Using the Soda Popper Effectively

The Soda Popper is one of the most diverse scatterguns from stock. In this guide, we'll be talking about how to use it effectively.

Intro

The Soda Popper is one of the most diverse scatterguns from stock. Although it appears similar to the Force-A-Nature, the Soda Popper is a unique weapon.

Stats

To understand how to best utilize the Soda Popper (SP), we will be looking at the stats.

To start, the SP has a +50% faster firing speed. Although it appears to be an upside, faster firing speed means less time to track enemies with your second shot. This stat is used best against unsuspecting enemies after a successful flank.

The next stat on the SP is +25% faster reload time. Since the SP reloads it's entire clip at once, this, in combination with the previous stat, allows for some incredible burst damage.

The stat that stands out the most in the SP is HYPE. According to the official WIKI, Hype take 350 damage to charge up. That's roughly 4 point-blank SP shots. When Hype is full, pressing Alt-Fire will activate HYPE for 10 seconds. Hype allows Scout to jump 6 times.

The one, and only, negative stat on the SP is -66% clip size. This means the SP has a maximum of 2 shells in the chamber. This might seem like a major downside compared to stock, so lets compare the reload times.

The stock scattergun takes approximately 3.56 seconds to reload 6 shots while the SP takes aprox. 1.1333 to reload 2. This means that you can recover from a fight faster with the SP, but can sustain more damage with stock. Remember, the SP isn't the only weapon you'll can use. Scout has a wide variety of secondaries and melee weapons to use.

Combo Weapons

Like I said before, Scout's other weapons are important to using the SP effectively.

In my opinion, the best secondary weapons for the SP are the Winger, the Flying Guillotine, and the Crit-a-Cola

The Winger provides extra jump height, which can be used in combination with the SP's Hype to provide extra mobility. Not only that, but you can deal more damage to retreating players from medium to long range.

The Flying Guillotine is good if you can hit enemies with it. The bleed effect provides extra damage to fill the hype meter even after you can't see the enemies. The Guillotine's initial hit in combination with the bleed can add up to 90 damage.

In my opinion, the best secondary to use with the SP is the Crit-a-cola. The Crit-a-Cola can help the SP deal more damage, building hype faster. With the Crit-a-cola, the damage required to charge hype is now aprox. 228. In addition mini-crits have NO damage falloff, meaning if you can finish off distant enemies without a high damage drawback.

You won't be using scout's melee's much, but we should cover a few thing. Contrary to popular belief, the Atomizer doesn't provide an extra jump with the SP's Hype. The Boston Basher and Wrap Assassin can both provide extra bleed damage to fill the Hype meter. In my opinion, the Wrap Assassin works the best with the SP because of its longer range and bleed damage.

Final Thoughts

In short, the SP is good for an up-close-and-personal playstyle, providing constant burst damage towards enemies. The Crit-A-Cola can provide the SP more damage to charge the Hype meter, while the Wrap Assassin can finish off retreating enemies or provide extra bleed damage. If I got anything wrong feel free to comment down below!


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