It was.... I noticed also that there was no different than the damage output of the Basic, Adv and Proto Rifles...should i just stick with the LR? or if it worth the isk /PG/CPU to fit the higher tier ones? Is the heat build up an issue? or should I just focus on becoming more accurate with the gun.... I figure if I'm a good shot I may not even need the extra time the slower heat buildup gives me.

There's a thread stickied above that gives you all the weapon ranges. Laser Rifle optimal range is about 80m. So you want to always try to fire at this range for max damage. Then you have continuous fire and heat build up, something the grand majority of people don't understand.

Currently the STD laser overheats at 40/100 ammo. Laser Rifle is crap atm, that's why you don't see them. It was good in Chromosome, some even say OP. The Viziam could overheat as low as 8-12/100 ammo. This is the reason it did such ridiculous damage along with its high base damage. Yes less heat build up increases damage, that's why you see the Viziam has same base damage as the STD and ELM. Continuous fire increases damage, if you stop at 20/100 ammo you'll do more damage than stopping at 40/100. People who say laser is fine have no Idea how the thing works. CCP nerfed it a lot with no real justification. But w/e.

Obviously carrying a Viziam is way too costly and I don't think its lower heat build up is significant. So for now sticking with a STD laser should be fine. What do you want is to get the Amarr Assault suit asap. This one reduces heat build up on laser weapons, which will increase damage on the Laser Rifle. To get max efficiency you want that skill up to proto level. Huge SP sink but it's the only way to get the laser to Chromosome levels. Right now I have it at ADV suit and the basic laser overheats at 30/100 ammo. Not too bad but it's not good. With max skill lvl 5 it should bring it down to 20-25/100 ammo. Not really sure.

Managing your heat and fire by intervals is not really an option. You will be overheating a lot. Your beam will be seen across the field by snipers. They become your biggest weakness. You have to move fast between cover as well for when the laser overheat. You'll be reloading a lot. This is why I prefer shield extenders over damage mods. With the Amarr Assault you can dual tank shields/armor so snipers won't be able to one shot you if you can get a nice fit. The sidearm should be SMG for those CQC situations. I'd get a proto one.

It's sad that the laser has to depend so much on SP to be even useful. The Amarr suit should be a bonus not a requirement. I miss my shield tanked Caldari/Laser combo. So many clones died by that beam.

Source: Chromosome Laser Rifle Veteran

-XOXO

Would you say then that it's fair to say that the weapon is largely useless without a deep sp sink?

Do you think that proto Minmi Assault would work too, with complex dmg mods and a light shield tank? Or is the heat bonus betterthan the potential damage buff from the other suit. The prospect of skilling into a new suit is kinda daunting.

Do you think that proto Minmi Assault would work too, with complex dmg mods and a light shield tank? Or is the heat bonus betterthan the potential damage buff from the other suit. The prospect of skilling into a new suit is kinda daunting.

Regulators in the lows help get shields back fast when overheating (feedback damage).

-XOXO

That is an excellent point. I believe that the third dmg mod still gives the bulk of it's bonus (some where on the region of 76 percent if I recall) so that may be worth using the dmg mod... I'll def try your ideas though.

So I took the plunge and skilled into Laser Rifles, to level IV currently, however I've had mixed results so I'm appealing to those dedicated Laser Rifle Users out there to help me out.

The weapon seems to vary widely to the amount of damage it does from suit to suit, and I seem to be melting a hell of a lot faster than other targets if they point a Duvoule AR at me. (Dont turn this into a AR OP debate please lets keep it on the LR)

So my question is this: What ranges should I be looking to engage targets? It says on the box it's a long range weapon but the damage projection at what I would call 'long range' seems to be dismal at best. Should I be looking to engage at mid range instead?

This weapon is loads of fun by itself but is easily out gunned....would you consider it more a team support weapon? Sitting in the back of a squad and helping out with kills rather than making them myself? Or should i play it more like a scout where I should look to flank with it and try to catch a few enemies unaware? What are the tricks of the trade to make this weapon cut down merc like julian fries?

Fitting wise, I've been stacking complex damage mods to get it's damage up there, but am I realistically off fitting a brick tank instead? I currently run Minmatar Assault, but is there a better suit choice here?

Along the same lines, should I be pairing it with a Sidearm? or is the weapon really serviceable enough by itself? I find in CQC the weapon is rightfully ****, so the SMG really helps there, but should I focus more on avoiding CQC entirely and just buffing my tank and dmg instead?

Additionally, I've been rocking a Nanohive, but are there any other equipments I should be running? Would I be better off with a Active Scanner to locate targets?

Any answers to these questions would be greatly helpful, as it seems like with the new Red-dot sight, it's actually usable again.

Thank you guys in advance and I look forward to constructive comments!

Do you think that proto Minmi Assault would work too, with complex dmg mods and a light shield tank? Or is the heat bonus betterthan the potential damage buff from the other suit. The prospect of skilling into a new suit is kinda daunting.

LR is sick atm best thing for it is an active scanner and a few dmg mods suit and other stuff dont really matter just make sure your just supporting with it not running in and just when fighting someone with it close range just keep backing up and firing but dont kill yourself with the overheat

Active scanner if running with a squad (mooch off their hives) otherwise use a hive yourself or ninja into a squad to make your scanner useful.

A good side arm is essential.

Damage formula is something like
damage = base damage + 0.6 * shots fired

Optimal range is 65-85m. Don't bother shooting if they're outside that (check the efficiency before you shoot) better to keep your stealth and reposition.

One other trick is don't put your beam on the target until they're far enough away from cover that you'll be able to kill them.

I'm sure you know about pre-heating by now.

I usually brick tank (fitting permitting) but that's personal preference.

In ambush you should shoot past the blueberries and treat them as ablative armour. When they're getting thin it's time to pull back until they 'regenerate'.