This is going to be long, so mentally prepare yourself for the wall of text I’m about to unleash.
If you’re new to the game, I don’t recommend you use this guide unless you’re confident you can make sense of the sheer autism below. There’s a lot of information overload.
I will not be covering gamesense here. Knowing when to push and when to retreat is how competent people frag while staying alive (Yes, SGs should be hard-pushing even on the frontline if it means taking out xenos, as long as the risk of becoming perma’d or capped is acceptable)- But that’s something you learn through experience, not from reading a guide, sadly.
If you’re looking for what ammo type to use on each xeno strain as SG, scroll all the way down.
Okay. We’ll start with the barest of bones- Knowing what your gun’s stats are.
| M56B Smartgun | |
|---|---|
| RoF | 300 RPM |
| Falloff | 1 DMG per tile (-8 DMG at the edge of your screen), can vary significantly due to inherent bullet damage being slightly random. |
| Damage | Precision (non-AP) - 30 DMG, AP - 20 DMG |
| Range | 12 Tiles (basically, you’re not really going to hit anything off-screen, which is 8 tiles.) |
FALLOFF INFO
Falloff is brutal for SGs, given that falloff begins IMMEDIATELY after the bullet leaves the barrel. The MK2 has quadruple the falloff, but the falloff doesn’t occur until after a certain effective range (well beyond 8 tiles).
- E.g. A MK2 will encounter zero falloff at 8 tiles, and thus deal roughly the same 44 non-AP and 33 AP damage to xenos. An SG will encounter 8 tiles of falloff at 8 tiles, and thus deals roughly 22 non-AP and 12 AP damage to xenos.
COMPARISON TO MK2 PULSE RIFLE
At point-blank range, an SG is only roughly 20% less effective at non-AP work and 30% less effective at AP work than the Mk2. This disparity will increase as the xenos get further away.
This means an SG is about 40% less effective than a non-AP MK2, and a whopping 60% less effective than an AP MK2 AT MAX VISION (8 tiles). (SGs have +20% firerate over a Mk2, 300 RPM vs 240 RPM on full-auto). This doesn’t take into account the inferior accuracy of the Mk2 vs pinpoint SG accuracy though.
The MK2 can’t switch ammo quickly, but has the incredible power of killing every single base xeno without AP in less than 40 bullets (tested) thus the actual “need” to switch to AP magazines is far, far lower.
GUN IS PEE PEE POO POO BAD BUT GEAR IS SEXY GOOD
Ok, so your gun is a hot, sopping, wet piece of shit that tickles xenos. Does this mean it’s useless in combat? No! Don’t forget the absolutely ridiculous power of NVGs + Mesons + IFF + Extra sight! SGs can quite easily become top fraggers from stealing other people’s kills doing an incredible job at finishing off and killing paincrit and low xenos other marines can’t see, or can’t shoot because PVT Stanley wants to flouride-stare the rav until it recovers from paincrit and escapes.
Your average rifleman will struggle to shoot in a combat situation from fear of FF and the lack of light (those flare and light nerfs hit hard), which will decimate their actual RoF. In most situations, the SG will end up doing a fuckton of damage simply from being able to shoot at xenos 100% of the time (even if your gun is kind of ass)
SMARTGUNNER SETTINGS
| Equipment Settings | |
|---|---|
| Far Sight | This adds +1 tile of sight to your entire screen, letting you see further than your average joe (8 tiles total). This passively drains power every tick, therefore to conserve power- You should keep it off while you’re shipside (unless it’s hijack), and turn it on when you land planetside. |
| Ammo mode | Change your ammo mode between Precision (0 AP) and AP (40 AP) ammunition. You’ll be using this constantly depending on what you’re shooting at. |
| Lethal Mode | Controls whether you shoot up friendly marines or not. Only turn it off if you’re going to murder someone. When IFF is off, you are restricted to Precision ammo, and cannot use AP. 99% of the time, keep Lethal Mode off. |
| Autofire | A literal noobtrap. Completely fucking useless, and you’ll forget to turn it back on half the time. Eats up power at a heavy rate. Never ever turn this on. |
| Accuracy Improvement | Makes your gun more accurate. Increases the power cost of firing each bullet very slightly.Toggle this on at roundstart, and keep it on forever. |
| Motion Detector | It’s a free MD embedded in your gun. Lets you detect non-USCM movement signals everywhere on your screen, and several tiles off-screen. Turn HUD off to see the signals more clearly (F12). Increases the power cost of firing each bullet very slightly. Toggle it on at roundstart, and keep it on forever. |
| Recoil Compensation | Removes the absurd screenshake from shooting the SG. Increases the power cost of firing each bullet very slightly. Toggle it on at roundstart, and keep it on forever. |
WHAT YOU SHOULD BE DOING
-
SWITCH AMMO MODES
Always switch ammo modes immediately based off what xeno you’re shooting. Is it a lurker? Precision. Is it a defender? AP. If you’re using Precision on a Crusher, you are literally doing absolutely nothing to it. Switch. Your. Ammo. Mode.
