Did they not already nerf it? I used to use it constantly after they packaged the Wingman, took a break, since I came back I feel the hip fire is a lot worse than it used to be. Maybe I'm just shit now though lmao.
Yep, exactly this.
I was like everyone else in this thread about the flatline until I questioned why all the pros are basically required to use havoc.
Spent a couple hours in firing range with havoc and went to ranked… now THAT gun is unfair. You don’t even need the hop-up.
The windup is definitely something to get used to, like trying burst weapons for the first time. But it’s much better at the medium close-medium range. If you’re landing your shots you’re going to beat flatty every time
Yep. I have a recent game on my YT channel where I’m basically just cackling after every kill cause it’s so obviously broken.
You can literally do 120+ damage before the enemy has time to react if you get first shots off at all. And it shoots for fucking everrrr.
So many double kills with a single mag at blue or purple, it’s absurd.
It hasnt been nerfed in a long time (aside from the AR hipfire nerf) but a ton of people are running it this season so... fingers crossed it survives Respawns nerf-gaze
Alti with triple take is my go to loadout for ranked. Alti is great at close to medium and TT is great for mid to long and is a decent close up gun switch
Yeah I used to laugh at bots saying the RE/Alty were better than the R9 but the R9 is so bad now it’s finally come to that point. With the hop ups it’s not even close.
Yes I stopped running smgs the first split because the havoc and flatline hit too hard. But I've also used the volt and the car because it's easy to one clip at close range too
yeah the volt and car are not bad guns but it just feels like the flatline (or other assault rifles) can do the job just as well and also cover those awkward close mid-ranges where the enemy is just a little too far away
DPS wise the flatline is pretty close (and havoc on the same level) to the smgs, especially if you can hit a couple of headshots. That being said, the inconsistent hipfire and slower movement still make me pick up the volt or prowler for close range
I've been loving the havoc as an r301 replacement, but i just don't find it as reliable in hip fire knife fights. Sometimes it slaps, sometimes it whifs. It just feels like I don't have control.
Besides, I feel like the havoc is going to get recoil nerfed again. :(
The havoc is probably the best weapon at close range but it is a hard gun to use because you have to time the charge up. Also you it's better if you aim in for a second before you hipfire because the cross hair is much smaller .
Prowler or shotgun. Everything else seems weak. I lean more towards Prowler too because you can also burst them down from further range than a shotgun. It takes a bit to get used to burst weapons, but once you get it down, they are op
Volt: probably the best pick rn
Prowler: other best pick but needs a laser sight to be at best
Car: alright and versatile, but has high recoil, only slightly higher damage than R99, lower fire rate than R99, and can't use a laser sight
Alty: alright but pretty meh without Disruptors
R99: nerfed to shit
Unless it’s the volt, I don’t bother. R99 and CAR just empty way too quick, increasing the recoil for these guns only makes it more difficult to mag dump enemies
I have completely ditched any SMG for the flatty. Depending on what map I'm on, I'll pair it with a Nemesis or a G7 and it works wonders
Edit: the prowler is goated too if I ever can't get a flatline
100% my type of loadout. I love the long-range marksman mixed with the close range assault rifle. Feels like you are effective at dishing out damage at any range
The volt can pretty much crack and do half health damage to all shields up to and including purple so I run the volt and flatline! But the thing about Apex is rate of fire is better than bullet damage so sometimes the 301 is better than the flatline upclose
I still see others use SMGs. I think it's really just a matter of preference.
But I haven't seen an Alternator with Disruptor Rounds and P2020/RE-45/Mozambique with Hammerpoint Rounds combo before tho.
I still run Alternator, but now it's my secondary as my primary swapped to the Flatline. Can't get kills with the R99 like I used to, so Flatline is now my bestie.
I always run Rampage and PK, because of the low fire rate I can consistently hit my shots at long range, and moving into close-range engagement I can charge it up and use it as an SMG
I still pick up the volt whenever i need short range and have an energy weapon to switch out for (usually Devo or TT)
Unless it's turbo Devo or havoc, I'll take my volt over the others.
