Equipment for SMG build in Expedition?

[Ravager]

Equipment for SMG character in Expedition


2 Types of SMGs

In the old builds, before Expedition and the Veteran Levels (and the nerf to burst as a "special" damage), I ran an SMG character with an 8.6mm Steel Cat and a 5mm Jaguar.

The 8.6mm Steel Cat had a Smart Module, and a Compensator. The 5mm Jaguar had a Smart Module and a Rapid Reloader.

The reason for the Smart Modules are obvious: they gave bonus damage, since "burst" was considered a "special" damage.

However, in the latest updates, you no longer receive bonuses for ordinary burst damage.

So they had to go.


Improved Equipment for Expedition

I am now running an 8.6mm Steel Cat with a Compensator and a handgrip (leads to +25% burst accuracy), and a 5mm Jaguar with a Rapid Reloader and a Compensator (leads to fast SMG with some improved burst accuracy.)

This is working a bit better now.

Is this the optimal solution for light SMG / heavy SMG combinations?

Because the expedition critters are so armoured and high-HP, that sometimes I wish I was hitting them with more bullets per attack.

Would it be better to use muzzle brakes on the SMGs to get more rounds per burst, along with extended magazines?

This would lead to lower accuracy, but if the bullets miss, won't they just hit other enemies in concentrated formations?

The reason I ask all this is because I find myself facing larger concentrations of tougher enemies.

In classic Underrail, I mostly faced small groups (even during larger battles). I could wipe them out very quickly, with minimal expenditure of ammo. Ammo saving was significant, since there were so many small engagements.

But in these larger free-for-alls, I'm thinking it may be best to just unload mags on everything. I'm often a few bullets short of a kill after 2 8.6mm bursts on tough critters like crabs, so I'm thinking 2 larger bursts would take care of the enemies without requiring a wasteful third burst.

[My character is a classic SMG build, with Commando, Spec Ops, Suppression, etc...]


Smart Goggles


Also, obviously I am no longer using my Smart Goggles with 36% bonus damage to special attacks, since it is irrelevant to SMGs. Instead, I am using goggles that give 15% higher critical chance. Are there some other type of goggles I should be considering?

[TheAverageGortsby]

So, your heavy SMG is there mostly for Commando procs, so you'd probably want a 8.6 Steel Cat with muzzle brake and a forward grip, assuming you're usually seeing high hit chances.  You probably don't need to worry about AP cost since you probably only use it two or three times a fight when you get those Commando procs.

The light SMG should be for getting kills fairly quickly, so I'd think you'd want a 7.62 Jaguar or Impala (for the better crit chance - and if you walk around with either 16 or 18 Dex, the AP cost is the same) with rapid reloader and compensator (or I suppose extended magazine if you don't have a bullet strap belt, maybe), so you can easily enough dump three bursts a round to get those kills for the Commando proc.

5mm doesn't really have a lot to recommend it, by the time you make it out to Black Sea.  I'd switch the light SMG to 7.62, and maybe keep a muzzle braked 5mm in the backpack just in case you've got a bunch of shock rounds and intend to kill some robots without eating all your W2C.

[Ravager]

Yup. After doing some research on the forums, I came to the exact same conclusions.

I'm half-way there. I already crafted a heavy 8.6mm Steel Cat with a barrel compensator and a forward grip. It has +25% burst accuracy, and is basically a sniper SMG, or for using the bonus Commando procs.

I currently also have a new 5mm Jaguar with a rapid reloader and a compensator.

But the next 8.6mm Steel Cat and 5mm Jaguar will be exactly as you described. And I have a quality 140 Impala frame lying around, so I will make it rapid and with compensator. (I have a bullet strap belt.)