# Generic first-person shooter advice wanted **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 31, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956 "2005-07-31T01:42:40Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Lumpy](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lumpy/32/446_2.png) [@Lumpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lumpy)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 1:42am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/1 "2005-07-31T01:42:40Z")
Most FPS have a “wield previously used weapon” hotkey, which for me anyway is a lot faster than the main weapon menu. So the question is, given that you can wield one weapon and have one other quickly available, what weapon balance do you keep handy? The generic weapon categories are: -Pathetic: better than nothing, and uses either most common, renewable, or no ammo. Good for pest killing. -Medium: Best all-around weapon. Reasonably good ammo availability, reasonable firepower. -Kick-Ass: Superweapon that quickly expends lots of hard-to-obtain ammo. Often slow or unwieldy to use. -Dangerous to User: powerful weapon that is hazardous to use at close quarters. -Special: long distance sniper weapon, or non-line of sight, delayed action, special effect, etc. Note that this doesn’t necessarily apply just to firearms or tech weapons. For a medieval game for example, the categories could correspond to dagger, saber, poleax, Greek fire, and Bow/ Magic potion, and substitute endurance for ammo, etc. My problem is that if you have NO idea what’s around the next corner, how do you plan for facing either a Swarm of Pests, a Tank Behemoth, or anything inbetween? ---
**Author:** ![Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f475e1/32.png) [@Jimmy\_Chitwood](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jimmy_Chitwood)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/2 "2005-07-31T01:49:39Z")
It’s not quite as generic as you’re talking about, but I’ve always mildly preferred to use an automatic/power combo. Some kind of machine gun and a shotgun or something explosive, in other words. I figure I’m either going to have to shoot the shit out of one thing, or a lot of things. ---
**Author:** ![Harborwolf](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/c89c15/32.png) [@Harborwolf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harborwolf)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 1:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/3 "2005-07-31T01:59:16Z")
I usually go with an automatic weapon or a shotgun. Something that either fires a lot of bullets rapidly or fires a wide blast with some knockback to it to buy some time to survey. ---
**Author:** ![Ranchoth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ranchoth/32/1066_2.png) [@Ranchoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ranchoth)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 4:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/4 "2005-07-31T04:49:51Z")
Usually an SMG—good ammo supply, good stopping power, pretty good range—and a Sniper Rifle. But if I’m indoors, I’ll trade a shotgun for the rifle. So, with a Thompson, an M590, and an FG42 or a Springfield, I’m a happy man. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b5ac83/32.png) [@The\_Mad\_Hermit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Mad_Hermit)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/5 "2005-07-31T05:00:49Z")
Lob a couple grenades around that corner, and see what stirs. You can’t do it all the time, but it does make your subsequent charge with a close-range weapon a little safer. That’s why I use the flak gun from UT2004. Herding Spider mines in front of you is also a good way-clearer. ---
**Author:** ![HPL](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3da27b/32.png) [@HPL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/HPL)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/6 "2005-07-31T06:05:33Z")
Same here. If I don’t know what to expect, a rapid fire weapon with much ammo or a shotgun. ---
**Author:** ![ultrafilter](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/3d9bf3/32.png) [@ultrafilter](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ultrafilter)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/7 "2005-07-31T06:12:32Z")
The machine gun/shotgun combo is generally your best bet. ---
**Author:** ![Sage\_Rat](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sage_rat/32/399_2.png) [@Sage\_Rat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sage_Rat)\ **Post date:** [July 31, 2005, 6:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/generic-first-person-shooter-advice-wanted/314956/8 "2005-07-31T06:16:06Z")
Halo 1 though, with proper twtichability, you only needed the pistol for 99% of all situations from close distance to sniping. :mad: