Sirusblk

"Getting to know your pistol on a more personal level"

Are you tired of seeing your pistol shots ineffective? Do people laugh when you pull it out? Do you just need to get in touch with your inner John Wooery?!

Then this guide is for you! Turn that secondary into a primary!

Question: But Sirus, aren't pistols underpowered and weak?
Answer: Nope.

You see, because of they're unlimited ammo they are tiny little powerhouses. Other guns have finite ammo, forcing shots to be taken carefully and considerately. With pistols you can pump a full clip into infected without worry of wasting ammo.

Question: But Sirus, isn't that overkill?
Answer: *chuckle* ...No! *fake smile* They're Zombies!

By using your pistols as your primary, you can always fall back onto your primary when the zombified pasta hits the fan. We'll discuss the strengths and weaknesses of the pistols and how to use them to the best of their abilities.

Strengths and Weeknesses
The pistols (that's one for each hand) don't have quite the accurate range of the Assault Rifle or the Hunting Rifle. Nor do they have the power or pure amount of bullets in their clip. The shotgun too has a spread that the pistols nor any other weapon can match.

The only strengths that the pistols can claim are unlimited ammo and the most controllable bursts of any of the guns. That's right, you can choose if you want a full two clips of ammo to go into your zombied infected or just two shots.

Strategy
The pistols can't be treated like the other set of standard guns. The point of using the pistols is to conserve your ammo for the moments you need them most. Since audio cues and more predict these events, you're given ample time to switch to your primary weapon.

Timing is everything, if you can click fast enough, you'll hardly even recognize the semi automatic nature of the weapons. Quite simply they work well close quarters. They work even better if you're able to move around.

Indoors or outdoors you're gonna have to get close to the enemy, about point blank. Don't spend more than two shots on an enemy infected. Once you gather their attention, start running back and have them in a line. Then unleash your whole clip.

You can do the same running forward but only if you're not being chased from behind. Again never waste your ammo unless you've got them all in a line. Due to the controllable nature of the pistols your accuracy will be much better spraying than any of the primary weapons, as well as conserving that much needed ammo.

The main tactic here is to get the infected's attention then draw and quarter them in a line to mow them down with your pistols. Due to the expendable nature of the ammo you'll be much more effective.

When and Where
Pistols are definitely viable in Co-Op but still viable, only to a lesser degree, in Versus mode.

Pistols are for use against the common infected, not for the boss infected. You can still use your pistols on boomers. In fact it's ideal not to have to switch weapons for surprise boomer attacks.

During a horde rush don't switch to your primary just yet, you might as well go nuts and exhaust all your ammo on your pistols before you switch to your primary.

In Versus Mode, only pull out your pistols for running between infected spawns. The boss infected are gonna force you to waste a lot of ammo as it is. Using your pistols means you'll have more ammo for the boss infected.

There you go, you're well on your way to having doves in flight when you pull a pistol. Don't fight fiercer, fight smarter.

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WhiskeySix

great post!

plus, the pistol flashlights are great - especially when you're in the dark and need to melee. W/ the shotgun flashlight, melee in the dark = total disorientation, but not with The Pistol™!

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Reflexes are for mistakes only. Reaction implies surprise. Be surprised less.

Pistolfied

Crouching is your best friend with pistols, it can make them just as accurate as the m16 and allow you to pop heads from afar.

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Razcsak

Pistols are more useful on co-op compared to versus, but if you decide to take a hunting rifle into the fast-paced running that is versus, dual pistols can be invaluable. The rifle is terribly inaccurate while moving, so if you're not set up in a location or need more firepower, whipping out the pistols is quite possibly a good idea. In my opinion, the best starting setup is the Uzi as a backup and the pistols as a primary. The only two guns I've ever had ammo concerns at all with are the Uzi and m16 (and I never take the m16), so you'll often see me with pistols up until we get t2 weapons.

Summary: I like pistols until you get the auto-shotgun.

Sirusblk

The hunting rifle is no less accurate than the shotgun when running, so again you'll have to wait for the infected to get close. I hardly ever zoom in since just standing still for a second is dead accurate. It is however very very easy to charge with pistols than it is with the hunting rifle.

You do never want to back yourself into a corner, unless you're surrounded (if you can eliminate your back being exposed do so). However it's better to run around if they're not coming from behind.

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Boot

Nice guide Sirus! I also use pistols a lot for ranged since I tend to pick up the shottie. In normal movement I'll get to medium range, crouch and fire, then reload while I move up.

