What really helps me "swap shot" (what I call it) is to remap your mouse wheel to weapon slot 1 & 2. It doesn't matter if you make wheel up 1 or whatever, but how I do it is I set mouse wheel up to weapon slot 1, then wheel down to weapon slot 2. I put the weapon that I want to shoot with double swap as slot 2 so I can simply flick my finger up then down to get that nice and easy movement to get muscle memory down.

The main reason to remap is because using "previous wep/next wep" has a slight delay so that switching back and forth will take longer. This also helps normal swap shots because it speeds up the switching animation so you have a bigger window to shield cancel.

If you're still having trouble, what I found was that when I first started double swap I would hold shield too long so that when I clicked shoot my shield would still be up. Just get used to the timing of when your shield goes up after shooting (it may vary for different guns) and try to shield for as little time as possible.

If you like the AP, then go for it. As long as you aren't maxing out damage (ex: Shadowsun set with an elite trueshot trinket) then by all means go with what you like the best. I'm more of an Alchemer fan because it potentially has the best DPS and it's a lot more interesting to use, especially when you start utilizing Swap Shot. Polaris isn't as terrible as most people will tell you, but in groups it's definitely a hassle when your teammates are trying to kill something that you may accidentally knock away, but the gun is a turret destroyer.
The biggest benefit of the AP is that you can stay generally safer than most guns, and you aren't annoying your team with large explosions and knockback. The reason I don't use it is because I use a lot of charge attacks and I just don't like spamming shots from far away mindlessly. That doesn't mean the AP is a bad gun though, it's great for what it does.

i heard, magma driver deals more dmg to non-fire enemies than nova driver. is this true?

well... i plan to get magma anyways so what is the better alternative ctr or asi? what´s the dps with max ctr/max asi?
what´s the most effective way to use alchemers in general except for using ricochets?

@Liquid-Ice
Shields are usually unrelated to gear unless it gives a buff, for example the swiftstrike gives a bonus to ASI, so putting it with full Nameless would have some bonuses wasted.
On the topic of your armor, I'd say get another shadowsun piece so you can get a full shadow set and VH damage bonus. I highly recommend getting loadouts for every type (shadow elemental pierce) so you can challenge any stratum to the best. It's gonna take a while, but you'll probably survive with the armor you have until then.

@Trapzter
I don't personally have a Magma, but I do have the other alchemers. The Nova does have good base damage, but there are many situations where the Storm can out DPS the Nova simply because of shock. I do have good knowledge about the Magma Driver to actually talk about it though, keep in mind I don't actually have one.
Here's what I know, the Magma does around 70 damage less than the Nova, the fire proc from the Magma does around 83+ damage (depth 25+) per 2 sec, for 8 seconds. Now you maybe saying "Wow, that's a direct upgrade from the Nova!" that's wrong, you see you will hit a monster more than twice (usually 2-4 times) in 2 seconds in a 1 on 1 battle not counting ricochets. This means every 2 seconds the Nova will do around 140 extra, in the time it takes for the 83 from the fire to take effect. This does not mean the Nova is a direct upgrade. If you are fighting 3 or more mobs and light all 3 on fire, you'll get that 83x3 vs the 140, so the larger the group the more damage you'll be outputting to everything rather than directly on one. Also keep in mind that it's just a chance to light on fire, but the chance is pretty high considering ricochets.
This is what I call "paper fighting", where it seems like one weapon is better on paper, but in actual use it's very different. I'm personally going to be using the Magma with the Nova/Storm to Swap Shot, so the bonus stacks on, but the idea is that they are relatively very similar in terms of damage to the point where it doesn't matter which one you choose. If you're considering doing FSC a lot then the obvious choice is either Nova or Storm, which is an entirely different debate. Just don't be a paper fighter.

ty for answering :)

i thought of magma as a fun weapon, not to use it for fsc
what´s the more effective way to play the magma? asi or ctr? what is more fun? seems to be asi when it comes to igniting enemies, true? :)

you can kill a gremlin healer or a jelly turret with a charged shot or a two-shot clip from an umbra driver.
the charged shot leaves your shield and your speed down and then has recoil, fully reversing your movement for a fraction of a second.
the two-shot clip leaves your shield and your speed down for much less time.
i get hit a lot more when using charged shots with ctr max than i do while spamming full clips with asi max.
in my experience, if you are able to use charged shots, the monsters aren't testing you and you could have killed them with any technique.
also, when kiting a herd of jellies, asi with two-shot clips kills them much faster.

@Delardino
I've answered your question earlier, just scroll up and you should see the post directed to you. Also just call me Harry.

@Trapzter
The charge attacks on weapons that can give status effects seem to have a higher chance than normally firing, I'm not sure if that's just because of ricochet or an actual mechanic but that's the way it feels to me, CTR would be the way to go if I had to choose. I can't really say what's more fun, charge attacks feel pretty good when you get the right pocket, but swap shot keeps me busy and not bored. It's all personal preference really.

@Raunwynn
Technically with the tests people have done, a perfect charge attack with max CTR will do much more damage than perfect shots with max ASI. It's not really that hard to avoid attacks whilst charging, and after shooting 2 shots your reloading is essentially the same as charging (movement speed slowed, no shield). Also what you said about "the monsters not testing you and you could have killed them with any technique" doesn't really make sense, if a monster is "not testing you" (not aggro'd to you is what I assume you mean) then you'd still want to do the most damaging method for killing anyway. Maybe you need to go back to RJP and try get those pocket charges down.