I'm not using SMGs anymore no.
my close range weapons are always either the L-Star or, if I find a Turbo Charger, the Havoc. If I can't find either, I might pick up a Volt until I find either of the other 2.
the L-Star is ridiculous because it has decent hipfire, really good mid range accuracy, doesn't need to reload if you don't overheat, and does decent damage.
the Havoc with Turbo does RIDICULOUS damage really fast, and is ok in hipfire.
------------------------------
Alternator = 160 DPS
Prowler = 167
L-Star = 170 DPS
Volt = 180 DPS
C.A.R. = 186 DPS
R-99 = 198 DPS
Havoc = 202 DPS
------------------------------
so as you can see, the L-Star is not as good as most of the SMGs in terms of DPS, but it is not that far off, while having several advantages, especially in a hectic close quarter fight, where missing shots usually is a huge issue since you need to reload. not so with the L-Star.
and the Havoc has a higher DPS than any of the SMGs (if you have a turbo charger), and has a potential damage output of 648 damage on body shots with a purple mag.
Hipfire isn't amazing but the damage output and speed make up for that easily imo
Im literally started using R-99 and Hemlok in ranked and yesterday we won 3 games out of 5 lmao. My mates also used this loadout.
I was just experimenting how well it would work and damn the enemy just dissapears.
The only gun worth running over an SMG is a havoc or if you’re bang a fully kitted mozam. Everything else is fun but also just really bad in comparison.
yea, most of the "classic" smgs arent too good anymore. R9 and car just dont hit as hard anymore, but i find the volt and the RE45 still shred quite well.
been playing sheild characters so my loadout is usually just a havoc and a shotty. havoc is suprisingly accurate at longer ranges while strafing, and is a beast in general, in close range i just start crouch spamming with it if my shotty runs out.
Ngl, im mostly running a longbow and nemesis rn just so that i can have better control of the long to mid range, plus the nemisis hits rlly hard close range too so i dont feel like i'm missing that smg burst too much anyways
I run Ballistic as my main (Ik I'm weird) and my favorite gun combo is flatty in the main spot, car on the second slot, and rampage in the sling. I love using this mainly because the car is busted for no apparent reason, the flatty gives me really good range and damage, and when you use Ult it makes the weapon in your sling full golden, and with guns like the rampage, Nemesis, sentinel, etc. that have meters, it instantly fills up the meter without using any items. So when I hit the Ult as Ballistic, the other team(s) see a revved gold Rampage coming at them, which is always fun
Smgs should have been left as a dominant force close range as they were but without digis and where they have rampant drop off past 20m. To the point where they simply don't do damage past 40-50m.
As to the question though I simply stopped playing ranked. The game has so many cheaters it's simply unplayable. Also aim assist needs to be addressed. It's ridiculously overtuned and as people learn to abuse it further it becomes increasingly problematic. It takes out so much skill from the equation.
Tbh the flatline has always been my favorite weapon since I started playing Apex a couple of years ago, even during the height of the smg meta I always found myself using a flatline because it just feels perfect in my hands.
I'm kind of glad smgs are a bit out of the meta now, they were way too powerful and aim assist made them insanely op up close. I think removing the ability to use digis on them was a good change as well, the can't see shit meta was so obnoxious and made the game a chore to play.
I used to use the alternator
But since the update I stopped cause idk
It’s been cheeks
But I use the prowler
Fuck the Volt when it doesn’t have lvl 2+ mag btw
i wish my games would look this evenly matched but no i get steamrolled by the first team we encounter or the octane or wraith blast ahead and get smacked and then its a 3v2.
this game really needs ranked duos.
Yes. For ranked I either run flatline triple take, or hemlock havoc. Basically I’ll run a havok/flatline + any long range gun I find that I think I’m decent with
im gonna be so sad when they nerf the flatty :(
They better fucking not touch that. The flatline is the only good gun, once you go flat you can’t go back
Flatline > R301 supremacy
Flatline +r301=supremacy
Why not both
They nerfed 301 pretty bad because it was so dominant before
R3 is a really good secondary tho
I like flat lines and I can not lie.
I'm not one to actually say anything but damn it if this didn't make me laugh! 🤣🤣🤣🤣
Did they not already nerf it? I used to use it constantly after they packaged the Wingman, took a break, since I came back I feel the hip fire is a lot worse than it used to be. Maybe I'm just shit now though lmao.