When the rush comes, I'll crouch and fire at the rush aiming at head level. Often this is enough to take out a wave, but when it gets really bad I can always switch to the shottie and clear it out, especially in the finale waves.

One interesting thing I find is that on Expert it takes about 5-7 pistol rounds to take out a typical zombie standing around, but only 2-3 shots to take them out if they are rushing. This is not dependent on range. It's always 1 in the head at any range.

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Sirusblk

That is something I noticed, that it takes more ammunition if you don't have their attention. When you use your pistol as an agrivator to facilitate the rush, you can knock out all of them very fast and usually with less ammo in the first place.

It is hard to tell if they're falling, they're not simple ragdolls and won't immediately drop to the floor when shot at though.

Also always know that it is better to melee than it is to fire. Hear a hunter's pouncing screetch? Don't try to shoot it in mid air, it's better to time that melee hit. Stuck in a corner with horde rushing at you? Melee non stop.

One of the greatest advantages of melee is that it'll never ever hurt your teammates.

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twiddilywink

Ya, what ive noticed, is pistols are really good and are underestimated. I'll sometimes just whip out my pistols just because they are okay accurate while moving, but on normal or easy, bam bam, 2 shots kills the common infected. Thats why i like them and they have a very short reload time. But something ive noticed with them, i don't know if it works with all guns, but if you are in the middle of a reload with a pistol and zombies are moving up on you, after you melee them, you continue where you were in your reload after that. So you never have to worry about that. I also just think they are fun because it makes you feel like James Bond or someone like that, haha. =P

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|TG-Irr| Twiddilywink

ikonic

As a friendly reminder: PISTOLS ONLY. This includes no grenades.

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SAITCHO

Im quite trigger happy with the auto shotty and I never run out of ammo. Even on medium range its pretty easy to nail a smoker with a full clip. I only use pistol on long range sniping occasions and Id rather rush the sucker and nail him up close.

HiTestFest

^^^ tank!!!!!!!

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Ghilly

I don't know about any of you but I have yet to run out of ammo with the shotty/auto-shotty so I really have no need to switch to my pistols

I think I might try this out and see what all the fuss of pistols is all about

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Sirusblk

It depends on the situation, I've run with the best of teammates and hardly ever had to fire a single shot, other teammates need me doing most of the work and I seem to run out of ammo alot.

Versus mode makes it easy to run out of ammo if you play against a good group of infected. They'll make it so you're only inching forward.

I'm not saying it's for the shotgun either. I've used pistols instead of the assault rifle because the assault rifle runs out of ammo really quick.

Really it's not tips on how to conserve your ammo of your primary by using your pistols really well but rather just how to use your pistols really well in general. Some players might like to actually go after the achievement or play the game that way.

There's many uses for the pistols, and not just as a backup weapon.

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Razcsak

I've only ever run out with the Uzi or M16. With the shotguns, one shot gets you enough kills that you don't have to worry so much, and with the hunting rifle, you don't need more than one shot to kill anything but a special and you can get multiple kills per shot.

edit: Which is a shame, since the pistols occupy the same type of weapon/range slot that the Uzi/M16 does: midrange rapidfire. They nicely complement the HR by giving you a decent on-the-move weapon, while adding a bit of accurate longer-range fire to the shotguns.

Uchiha Obito

I also don't tend to run out of ammo, so long as my team is halfway decent.

However, pistols are awesome, once you're comfortable enough with them you will find you can swap back and forth from your "main" weapon to pistols without any real change in your stopping power.

One bone to pick though, you say that pistols aren't for boss infected, but I can kill hunters, boomers and smokers just fine w/o main weapons, I even prefer them sometimes due to the extreme accuracy you can achieve while moving toward your teammate. I find I inflict little to no FF damage when using my pistols.

Even if you are being swarmed by infected pistols are a no-brainer given two important facts. One, you need to have your back to at least one wall, two is preferred. Second, you need at least one good straight shot at the normal infected, I can unload 30 rounds and clear about 15 or so zombies, and even then, you hit reload and start clubbing till you're ready again.

All in all, I tend to prefer my pistols over the initial weapons unless I'm trying to be over-the-top with the damage and/or kills.

One question for anyone who knows: I think Ikonic answered it, but what does/doesn't count for akimbo assassin? I would think anything but pistols, but does the machine gun? And craziest of crazies, do pills or first-aid count against it?

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