@Poopsie
I agree, but the way I play in a full party is usually to do 1-2 charges, then finish up with Swap Shot. A lot of times after you get some good charges with the ricochet and everything, they're just going to be a couple shots to kill them so if it only takes 1 more shot to kill something I wouldn't want to spend time charging up. And there is a brief moment of being immobile after a charge attack, so a mistimed charge can get you hit, SS is the safer method for cleanup duty.

The recoil is a non-issue imo, if you are kiting something it moves you in the appropriate direction, and if your moving forward theres a good chance whatever youre shooting at isnt chasing you.

I have another question though... Im a sworder (Elemental, Pierce and Shadow got) and looking for a backup gun would Valiance be the perfect gun for my situation?

For a regular lockdown, should i take a Dark thorn blade or a blaze brand?

@Haveagoodtimedead: Neither. Take a Voltech Alchemer, a Sentenza and a Valience.

Or, you can post in another thread for swordsmen advice. This thread is devoted to guns.

I know guns do less damage than swords
False

Thanks, that really helped me.

Also, two more questions:
1)Which should I buy, Catalyzer or Pulsar, and which branch should I take with each? I know the Polaris has a horrible reputation, but I've also heard that when used properly, one can get a lot of DPS with it.
2)Which gunslinger armor do you recommend? Would you suggest a mix?

Trapzter: "biohazard?
alchemers?
callahan?
polaris?
volcanic pepperbox?
valiance?"

But, if you're looking for what's most FUN, there's a certain beauty in loading an enemy with charges and blowing it up, which is what Biohazard does best. [Or Neutralizer I guess, though I've never used one] Personally, I'm a huge alchemer lover, since I love being able to off things with one charge. I like Callahan a lot too! It's fun for juggling Wolvers. Polaris, in my opinion, is only fun solo, since you don't run the risk of sending mobs flying into your party members. The knockback can be satisfying, I guess? I know a few gunners who swear that Volc Pepperbox is the most fun thing ever, but I can't say I'm in the same camp as them. Valiance looks like fun, though I've never had the opportunity to try it either.

So, out of all of those, I think Drivers are the most fun! I'm sure others will have different opinions, but that's mine.

Usually when I run fsc I have ni trouble defeating vana using my blitz needle with the help of a shiver. However there are occassions where my party has none and I'd like some tips for using it. Thanks

What are your thoughts on "side weapons" used alongside handguns, namely Sudaruska?

I'm a very practical thinker, so I don't limit myself for the sake of classifying myself as a "Pure Gunslinger." In FSC, I carry around a DA for the sake of close-range knockback. I dont use it often, but its useful for carving a way through some potentially painful momments.

shouldn't this be in the new recruits section?

Hi, I like swords and bombs. i got nice armor based around them but i wanted to try gunning, I have a clean Blitz, AP undead low, Pulsar ctr VH and the proto gun. I feel like getting the biohazard for the shadow damage to experiment with. which would you recomend, one with ASI or CTR?

I do know umbra driver would be better but I want to give biohazard a shot.

Biohazard benefits from CTR more than ASI. The normal shots are not that powerful. The real damage comes from the charge spam. The Catalyzer charge time is the best of the game btw, and with enough CTR, you can pull out charge shots at an incredibly fast rate.

this has been on my mind for a while. assuming one had two callahans, max asi or at least vh, would swap shoting with them be a good tactic? im no newbie to gunning, but no one in my guild could help me at the time and i remembered this thread, i have a blitz and a callahan and the blitz charge works reasonably well for feinds and wolvers but i feel using 2 out of my 4 slots on callahans might be worth it for the mobility

-nater

dont craft multiples, use the technique discussed in the two posts at the top of this page.

like this

Grimsmuth:
I am a gunner, and I would like to know if I should use Alchemers over the 5* Antiguas as my Elemental and Shadow weapons. Also, Blitz vs Callahan for general use.

The Alchemers work better vs crowds, Antiguas work better against single targets, so I hear. I'd personally choose Alchemers.

As much as I'd like to say otherwise, Blitz works better for general use, with its current power - at least if you're going for DPS. If you know where to expect enemies, a prepared Blitz charge can either heavily damage or kill enemies before they get a lock on you, and even then, if you're running away, a Blitz can create a temporary wall for your targets to run into. I'm saying this with devilites in mind. Callahan is possibly safer but currently meant for longer drawn out fights, since it has terrible DPS but can knock down/interrupt soft-bodied enemies.

-------------------
@Nater-Tater
I use Justifier Set (+ swiftstrike, hello Max ASI forever) and can double-swap-shoot pretty darn well and I will tell you it's not worth it- at least in comparison with Blitz Needle.

Each bullet of a Blitz's charge attack does almost as much damage as a Callahan bullet, so think about this- you can charge a blitz, moving for about 2-3 seconds, then unload say.. at least 11 (made up figure) Callahan bullets' worth of damage for about 2 seconds.

...or you can stand in one place for say 5-6 seconds with perfect swap shooting and max ASI spamming Callahan.

The magnus lines' safety is in the fact that you don't have to sit in place for 2 seconds, and swap shooting with the magnus line just counteracts that.

Well, like I said, Blitz has the advantage if you know where to expect enemies. If you don't eliminate or badly damage a portion of the enemies before they start attacking you, then kiting with Blitz is a bit of a losing battle, so then you'd be better off using callahan or a status driver.

There is one thing I forgot to mention though - if you're using Callahan on the non-resistant piercing enemies (devilites/wolvers/gremlins) and can swap-shoot (not even at post-max speed - just enough to keep you from reloading awkwardly), you can knock-down/juggle them to death. It takes longer than Blitz of course, but it can keep them from moving around so much. When I play C42, I bring my Iron Slug and sometimes use it to juggle the rocket-launching gremlins.