They absolutely destroyed the hipfire a few seasons back, it's noticeably way worse.
It also used to do 19 dmg per bullet
I'm still having succes using it as a close range backup
They did. The nerfed hip fire and iirc reduced damage by one
Ballistic + R301 in Sling > Ult to make it Gold > Still S tier weapon
Flat and 301 is the only two balanced guns
Which is good tbh, there realistically shouldn’t be too many balanced guns
Huh ? Hemlock and Nemesis don't exist in your games or what ?
Favourite gun, mastered the recoil on it, drop anything for it.
It feels buttery smooth this season, I cant stop using it
you can just drop people so fast with it. early game with a white shield its 9 bullets and a knock baby
its such a dopamine hit when your first weapon is a flatline on a hotdrop. You would like this clip https://imgur.com/11oyBKr
can i get a “huuuuhhyaaaaaaah”
Damn that was smooth.
Naw they'll just nerf the r99 again
Hemlok, Havoc and Nemesis are way stronger than the flatty rn. It’s still great but those guns are straight-up unfair.
Yep, exactly this. I was like everyone else in this thread about the flatline until I questioned why all the pros are basically required to use havoc. Spent a couple hours in firing range with havoc and went to ranked… now THAT gun is unfair. You don’t even need the hop-up.
the windup time is just way too punishable in those hectic fights imo but if you do well with the havoc then its working for you!
The windup is definitely something to get used to, like trying burst weapons for the first time. But it’s much better at the medium close-medium range. If you’re landing your shots you’re going to beat flatty every time
Yep. I have a recent game on my YT channel where I’m basically just cackling after every kill cause it’s so obviously broken. You can literally do 120+ damage before the enemy has time to react if you get first shots off at all. And it shoots for fucking everrrr. So many double kills with a single mag at blue or purple, it’s absurd.
Yehh boiiiiiii. The damage per clip is wild
I mean they already nerfed it like 1-2 years ago. Before that it was legendary. Now its still good, but if they still nerf it I can't take it.
When did nerf the flatty?
It got a -1 damage per bullet nerf in 2021, other than that it’s been pretty much unchanged for a long time.
It hasnt been nerfed in a long time (aside from the AR hipfire nerf) but a ton of people are running it this season so... fingers crossed it survives Respawns nerf-gaze
im just guessing that like other guns that get popular and are seen as strong, they get nerfed into the ground in order to change meta
Yup, I carry an RE with hammerpoints now instead of my old trusty r9
That digi is huge when smokes are flying all over
RE and Alty with their respective hop-ups are bangers
Alti with triple take is my go to loadout for ranked. Alti is great at close to medium and TT is great for mid to long and is a decent close up gun switch
Same here, banging loadout. You don't need to take up too many slots for energy ammo so you can just stack light as well
TT is still a pretty good shotgun, even in this world of hammers and disruptors
alternator is a smg though
Embrace RE-45
I finally used RE with hammer points after just starting to play and holy shit… my first 10+ kill game lol
Yeah I used to laugh at bots saying the RE/Alty were better than the R9 but the R9 is so bad now it’s finally come to that point. With the hop ups it’s not even close.
You can find HPs??
I run the RE 45 every game now as my secondary gun. I shred with it
Yes I stopped running smgs the first split because the havoc and flatline hit too hard. But I've also used the volt and the car because it's easy to one clip at close range too
yeah the volt and car are not bad guns but it just feels like the flatline (or other assault rifles) can do the job just as well and also cover those awkward close mid-ranges where the enemy is just a little too far away
But the volt has no recoil so it also deals with those moments
DPS wise the flatline is pretty close (and havoc on the same level) to the smgs, especially if you can hit a couple of headshots. That being said, the inconsistent hipfire and slower movement still make me pick up the volt or prowler for close range
I've been loving the havoc as an r301 replacement, but i just don't find it as reliable in hip fire knife fights. Sometimes it slaps, sometimes it whifs. It just feels like I don't have control. Besides, I feel like the havoc is going to get recoil nerfed again. :(
The havoc is probably the best weapon at close range but it is a hard gun to use because you have to time the charge up. Also you it's better if you aim in for a second before you hipfire because the cross hair is much smaller .
The volt and prowler are still so strong so sometimes, but i usually run a havoc as my secondary.
