Defense Gloves. For weapons I have an LMG, White Death MMR, and either a 586 Magnum or a Police 686 Magnum, I find the 686 even though it has lower base DMG to be better as it doesn't have recoil and you can hit more headshots. I also have the Bullwark shield which I have never tried before either, it's amazing how much damage it can take and how quickly you can bring down even elite hostiles, have also brought down wardogs with this combo. Of course its horses for courses and I love to sit back a bit at first and one shot hostiles with the White Death/Headhunter combo, then when up close and personal the sidearm/shield can do over 4 million headshot dmg per shot. Never thought I'd used a sidearm in this game.
Honestly only thing missing from mine is the Regulus but since that's a raid exclusive is pretty much never happening, but anyway i used pistols since 1.0 gear and gunslinger holster, currently i find just using claws out with punch drunk named mask for both pistol and headshot damage better and the rest is tip of the spear gear set for easy over 1mil headshots all day
While Liberty does have some very good aspects to it, the massive horizontal kick to it (that can't be mitigated by weapon handling for some reason) is a massive drawback. If you're ok with that kick, then by all means use it. But there are other options.Originally Posted by Licher.Rus Go to original post
I'd put the top 3 pistols as:
Kard
Liberty
Regulus
Kard is the best all around pistol. Large mag. High RoF. Excellent accuracy and stability and rate of fire.
Regulus with Headhunter is silly if you can land those headshots. But even without it, it's still a very strong option. If you can't get one from the raid, use a 586 or 686 magnum.
Liberty is best with a shield.....if you can handle the previously mentioned recoil. Personally I find that it's a dealbreaker. But I've seen people use it to incredible effect.
I personally find the X45 more effective than the Kard [if I don't need the +1 Skill Tier] or the Liberty. I still haven't tried Regulus, but the HS boom looks awful fun [pair with TP for even more fireworks?]
Lightning Rod can't be beat on Challenging or lower though - too much fun never reloading..
I've found that even a regular pistol with the Salvage talent works great for this so long as it's got reasonable capacity already and you plump for the Extended Pistol Mag. The hardest part is rembering not to waste time reloading the darn thing.Originally Posted by LateNiteDelight Go to original post
If I come by explosive or shock ammo, I usually drop it on the pistol first, too, since that makes finishing off enemies just that much easier. (Well, shock actually goes on the shotgun first if I'm carrying one, but these days I'm trying out a Tactical Vector SMG with Unwavering instead, where any sort of status ammo seems pretty much a waste because it vanishes in a second and a half.)
I'll echo the appreciation of Kard, too. I quite like it.
I tried Liberty for a while, but the massive recoil was too much for me, too.