What’s up guys, Rogue-9 here!
With the test server being released in full now, I have gone straight to work testing
Nomad’s new guns to get a full understanding of how they compare to one another, plus I
have dived into the hidden stats behind the already infamous .44 Mag sniper pistol.
What is the better choice for Nomad: the AK-74M or the ARX200?
And is the pistol really as OP as everyone seems to think right now?
Let’s go and find out! (and spoiler alert… this pistol is insane)
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And now, let’s explore some gun stats.
Keep in mind that all of the info was taken from the current test server build and could change in future.
If it does, I will be sure to update my online stat sheet (link in the description as always).
When comparing the stats for Nomad’s AK-74M and ARX200, the lopsided nature of the balancing
of these two guns becomes immediately obvious.
The ARX wins out over the AK-74 in every stat with the exception of the magazine capacity.
The average single shot damage of the assault rifles in Rainbow Six is 43.5 at ranges up
to 25m and 25.4 beyond 35m, so the AK’s 44 to 26 damage is actually just above average
and so pretty decent.
The biggest let down for the AK is its slow rate of fire of only 650 RPM, which results
in the lowest close range damage output out of all of the assault rifles: 477 DPS.
The close range time to down / kill of 185ms is better than the 205ms taken by Blackbeard’s
Mk17 but still below average against level 1 and 2 armour operators and only just average against level 3s.
Long story short, despite the good single shot damage at all ranges, the AK-74M is just
a little sub-par when it comes to killing power compared to most representatives of its class.
The ARX200 on the other hand has significantly higher single shot damage than most other
rifles and its listed 750 RPM fire rate is only just below the 753 class average.
But, there is an issue!
As always, I measured the in-game fire rate to be sure that the listed stats are accurate
and while the AK came in with a measured fire rate of 647 (close enough for me) the ARX
takes 1.716s to empty, resulting in a measured fire rate of 699.3 RPM.
That’s 50 bullets per minute short!
We have been scammed once again!
Either the in-game stat is wrong or the gun is firing too slow…
I can’t say which case is correct but for the time being, I am going to go with the
measured fire rate rather than the listed one.
If this ends up being adjusted before launch, I will make sure to update my spreadsheet.
Now 750 RPM would have given the gun an excellent looking damage output of 588 DPS up close
but using 700, we come in at a pretty mediocre 548, falling to 327 DPS at longer ranges.
This is an important stat when comparing different weapons but we also have to take into account
the time to down / kill against full health opponents.
Here, what counts is the number of shots required to reach 100+ hit points and how quickly these
shots can be delivered.
And because most rifles require 3 shots against all three armour types at regular Rainbow
Six combat ranges, fire rate becomes a very important factor in determining how quickly
you can deal with your opponents.
The mediocre fire rate of the ARX results in a close range kill time of 171ms against
all three armour types, which is below average against level 1 and 2 armour but slightly
above average for level 3.
So the summary for the ARX is that its damage is great and the DPS is just above average
but the mediocre fire rate results in a TTK that is better than that of the AK but still
nothing to write home about.
If the actual fire rate is adjusted upwards to 750, then this will improve the DPS to
well above average and the TTK against full health opponents will go to just above average
for all armour types.
The gun would be good but not really great.
Whatever the case, in terms of killing power, the ARX is the definite winner over the AK
but this comes at a price of only half themagazine size.
The 40+1 bullet capacity of the AK almost takes it into LMG territory while the measly
20+1 of the ARX can leave you with an empty gun after only a kill or two which can make
any clutch situation against more than two opponents far more exciting than it really needs to be.
This alone could make the AK the better pick for some players but before we can draw a
final conclusion here, I am afraid that there is more bad news for all of you AK lovers out there.
The reload times and ADS times for both guns are pretty standard and both exactly the same
but when we compare the hip-fire spread for both guns, the AK is significantly worse than
the ARX irrespective of your stance or movement.
Standing, kneeling, prone, jogging, you name it: the ARX is between 30 to 35% better than
the AK (or the AK is between 41 to 53% worse than the ARX; whichever way you want to look at it).
“But hip-firing isn’t something that any sane person would use in Rainbow Six anyway” I hear you cry.
And yes, while it is true that hip-firing is never a great option in Siege, the spread
is still worth taking into account because as you ADS, your random bullet spread shrinks
and when you start out from a tighter spread cone, you will reach a reasonable level of
accuracy slightly sooner as long as the ADS time is the same.
Here, let me show you some frame by frame footage of aiming down sights in reverse to show what I mean.
You can see that because of the smaller starting cone of the ARX, it reaches a reasonable level
of accuracy a few frames earlier than the AK, even though the ADS time for both is exactly the same.