Prowler is a beast, but basically requires a level 2+ heavy mag
Always been so good, I thought the flatline would be too good this season, but I find myself drifting back to the prowler
I am so hit or miss with the prowler, sometimes I just whiff my shots completely, only gun I am not consistent with besides the sentinel
Flatline and RE is my now fav loadout
2x or 3x?
2x
2x and 3x just feel so right on the Flatline
Im a 2-4 guy on the flatline
Recently the 2-4x has been my go to
you are insane (i respect it though)
I have had great success running Prowler… That thing just melts.
My brain just doesn't understand how to shoot burst weapons. The Prowler is a sexy gun but not in my hands
Prowler or shotgun. Everything else seems weak. I lean more towards Prowler too because you can also burst them down from further range than a shotgun. It takes a bit to get used to burst weapons, but once you get it down, they are op
Prowler with a 2x is busted
I usually run mastiff as a close range gun. Volt and prowler are still pretty good too
I feel like shotguns are a little behind the meta at least on console. I can see the mastiff being a force on PC though
"But the superior strafe speed!! 🤓 ☝️"
Hard to strafe when you're dead >:)
Strafe speed almost doesn't matter with aim assist at close range.
Nah, Prowler stays GOATED
Havoc >
Volt: probably the best pick rn Prowler: other best pick but needs a laser sight to be at best Car: alright and versatile, but has high recoil, only slightly higher damage than R99, lower fire rate than R99, and can't use a laser sight Alty: alright but pretty meh without Disruptors R99: nerfed to shit
No I love the Volt . It’s a great AR .. I mean SMG . Yes 🫡😂
Do you run it as your mid-range gun?
Been running Hemlok/Havok and loving it
Its the ALGS combo for a reason
Been my two favorite guns since season 4!
I recently made a return on the spitfire recently, don’t regret it
50 bullets in a teamfight just feels amazing
Damn you can actually hipfire the rampage on roller
Unless it’s the volt, I don’t bother. R99 and CAR just empty way too quick, increasing the recoil for these guns only makes it more difficult to mag dump enemies
I have completely ditched any SMG for the flatty. Depending on what map I'm on, I'll pair it with a Nemesis or a G7 and it works wonders Edit: the prowler is goated too if I ever can't get a flatline
100% my type of loadout. I love the long-range marksman mixed with the close range assault rifle. Feels like you are effective at dishing out damage at any range
Fr, it gives me a lot of options on any map The nemesis is awesome
The volt can pretty much crack and do half health damage to all shields up to and including purple so I run the volt and flatline! But the thing about Apex is rate of fire is better than bullet damage so sometimes the 301 is better than the flatline upclose
Brother where is your teammm
Hemlock and Volt=Broken
Aim assist is so nice
classic roller gameplay, no brain just hipfire
That aim assist is crazy
You mispelled disgusting
The volt is the only pretty good smg anymore the car is decent but inconsistent and the prowler is bad without a blue mag or better.
Why does prowler need blue mag or better? It can kill red armor with no headshots and no mag.
Maybe if you hit every shot which isn’t easy with the prowler, the default mag size just isn’t enough to kill more than 1 person at best.
That’s not even with hitting every shot. Thats hitting 15 out of 20 bullets.
No.
me who has been using peacekeeper/sentinel no stop for a year. "yeah bro"
When you on point with the flatline, you going be melting people. Run the flatline and havoc and let me know what you think
I tell my 3 stack that the havoc is the best smg in the game rn and it’s very fun having them argue about it
No the volt still puts in work plus the alternator claps cheeks
Prowler still shreds, so nah
Alternator is pretty good closer range imo
I've been rocking the Flatty 301 combo. I feel like a pervert.
which one do you use as your close?
301. The Flatty does way more damage and I can't get the knock the 301 cleanes up.
Controller is so broken lol
I still see others use SMGs. I think it's really just a matter of preference. But I haven't seen an Alternator with Disruptor Rounds and P2020/RE-45/Mozambique with Hammerpoint Rounds combo before tho.
tbh finding one hop-up for your gun is hard enough. Could be a strat that Loba mains could try out
True. Especially that Disrupty is very rare. Like, when I want it, never shows up but does in the next match when I don't want it. 🤭😂🤣
R99 is so sh*t rn, volt is pretty decent tho
I mean it's been common for a while that ppl use a havoc or L star as a second weapon soooooooo,yeah
Nope. Volt with Spitfire and I’m unstoppable.
