What good are smart weapons?

[beluga25]

This isn't a criticism, it's a question.

I'm not too far into Act 2 but got a drop of a T4 smart rifle.
Have been getting along fine with ordinary weapons, but getting this one has made me think about whether I should pursue this tree. I got the necessary hand mod and put a couple of points into the right side of the intelligence tree just to see what would happen.

But are the smart weapons actually necessary to proceed against harder mobs/bosses later in the game or are they just for people who like that aesthetic/playstyle?

At this point I'm thinking I don't want weapons that take time to lock on (except maybe for crowd control but I have explosive arm and sonic perk for that) and aren't necessarilly accurate when they do. I think I'd rather put points into RAM/hacking.

So must I develop smart weapons further or are they just for people who like that approach?

Playing on normal if that matters.

[Crimsomrider]

Pure playstyle.

All builds are viable for the game so smart weapons are simply another type of playstyle for those who may wish to play with them.

[beluga25]

Thank you!

[5ean5ean]

I tried to make the best smart weapon build last night with Arshura and Nerves of Tungsten Steel and Ive come to the conclusion that not only are smart weapon garbage in 2.0 but they are actually bugged.

The lock on time is actually DOUBLE what is stated. If a smart gun has 1.25 sec lock on... you have to wait 1.25 seconds for the reticle to lock, and then you have to wait another 1.25 for the bullet to actually hit the target. If you shoot before then the bullet completely misses.

I would avoid smart weapons until CDPR patches this becuase this is not intended.

[Bogmore]

Smart weapons are ok, the smart sniper rifle however is not. It misses far more than it hits.

[Pain Weasel]

Originally posted by 5ean5ean:

I tried to make the best smart weapon build last night with Arshura and Nerves of Tungsten Steel and Ive come to the conclusion that not only are smart weapon garbage in 2.0 but they are actually bugged.

The lock on time is actually DOUBLE what is stated. If a smart gun has 1.25 sec lock on... you have to wait 1.25 seconds for the reticle to lock, and then you have to wait another 1.25 for the bullet to actually hit the target. If you shoot before then the bullet completely misses.

I would avoid smart weapons until CDPR patches this becuase this is not intended.

Alternately use Overclock with the Smart Synergy skill for instantly lock on (plus an extra 25% damage) thus negating the problem completely. Use your chrome wisely choom.

[Sentient_Toaster]

They're mostly synergistic with netrunning builds due to perks like that, and the perk which boosts smartgun accuracy based on max RAM, and the perk which lets you get some RAM back when using a smartgun to finish off an enemy, etc. If you're going mostly netrunner you can toss in smartgun perks and they'll work reasonably together.

If you have the expansion, there's one item you can get early on which can be used for one of a few possible weapon mods, and the choice for smartguns gives a 5% chance to apply a quickhack when you hit somebody.

One downside of smartguns worth noting is that certain enemies (Tyger Claws in particular) have some ECM cyberware that reduces accuracy of smartguns against them.

[5ean5ean]

At the end of the day what I see when i look at the smart weapon tree.

"We nerfed everything about smart weapons in 2.0 and you have to waste 15 points to make them even remotely usable."

They literally have a "perk" that give you accuracy when before 2.0 they had perfect accuracy.

[DocBravo]

Smart.
Skippy is no longer the best Smart Pistol and DMG output isn't the definer.
IDK if you've noticed but the enemy A.I. is a lot better than it used to be. I had a lock on with a one-shot Smart Rifle and I'd either miss or they'd dash at the last moment.
Once tagged and with the right distance range bullets should fly around any obstacle and hit the enemy.

[beluga25]

Thanks for all the info, everyone! I think I have my answer, lol.

[Droolguy]

Originally posted by Crimsomrider:

Pure playstyle.

All builds are viable for the game so smart weapons are simply another type of playstyle for those who may wish to play with them.

Especially on normal mode, TBH. I could make a sex toy only build and be successful.

Builds really only become a thing in Hard for some people and Very Hard for others.

[Mad Max]

Smart Weapons to me are mostly there for RAM Regen for the 'Gun Wizard' build.