Why is mac 10 so expensive?

[Milan]

I really want to love this weapon, but it's just in a weird spot, why is it so expensive, it's just an smg, i would rate it lower than dragonsbreath, dot damage is non-existent, 25 damage/ 1 dosh per bullet! And high trader price, why?

 

[Aleflippy]

Well, it's still a T2.5 rather than a proper T3 for starters.

It's also one of the longest-ranged options for the Firebug, a perk that's mostly good at close-to-medium ranges. The Spitfire is another example that's far less expensive and lighter, but it's also NOT hitscan, meaning you have to predict a little where your target will go at longer ranges (granted though, the fireball travels fast enough so it's rarely a problem. You could say the same for the Husk Cannon). The Spitfire also has a ridiculous amount of reserve ammo!

The Incendiary Rifle is arguably better in almost every way. But keep in mind that it was added way later than the MAC-10. It's also a less favorable sidearm, which is where the MAC-10 excels IMO (although it's only true in the second half of a game, I can't argue with that)

It's another of those examples where the gun itself is perfectly fine. The main issue is that there are other options that are better. Making it less expensive probably wouldn't solve anything because the dragon breath is better (far more damage, including groundfire), and the spitfire does almost the same thing as the MAC-10 with added bonuses. It's only real advantage is obviously that it can headshot more reliably and deal with multiple targets faster. One could also be very ammo-efficient by choosing the "Barbecue skill", firing one or two shots at trash and let the afterburn do the trick... But it's rarely a viable strategy because killing zeds quickly is part of the meta.

So yeah, there you have it. In my opinion : it's a good gun, outshined by others which are simply better.

(And let's not even talk about the SWAT... It's totally a subpar option compared to the rest. It's only slightly more powerful than the MP5, which in turns is cheaper, has more ammo and equal ROF. And even that gun is slept on in favor of the MP7 or the P90)

 

[s5yn3t]

There are basically too many guns at this point, where new guns outshine old ones that previously outshined older ones.

 

[OnionBubs]

It started out in a much better spot because there were fewer options, in the same vein that Aleflippy mentioned.

When it debuted, it was the only hitscan option in Firebug's arsenal. (It also had the shotgun damage type because someone probably copy-pasted the code from the Trenchgun and forgot to fix it in post.) There were also far, far fewer options available to spam ground fire/residual flames.

However, over the past few years, Firebug has gotten its own set of precision weapons that are just flat-out better than the Mac-10 (the HRG M16 and Helios Rifle) for headshotting mediums and larges.
On the other end of the spectrum, the rest of Firebug's projectile weapons that aren't hitscan have been buffed with the gift of always granting ground fire and insane area coverage that outperforms the Mac-10 on trash killing for less effort.

It was just never buffed to match (or, really, the other weapons were never brought down to a more sensible level). Just fell victim to the power creep and was never brought up to snuff.

 

[flashn00b]

I think it's in an okay position. I'd probably change its damage type to Assault Rifle if it absolutely needs any buffs but otherwise, it does what it's supposed to do: be a stopgap towards the Incendiary Rifle.

If you can barely afford the Incendiary Rifle, it'll make more sense to buy a weapon you know you'll sell later if it means surviving until the next wave, since you can also buy ammo for it along with some amount of armor

 

[Ghostie~♡]

I don't mean to zombify this thread, but genuinely, I think if it was 700 Dosh instead of 900, no one would really complain. I wouldn't. The gun itself is still absolutely fine where it is, I don't want anything about it changed; just the price being lowered from 900, to 700. Being able to eek out that extra dosh in an earlier round would be so lovely.

 

[Aleflippy]

I don't mean to zombify this thread, but genuinely, I think if it was 700 Dosh instead of 900, no one would really complain. I wouldn't. The gun itself is still absolutely fine where it is, I don't want anything about it changed; just the price being lowered from 900, to 700. Being able to eek out that extra dosh in an earlier round would be so lovely.

No one would really complain, but no one would buy it more frequently either. As I pointed above, the main issue isn't really the price IMO, but mostly that there are other options that are better. The Incendiary Rifle does everything the Mac-10 does, but better and only for only a little more dosh. The spitfire is already a very trusty sidearm, that's accurate, lightweight, cheap, powerful and with plenty of spare ammo. The trenchgun is quite powerful for its price and is monstrous with ground fire...

The Mac-10 is just too average to break the mold. It was a breath of fresh air when it was first introduced in KF1 (the first addition to the Firebug's arsenal, who only had the flamethrower before!) But in KF2, it's mere nostalgia galore.