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Tactics 401 or 501 with Commando?

401 with SCAR, you can upgrade both and deal amazing damage and still provide team support and both benefit greatly from tier1's High Cap Mags
501 suffers from two things:
Low amount of Ammo Carry, you wont last any boss fight
M16 syndrome, reloading all the time. So you need Tactical Reload and a weapon that goes well with it
 
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BunBun;n2326287 said:
401 with SCAR, you can upgrade both and deal amazing damage and still provide team support and both benefit greatly from tier1's High Cap Mags
501 suffers from two things:
Low amount of Ammo Carry, you wont last any boss fight
M16 syndrome, reloading all the time. So you need Tactical Reload and a weapon that goes well with it

The one thing that makes me keep going back to the M16 is the ammo increase. Having 16 nades is kind of nuts with the perk skills and the explosives still give Commando xp which is awesome.

You're right though, with both the 501 and the M16 you end up reloading more. If you want to help healing the team the 401 is definately more reliable and without the Medic's left side perk skills the 501's nades lose quite a bit of potential value.

I tend to run nade launchers on corridor-type maps with multiple choke points like Biotic's lab or Containment Station. You get a lot more value from them, especially the made nades into a pile of trash coming through a doorway. :D
 
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go with 401. the 501 seems primarily designed around the use of its medic grenade launcher then as a killing gun due to its low magazine count. and the 401 becomes quite a beast with Hollowpoints skill. not to mention it has the highest healing dart capacity too. and honesty the darts work better on commando as said before, lacks the skills to really make the 501 grenades work.
 
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Vapid;n2326965 said:
Yeah, the medic's +50% ammo perk is very useful for the .501, as the default 30 round mag is pretty harsh.

But Commando has the same and more.

I guess I must be in that tiny camp that never really bothered with the 401 much. Its all the shakiness. Even with Hollow Point, its a rough ride beyond medium range purposes. And 30 round mag base is fine. You guys just got spoiled on that 40 round base. It's got twice the ammo pool of the alternative, I'll give it that. It's a huge advantage. The DPS of the 401 is also considerably higher than the 501 - 35 damage @ 750 RPM vs 47 damage @ 500 RPM. 401 is clearly the top offensive option of the two for either class.

Which is why the 501 plays a different role. It's a -defensive- support gun. I was surprised to find that it's only right behind the MKb.42(H) damagewise with the same RoF (at least it's more stable), so it might need a damage buff at some point, but only the damage. Medics have nothing to mitigate recoil, so higher RPM might work against them. But if you're one that likes the MKb.42, then the 501 will certainly be an improvement and a cozy fit.

I've generally found the medic grenades to be super useful. It's true, seems like most players still think they work the way they used to (simply run through for full effect), so its cute seeing bad medics who clearly chose the role for their own survival being the last man alive and trying to use it on themselves on the run to pitiful effect, but when I throw these things downrange, I make sure they're in situations where I know the recipient is standing still. Whether its in front of the path of incoming injured peers, people about to get Trapper'd, those simply swarmed by multiple zeds from all directions, peeps attempting SYG, or that Berserker rushing headlong into heavies. They all get the mist, and it usually works well.

When it comes to Zeds, the medic grenade is tops for weak trash. Not necessarily for killing power, because it's not really there. It's because it allows you to prioritize other big threats by neutralizing a huge one to the unaware player - mob rushes of Crawlers and Stalkers. 3 or 4 at a time, but sometimes 7-8 or more. Few things catch people by surprise and tear them up in no time on Suicidal/HoE like roaming gangs of low-stooping, flipping & spinning bullet-dodgers. And nothing works better against them than a grenade you can safely fling at your feet. And that's the biggest point of all-

1. You can use the grenades on Zeds as a soft trash-clearing cloud (and for easy Medic taps for XP while on Commando)
2. You can fling medic grenades super far to reach those in need
3. You can use it on yourself

Lets be real - Medic's not always gonna be there or be focused on you. Sometimes you gotta rely on more than your own syringe to get through. And sometimes, you turn a few directions, see danger at every way out and quickly realize that running is not an option. This changes a LOT of situations where this probably would mean death. There's been at least 5 occasions since its release where I've gotten cornered by a pair of FPs, and 501's the only thing that got me through it. If anyone knows to stand in the mist for the full effect, its you when using this lifesaver. And when you're stuck or have to make a stand, you're not going anywhere anyways.
 
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401 Med Rifle + FN Fal is currently the best combination.

401 has plenty of ammo and large magazine, and moderate damage (enough to 1hk Gorefast). You can use this gun for all trash clearing work and even squeeze some spare ammo against Scrakes.

FN Fal is solely for large killing because it has high damage (plus ballistic_rifle damage type) and good rate of fire. The ammo is a bit scarce but is enough for killing large ones. You have 401 for all other purposes.

501 was once good because it dealt ballistic_shell damage which neither SC or FP is resistant to. Now it's ballistic_assaultrifle. It has fewer ammo and shoots slow, the only good thing is the grenade healing. But usually 401's medic dart should be sufficient. You don't need to heal yourself if you can kill all of them before they reach you.
 
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FissionMailed

Yeah, that's always the gamble, isn't it? IF you can kill all of them before they reach you. But there's no guarantees, and no one can stay on top all of the time.

The 501's former state was an oversight. Not really a bug, just wasn't properly finished. I think the MKb.42(H) had the same "benefit" during that timeframe - the way it punched right through Rioter armor like paper was a dead giveaway. As if the Abomination wasn't easy enough.
 
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If you can only afford one, I'd say 401. It has a higher ammunition count and its syringes regenerate compared to the 501's grenades which have limited ammo and require reload. It is also lighter by 1 gram and is $500 cheaper. If you find yourself facing against larger zeds, however, then the 501 may be the way to go. You can also knockdown some zeds with the 501's grenades and deal more poison damage with the grenade than with the syringe (albeit, the syringe can send weak zeds into panic).
 
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Commando FAL+401 is excellent for plain shooting zeds, the contrast between the two is about perfect. If you have the right one equipped for the zed you're shooting, you can really appreciate using the right tool for the job, but you can also get by with the wrong one. The healing darts are also consistently useful for helping with healing.

But, putting aside the inventory room for carrying FAL, I like 501 a lot more than 401. I love using the 501's grenades offensively. Depending on the map and the team, plunking one of those in a choke point or on a swarmed player (possibly yourself) can be absurdly effective, wiping out lots of trash zeds in one spot. While that's emitting gas there, you can simultaneously fire the rifle, but you should avoid redundancy, don't shoot what will die to the gas before causing any players any trouble. Shoot medium zeds that will survive the gas, or zeds somewhere else, and you'll be getting a lot of work done at once.

If you ignore 501's launcher, and focus on the 2000D price and and 8kg weight, the gun is straight garbage due to the low reserve of ammo. But if you imagine the rifle as 1000D and 4kg, while the launcher is the other 1000D and 4kg, they're both plenty worthwhile. You just need to want both of those at the same time in order to make 501 a great deal for you.
 
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