are assault rifles even worth using?

[trippi troppi]

im only level 18 and so far assault rifles are quite poop ._.

[CoolingGibbon]

Assault rifles take a bit of specialization to find use for. For example, Axton and Krieg get buffs from explosive damage, so for them assault rifles are a good choice for certain situations as opposed to SMGs.

I don't know to what levels Zer0 and Maya can make effective use of them, but Sal and Gaige seem to do fine with them from what I've seen.

[Der Hexer]

i'm using (situational) a Hail[borderlands.wikia.com] or a Veruc[borderlands.wikia.com] with Gaige on UVHM and they're quite okay.

[Crixus]

I haven't found a good one yet. I have played all the characters to 72 and not once was an assault rifle better than the other choices. There is probably a decent one that goes with a certain build but I have not seen it.

And since you are only level 18 I would say definetely not. Level using better weapons. Assault rifles suck early game and still suck late game most of the time.

Snipers really shine at early game, find a strong one. They do get much worse in uvhm though, but at your stage should 1 shot most enemies if you get a crit.

[Starbug]

By the time you get to UVHM, AR's aren't very strong. The Ogre is supposed to be good through to OP levels, but I've not been good enough at the game to get one.

As a user above says, Axton can benefit from late game explosive buffs on Torgue weapons.

BL1 AR's were a lot better imo

[HiTmAn]

rabid kittens are good fire rate prefix...

[Mihryazd]

Only ARs I really use are the Hail and the Bekah. Overall, ARs are not that good.

[Mister Torgue Flexington]

the only assault rifles I use is the Shredifier and the Ogre

[My Name is Mud]

Hellborn Krieg, or certain Axton setups, with the Ogre are great. The Kitten is definitely good in the right setup.

I hear the Beckah is great but anyone that advises building around a Pearlescent is obviously a Gibbed user. Hellborn Krieg can also get a ton out of the Sawbar, but again, that's a Pearlescent (and it's probably not as good as the Ogre anyway).

For the most part they are bad. In general assault rifles have broken (in a bad way) crit damage that devalues them heavily. Coupled with the fact their ammo cap is really a lot lower than it should be (especially compared to pistols), and general inability to match SMG fire rate, and there's just not a ton there. Honestly the best assault rifles might be Jakobs, which often have impressive card stats. But I've never been particularly good with the manual firing thing while I am trying to aim, and the non-elemental thing cuts off which bonuses you can get.

Most of my favourite assault rifles through actual leveling up have been outright random etech guns, but I mostly only use even those at low levels when Anything Will Do.

They do need to be re-evaluated for Borderlands 3.

[SunDrippedDevil]

Apart from a handful of unique assault rifles, nope. They're mostly garbage. An equivalent level SMG or a Sniper Rifle will almost always serve you better.

[PlaHa]

in Normal Mode i kinda use everything, because the challenge is almost none but, in TVHM and UVHM( in progress) i basically just use the Veruc and Hammer Buster and high grade non-granadier Torgue in some enemies

[DaBum]

Give the Scorpio a try. Unique rifle you get after Roland dies, has a higher burst count than other dahl rifles. Also on a side note, i have found that on single player, assault rifles can be quite useful, but in multi the damage doesnt scale with the enemies, thus why they are seen as useless, while other weapons seem to scale better. In multi, the kerblaster and ogre with an explosives Axton build is a good way to go.

[Hamster?????]

Originally posted by DaBum:

Give the Scorpio a try. Unique rifle you get after Roland dies, has a higher burst count than other dahl rifles. Also on a side note, i have found that on single player, assault rifles can be quite useful, but in multi the damage doesnt scale with the enemies, thus why they are seen as useless, while other weapons seem to scale better. In multi, the kerblaster and ogre with an explosives Axton build is a good way to go.

This ^

I'm not sure if it's the same AR but after Roland's death I got a Dahl AR with fire element. The accuracy and recoil reduction + fire damage was pretty decent, I use it to conserve ammo for Moxxie's Good Touch.

[WickedRequiem]

I could be wrong, but aren't the bullets from AR generally faster than bullets from other weapons (besides the sniper rifle)? When going through the Tiny Tina dlc, I had a heck of a time trying to shoot down flying dragons with a smg (using Maya). Switched over to an ar, and I was hitting the dragon pretty consistently.

[Feral_Lily]

I play Krieg and I usually keep one with me, unless its explosive (I actually dont like the explosive weapons other than rocket launchers and grenades) i dont get any bonus's to it either. it REALLY depends on how you like to play and what assault rifles you have vs what smgs you have. if i get an smg and an assault rifle both of which are good i use both, it essentially is like having a good one of either with double the max ammo capacity

[Relic62]

The Kitten from Torque DLC, added bonus is that it heals while wielding it, comes in all flavors and is a mission reward item.