On the one hand, pierce is useless because wolvers/devilites auto-dodge.

on the other, oilers....

the needles are fast enough to snipe gremlins with. however, wolvers are still quite darn fast lol...

also remember that the cone gets larger with pepperbox side, while it gets thinner on needles side. decide on either concentrated fire or spread out damage.

I'm the other way around actually, I've got a fiery pepperbox and I'd wondered about using a needle shot branch autogun. I like my fiery pepperbox, it ensures I always do damage to enemies, few (if any) resist Normal damage. I'm used to the troika line swing delay, so using an autogun at such a close range is a minor issue for me. The inability to hit wolvers in tier 3 (or, reduced ability. I CAN hit them sometimes) is a minor one, and usually setting them on fire is more helpful than doing extra damage on a few shots that'll usually miss.

I upgraded to a Needle Shot, which was a mistake because I couldn't shoot Gun Puppies any more. That's the most important thing. I had to make a new gun and upgrade it to a Pepperbox, which I really like.

Yes, a charged fiery pepperbox will more often than not kill a gun puppy in one go. If it doesn't, if you unloaded into it from outside of its front arc, odds are you can just shoot one more volley before it can turn around and charge to shoot at you.

Here are screens of the Pepperbox and Needle Shot. I don't have anything higher to compare, but I don't think the ranges change.

http://i.imgur.com/5gjXL.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CjOVW.jpg

The spread of the Needle Shot is about half of the Pepperbox's. It's pretty fun to use, but it just doesn't kill anything I need it to kill.

stepong: I'm currently using pepperbox myself and the DPS is pretty neat.

I have a Pepperbox myself and I'm actually quite disappointed with it, so I was wondering... Since you say the DPS is "pretty neat", how do you use it? Because I've found the only way I can really hurt monsters with it is by using the charge attack from close range. That's kinda suicidal (it's hard to get away with, but awesome if you do). So I'm interested to know how you do it. (I'm even more interested if you'd back that DPS claim up with facts, but I won't hold my breath for that one.)

Personally I've switched to a gun that actually provides range and mobility (not the Needle though), since I can already set monsters on fire (more reliably) with the Fiery Atomizer and attack from close range with swords. When I use a gun it's because I want range, I'm trying to hit a monster that's too dangerous to get close to, or that's chasing me so fast that I'd prefer to keep some distance, or it's a healer between some other monsters and I'd really like to take that one out first. Hazel told me I'm using the Pepperbox wrong, but then gave me the example of kiting Lumbers... and I don't have trouble defeating Lumbers with my Vile Striker.

I'm not debating taste. If you simply like the Pepperbox, that's fine with me. Personally I think it's pretty cool this game has a machine gun type, the sound it makes it pretty nice. It's great when you can land most of your bullets and get away with it, but most of the time I've found the gun's drawbacks to weigh it down heavily. Probably the Pepperbox is just not the gun for me, but...

Pro tips on Pepperbox anyone? (And anyone got a video in which they kick ass with the Pepperbox with damage numbers turned on?)

It's true that the inability to move is a drawback of the Pepperbox. It takes a little getting used to. Generally when I left click to start shooting, I'm ready to at least flick on my shield as soon as I'm done to make shore nothing outside my range of fire is about to hit me, which is pretty common with lots of enemies around. I find that as long as I fire once, shield, and move, I don't get hit very often. Being aware of where enemies are before you open up is important- because you don't want to stop in a place where you're gonna get hit before you're done firing.

Oh, and maybe I'm wrong, but it seems like you can partially shield cancel reload animations and end them faster. Love to get a confirmation one way or the other on that.

Pepperbox has two modes-

Charge Attack: This is how you quick kill important targets like Menders and Gunpuppies. It's also how you kill elusive dodgers like Devilites and Wolvers one at a time. In T2, ~33 damage x 15 bullets + fire status (if they survive the bullets) is pretty lethal. The charge attack almost universally interrupts any attack being made, so generally pulling the target closer isn't foolhardy. After firing, shield cancel to end the reload a little faster,(if that works) and move! Oh, and try to only pull one enemy at a time this way. Too many and none of them will die immediately, since the damage will get spread around more.