To tell what ammo mode you’re on INSTANTLY, look at what colour your bullets are.
Orange = Precision, Yellow = AP. -
COVERING YOUR FELLOW MARINES
It’s literally your job as SG. If someone is getting dragged by a woyer, focus fire on that motherfucker. If someone is planting C4, cover their ass. if someone is getting dragged by a woyer but there’s 2 other woyers,run away like a little bitchcommit to a reverse tactical charge and cry for help. -
STANDING BEHIND YOUR
MEATSHIELDSFELLOW UNGAS
Unless marines are fearRPing hard or you’re committed to securing a kill, you shouldn’t be pointmanning most of the time. In most circumstances you should at least have one marine between you and the enemy, sothe woyer and queen drag their ass insteadyou can make full use of your IFF. -
STICK WITH COMPETENT STUN-SPECIALISTS
It hurts when you’re the SADAR, direct AP a ravager and watch it fart in your general direction as it gets up and escapes because no one followed up with you. -
RECOIL, ACCURACY, MD, FAR SIGHT, IFF ON, EVERYTHING ELSE OFF
Autofire is a noob trap. Turn on Far Sight after you land, because it consumes charge over time. -
POINT SHIT OUT
You have NVGs. You see stuff others can’t. A lot of the time marines leave people to perma because they don’t know the body exists- Make marines aware of it so the poor guy gets back in the game.
Your MD also tells you whether there’s a flank. Point it out so everyone doesn’t get sandwiched. You have the best situational awareness of any marine planetside, use it. -
SHARING IS CARING
Share supplies with your fellow SGs.Only steal more than your fair share if no one will notice.
This also means, don’t mindlessly spray all your ammo at resin walls 24/7. It’s a dick move to everyone else who needs the same ammunition.
PROTIPS
-
HIDE THE HUD
The HUD is the enemy. It effectively reduces your vision north, south and east by 1 tile and adds clutter. That extra tile has often meant the difference between a dead xeno, and a living one.
Press F12 to hide and unhide it. -
YES, YOU CAN STILL PB WITH THE SG (TECHNICALLY)
An interesting fact about the Smartgun is that it’s one of the few guns which literally is incapable of shooting at an enemy when clicked on at point blank range. This leads to unfortunate situations where SGs start smacking their guns at xenos, not knowing why they won’t fire.
For example, the queen is next to me. I’m bodyblocked and can’t move away. I have my gun wielded and I’m on harm intent. Combat click-drag override is on. I click on the queen to shoot her, but I can’t! The SG WILL NOT SHOOT if you click directly on the sprite of a xeno next to you. It literally cannot. All you’ll do is melee them!
So, how do you get past this dilemma?
It’s simple- Don’t sprite-click! Instead, click on ANY TILE THAT ISN’T THE XENO SPRITE (so you start firing), and then drag your mouse onto the xeno. This works even when the xeno is paincrit on the floor next to you. When you’re in PB range, it’s easy to start sprite-clicking in a panic. Keep calm and avoid doing so! -
RELOAD EARLY & SAVE THOSE DRUMS
The number of times where I was on the verge of killing a xeno only to hear CLICK is astonishing. You never, ever want to be caught running out of ammo in a firefight as an SG.
When you hear the shift to a lighter firing tone (indicating you’re at 25% ammo, aka. 125 rounds), reload the second you’re out of combat. Put the depleted drum back in your belt and combine all the ammo so you get a full drum later when you have time.
To do this with minimal effort, switch your belt storage mode so you take out the FIRST thing you put in immediately without opening the belt storage menu. Thus, you will only pull out fresh drums, not the depleted ones you put in. -
PUT A RAIL LIGHT ON YOUR GUN
I mean, there’s no disadvantage. Marines will appreciate you giving an extra tile of light in front. -
SAVE BATTERIES
Depleted batteries can always be recharged by a recharger, which is found in shipside medical. It’s free and the RO won’t need to waste money on new batteries this way. Don’t throw your cells away, save them. -
ALWAYS BUY THE MEDHUD AND EITHER BINOS/RF/LD
Being able to tell your true health status free from the masking effect of painkillers is a massive buff, along with identifying which corpses to drag. Your NVGs let you see through binoculars, so having some kind of range-enhancing device is essential for situational awareness and lasing. -
PACK BASIC MEDS
This isn’t SG specific, but holy shit. The number of people who don’t even pack fucking GAUZE is too damn high. I recommend gauze, one MRE, splints and an analyser. Always grab a webbing vest and have one pouch dedicated to medicinal drugs. That can be autoinjectors, pills or 3 unga flasks in a general pouch. (My personal favorite) -
GET A MACHETE POUCH
You’re one of the few people who can buy a machete pouch, which is absolutely wild at killing walls and weeds. It also has the funny effect of being good at reverse bursting xenos, which is hilarious and has saved my life several times.