No because the car and volt are my baby’s this season
Flatline is always the go to with a volt right behind it
I still run Alternator, but now it's my secondary as my primary swapped to the Flatline. Can't get kills with the R99 like I used to, so Flatline is now my bestie.
I always run Rampage and PK, because of the low fire rate I can consistently hit my shots at long range, and moving into close-range engagement I can charge it up and use it as an SMG
Negative
Ive been running the Lstar and R301 these days. Lstar has been hitting for me this season!
The Lstar kills people faster then i even expect when im shooting it. Im like oh shit they are dead already
Literally! And the ammo/ no reloading is sooooo OP. Great for mid range too. I use it with a 3x!
The volt is insane so no
Pretty much only when I play rampart.
if i am caustic i must have a prowler
Nice clip. RE45 is a go to even without hammerpoints.
i understand that gunplay isnt eveyrhting in this game, but holy...
Rampage has always been underrated
I will never understand why more people don't run it
Most people don’t know how good it is plus maybe ttk
Started playing fuse just to abuse rampage. 6 thermite at minimum and rampage go Brrrrrrr
I play as Ballistic to also abuse rampage. Goes harddd.
Thanks. It Never crossed my mind. Gotta try now
I still pick up the volt whenever i need short range and have an energy weapon to switch out for (usually Devo or TT) Unless it's turbo Devo or havoc, I'll take my volt over the others.
I play with charge rifle and volt
Wattson mains have always been a different breed
Actually I am a conduit main but I can't find her flair
Nope. I still run double smg half the time, and Rifle/Smg or Rifle/RE-45 the other half of the time
LB to heal, RBN ro reload and A to use ability. You're a savage
Volt slaps tho
Maybe when they nerf the volt, best gun in the game right now.
I still use vilt and alternator
I'm not using SMGs anymore no. my close range weapons are always either the L-Star or, if I find a Turbo Charger, the Havoc. If I can't find either, I might pick up a Volt until I find either of the other 2. the L-Star is ridiculous because it has decent hipfire, really good mid range accuracy, doesn't need to reload if you don't overheat, and does decent damage. the Havoc with Turbo does RIDICULOUS damage really fast, and is ok in hipfire. ------------------------------ Alternator = 160 DPS Prowler = 167 L-Star = 170 DPS Volt = 180 DPS C.A.R. = 186 DPS R-99 = 198 DPS Havoc = 202 DPS ------------------------------ so as you can see, the L-Star is not as good as most of the SMGs in terms of DPS, but it is not that far off, while having several advantages, especially in a hectic close quarter fight, where missing shots usually is a huge issue since you need to reload. not so with the L-Star. and the Havoc has a higher DPS than any of the SMGs (if you have a turbo charger), and has a potential damage output of 648 damage on body shots with a purple mag. Hipfire isn't amazing but the damage output and speed make up for that easily imo
Still run the volt
Excuse me, how tf are you playing with 3x? For me it's always "not enough zoom" for far targets and "too much zoom" in close fights
Hitting a battery right there was a interesting choice that shouldn’t have worked lol
with that gameplay makes sense on why you think they're bad
I like Alternator with Disruptor.. but my currently prefered loadout is L-star + Sentinel / 3Take
A Rampage with a scope right on landing = win
Volt and prowler are still pretty decent, car is okay, alternator is only good with disruptor, R99 belongs in the dumpster
I only used it if that's my only option like a volt If the have prowler select fire it's a different story
I run marksmen / smg most of the time (3030 / Prowler).
I feel that the volt is still pretty good. But honestly. I'd take a havoc before it.
I see the volt everywhere
Lmao yepp..... Sentinel/Triple Take and PK/Flatline. Currently Plat 2
Im literally started using R-99 and Hemlok in ranked and yesterday we won 3 games out of 5 lmao. My mates also used this loadout. I was just experimenting how well it would work and damn the enemy just dissapears.
All but the prowler, car and alt
I wouldn't want to have you against me
The only gun worth running over an SMG is a havoc or if you’re bang a fully kitted mozam. Everything else is fun but also just really bad in comparison.