Pepper Spray: When kiting lots of targets, especially after healers are down, you can rely less on charge attacking and more on the Fire aspect of the Fiery Pepperbox. At mid to long range, just aim at the center of a group and fire one burst. Shield if necessary, move, and repeat. The idea is to hit as many targets as possible each time you fire. This way the bullets won't be doing much in the way of damage, but by hitting multiple targets, you gain more chances to proc the fire status the Fiery Pepperbox is good for. It's just like kiting with any other gun, but you can potentially be doing more damage to more targets if you can really get the fires going. It's very satisfying to set hordes of bad guys on fire- and it's reliable enough I generally don't bother to carry Fire vials anymore. This tactic works best on Jellies (except Oilers, heh.) Zombies, and Constructs.

Party Advice:

- Just stand behind any Swordsmen with Knockback and Pepper Spray while they keep the enemies at bay. When not behind that ally, aim at where the enemies will be knocked back to, not where they won't be after he swings.
- When bombers have aggro, just Pepper Spray the mobs as they run by. Most won't even notice you lit them on fire. :p
- Alternatively, take aggro against ranged mobs like Gunpuppies and Retrodes, and turn their attention away from from the Swordsmen in your party. That way they can walk in quickly and smack them down.

Covering Fire- There's a lot of complaints about enemies auto-dodging gunfire, but it can also really be a tool to use. With the exception of teleporting Wolvers, dodging enemies aren't attacking enemies. When providing covering fire, the key isn't shooting to kill, it's to keep enemies out of the fight entirely, or to disrupt their attacks by forcing them to dodge away. Note that some Swordsmen will not want you crowd controlling in this way, because it can be disruptive to their attacks as well, but it's a useful skill to practice. In arenas, you can pin mobs in a corner, keeping them dodging while your allies focus on the other enemies. If you see an enemy about to attack an ally who is mid-attack on something else, shoot it, or pull it out of reach with your charge attack. If your allies catch you doing this, they may be more inclined to hit enemies targeting you while you're stuck firing at something else.

-If you're forcing Mecha Knights to stop and shield, you're giving an ally time to step in behind them and get a couple good hits in.
-Pin Wolvers and Gremlins into corners and keep them dodging. You're basically removing them from the fight, even if you're not really damaging them.
-For projectile throwing Devilites, if you shoot them the moment they pull out the item they intend to throw, they will lose it, preventing the attack. (This is much easier with a Silversix than a Pepperbox however.)

That's all I can think of for now.

You make a very valid point there dealing with the different creatures in game, in my opinion having the one that causes fire would be very effective. If i were put in a room full of oilers and other creatures, i would shoot the oilers first and try to get the others on fire from the oilers then proceed for some knockbacks with my melee weapon

It's true the party advice I listed above tends to be good for any gun. The two tactics I listed however, the Charge Attack, and Pepper Spray, are entirely for the Fiery Pepperbox only. The ability to deal high single target damage, or to wear down larger groups with the larger field of fire + Fire status, is something I believe no other gun can do. Also, because the gun deals Normal type damage, the only time it's less effective is on Fire Strata levels, because most things there cannot be set on Fire.

In terms of complementing my equipment, again the weapon does Normal type damage so it's a good cover all so you can take other more specialized weapons and not worry about not having the right thing. It's rather opposite to my Silversix, which has great precision and mobility, but unless you're fighting Undead or Fiends, does pitiful damage. The two together tend to make a strong combo, giving me great flexibility to take on a horde or to snipe healers. The only other piece of Equipment I've seen really compliment the Fiery Pepperbox is the poison bombs. Reduced defenses make inflicting Fire status a happy time indeed.