Boltshark X-80

[Vaati]

What special ammo do you guys run on it, i feel like pheromones and chemical isn't all that much but the taser rounds dont sound all that.

[Torres, The Devourer]

Phero is so simple to use and is very effective. I love it. I like using 111X1 bodkin points alongside my 32112 gas rerouting GK2 with phero grenades and it works wonders!

[MrPurple33]

All 3 Special Bolts are Good- All 5 When you Factor in The Fire and Ice OCs

-1- I dislike anything Pheromone- You wait around for the Bugs to Kill each other, then finish off the rest- Better and faster to just kill everything right away- That being said, the Pheromone Bolts are by far the Most Effective Form of Pheromones in the Game- I did sit around and was amused making Glyphids and even Mactera fight each other, but Ultimately, not my style of play

-2- It seems DRG WANTS You to go Electric/Tazer Bolts- it has 3 or 4 different bonus syncs for Electric Damaging- including Magnetic Shafts- I get it, and even tried the Electric Arc tricks with 2, 3, and 4 Electric Bolts- It was always a distraction, and nowhere near as effective as the Electric Death you get from Naturally Occurring Electric Crystals on Crystal Caverns- Decent, but overall a waste of time for Me

-3- also dislike anything Ice-Based, but Damn, the Ice Bolts almost had Me- Did a Trial with them, and found the Ice Bolts to be more satisfying than Driller's Cryo Cannon, Scout's Ice Grenades, and the Ice Minelets on Scout's Nuks- It was still an Ice/Freezing/Then Kill Action though- It Works, but is still too slow for Me- I'd rather just straight up Kill Enemies Directly

-4- The Fire Bolts I almost went with- Quite Effective and On Par and slightly better than the Ice Bolts- Stacked Fire Damage faster than Stacked Ice Freezing on Praes and Large Enemies, But I found myself hesitating and using Fire Bolts on the Ground for the Flame Effect rather than direct damage- Great against Swarmers and Decent against Grunt Packs- but wasteful ammo usage overall, and I was Lured into a Psuedo-Driller Sticky Flame Effect but nowhere near as good

-5- The Chemical/Gradual Damage/Exploding Bolts- THIS is what Hooked Me on the Crossbow- With just the "Regular" Bolts the Crossbow Functions Like a Mid to Long Range Version of the Boomstick, but with some Aiming Range Skill- I Tried these First, then Experimented with all the Rest, Yet always came back to these- Easy Choice between "Regular" Bolts, or Special Timed Damage Chem Bolts that have the possibility of Exploding an Enemy afterwards- The Explosion taking Too Long? Pop some AR Rounds into the Target and MAKE the Enemy Explode- Great vs Packs of Grunts- Gradual Damage vs Praes and Large Enemies and THEN you do the Finishing Shots with the AR and make them Explode-
SO GOOD vs Oppressors- One of the Few Options where you shoot 1-3 Bolts DIRECTLY INTO THE FRONT of an Oppressor and yes, the Bolts do No Damage, but ALL THE CHEMICALS DO Stick In and start Damaging the Oppressor- Circle Behind after a few Seconds and Finish it Off with a BIG Explosion

-I was Sold on the Chemical Bolts Right Away, and after Trying Out all the Other Options Kept going back to them- and then I got the Green OC, "The Specialist" which extends the Special Bolt/Chemical/Explosion Duration- Even better against Praes, Large Enemies and Oppressors, and often Grunts Explode without having to put 1-2 AR Rounds into them to guarantee an Explosion- I was Heavily Sold on the Chemical Bolts anyway, But "The Specialist" Locked Me Up into them- The Boomstick with Jumbo Shells is still better, but for a Change of Pace, the Chemical Bolts give You Nice Effects

[Plumber]

cryo+taser. Tremendous utility from taking both and cryo bolts are one of the easiest ways to coordinate big bursts of damage since your teammates can see the freeze clocking up

[Angarvin]

Publicado originalmente por Zargothrax:

Cryo bolts will only freeze the bugs walking over them and affect nothing else, not to mention frozen bugs will be quickly overtaken by the ones behind them and thus making them tougher to hit.

cryo bolt actually have the same aoe that pyro bolts have. true, fire doesn't jump from target to target, but 2 cryo bolts also will net you 10-15 frozen targets.

