Or make a fully charged shot fill the heat bar 95% of the way and have one more basic shot overheat the gun. That way you can use it as an anti-shield weapon and switch to something else for anti armor.

so I forgot about my alt after 1.8. I was more concerned about my main and enjoying my setup there. but I remembered it and logged in. I also forgot about the extra sp I had received on it. I said whatever and threw a sizable portion of it into ion pistol. some of you are grimacing... I understand but bear with me.

I only put it in operation 4 and gave it a shot (look a pun!)

what a disaster. couldn't hit anything and when I did I felt I was shooting nerf darts. I couldn't get a kill with it... got tired and put it down and switched back to my commando.

but then I was thinking... I hated and loved the plasma cannon when it came out... and I said whatever and dumped a bunch of sp I had sitting around and I came to love it and I have a hard time putting it down.

so I pumped some of my remaining points into sharp shooter and began trying different tactics of how to use it.

finally after about 3 hours I managed to figure out how it works for me.

1) it will never be a slayer like the scrambler pistol used to be
2) people will always underestimate you when they see it in your hand
3) it works best when you know what situation you are going into
4) the charged shot is the glory and the sugar, but it is also your bane and bitterness
5) skill point investment is a must
6) have fun with it

the most important thing for me it's number 6. seeing ion pistol pop up on the kill ticker is so satisfying it's like a shot of heroine I just need more. especially when I charge one shot a cloaky slayer proto scout.


in short use it for lols and invest skill points.

how to bring it in line with the other side arms (if it was truly balanced we would see more of them):
the over heat mechanic leaves you super vulnerable after an effective but generally underwhelming blast. the amount of damage does not offset the downtime. SUGGESTION: decrease cooldown by half a second.ALTERNATIVELY: during overheat allow sprinting and/or weapon switching. OR: have a skill that decreases overheat cooldown

any of these would help the ion pistol into a loving embrace with many a merc.

I love it

Sharpshooter 4 and prof 3 makes it all come together nicely.

As to the charge mechanic - I prefer it as a last ditch anti armour system. For taking down shields the normal shots are more than enough for even Calsentinels.

All I want is for the overheat mechanic not to glitch. Sometimes just switching to the weapon and trying to fire too quickly causes it to overheat. But my theory is that its somehow tied into the other skills that aren't activating.

so I forgot about my alt after 1.8. I was more concerned about my main and enjoying my setup there. but I remembered it and logged in. I also forgot about the extra sp I had received on it. I said whatever and threw a sizable portion of it into ion pistol. some of you are grimacing... I understand but bear with me.

I only put it in operation 4 and gave it a shot (look a pun!)

what a disaster. couldn't hit anything and when I did I felt I was shooting nerf darts. I couldn't get a kill with it... got tired and put it down and switched back to my commando.

but then I was thinking... I hated and loved the plasma cannon when it came out... and I said whatever and dumped a bunch of sp I had sitting around and I came to love it and I have a hard time putting it down.

so I pumped some of my remaining points into sharp shooter and began trying different tactics of how to use it.

finally after about 3 hours I managed to figure out how it works for me.

1) it will never be a slayer like the scrambler pistol used to be
2) people will always underestimate you when they see it in your hand
3) it works best when you know what situation you are going into
4) the charged shot is the glory and the sugar, but it is also your bane and bitterness
5) skill point investment is a must
6) have fun with it

the most important thing for me it's number 6. seeing ion pistol pop up on the kill ticker is so satisfying it's like a shot of heroine I just need more. especially when I charge one shot a cloaky slayer proto scout.


in short use it for lols and invest skill points.

how to bring it in line with the other side arms (if it was truly balanced we would see more of them):
the over heat mechanic leaves you super vulnerable after an effective but generally underwhelming blast. the amount of damage does not offset the downtime. SUGGESTION: decrease cooldown by half a second.ALTERNATIVELY: during overheat allow sprinting and/or weapon switching. OR: have a skill that decreases overheat cooldown

any of these would help the ion pistol into a loving embrace with many a merc.

The ion pistol is terrible. I understand the novelty of running an underpowered weapon but seriously, this gun is bad.

The ion pistol is terrible. I understand the novelty of running an underpowered weapon but seriously, this gun is bad.

Or make a fully charged shot fill the heat bar 95% of the way and have one more basic shot overheat the gun. That way you can use it as an anti-shield weapon and switch to something else for anti armor.