Full data on what ammo type to use on each strain of xenomorph, including how many shots to crit (STC) each xeno with each ammo type.
I’d submit the whole excel file, but the forum only allows for images and media. Might use Google Drive/Docs.
All STC (PREC) data was collected manually by shooting each xeno strain (from the front) to crit with the standard M56B off-weeds, 6 tiles away, which is common for SGs. Replicates of 3, average taken (rounded up).
You can be 100% confident in the STC (PREC) data. (+/- a few bullets due to random damage variation)
IN CASE YOU CAN’T SEE THE IMAGE, HERE’S A DUMBED DOWN TEXT VERSION
| Alien | Strain | Best Ammo Mode |
|---|---|---|
| Drone | Base | PRECISION |
| Gardener | PRECISION | |
| Healer | PRECISION | |
| Hivelord | Base | PRECISION |
| Whisperer | PRECISION | |
| Carrier | Base | PRECISION |
| Eggsac | PRECISION | |
| Queen (I) | AP | |
| Queen (M) | AP | |
| Burrower | Base | AP |
| Sentinel | Base | PRECISION |
| Spitter | Base | EQUAL |
| Praetorian | Base | AP |
| Dancer | AP | |
| Oppressor | AP | |
| Vanguard | AP | |
| Warden | AP | |
| Boiler | Base | AP |
| Trapper | PRECISION | |
| Defender | Base | AP |
| Steelcrest | AP | |
| Warrior | Base | AP |
| Crusher | Base | AP |
| Charger* | AP | |
| Runner | Base | PRECISION |
| Acider | EQUAL | |
| Lurker | Base | PRECISION |
| Vampire | AP | |
| Ravager | Base | AP |
| Hedgehog | AP | |
| Berserker | AP | |
| Abomination | Base | AP |
General rule of thumb- If a xeno has armour, use AP. If no armour, no AP.
(Xenos either have no armour, or at or above 15 armour, which makes AP more effective or as effective relative to non-AP. This does not apply to non-SG weapons, which have slight armour penetration in their non-AP ammunition.
Notes on SPECIFIC, NOTEWORTHY STRAINS
| Queen (Immature) | Doesn’t have screech or spit. Helpless in combat. Kill her ASAP and don’t fearRP. |
|---|---|
| Burrower | Stay 2 tiles away to avoid the stomp. |
| Praetorian (Vanguard) | Has a regenerating shield that COMPLETELY BLOCKS ONE ATTACK. This ranges from AP SADAR to SG bullets. AP SADAR will still stun, but not deal HP damage. Due to how BYOND works, shield only breaks about one second after the first hit. Same STC as other praes due to lowered health. |
| Boiler (Trapper) | I cannot stress this enough. If you notice that it’s a Trapper strain, switch from AP to Precision immediately. Trappers melt to non-AP ammo, due to the lack of armour. |
| Defender (Any) | Don’t bother shooting them when they’re fortified, even if you have AP. You will do effectively NO damage. Only shoot if they’re green-flamed (B gel, armour-debuffing), or if they’re being overrun by marines (no hope of escape). |
| Charger (Base) | The most common source of delimbs, due to AOE slash. Do not get closer than 2 tiles, due to the Stomp ability slowing you down MASSIVELY. |
| Crusher (Charger) | Non-AP does literally 0 damage to the front. Side armour takes 176 shots to crit, Back armour takes 70 shots to crit with precision. Very funny to bodyblock. |
| Lurker (Vampire) | Annoying little shits. Switch from precision to AP if you notice a Lurker is a vamp. |
| Ravager (Hedgehog) - | Builds up to 300 shards passively and from being damaged- At 300 shards, has +15 armour, up to a WHOPPING 40 total. (Consumes shards for abilities) Regular ammo utterly ineffective at 40 armour. Do NOT shoot the shield. |
| Ravager (Berserker) | Don’t get close. The Eviscerate ability (2 tile range) is horrifying, but also when the ravager is at it’s most vulnerable. |
| Abomination | The guy playing this is probably an XX baldie who’ll die instantly, similar to greeno queens. Don’t worry about them. |
Thanks for reading, and I hope you learned something new!
Protip: Eat the resin fruit. It’s delicious.