Publicado originalmente por Zargothrax:

Maybe it's just me, but if you're trying to ignite rival bots using incendiary bolts then you may need to reevaluate your priorities.

never tried. just assumed that it might work. sad to hear it doesn't.

anyhow i don't have a bridge to sell. if you're happy with pyro - good for you. i just felt like you slighted the effectiveness of cryo when it came to swarms. didn't mean to sound defensive if i did.

[Zargothrax]

Publicado originalmente por Angarvin:

never tried. just assumed that it might work. sad to hear it doesn't.

anyhow i don't have a bridge to sell. if you're happy with pyro - good for you. i just felt like you slighted the effectiveness of cryo when it came to swarms. didn't mean to sound defensive if i did.

You're fine, my comment on igniting bots wasn't aimed at anyone in particular. I just like to praise some of the less popular options when I can, I figure cryo bolts are a decently popular pick over incendiary.

[Xirce]

What I usually run is an AISE Deepcore primary, and for the boltshark, I use taserbolts for single target (2 bolts on a big enemy like a praetorian or oppressor), while running the Bodkin Points overclock. I think for tier 5 I use the one that makes the duration of your special bolts last longer. This is my generalist build so to speak.

[Sokaku]

Taser /w Specialist or Phero /w Specialist.

Taser gives you enough bolts and duration to lock down a target for over 2 minutes. Useful on elimination and haunted cave. I'll use arcs for swarmers or to seal off tunnels behind the group.

Phero is basically Lure ++. It's not just about letting bugs kill themselves, but more the extended distraction where teams can mop up enemies while you keep threats occupied and wearing themselves down.

[Aimee]

Publicado originalmente por Angarvin:

Publicado originalmente por Zargothrax:

Cryo bolts will only freeze the bugs walking over them and affect nothing else, not to mention frozen bugs will be quickly overtaken by the ones behind them and thus making them tougher to hit.

cryo bolt actually have the same aoe that pyro bolts have. true, fire doesn't jump from target to target, but 2 cryo bolts also will net you 10-15 frozen targets.

They are not quite the same, even if you only look at the debuff trigger.
Frozen is an effect that is more resisted than fire. Meaning you can more easly and for longer durations put targets on fire, in comparison to the frozen effect.

[Hand's Hermit Permit]

Pheremones are OP. That said, I don't use them because they're OP.

I use explosive bolts because it's just more bolts I can fire off to kill enemies and it has the bonus of being a damage-over-time that may also kill other enemies too.

[Cor.]

Someone actually uses that thing?

Tried it a couple of times, never going back to it. As far as I'm concerned its a wasted weapon slot.

[NeloDante]

Pheromones + Cryo. Best CC weapon that the Scout has to offer hands down, but not easy to use by any means and not intuitive at all. It's the strongest support weapon for the entire team (including yourself).

Publicado originalmente por Cor.:

Someone actually uses that thing?

Tried it a couple of times, never going back to it. As far as I'm concerned its a wasted weapon slot.

Someone actually is not using this thing?

Tried it a couple of times, never going back to the other two. As far as I'm concerned they're a wasted of a weapon slot.

[Marmarmar34]

Looks like it involves using more brainpower than I'm willing to use, so I'll stick with my dualies.

[Rob DiGiorno]

i thought the coilgun was the worst weapon in the game, but no, it's this thing 100%

[Torres, The Devourer]

Publicado originalmente por Rob DiGiorno:

i thought the coilgun was the worst weapon in the game, but no, it's this thing 100%

boltshark is good. much better than the coil gun

[Vaati]

Publicado originalmente por Mark, The Devourer:

Publicado originalmente por Rob DiGiorno:

i thought the coilgun was the worst weapon in the game, but no, it's this thing 100%

boltshark is good. much better than the coil gun

Gave the shark another shake using pheromones and now understanding how it works (Fire at the thing you want to be mobbed) its so much more satisfying. Theres something incredibly satisfying and exciting about watching a warden getting torn to shreds by it's own kind, or a praetor being bogged down by a swarm.