5 Weapons Every Vanu Medic Should Unlock in Planetside 2

 Tired of running around with that default Pulsar rifle? If you’re anything like me, you slowly figured out it wasn’t quite living up to your expectations. Then, once you maxed out your Medical Applicator, you finally had some decent certs to explore other options. This article catalogues some great guns you should consider when that time finally comes!

Terminus

I have been reliably informed that the Terminus is the best overall assault rifle in the Vanu Medic arsenal, with heavy-hitting bullets and a generous rate of fire for medics who can control the weapon spread and recoil. However I must shamefully admit that I am not one of those medics; I have a very hard time compensating for the Terminus’ uncompromising handling. But if you’re a CS:GO veteran (or just willing to put in the hours training), the Terminus could be the only unlock you’ll ever need.

NS-11 

Here’s the assault rifle for everyone else! The NS-11 was the first alternative I unlocked after the Pulsar, and I immediately fell in love with its nonexistent recoil, fast reload and overall forgiving operation. It is widely considered a “beginner’s rifle” due to its ease of use and primary downside being low DPS. But that doesn’t mean it’s not extremely good at the niche it fills. Finally, a very deep modification pool lets you further alter the gun to suit your playstyle. 

Lacerta

In contrast to the other assault rifles I’ve mentioned, who all have the same generic-rifle playstyle you can find in any FPS ever, the Lacerta is a smorgasbord of weird design choices that somehow come together to create my favorite gun in the game. It’s a burst-fire weapon (something I normally hate in any shooter), but it makes up for this with even more generous handling than the NS-11. Your bullets basically always hit the crosshair, even if you grab every single attachment that worsens accuracy/recoil. Throw in the lack of bullet drop and rapid firing speed, and you’re basically playing with a laser gun. Finally, it comes with optional ‘lashing’ ammo which causes the bullets to deal AoE damage. This lets you rack up assists through spamming choke points containing bunched-up targets. So satisfying.

Obelisk

This next one’s a bit weird, and not an all-purpose primary like the others I’ve listed. The Obelisk is a scout rifle which specializes in long-range single-shot damage, meaning you should throw a 6x scope on it and use it whenever the combat is too far away for a typical rifle. It’s worth owning due to being Medic’s only option for a sniping playstyle. Not to mention it comes with infinite ammo, a full-auto alt-fire, no scope sway and no bullet drop. If you can see an enemy, you can hit ’em.

Hunter Crossbow

This last one’s a secondary, and probably my most subjective pick on the list. But I personally don’t see much value in bringing a combat-focused secondary into traditional combat; everyone dies (and kills) so quickly that I never get the chance to pull my pistol out. Nor am I ever close to running out of ammo with my primary. Which is why I bring the Hunter Crossbow because it unlocks several utility features I’d miss without it. With the explosive bolts (which I always equip), you can now deal damage to vehicles and other targets immune to small-arms fire. Also as a silenced weapon, it lets you deal damage without appearing on enemy minimaps. And finally I gave mine a flashlight (for nighttime or spotting cloaked Infiltrators) and a 6x scope so I can treat it as a makeshift binoculars. That’s a ton of situational perks that really reduce the number of times I’m caught without a tool for the job. I tend to regret lacking it every time I switch out for one of the many pistols that otherwise inhabit that slot. 

Bonus #6: NSX Kuwa

aabicus from 2½ years later checking in, found another gun I highly recommend. I’d finally earned 4k of those red A7 currency, and had no idea what to spend them on. So when you find yourself in that situation, and you’re into guns that unlock new playstyles, I highly recommend grabbing the NSX Kuwa, the only hybrid rifle in the game. It basically plays like an LMG, spraying a hose of bullets downrange with barely any recoil. The windup takes getting used to, but I just pretend I’m the Heavy from TF2 to get myself in the right headspace. If you can position yourself to get the drop, it’s quite fun to just hold down M1 and rain bullets on your target. And even better, you can equip an underslung grenade launcher! (I prefer the extended mag, but hey, it’s an option.) Overall it’s not the right gun for every situation, but in target-rich environments it can be a great gun for farming kills.

Seriously, don’t be like me and just ignore all the great options Planetside 2 has because the guns all look identical from first glance. There are so many nifty tricks hiding within its ordnance, from underslung subweapons to weird ammo types to infrared scopes. I wish I’d gotten explorative sooner! This is also the ideal time to go play Planetside 2 if you’ve fallen off the boat. There’s a Halloween event going throughout October granting double-XP and special event unlocks. See you on the battlefield!