...
- Best AP to damage ratio in whole game, bar none. You can get 80+ damage per non-crit bullet at lvl 10, and shoot 11-13 of them at lvl 10. With 80%+ accuracy. For 25 AP. This means you can deal 2K damage per turn, without any AP boosts at lvl 10. No other weapon type can match that. And you scale well from that as well in the end game.
...
This is not true. Best AP to non-crit damage ratio was, and still is, an SMG build (while best AP to crit damage is, of course, crafted energy pistols with their insane crit damage bonus when min-maxed for it). An SMG would go like this:
- Dex 12 (by level 8 ): 7.62 mm Steel Cat is ~8 AP base cost (with Rapid Reloader, which LMGs can't use);
- Spec Ops feat (level 8 feat): 200% burst cost (only works for SMGs), hence ~16 AP burst cost;
- same +2 bullets per burst from Muzzle Brake LMGs use;
- same Full-Auto feat for +2 bullets more, Str allowing, which LMGs also can use;
- Commando feat: an extra free burst every turn provided something dies after initial 3 bursts. Doesn't work for LMGs - AR/SMG only feat.
The latter is level 14 feat, though obviously it's just too good not to mention.
Result being, 4 bursts per turn without any AP bonuses (16x3 = 48 AP, plus a free one from Commando feat) - in any fight where such firepower would be desired (multiple enemies). Base damage is not too hugely different, too: q158 7.62mm Steel Cat SMG - deals 16-49 base damage (before any Per damage increase), while q159 9mm Grudge LMG - deals 38-47 base damage, i.e. even lower maximum damage than said SMG. Reload costs for lower SMG ammo capacity - can and should be trivialized with corresponding belt and/or feat. Also, Rapid Reloader proc practically guarantees some extra AP for an extra reload every turn - again, something LMGs don't get.
And then, with further +Dexterity increases (as it should be for an all-out SMG build), base and burst AP costs will further decrease at higher levels: 7 AP base / 14 AP burst at level 20 (with 15 Dex), and even 6 AP / 12 AP burst at level 26. The latter allowing to do 5 bursts per turn (with Commando), before any AP bonuses.
Bottom line: 4...5 9-bullet bursts per turn, with barely lower base damage (SMGs) - vs just 2 13-bullet bursts per turn (LMGs). That's 36...45 bullets spit out (SMGs) vs 26 bullets (LMGs). And more flexibility - shorter but more numerous bursts allow to better control overkill and multiple directions, as needed. Clear winner, to me, is SMGs - and by far. Damage-wise for non-crit, that is.
Where LMGs get ahead - is not damage, but range, if to compare with SMGs. Thus it much depends on playstyle: is long-range burst fire much desired? Then go LMGs and/or ARs. That's when these truly shine. But if sheer AP-to-damage is the goal, then go SMGs (and no heavy armor - high mobility is king whenever playing mid-range SMG builds). And it's quite right things are so - in real world, a good SMG is also usually better at close/mid range sheer firepower, outta sheer fire rate (Uzis and such) and compactness of ammo (P-90 and such). That's why SMGs exist to beging with - a crapton of firepower in a compact package.
P.S. Oh and as for Heavy Metal feat - replace it with Expertise for SMG non-crit damage, which most likely won't be as potent as Heavy Metal, but given how many bullets per turn SMGs can dish out - is nothing to sneeze at either, especially at higher levels. It's up to 900 damage per turn from Expertise alone per every 5-burst turn by level 20 - almost half of said 2k LMGs can spit out. With times more damage outta SMG itself and all relevant damage bonuses, of course. So 2k total damage per turn - is quite low, see...