Part 6
Weapons, armor and economy
Which gun to buy, when, and how to manage your team's money round after round.
Every round starts with a choice: what do I buy? The answer depends on the range you will fight at, your money and your team's, what the enemy bought and what will happen next round. This part covers the weapons (with a page for each one, with checked numbers), armor and the economy: full buys, ecos, force buys, half buys, bonus rounds, reading the enemy's money and recovering from a losing streak.
Chapters
Weapons in general
Every gun has a price, damage that changes with body part and sometimes with distance, accuracy that collapses on the move and an ability to shoot through walls. Understanding these four things tells you which gun to use and how.
Sidearms, SMGs and shotguns
Budget guns are not "second-class" weapons: chosen well for the range and the situation, they win pistol rounds, ecos and half buys, and sometimes steal a rifle from the enemy.
Rifles: which one and when
The Vandal, Phantom and Warden cost the same and are the full-buy weapons: the Vandal has no damage falloff, the Phantom is more comfortable up close and in sprays, the Warden is built for long lines. The Bulldog and Guardian are the budget alternatives.
Snipers and heavy weapons
Snipers win long lines with one shot, machine guns dominate passages and thin cover. Both need a well-chosen position and a team that supports them, and they cost a lot when you lose them.
Armor
Three kinds of armor: light (400), regen (650) and heavy (1000). On full buys you almost always buy heavy; on budget rounds, light versus regen depends on how you will fight.
The economy: full buy, half buy, force, eco, bonus
The economy means deciding together, round by round, whether to buy everything, save or force, so that you play as many rounds as possible with full equipment. It is a team decision, made with the next round in mind.
Reading the enemy economy
Knowing what the enemy can afford tells you which guns you will face, what range to fight at and how they will play the round. You read it from the scoreboard and from the round history, and it changes the way you play.
Utility and economy
Abilities are cheap compared to guns, but they are part of the economy just like rifles and armor. Abilities you buy and do not use carry over to the next round even if you die: the real waste is not credits, it is the round lost with utility in your pocket.
Saving, round streaks, recovering
Saving a gun in a lost round is worth almost a full buy next round. Loss streaks raise your bonus, and a team that syncs its money recovers faster than one that buys in bits and pieces.