Scorcher vs Purifier

[Axis of Lint]

I am curious, given the amount of people saying they use the scorcher as their primary in the other thread, why people pick it over the purifier?

I used to like the scorcher, but as far as I'm aware the purifier does basically everything the scorcher does but better (other than less AoE on uncharged shots), so I'm curious why people pick it?

Genuinely serious, not trying to criticise people for their choices, you can use whatever you like.

[GustavoM]

Originally posted by Another Russian Bot:

why people pick it over the purifier?

tl;dr: No need to charge shots for aoe.

[Midas]

Originally posted by GustavoM:

Originally posted by Another Russian Bot:

why people pick it over the purifier?

tl;dr: No need to charge shots for aoe.

Also no need to move at a slow walking pace to get full damage.

[Razer]

Scorcher has a bit bigger aoe explosion on the shot than the purifier allowing you to kill the scout strider from the front for instance. It has 20 ammo vs 15 on purifier.

In terms of dps purifier would win out and it has more flexibility. But the scorcher is more consistent.

Scorcher damage: 100 energy and 100 explosion
Purifier damage: 100 energy and 75 explosion uncharged. 200 energy and 300 explosion on charge.

So purifier can do way more damage per shot. In terms of ammo efficiency purifier wins out big time, but in order to do so you have to charge and fire slowly.

Other things to consider: Scorcher rounds have higher velocity so hit your target faster. More noticible on distant targets. Purifier shots have more "travel time".

It's more about what weapon feels good to you and if you enjoy the handling and targetting. You can't simply look at damage numbers for a weapon.

I personally like using the purifier shots: charge followed by quick shots. Takes down targets very quickly and you don't have to charge every shot. If you charge every shot you will lose out on dps and will not kill certain targets quickly enough. Damage per shot isn't everything. Of course a horde of voteless will require just charge shots. They are slow and there's a lot of them. This is part of the flexibility that the purifier brings.

[Kimika's Magical Space Cow]

Originally posted by Razer:

Scorcher has a bit bigger aoe explosion on the shot than the purifier allowing you to kill the scout strider from the front for instance.

Other things to consider: Scorcher rounds have higher velocity so hit your target faster. More noticible on distant targets. Purifier shots have more "travel time".

These two statements are false according to this spreadsheet: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1xA_wuSuV6NORqUCt1aZ203raG4HuUJ85btqmn0ld56U/edit?pli=1&gid=567054402#gid=567054402 (although I'm fairly certain wiki.gg would collaborate my opinion as well)

The AoE size, as well as projectile velocity, are the same on both scorcher and uncharged purifier shots.

A crucial factor people haven't mentioned yet is that purifier has AP3 on its' direct hit and its' AoE hit, while scorcher only enjoys AP3 on AoE, making the former actually better at killing scout striders than the latter.

Overall? Yea, purifier is just an upgrade over scorcher. The only thing scorcher has going for it is the fact it's easier to use due to access to full auto, but that's pretty much it; uncharged purifier's sustained DPS (meaning aсcounted for reload speed and magazine capacity) is about 50% higher — on AV3 targets the disparity is going to be even bigger.

[Kimika's Magical Space Cow]

Originally posted by Razer:

Other things to consider: Scorcher rounds have higher velocity so hit your target faster. Purifier shots have more "travel time".

Oh! Correction needed on my part. I double checked my source, because, anecdotally, I also remember purifier being harder to land your shots with on ranged targers. And it turns out there is some truth to your statement:

While projectile velocity is the same, purifier's shots are more affected by gravity than scorcher shots. But, suprisingly yet again, it's not because purifier is uniquely vulnerable to the G-force (in fact it is as affected by gravity as ballistic ARs and marksman rifles) — it's because scorcher is uniquely resistant to it.

Meaning, despite its' relatively slow muzzle velocity, scorcher feels good to shoot due to the lack of care for gravity; while purifier feels worse to shoot with, as its' slow muzzle velocity is not compensated by gravity resistance.

[Sandyclawz]

Because Purifier requires STANDING & UNAWARE targets to be effective, Scorcher is more about IMMEDIACY and SPEED.

