I started bringing the Spear on bot missions last night - and damn does it feel good. It fires fast, doesn’t require precise aim, does a ton of damage, and has a manageable amount of ammo. Seems really strong compared to the Autocannon, EAT and Quasar.
The biggest problem with it is that it locks onto striders, which is absolutely overkill for them
I heard they fixed superior packing methodology which should make the ammo economy a lot less painful too.
Nothing is going to make me put the AC away.
I tried it for the 1st time yesterday. I don’t like that it has a backpack. I enjoy having a guard dog too much.
I typically only use the guard dog on bugs, since I feel like it doesn’t do a lot against the range of the bots. But I did usually bring a shield backpack, so I feel your pain on losing that slot.
Still, I viewed it as giving me an extra stratagem slot to play with. I noticed that the Gatling Sentry puts in a lot of work against smaller bots and allows you to use the Spear to concentrate more on the big boys.
The commando will be the same with the expendable anti-tank: Easier to use to kill factories and high armor targets and more shots per minute based on call in times.
Like the autocannon, less explosive damage for other situations, but it is better for the ones that anti-tank was used for.
A mix of explosive and high penetration weapons across a squad is the best though. Combined arms ftw!