I got told that the plague needle is not worth getting, against a blitz needle.
The BN got one more bar of damage, but doesn't the poison effect multiply your (and your party) damage?
I'm currently running with:
Nameless Hat
Divine Mantle
CTR high) Hail Driver
CTR med) Biohazard
Fiend med) Callahan
Elite Trueshot module X2
So every gun got med-ultra CTR, VH DMG, med ASI.
The BN/PN will replace the callahan. Which one is better, between the two?
Just edited the wiki to put in the stratum 6 damage for both guns on Undead which are neutral to pierce (slag walkers for Vanaduke levels 23 and 28). Blitz Needle does more damage. I did not include the poisoned numbers in the wiki, but after poisoning the Plague needle does not reach the unpoisoned numbers of Blitz. Fully heated, no UVs for both.
Plague Needle @d23 vs undead (per shot):
uncharged: 41 before poisoning, 44 after
charged: 72 before poisoning, 81 after
Blitz Needle @23 vs undead (per shot):
uncharged: 57 per shot
charged: 115
Blitz Needle @23 vs undead AFTER poisoning zombie by Plague Needle (per shot):
uncharged: 62 per shot
charged: 137
So if you have a group of with one of each gun AND the mob is poisoned AND if both users fire simultaneously:
44 + 62 = 106 uncharged
81 + 137 = 218 charged
Two Blitz no poison:
57 * 2 = 114 uncharged
115 * 2 = 230 charged
With 3 users the uncharged the 1 Plague + 2 Blitz + Poisoned targets comes in 3 points less than 3 Blitz users (168 vs 171).
HOWEVER: Charged 1 Plague + 2 Blitz + Poisoned Target = 355; charged 3 * Blitz = 345. Poisoned Target wins by 10 charged per shot (@depth 23). Only if you keep the poison up on the target (if you are charge firing constantly you can).
For a main gun: Blitz; especially if you solo. For a 3rd Needle gun on Vanaduke: Plague Needle... maybe. Since I was the only gunner with Blitz and Plague Needle in the group I stuck with Blitz for my fight.
Vanaduke actually takes more damage Needle guns than the Zombies. Charged Blitz Needle does 143 per shot on Vanaduke, 121 on Vanaduke's Zombies (@d28 in other words).
All numbers are per bullet. Multiply by 6 for uncharged shooting, by 15 for charged shooting.
Not again D: -> Blitz Needle by far ...
Thanks everyone for your opinions. Expecially Sparkplug fo the damage table. The damage handicap is a really considerable con.
I've been goin down the Plague needle route until now, and party-wise, is awesome.
As a gunner I like being supportive to my sword friends on the frontline, and the % of poisoning of the PN is a good pro.
I'll eventually get a BN too and try it out. Thanks again for the hints.
Don't forget that poisoned targets are hurt when "healed" and do about 50% less damage if they hit you. That makes poison hugely helpful in arenas, deconstruction zones, and other places where you're likely to encounter several enemies plus menders or silkwings. In those places, plague needle will be noticeably better. Elsewhere, either gun will probably be acceptable, with the poison being more useful in larger groups and the extra damage better for soloing as others have already said.
Blitz needle is far better for overall, and for solo'ing/duo'ing.
THe plague needle truly hits it's stride in parties of 3 or 4, when you have 3 or 4 people available to take adv of enemies weakened defenses.
Another note: blitz is still prolly better vs everything but bosses (and then only JK and Vana)...and who uses guns on JK.
So Blitz is better is the simple answer. More complex answer is NO ONE is gonna complain about you keeping vana poisoned the whole fight!!!!!!!! (IMO better vs vana in party of 4--maybe 3).
Please search the forums. There have been many threads on this. In a party, the poison definitely helps. When solo, it helps less, so pure damage may be preferable.
You cannot trust the statistic bars in comparing weapon damage or speed.