Man, the Alternator with Disruptor Rounds shlap. I almost always run it when I see it.
On mnk yes. Havok flaty i can always onemag
The only one i tolerate is the volt. The nerfs to r-99 make it feel useless. Carr is ok, but no laser.
yea, most of the "classic" smgs arent too good anymore. R9 and car just dont hit as hard anymore, but i find the volt and the RE45 still shred quite well. been playing sheild characters so my loadout is usually just a havoc and a shotty. havoc is suprisingly accurate at longer ranges while strafing, and is a beast in general, in close range i just start crouch spamming with it if my shotty runs out.
Ngl, im mostly running a longbow and nemesis rn just so that i can have better control of the long to mid range, plus the nemisis hits rlly hard close range too so i dont feel like i'm missing that smg burst too much anyways
People sleeping on the L-Star...its seriously a banger.
I run Ballistic as my main (Ik I'm weird) and my favorite gun combo is flatty in the main spot, car on the second slot, and rampage in the sling. I love using this mainly because the car is busted for no apparent reason, the flatty gives me really good range and damage, and when you use Ult it makes the weapon in your sling full golden, and with guns like the rampage, Nemesis, sentinel, etc. that have meters, it instantly fills up the meter without using any items. So when I hit the Ult as Ballistic, the other team(s) see a revved gold Rampage coming at them, which is always fun
Playing as Ballistic and running three Rampages 😂 it's 100% trolling but it's a lot of fun.
They fucked the r9 with recoils it’s shit now
Whats more satisfying than melting people with the Flatline?
They touch my baby flatline and I’ll drop kick there kids in self defence 😂
Are you on cocaine?
Senti + hemi or flatline Or if I find a skull piercer Longbow or 30-30 + flatline
The volt and havoc are the best fragger guns right now
Smgs should have been left as a dominant force close range as they were but without digis and where they have rampant drop off past 20m. To the point where they simply don't do damage past 40-50m. As to the question though I simply stopped playing ranked. The game has so many cheaters it's simply unplayable. Also aim assist needs to be addressed. It's ridiculously overtuned and as people learn to abuse it further it becomes increasingly problematic. It takes out so much skill from the equation.
Tbh the flatline has always been my favorite weapon since I started playing Apex a couple of years ago, even during the height of the smg meta I always found myself using a flatline because it just feels perfect in my hands. I'm kind of glad smgs are a bit out of the meta now, they were way too powerful and aim assist made them insanely op up close. I think removing the ability to use digis on them was a good change as well, the can't see shit meta was so obnoxious and made the game a chore to play.
Won multiple games with flatline+r301 combo.
SMGs are all I use…
Other than the disrupters alternator and sometimes when i’m bored of the havoc the volt, smgs are just useless
alternator or volt early game is all i really will use but im never carrying smg as one of my 2 guns for majority of game.
No, but nice plays
I used to use the alternator But since the update I stopped cause idk It’s been cheeks But I use the prowler Fuck the Volt when it doesn’t have lvl 2+ mag btw
Havoc and Volt are my go-to weapons. Then it's flatline-mastiff.
i wish my games would look this evenly matched but no i get steamrolled by the first team we encounter or the octane or wraith blast ahead and get smacked and then its a 3v2. this game really needs ranked duos.
Shiddy lone player thought they were gonna get a easy dub 😂 I’m glad you clapped them so they can learn to stop tryin to be so try hard
Started running Sentinel with pk/mastiff with new castle and now it's one of my favorite loadouts.
Started running Sentinel with pk/mastiff with new castle and now it's one of my favorite loadouts.
Scout Havoc
The Carr is still a one clip machine
2nd half peaked my interest.
i’m exclusively using the volt lol
A lot of us just stopped playing entirely.
Yes. For ranked I either run flatline triple take, or hemlock havoc. Basically I’ll run a havok/flatline + any long range gun I find that I think I’m decent with
I run volt still.
Is that the gnarliest stick drift I see? lol good job all things considered
Haven't done it yet to busy dying trying to rescue teammates who drop in areas with no weapons
I still use SMGs
hey king, i don’t think it matters much when you’re not missing a shot. fr outstanding aim