Minigun
The Minigun is a very interesting weapon. For those who don't know, we've known about it for much longer than its release in June 2015. In August 2014, the developers released an image with the Minigun hiding inside a stack of other Respawnables weapons. They didn't acknowledge it, so it's assumed it was a mistake. However, with the Salute Our Troops update, we've finally gotten access to the Minigun. I'm both happy and disappointed with the result. My disappointment draws from the fact the weapon is nearly identical to the Siege Cannon - once again, the developers have been lazy and released an almost exact duplicate of an existing weapon. However, I'm happy because the Minigun has one significant difference from the Siege Cannon, and it's that difference that makes the Minigun the better weapon.
The Siege Cannon effectively makes you a stationary turret. You have to sit on the spot and shoot players while remaining completely still. Why? The weapon's accuracy plummets as soon as you start moving with it. Shooting while moving with the Siege Cannon sends it shots going everywhere, missing their target and making the process of killing a player slow. You have to be completely still for the weapon to be effective. However, the Minigun doesn't have this problem. It doesn't fix the issue completely, but it's still enough that its shots actually connect with the target when you're moving. |
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Not only does the Minigun pack the ability to "run and gun" properly, but it also packs a more impressive clip size. It takes over fifteen seconds to deplete those 200 shots. You could gets tons of kills with a clip size like that without ever having to worry about reloading. Initially, I questioned how this would make a difference when the Siege Cannon's 90 was already impressive, but now I really appreciate the ability to bypass that awful, slow reload time for just a bit longer.
I also haven't yet mentioned all the good things the Minigun retains from the Siege Cannon. The first is its absolutely devastating damage output. It takes literally half a second to kill a player at close range, meaning it could definitely compete with shotgun users at this range. The ability to move while shooting and still hit also means you can strafe and circle around players, making it just that little bit easier to compete at close ranges. The weapon's massive damage output remains consistent to mid ranges, where it still obliterates enemies before they can reach you at all. It does, however, have a large range dropoff, so while the weapon can reach to very long ranges, it deals minuscule damage to the player. Despite being "heavy" weapons, the Siege Cannon and the Minigun also have two bars of agility and not just one, which means you have much more freedom to run around with the weapon. This goes perfectly in tandem with the better accuracy while moving on the Minigun, once again proving the Minigun better than the Siege Cannon.
Not everything's peachy for the weapon, though; some players have commented that the weapon appears to have slightly weaker range than the Siege Cannon, which makes sense with the shop stats which do take off one bar of range going from the Siege Cannon to the Minigun. (However, it also takes one bar off damage, which makes absolutely no sense at all, so I still question the legitimacy of the shop stats.) Some players also say that the Minigun's accuracy while standing still is weaker, with the auto-aiming not being as powerful as it is on the Siege Cannon.
In terms of tips with the weapon, there's quite a lot to say, so I'll sum it up in a dot point form.
I also haven't yet mentioned all the good things the Minigun retains from the Siege Cannon. The first is its absolutely devastating damage output. It takes literally half a second to kill a player at close range, meaning it could definitely compete with shotgun users at this range. The ability to move while shooting and still hit also means you can strafe and circle around players, making it just that little bit easier to compete at close ranges. The weapon's massive damage output remains consistent to mid ranges, where it still obliterates enemies before they can reach you at all. It does, however, have a large range dropoff, so while the weapon can reach to very long ranges, it deals minuscule damage to the player. Despite being "heavy" weapons, the Siege Cannon and the Minigun also have two bars of agility and not just one, which means you have much more freedom to run around with the weapon. This goes perfectly in tandem with the better accuracy while moving on the Minigun, once again proving the Minigun better than the Siege Cannon.
Not everything's peachy for the weapon, though; some players have commented that the weapon appears to have slightly weaker range than the Siege Cannon, which makes sense with the shop stats which do take off one bar of range going from the Siege Cannon to the Minigun. (However, it also takes one bar off damage, which makes absolutely no sense at all, so I still question the legitimacy of the shop stats.) Some players also say that the Minigun's accuracy while standing still is weaker, with the auto-aiming not being as powerful as it is on the Siege Cannon.
In terms of tips with the weapon, there's quite a lot to say, so I'll sum it up in a dot point form.
- If a player is so far away that you're just not going to do any damage to them, ignore them and move on. Once you've gotten used to the weapon, you'll know exactly what its range can and can't do, making this more of a reflex than something you'll have to consciously think about.
- While you can move around while shooting and still hit your shots, the accuracy still does take a noticeable drop. This drop becomes a bit annoying at longer ranges, so I recommend trying to stay still when shooting players from long ranges, if it's safe to do so. At closer ranges though, where it's a bit harder to miss, moving around is totally fine in my opinion.
- When going into head-on combat with other players, strafe and circle around them to make them miss. The Minigun's accuracy while moving makes this much easier than it is with the Siege Cannon.
- Remember the weapon's large clip size. Don't reload until you know there's nobody around or you really have to, because the weapon's massive clip size probably means you can keep going for a bit longer before you've forced to reload. The high clip size also means you have a lot of freedom to keep firing. You have no reason to conserve shots with this weapon, so fire away!
TL; DR
This weapon is like the Siege Cannon, but better (besides a few little nitpicks). Worth competing for and using. The extra accuracy while moving really helps draw a line between the two weapons.