[Beaumis]

So I've seen some posts saying that a Viper Slivergun isn't worth it because of the +5AP line, is there ever a tipping point where your shooting pool compensates for the extra soak dice?

The problem with the Sliver Gun is that the Salvalette Guardian is one ammo change away from being a more effective Sliver Gun with a smaller magazine. The Sliver Gun has an Acc of 4, and 9P/+4, while a SG with Flechette has an Acc of 5(7) and 10P/+4 with Flechette ammo. Since the clip size only comes into play after two long bursts and does not actually keep you from shooting on the third pass, it's not that big a deal. Clip size rarely matters for guns that cannot suppress.

Flechette can be worth it if you want to stun highly armored enemies. Mathematically, the +5 armor will lead to about 2 hits, which offsets the DV +2, but also increases the armor to make it much more likely for damage to be stun. When facing Mr Cyberlimb with loads of armor but low willpower, flechette can be more effective than gel ammo because it keeps your damage expectation roughly equal rather than lowering it like Stick and Shock and Gel Rounds do.

Regarding the original question: Most things were covered but I'd like to add one thing: The true power of Full Auto rests in the ability of overlapping fields of fire that can effectively remove dodge from the damage equation. Three runners with Assault Rifles, one laying Suppressive Fire and two firing with full auto can reduce the vast majority of dodge pools to zero and virtually no cost to the runners provided they can take the recoil. (Which is really easy to build for.)

[Xenon]

If you are only going to pick ONE weapon you should probably consider automatics skill  (aka medium sized weapon skill) as it include machine pistols, sub machine guns and assault rifles. The benefit of automatics is that it is very versatile.

Pistols have the benefit of being small and easy to conceal (smaller than machine pistols). They are however quite limited. A horse rule we use is to allow the use of pistol skill (or automatics) on machine pistols (not only in semi automatic mode) and also sub machine guns (but only as long as you use them with one hand and don't take advantage of a folding stock). Basically all firearms you hold with one hand.

Longarms have the benefit of great range and you also get access to shotguns. Still a lot more narrow than automatics. At our table we also use longarm skill (or automatics) for assault rifles and even sub machine guns (but only when you use them with two hands and braced against your shoulder, so no blind fire around a corner). Basically all firearms you hold with two hands.


Note that weapons marked F are Forbidden.
You can't even get a licence for them.
Players should be discouraged to walk around with them.
You only bring them out on an assault.

Same with Restricted weapons if they lack the proper paperwork.



As for weapon modes.

The benefit of SA-mode is that if you have a weapon skill of 5+ and multiple targets within medium range of your weapon then you can spend a complex and free action to attack up to three targets in one attack action (spilt pool). Without shooting friendly targets standing in between. This is a very strong option for a skilled shooter when his targets are surprised, unaware or can't see him. It is also a strong option when fighting mooks that don't have access to huge defence pools.

The benefit of Full Auto is that you can massively reduce the defence pool of a single target that have a huge defence pool. Very strong option for a shooter that is not skilled enough to hit a high defence target. FA can also be used to suppress a frontal cone area with multiple hostiles, reducing their dice pools in the process. Creating area denial. Strong option if mixed together with grenades.

Burst Fire mode is a mix of the two. It can be used against different targets similar to SA (but only two and not three targets) and it reduce defence pool of the target similar to FA (but only with 2 or 5 dice and not 5 or 9 dice).

[Csjarrat]

i'm sure its been said already but how important burst fire and full auto are really depends on how frequent combat is on your table and what your character role is within your team.
If you're the street sam looking after a party of non-combat mages or TMs and combat is pretty frequent; FA/BF is going to be pretty damn critical.
If you're a decker in a combat capable group where fighting doesn't happen often, you're fine without building for it.
Pistols is perfectly fine for anyone to have in-game; they're very common (almost standard if you live in the shittier bits of town) and you can use the very concealable hold-outs or totally legal tasers for when you need to be discreet or head up-town. Many pistols are semi-auto capable, which means you can do a semi auto burst to knock -2 off their dodge dice which is nice.
If you're worried about range, you can always go smartgun + improved rangefinder or stick a scope on it and use "take aim" to help.
Automatics is great for a regular combatant, but the machine pistol sub-class is not as concealable as a standard pistol so you'll need some palming skill to avoid detection in places where they're going to be looking.
SMGs are just about concealable if you're a big guy, wearing suitable clothing (lined jacket for example), in the dark, and have a little skill in palming, they bring a whole bucketload of combat utility but if people are going to be checking for weapons, you'll need to be inventive about how you get them through the checkpoint.
Forget about AR's as an everyday weapon. If you need them, the shit has hit the fan big time and you need to think about bailing out pretty soon.

[Hibiki54]

Rating 1-3 mooks and lieutenants will usually have a 3-5 body wearing as little as nothing up to at least an armored jacket. Rating 4 mooks and lieutenants will normally have a minimum 4 body and wear as little as an armored vest and up to as high as an armored jacket with helmet/ballistic mask. You really don't need anything less than a pistol for these guys, unless it is an Ork or Troll.

Rating 5 and up is normally reserved for HTR and Spec Ops. Anything less than an AR is useless against FBA and 10+ dodge dice.

[Shadowjack]

I like to use all kinds of weapons just to spice up the game and my characters. It is true that certain weapons are 'better' than others but most weapons have a niche and even if it isn't a strong one it can still be fun to explore it. Using Automatics every time because you think they're the strongest is not a good approach. A lot of people here don't like shotguns but I use them from time to time and I find it fun. In the end it doesn't matter what weapons you're using because the game is not about winning and losing, it's about creating a good story.

To touch more on pistols, I think they are a lot of fun and have the advantage of being usable in almost any situation. If you need a discreet weapon to bring for a social scene or sneak into a club, a pistol is your best friend. It may not be the best weapon for a huge fire fight but it does allow you to spend your Karma on other things that weapon skills. Ultimately, if you're really good with pistols you should be able to hold your own in most situations.

[ScytheKnight]

Not to mention if you've got the skill level and Abidexterity to back it up, a duel wielding Ares Predator Vs, or even Ruger Super Warhawks can lead to a lot of pain.