Seriously a Torgue rifle now is doing like half the damage of a Jacobs pistol
when we first start playing Torgue rifles are very powerful
why did they do this
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Ever hear of the Ogre or even a Spitter?
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Nah, I’m a green gear kinda guy
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One thing to consider is that Jakobs pistols, ARs, and Snipers don’t have the benefit of splash or elemental damage, so they have higher base damage to compensate. So against a Shielded Nomad for example, unless you are over-leveled or have out-flanked them, your Jakobs weapons aren’t going to be of much use unless you can pinpoint an exposed weak spot. On the other hand, your Torgue weapons have that splash damage to overcome that particular obstacle.
ARs get a lot of flack for being generally weak as a class of weapons. From the way most function in the game, it seems the developers wanted people to use them to suppress mobs from medium range, rather than trying to crit them or mow them down. That only seems possible with Torgue Spin barrel ARs with characters who can boost AR or Explosive damage, or in the case of Salvador, duel wield them.
Much like Roland in BL1, the Soldier/ Commando class is really built as a traditional utility character meant to provide support in a coop game. That they gave Axton Overload as a Tier 2 skill, which only increases magazine size for ARs is a pretty good indication that they didn’t want those weapons to be strong. All his gun boosts are for all guns in general. So, judging from that, given Axton is the AR guy in this game (and fair enough, the RPG guy too) they made ARs the designated cover-fire weapon. Since Axton is also strong with grenades, and has the Turret, it gives me the impression they foresaw a play style where Axton simply overwhelms mobs with a combination of the Turret drawing fire &/or Flanking the enemy (courtesy of Maglock), ARs raining down bullets, and grenades adding AOE damage.
That said, the best ARs in the game for Axton are probably Vladof in my opinion and not Torgue (Jakobs spin barrels have their use too). You get the high fire rate, fully automatic, and elemental effects. Of them, the one that’s one of the hardest to get, but probably the most viable for the AR weapon class’s intended use is the Hail. The arching projectiles that split, can get over most cover enemies use, can hit airborne enemies fairly easily, apply elements, have a crit bonus, and heal you. Using them Axton’s gun boosts is pretty powerful from mid-range, behind cover.
As for Torgue, you want to find High Fire Rate, Purples & Blue rarity ARs. The higher the fire rate, the more knock back, which equates to the enemies taking more damage with successive hits.
If you look here https://imgur.com/a/H8CQu you can look at the parts for the weapons, and in general I have found I prefer Torgue Rifles with the regular Vladof, Dahl, and Bandit weapon barrels.
The Torgue Barrel on Torgue ARs would be great if hit detection were consistent. The rockets allow for firing at range, but whether near or far, they often go right through targets without damaging them.
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Yes, Torgue Rifles, even the stronger ones like the Ogre and Kerblaster are relatively mediocre weapons. They certainly don’t suck, and are still (relatively) viable even at OP levels, but do any basic DPS calculations and you can see why their DPS pales in comparison to other ARs, especially unique ones. The way elemental multipliers worked in BL2 really worked against them, and they tend to have lower fire rates compared to other ARs. Their primary advantage comes from their hefty splash damage, meaning on body shots they will outdamage most other ARs.
By comparison, Jakobs Rifles have much more immediate DPS. But compared to Torgue Rifles, they have more weaknesses as well. Alot of their DPS is predicated on how good your trigger finger is, and scoring crits is hugely important. Their small mags means you must really make every shot count. But on the hands of a good player, a Jakobs Rifle, and especially the Gatling and Bekah, will outDPS the Torgue ARs.
As far as Torgue Rifles go, the Spitter (Vladof spiny barrel) and Rifle (Vladof barrel) are considered the best. I actually recommend the Rifle over the Spitter unless that Spitter is an Ogre. The Spitter has more potential DPS, but its startup sort of kills it. By the time you have reached the point where the Spitter can outDPS the Rifle, the enemy should be dead already.
If you are gonna use an AR on Axton, I highly recommend the Hail (seeing as you have completed Finks). It will blow the Torgue ARs out of the water - and you will be free to utilize a BoA which can greatly improve your turret cooldown as well.
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