[Csjarrat]

Hi guys, just going through chargen and just wanted to ask a few q's.
Building an adept with automatics, and looking at an smg for my primary wep.
In sr3, adding a stack of upgrades onto a gun meant a big reduction in concealability but that mechanic doesnt seem too orevalent in sr4 from my readthrough of the book.
Are you ok running around with scopes, suppressors and extended mags nowadays?
On the topic of scopes, is an ultrasound scope at all useful? Seems like could pick up movement sensors bjt that thermal scope would normally be better choice?
I was looking at the hnk smg from the core book with optical zoom/thermal scope, skinlink, suppressor and chamealon coating, extended mag if that still is in the game too. Thoughts?

[CanRay]

Those all sound like good Mods.  Ultrasound is really handy when people start popping Thermal Smoke which screws up everyone when it comes to perception.  Also in hot conditions when it's harder to tell ambient heat from body temp at longer ranges.

The concealment rules have been heavily simplified (And I wish they hadn't, but I'm a gun nut and also want calibers.).

Weapon Modification rules in SR4A are found in Arsenal.  You'll get most of your answers, and how-to guides, there.

[WSN0W]

Those all sound like good Mods.  Ultrasound is really handy when people start popping Thermal Smoke which screws up everyone when it comes to perception.  Also in hot conditions when it's harder to tell ambient heat from body temp at longer ranges.

The concealment rules have been heavily simplified (And I wish they hadn't, but I'm a gun nut and also want calibers.).

Weapon Modification rules in SR4A are found in Arsenal.  You'll get most of your answers, and how-to guides, there.

You'll also want a good http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/99534/Shadowrun%3A-Safehouses to store it all in.

[TheNarrator]

Ultrasound is useful. It usually has the lowest penalty in every visibility circumstance, and it can explicitly see through Invisibility, not to mention it wouldn't be effected by Reuthenium active camo.

[JustADude]

Ultrasound is useful. It usually has the lowest penalty in every visibility circumstance, and it can explicitly see through Invisibility, not to mention it wouldn't be effected by Reuthenium active camo.

Also lets you pop your own Thermal Smoke and then waste the people that don't have it.

[CanRay]

You'll also want a good http://rpg.drivethrustuff.com/product/99534/Shadowrun%3A-Safehouses to store it all in.

Also a great idea, but I wouldn't want to blow my own horn on my first book. 

[rasmusnicolaj]

Add some recoil compensation.

Rasmus

[Csjarrat]

yup, there is gas vent 2 on the hnk i'm looking at which should be enough.
a suppressor, skinlink and tricked out imaging scope should round it out as it comes with a laser pointer too.
have i missed anything obvious?

[TheNarrator]

Is it smartlinked? Smartlink is a lot better than a laser sight.

Or, if that's not an option, trade the laser sight for a red dot sight (reflex sight) out of Gun Heaven. Costs 200 nuyen, has the same bonus as a laser sight but without the range limitation or projecting a red dot where other people can see it. They've already pretty much made laser sights obsolete in the real world.

If you have Arsenal and the gun modification rules and additional accessories, then you should use those to add more recoil comp. You can never have too much recoil comp, unless you have enough to counter as many rounds as you can fire in a pass. Foregrip or underbarrel weight, personalized grip, folding stock, heavy barrel, whatever you can fit. Chameleon coating and extended magazine are in there as well.

[CanRay]

Is it smartlinked? Smartlink is a lot better than a laser sight.

Debatable.  I, for one, hate the idea of a wireless Smartgun Link due to how easy it would be to have a Hacker/TM shut my firearm off in the middle of a firefight.

Also, I shudder when people say "Skinlink it!" so, no, I do not consider that an answer.  Get a plug drilled into your head, like you're supposed to!

But that's a personal choice.

[JmOz01]

I may be wrong, but I am 90% sure that you can still get a jacked smart link (Uses datajack/Fiberotic cable to connect)

[TheNarrator]

Debatable.  I, for one, hate the idea of a wireless Smartgun Link due to how easy it would be to have a Hacker/TM shut my firearm off in the middle of a firefight.

