SMG's are boring when compared with other weapon categories in CS:GO.
Despite there being 6 of them altogether they all operate in a surprisingly similar way.
The benefits of using them are that they're cheap, generally have a fast fire-rate and,
with the exception of the P90, offer a double kill award of $600.
The downside is that they don't do much damage and are rather inaccurate.
The first-shot accuracy is actually rather similar between them.
I fired 50 shots from each, 1 second apart from a distance of 1024 units.
The accurate clump in the middle is from the M4A4, just to show you how they compare with
a full-blown rifle.
They all have different values which you can see below their names.
The smaller, the better.
In practice, it's only the MP7 which is noticeably better than the rest, but even then it won't
guarantee you a precise shot, even at just 1024 units.
In practice, this is roughly the distance from A site to short A.
But, as a wise man once said, if you're trying to snipe with an SMG then you're doing it
wrong.
These are close-quarters weapons, designed to mow down a number of unarmoured opponents
from up-close.
In the next part of this video I'll be looking at clip size, fire-rate, spray pattern and
inaccuracy since these are the four most important factors when you're trying to pump the enemies
full of lead.
Here you can see the magazine-sizes, along with the fire-rate and how long you can spray
for before you reach the end of your magazine.
Or clip.
Or whatever.
It's clear that the Bizon and P90 are the spammiest.
Even the relatively slow-firing UMP-45 fires as fast as proper rifles, such as the M4A4.
Let's test the recoil patterns.
Without inaccuracy, they look a bit like this.
Try to compensate for this pattern when you're playing.
With inaccuracy, it looks more like this.
There are no winners, but the best is the MP7 and the worst is the P90.
That being said, with any SMG you WILL miss people a lot even if you do fully compensate
for spray.
My best advice with SMGs is to get as close as possible and you'll level the playing field
against more heavily equipped opponents.
Unlike the rifles, SMGs are designed to be sprayed.
The first shot isn't that much more precise than the rest of them so if you're going to
shoot then you might as well shoot a lot since they all have the same sort of chance of hitting
their target.
Their recoil patterns may be complicated but learning them will make you into a lethal
bullet-spewing machine.
Inaccuracy whilst moving is a little more complicated.
Statistically, the MP7 becomes the hardest to control and the MP9 the easiest by quite
a large margin, to the point where jumping and spraying is a viable close-range tactic.
This relies on you memorising the spray pattern and fully compensating for it, which is difficult
with these weapons.
I fired 5 full magazines from each gun into a wall and will leave the results here for
you to make your own mind up about them.
The P90 and Bizon obviously fire a lot more shots than the others due to their larger
magazine capacity.
Bear in mind that in-game you won't get more than 3 magazines out of either of these weapons...
not that you'll need it.
From this comparison I'm just going to say that all of the SMGs display a large amount
of spread relative to the position of the crosshair and I'd advise you to practice on
deathmatch with your SMG of choice before trying it out in proper matches.
If you're running and gunning the number of bullets may be more important their the accuracy.
The Bizon and P90 balance large magazine size with an average moving accuracy.
The Mac-10, UMP 45 and MP7 seem much more accurate on ladders than other SMGs, should
you ever get caught in nuke's vents.
Now it's time to look at damage.
There are 3 factors to consider here: base damage, armour penetration and damage drop-off.
Base-damage, for most SMGs, is lower than proper rifles, though not by that much when
you consider the price difference.
The UMP-45, despite costing just $1,200, does 35 base damage which is higher than all rifles
but the AK47!
SMGs used to have lower armour penetration than rifles but a recent update has made them
almost identical to more expensive weapons in this regard.
I'll let this excel sheet explain the figures.
Drop-off is yet another reason why SMGs are useless at range.
Unlike rifles, which have a damage drop-off of around 3% for every 500 units travelled,
SMGs lose anywhere between 14 and 20%!
This quickly adds up as the distance increases.
So don't use these weapons as a sniper.
Even if you somehow hit, you'll do all of 10 damage.
You can see this from the excel sheet.
Now for the good news.
When running with these weapons you're fast.
The MP9, Mac-10 and Bizon let you run at 240 units a second, which is the same as pistols.
The P90 and UMP-45 are 230 and the MP7 is 220, which is the same as the slowest CT rifle
but still faster than the terrorist ones.
Here is how the reload times compare.
The MP9 is short, with the P90 and UMP45's taking the longest.
It's worth mentioning the MP9's equip bug, where it takes an extra 0.35 seconds after
the animation of equipping the weapon is over before you can fire it.
This may be fixed at some point.
Or not.
And finally, here are the distances at which the weapons can land one-hit kill headshots
on unarmoured enemies.
This will only be useful in early rounds but it certainly shows one of the key differences
between SMGs and rifles.
The UMP45 bridges the gap and is why I feel it does a good job as a cheap rifle substitute-
at close ranges it does even more damage than the FAMAS, but it quickly drops off with distance.
Only the AK-47 in this list can land one-hit headshots against armoured opponents.
So in conclusion, SMGs are a high-risk high-reward strategy.
They are generally used in anti-ecos but once the opponents have armour, their effectiveness
is reduced, though a recent patch has upped their damage against armour by 10%.
The P90 received a smaller boost but it already had a higher value than the others.
These changes could have a profound effect on the SMG's use in CS:GO.
The Mac-10 is a cheap way for terrorists to hop on the automatic bandwagon.
It's powerful up close but suffers from the general weaknesses that SMGs have.
The MP9 is the CT's Mac-10, with unmatched running and jumping accuracy and short reload
time.
Aside from these factors, the Mac-10 is the superior weapon in a number of ways.
Your play-style will determine which of these two SMGs you'll play best with.
The UMP-45 is closest to the rifles.
It only has a magazine of 25 rounds and a low fire-rate, but deals good damage and is
decent against armour.
Against unarmoured you can get an insta-headshot kill from a moderate range.
If your team buys but you're low on money, you can pick up a UMP-45 and armour for less
than the cost of a single FAMAS.
The MP7 is good.
It's like getting the best house on a bad street.
It mixes good damage and fire-rate with accuracy beyond any other SMG, but it still pales in
comparison to rifles and at $1,700 it's expensive.
The recent 10% increase against armour may make it more viable- I'd say to give it a
chance and to see how it performs.
Compared with say, a galil, it requires a different play-style and it may suit some
people better.
The Bizon is a spray-and-pray weapon.
You're guaranteed a stupid number of '81 damage in 7 shots' from it as it's the joint worst
SMG for use against armour.
That being said, you have 5 seconds to play with as you spam the enemies.
Manage to survive for that long and you'll almost guarantee yourself the crown of ASSIST
MASTER for the game.
The P90 is classed as an SMG but is closer to the rifles in terms of price and effectiveness.
Even if you have enough money for a proper rifle, you may still be better off with this
weapon and a couple of grenades depending on your situation.
It has a terrifying rate of fire and an armour PENETRATION value of 69% lolol, which is close
to that of the FAMAS.
When used by the right man in the right place it can make all the difference in the world.
It's the rusher's choice.
Thanks to Slothsquadron for the help in making this video as comprehensive as it is.
Not so much thanks to Valve for continually changing the stats and figures.
Use this video before it is rendered obsolete!