Hey all! Welcome to my guide to SMGs!
This guide is to ignore any pre-conceived notions and determine what the best non-unique SMGs are.
@Chuck80 wrote a similar guide for shotguns (in fact his guide is what gave me this idead) so if you haven’t checked that out already you should.
Much of this guide is based on spreadsheets I made based on level 50 NE SMGs, which can be found here.
[size=16]What this guide does:[/size]
- Deconstruct SMGs in an attempt to determine the best variants
- Rank each part independently by manufacturer
- Rank the relative effectiveness of each manufacturer
- Provide reasoning behind all rankings (currently only
and 
have reasoning) - Breakdown Parts to determine what they effect (coming “soon”))
[size=16]What this guide does not do:[/size]
- Adapt recommended parts for any specific character or build
- Discuss Accessories (subject to change, when I figure out how I want to do that)
- Cover Unique, Legendary, or Glitched Weapons
- Discuss Luneshine effects
- Reflect actual gameplay testing (I have some of this done, but I really just wanted to get some form of this posted)
- Read easily (I’ll be working on this)
Keep in mind that this is a very early draft and a lot of the stuff I want to be in here isn’t here yet, I’ll be adding new content as I finish it. If you have any suggestion/corrections/comments/complaints, make sure you post below.
Before I begin, a short rundown on SMG parts (a more in-depth look at SMG parts can be found here):
As you probably know by now, all weapons in the Borderlands series constructed from parts, the parts that make up SMGs are as follows:
Body: Carries the base stats of the weapon along with the manufacturer gimmick
Grip: Primarily modifies Mag size and Reload speed, secondarily modifies Damage and Handling
Barrel: Primarily modifies Damage and Accuracy
Stock: Exclusively modifies Handling
Sight: Exclusively modifies Zoom and scope
Accessory: Modifies a variety of weapon stats
Effect: Grants Secondary effects (Luneshine/Glitch)
A quick note on the Matching Bonus:
When the Grip or Barrel manufacturer match that of the Body, the weapon receives a boost to it’s stats; Damage for the Barrel, Mag Size and Reload Speed for the Grip.
At this time I am ignoring the Accessory and Effect slots for simplicity.
For the purposes of rating a sub-optimal weapon, consider the priority of parts to be:
Body>Grip>Barrel>Stock>Sight
The ranking system I will be using for this thread is as follows:
this is the best part for this slot, if at all possible, you should use it.
this is an excellent part for its slot and I strongly recommend using it.
there may be better alternatives to this part but it is not bad by any stretch of the imagination.
this part has no major redeeming qualities, but it won’t ruin a weapon.
this part has major drawbacks while offering little to compensate, you should avoid using it if you can.
Testing will be done at: [location to be determined, suggestions?] in UVHM, on a level 35 Nisha using this spec.
Gear: No grenade, No COM, Adaptive Shield, [Acrobat Oz-kitcolor=F0E68C[/color]](). BAR off. Weapon will be shock elemental.
There is no way I’m going to test all 150 SMGs so I’m going to set a baseline with the “ideal versions” and swap parts into that.
As they effect all manufacturers approximately equally, stocks and sights will be evaluated independent of manufacturer.
[size=25]Stock[/size]
(note that this section is currently based on the assumption that stocks are unchanged from BL2)
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
A clean appearance and low zoom make this one of the best sights out there.
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
While it has the clean appearance of the Dahl sight, the high zoom is not a positive for most SMGs
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
Similar to the Dahl sight, the Maliwan sight has a clean appearance and low zoom
[size=18]None [/size]
There are actually two versions of this, one that slows you when ADS (like all other sights) and one that dosen’t. the one that dosen’t only comes on unique weapons so I’m ignoring it for the sake of this guide. The reason this got 2 stars instead of 3 is that many weapons have somewhat poor ironsights (in my opinion)
(note that weapons purple and above cannot spawn with this sight)
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
Unlike the previous sights, the bandit is an actual “scope,” restricting vision significantly
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
Like the Bandit sight, the Tediore is also a “scope,” and it has the same vision restriction issues
[size=25]Body/Manufacturer[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
Unfortunately, the numbers just aren’t there for Dahl SMGs, they do have truly excellent handling though, pending gameplay testing, the better versions may be competitive because of that
[size=18]Hyperion (new) [/size]
Stats wise, Hyperion (new) SMGs are nothing special, they are average in most respects, however, the manufacturer gimmick can make them quite powerful
[size=18]Hyperion (old) [/size]
According to the sheets, these are superior to the Hyperion (new) SMGs by a decent margin, but they have some issues that may change that pending gameplay testing
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
The sheets make the Maliwan SMGs look pretty terrible, but something that is missing from the table is DOT chances and damages, which are an important part of their damage
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
Bandit SMGs are the heroes of the sheets, their DPS stats are very strong, I do know that their handling stats are quite bad, but I don’t yet know how much that will hurt them when the gameplay testing is completed
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
Tediore SMGs are very dependent on parts, they have mediocre handling stats and if you look at the sheets, they can end up pretty much anywhere on the DPS scale. That said, with the right parts, they can be truly devastating
[size=30]Dahl[/size]
Note that having the Dahl stock will increase the burst count by 1, giving an increased Fire Rate while ADS
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
Note that the Dahl grip will not increase the burst count
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
Note that having the Dahl Barrel will increase the burst count by 1, giving an increased Fire Rate while ADS
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
The Hyperion Barrel reduces the Damage significantly hurting Dahl SMGs more than most due to it’s lower fire rate
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
Having the Dahl grip on Hyperion (new) SMGs results in long Reloads and small Mag Sizes
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
The matching bonus makes for some truly excellent weapons
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
Hyperion (old) SMGs are very dependent on their high Damage, so the reduced damage hurts them quite a bit, additionally, they have a relatively low Mag Size, so that reduction hurts them as well
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
Maliwan SMGs have very small Mag Sizes and mediocre Reloads, so the matching bonus is very strong for them, in addition, they have reduced Damage and the Maliwan grip is the only one that does not reduce Damage, finally, the Maliwan grip increases DOT chance, adding to the weapon’s substantial DOT chance
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
With their small base Mag Size, any further reductions hurt Maliwan SMGs significantly, the same goes for damage reductions
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
The matching bonus helps significantly with the reduced Damage, additionally, this Barrel increases both DOT Damage and Chance, producing a potent weapon
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Grip[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
Tediore SMGs have weak base damage, however their Mag Size, Reload Speed, and Fire Rate are all just fine so the Maliwan Grip helps make them truly devastating
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
[size=25]Barrel[/size]
[size=18]Dahl [/size]
[size=18]Hyperion [/size]
[size=18]Maliwan [/size]
[size=18]Scav/Bandit [/size]
[size=18]Tediore [/size]