Also, I shudder when people say "Skinlink it!" so, no, I do not consider that an answer.  Get a plug drilled into your head, like you're supposed to!

It kind of bugs me that that some of the unique advantages of cyberware (Smartlink and DNI control) have become available to anyone in SR4, but that's a seperate matter. The OP is playing an adept, so they might as well take advantage of being allowed to use Smartlink in their eyewear. Pay no attention to the street sam crying quietly into his beer about how his most defining and archetypical ability is now available to every magician with contact lenses. 

And skinlinking all your equipment is just a given for a runner, in my opinion. There's too much equipment that talks to too much other equipment to not do it, and a runner can't afford to be broadcasting any stray radio waves. And the smartlink contact points in the palm and grip are no more in the 2070s, unless you want to customize all your gear to work with the old school interface. Even a street sam is going to be skinlinking his datajack (or the commlink plugged into his datajack) to link it to all the other stuff on his body.

I may be wrong, but I am 90% sure that you can still get a jacked smart link (Uses datajack/Fiberotic cable to connect)

You can, if you don't mind a wire running from your gun to the back of your head all the time.

Since the OP is an adept, however, they'd have to sack a point of Magic to get a datajack. They could run a fiberoptic cable from their smartlink to a commlink that was connected with trodes, however.

[Csjarrat]

yeah, my guy wants to be as cyber free as possible, relying only on his own skills and adeptiness to wreak havoc.
re: smartlink, thats pretty cool, didnt realise you could put that onto your sunglasses now, thought you had to have cyber for it. no wonder the street sams are crying lol!
it seems like a really expensive extra dice to me though, a laser sight an imaging scope together give you enough bonuses to make sure you'll be hitting i think. i dont want to properly min-max my guy as i've already got a decent skill in automatics and agility with the relevant specialisation for smgs. improved skill in automatics and attribute boost lvl4, agility too.
we played SR3 a bit and some guys got hacked off with stacks and stacks of dice,
the imaging scopes will give me my night sight/thermographic/ultrasound viewing (as no cyber eyes or adept senses purchased).

edit: dang, just had a look at stuff again and didnt realise you could get the fn har at chargen.
might re-do the weapon load/specialisation for assault rifles instead and go for that one as its got a much bigger ammo clip, does more damage and is armour piercing.
is the underbarrel grenade launcher accessory worth having? seems to give good flexibility, but does it need a special skill to use, or is it done through the automatics skill?
i'm thinking of:

FN HAR:
as stock with laser sight and gas vent 2
imaging scope with zoom, thermal, ultrasound and low light
underbarrel grenade launcher
skinlink (set to default mode)
sound suppresor
chameleon coating

if i have free slots then i'll stick on as much recoil comp as possible. if not, i'll strip off the grenade launcher and put on a foregrip, pad, upgrade the vent etc.

[TheNarrator]

The foregrip and shock pad can be added as accessories without taking up any mod slots (although it's either/or for the forgrip and grenade launcher, since they both take up the underbarrel slot, unless you install the foregrip as a mod).

Grenade launchers use the Heavy Weapons skill. You can improve your dicepool a bit if you specialize in grenade launchers. If you do decide to use a grenade launcher, you should probably install an airburst link so that the grenades detonate immediately, and much closer to the target. Scatter is a bit of a nuisance.

Assault rifles are hands down better than SMGs in my opinion. The only thing SMGs have going for them is a slight advantage in concealability, while assault rifles have more damage, penetration and range. And the real world advantages to SMGs--like reduced recoil, being easier to suppress and a shorter and more maneuverable length--aren't really represented in the system at all.

My personal favorite assault rifle is the Ares Alpha. Big magazine, integral grenade launcher and smartgun system, and two points of inherent recoil comp that stack with everything. So you can then add a Gas Vent 3 on top of that, and all the other options we've been discussing. If you go all out, it's even possible to get up to RC 9 and have a gun that never feels recoil.

[Csjarrat]

yeah that one looks cool, but i think its got a forbidden rating which means i cant take it at chargen if i recall correctly?
nice. fn har with mods it is then, should be a pretty fun load out i think. my sr3 guy had a pistol as a rigger and that was it!