And keep in mind that the real ADS time for both guns is the standard 450ms while the
reverse time is only 320ms, so when aiming down sights, we should expect the advantage
of the ARX to grow by another frame or two.
This may still not make hip-fire spread the most significant stat in the world but it’s
still a small advantage for the ARX.
And last but not least, we analyse the recoil as shown by the in-game patterns as well as
a comparative test I conducted.
At the bottom of the screen you can see the recoil for each gun with the base line recoil
on the left and the recoil with the muzzle brake attached on the right.
As you can see from those charts and the test footage on screen, the AK loses out once again.
I find this particularly strange, since in real life the AK74s 5.45x39mm ammo has much
less recoil than the ARX’s 7.62x51mm bullets, plus the ARX has a higher fire rate.
But nope, this round goes to the ARX again.
In conclusion: The ARX200 is better than the AK-74M in every measure except for capacity,
so unless 20+1 bullets is an absolute deal breaker for you, you will be better off with
the ARX (especially if the actual fire rate is increased from 700 to 750 RPM).
And now even though there is only one choice of sidearm, let me demonstrate to you how
crazy the .44 Mag Semi-Auto really is.
Back when the Italian Keratos .357 came out, I jokingly referred to it as a DMR because
of its ridiculous power at close, as well as long range.
Well step aside GIS because the GIGR is now the new sheriff in town.
The new .44 pistol is arguably the best semi-auto gun in the game.
Yes, the baseline damage of 74 points is 4 points lower than the Keratos but that is
still a whole 10 points above the average close range DMR damage.
As with all pistols, damage drop-off starts at 12m and bottoms out at 22m and here the
.44 mag does “only” 62 points of damage.
For comparison: the minimum DMR damage is 43.8 (ALMOST 20 POINTS LESS!!!).
But in all fairness, the damage drop-off for DMRs doesn’t start until 25m so yes, the
most powerful rifles in the game will actually do on average more damage than this PISTOL
at distances between 20 and 25m… after that the .44 wins out once again.
So for the most part, the .44 is more powerful than the DMRs but we’ve seen that from the
Keratos before so I guess it shouldn’t really surprise us anymore?
74 -62 points of damage per shot means that you can 2 shot any opponent to the chest except
for level 3 armour at 22m or more.
It’s just at the very bottom of the damage drop-off curve against the heaviest type of
armour that you will fall into that three shot category because you will be doing 49
damage with each shot.
The good news though is that even against an opponent with with Rook plates, you will
never need more than 3 shots as long as you hit the upper body.
And yes, I guess a capacity of 7+1 is also lower than the DMRs which mostly offer 20+1
or occasionally 10+1.
But that is almost the last advantage the rifles get over this beast of a pistol.
Reload time of the .44 is 2.1s from empty and 1.8s tactical which is fast even when
compared to the other semi-auto pistols and definitely faster than any other gun that
can dish out this kind of damage.
ADS time is the standard 200ms; again the fastest you can get out of any weapon and
much faster than rifles or even SMGs.
And if we compare the sight picture of the pistol scope to the standard ACOG, we can
see that the zoom factor is 100% identical but the pistol scope comes with a much smaller
housing, offering the shooter unprecedented peripheral vision.
The recoil looks quite horrible on the in-game chart but in practice, it’s actually not that bad.
Once you get the hang of compensating while shooting in semi-auto, you can keep this gun
pretty steady (at least on PC).
Sure, DMRs are capable of attaching the muzzle brake which basically turns them into lasers
but I don’t think this minor inconvenience will really slow down a skilled player too much.
And last but not least, the .44 mag is still a pistol which means that when you get this
monster of a gun out, your character will receive the 5% movement speed boost, compared
to running with any other weapon.
The .44 Mag Semi-Auto basically marries the best of two worlds.
It has the takedown power of a DMR but the reload time, ADS time and speed boost advantage of the pistols.
Plus!
It comes with a pre-installed sight that is better than the ACOG.
This ridiculous pistol is quite simply the best semi-auto weapon in the game right now.
If you have the skill to do well with semi-autos, this gun will be your new best friend…
Unless of course it ends up being nerfed before the official launch of Wind Bastion.
And there you have it; some “interesting” balancing choices of Nomad’s weapon loadout.
The ARX200 is superior to the AK-74M in every way except ammo capacity and the sidearm is
so hilariously powerful that it makes the old SMG-11 with good recoil and ACOG look
like a bit of a joke.
Which of the primaries do you think you will end up using, based on this info and what
are your thoughts on the .44 Mag?
How long before we get a nerf?
Leave your comments in the comments section below!
And with that: thank you so much for watching, I hope you enjoyed the video and I will see
you in the next episode!