With Scorcher, you can just adapt yourself on the fly, no need to plan out ahead. In situations where speed is of the essence (and in most of the game, especially on the bug side, it IS)

Take 4 red strategems (ideally 500kg, railcannon strike, laser strike, precision strike) Scorcher, Redeemer, Impact Grenades and scout armor. Then RUN from one objective to the next, hitting ALL POI's inbetween.

[Khloros]

Different strokes for different folks
Personally i like the purifier because its basically the pre change scorcher but with an added charge mechanic.

[Razer]

Originally posted by Morgana's Angelic Bootlicker:

Originally posted by Razer:

Other things to consider: Scorcher rounds have higher velocity so hit your target faster. Purifier shots have more "travel time".

Oh! Correction needed on my part. I double checked my source, because, anecdotally, I also remember purifier being harder to land your shots with on ranged targers. And it turns out there is some truth to your statement:

While projectile velocity is the same, purifier's shots are more affected by gravity than scorcher shots. But, suprisingly yet again, it's not because purifier is uniquely vulnerable to the G-force (in fact it is as affected by gravity as ballistic ARs and marksman rifles) — it's because scorcher is uniquely resistant to it.

Meaning, despite its' relatively slow muzzle velocity, scorcher feels good to shoot due to the lack of care for gravity; while purifier feels worse to shoot with, as its' slow muzzle velocity is not compensated by gravity resistance.

According to this:
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-1_Scorcher
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-101_Purifier
Scorcher has 550 m/s velocity and Purifier has 350 m/s velocity. Not only is there more gravity pull for the Purifier it has slower projectiles.

I can't find much information about the inner and outer radius of the uncharged purifier shots. I don't remember if they killed a scout strider through the armor or not. Maybe I got it confused with another weapon.

[Kimika's Magical Space Cow]

Originally posted by Razer:

According to this:
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-1_Scorcher
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-101_Purifier
Scorcher has 550 m/s velocity and Purifier has 350 m/s velocity. Not only is there more gravity pull for the Purifier it has slower projectiles.

I can't find much information about the inner and outer radius of the uncharged purifier shots. I don't remember if they killed a scout strider through the armor or not. Maybe I got it confused with another weapon.

I'm pretty sure the 350 m/s value corresponds to only the charged shot, the uncharged one's velocity is specifically 550 m/s. This distinction is recognized by the spreasheet linked earlier and by the breakpoint calculator (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C_VjCcLMBnXgK2zcebh_NXVo-QRxRNjr4iVGsdjr5Tc/edit?gid=900266728#gid=900266728) done by a different person, although not unlikely with close collaboration with the author of the spreadsheet.

The radiuses between the two weapons are also the same according to the sheet and the calculator — you can view them in the "Weapon Stats" section of the sheet, while the projectile velocity and the gravity modifier can be viewed in the "Projectile Stats" section.

[Razer]

Originally posted by Morgana's Angelic Bootlicker:

Originally posted by Razer:

According to this:
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-1_Scorcher
https://helldivers.wiki.gg/wiki/PLAS-101_Purifier
Scorcher has 550 m/s velocity and Purifier has 350 m/s velocity. Not only is there more gravity pull for the Purifier it has slower projectiles.

I can't find much information about the inner and outer radius of the uncharged purifier shots. I don't remember if they killed a scout strider through the armor or not. Maybe I got it confused with another weapon.

I'm pretty sure the 350 m/s value corresponds to only the charged shot, the uncharged one's velocity is specifically 550 m/s. This distinction is recognized by the spreasheet linked earlier and by the breakpoint calculator (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1C_VjCcLMBnXgK2zcebh_NXVo-QRxRNjr4iVGsdjr5Tc/edit?gid=900266728#gid=900266728) done by a different person, although not unlikely with close collaboration with the author of the spreadsheet.

The radiuses between the two weapons are also the same according to the sheet and the calculator — you can view them in the "Weapon Stats" section of the sheet, while the projectile velocity and the gravity modifier can be viewed in the "Projectile Stats" section.

Yea that would make sense. The non charged shots are very quick.

[Razer]

Originally posted by Cid:

Originally posted by Razer:

Yea that would make sense. The non charged shots are very quick.

Oh yeah. It's insane how fast you can mag dump non charged semi auto shots from a Purifier. It's legitimately a question of how fast you can hammer the fire button.

I read some people switch fire to the scroll wheel so they can empty the mag in 1 second.