Blacklight: Retribution

Blacklight: Retribution

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Receiver Quirks and You
By 40 Proof Listerine
'Tis better to give tips than to be confused about receivers.

This guide discusses the unannounced quirks and specialties of each primary and secondary receiver and what situations you would most want to take them.

For each weapon, the following questions are answered. This can help serve as a cheat sheet on what to prioritize when renting parts or creating builds for these weapons.
  1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
  2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
  3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
  4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
  5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
  6. What parts make the biggest difference?
Pre-parity screenshots come courtesy of the goons at the Something Awful Forums thread on Blacklight: Retribution[forums.somethingawful.com]; post-parity screenshots were taken by self.

You can find me with other goons in-game as player name Zotarus.
   
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Table of Contents / TL:DR;
There are tons of receivers in Blacklight: Retribution, and there is some functional overlap between them. A good deal of receivers are fully automatic while having moderate recoil and 30 bullets to a standard magazine, for example.

Starting out with few parts to compare with, it can be difficult to determine what makes an M4X stand out versus an AK470 just staring at the stats screen, so this guide discusses the quirks and specialties of each primary receiver and what situations you would most want to take them.

For ease of discussion, primary receivers are grouped together based on general function. This makes it easier to compare similar receivers. Primary receivers are in items A to F. Secondary receivers are in items G and H.

The short version for each receiver is in the table of contents below; longer detail is in each section of guide.

A. Automatic Rifles
  • Assault Rifle - 40% speed modifiers.
  • AK470 - Highest DMG range / recoil in group.
  • M4X - Lowest aim/move spread in group.
  • Bullpup Full Auto - Muzzle only DMG modifier. Some bullpup stocks increase reload time.

B. Non-Automatic Rifles
  • Bolt-Action Rifle - 0.0º aimed spread, no matter spread part configuration.
  • Combat Rifle - 0.0º aimed spread, no matter spread part configuration.
  • Light Recon Rifle - Fastest potential primary receiver run speed.
  • Anti-Material Rifle (AMR) - Cannot achieve 0.0º aimed spread. 6x multiplier v. Hardsuits.
  • Burstfire Rifle - Three rounds per burst. Some bullpup stocks increase reload time.

C. Machine Guns
  • Light Machine Gun - First shot recoil highest, then zeroes out.
  • LMG Recon - First shot recoil highest, then zeroes out.

D. Heavy Rifles
  • Heavy Assault Rifle - 110% speed modifiers.
  • Tactical Assault Rifle - 40% speed modifiers.

E. Submachine Guns (SMGs)
  • SMG - Fully customizable SMG.
  • Tactical SMG - Muzzle only DMG modifier. All scopes have 0.15s scope-in time.
  • Burstfire SMG - Four round burst. Muzzle only DMG modifier.

F. The Brave and the Bow-ld
  • Compound Bow - You brought a bow to a gunfight.

G. Pistols
  • Light Pistol - Can equip stocks with barrel attachment.
  • Heavy Pistol - Can equip stocks with barrel attachment.
  • Burst-Fire Pistol - Three round burst.
  • Revolver - 0.00º hip spread when crouched.
  • Snub 260 - ROF firing from hip >> ADS ROF. Hip-fire reticle shrinks massively when crouched.

H. Not Pistols
  • Shotgun - Shoots 10 pellets.
  • S-AR-k - Shoots 5 pellets. Fully automatic.
  • Machine Pistol - Fully automatic.
  • Breech-Loaded Pistol - Scatter shot shoots 16 pellets.

I. Speed Kills - Receiver Base Speeds / Ranges
This section is a side-by-side listing of ranges and speeds for each receiver for easier reference.
A. Automatic Rifles
  • Assault Rifle
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. Damage - Low: 45; Default: 50; Max: 55 (Second in group, behind AK470).
    b. ROF - 650 RPM (Middle of group)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Speed-altering parts only count 40% for this receiver. E.g., +20 speed is only worth +8, while -20 penalty is only -8. Scope-in time modification from barrel/stock is still affected normally.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Have 70 bullets per reload with big drum mags.
    b. Run heavy parts on a fast build with 40% usual penalty.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. AR stands for All-'Rounder - moderate recoil and moderate spread accuracy keep it useful across most engagements.
    b. More bullets, more better - AR has better extended magazine options than other automatic rifles.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User needs aimed spread precision less than 0.50 degrees for long-distance fire.
    b. Need to run fastest - 40% penalty goes both ways. Go-fast build still ace for hip-fire and ADS time.
    c. Hip-fire with heavy parts is inferior to SMG or other go-fast options.
    d. As discussed in points above, AR also stands for Average Rifle - if user wants a more extreme option in damage/speed/spread, any other receiver specializing in that stat would be a better choice.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Big drums - 70 rounds per mag is unparalleled, but huge speed hit.
    b. Quick magazines - when you don't want the drum mag speed penalty, quick magazines minimize down time. Express and light mags are poor choices due to speed quirk.

  • AK470
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 40; Default: 50; Max: 60. (Highest in group - AK470 > AR > BPFA > M4X)
    b. ROF - 650 RPM. (M4X > AK470 = AR > BPFA)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. 85% speed bonuses.
    b. Has curved magazine in third person view regardless of extended magazines choice.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. High-damage, high-recoil automatic fire.
    b. Four-shots builds over 220 HP that AR and other automatic rifles cannot due to wide damage range.
    c. Sounds extremely chunky when not silenced.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Wants to four-shot a wider variety of builds than AR due to higher damage cap.
    b. User does not mind recoil tradeoff for damage.
    c. Wants more rifle with better aim spread than AR while keeping damage.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. Need more than 40 bullets to magazine.
    b. User needs low recoil option.
    c. User wants precise hip-fire options.
    d. User builds for low damage - wide damage range hurts AK470 more than AR.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Damage-increading parts bring out biggest potential in AK470.
    b. Spread parts have both more extreme penalties and benefits compared to AR or M4X
  • M4X
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 40; Default: 45; Max: 50 (Lowest in group)
    b. ROF - 750 RPM. (Highest in group)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. Normal speed bonuses.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Lowest spread in class - both in aim and hip spread.
    b. High ROF and full speed bonuses accentuate tight hip spread - great to run and gun.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants to go fast and keep high accuracy while having higher damage than an SMG.
    b. User wants amazing hip-fire capability at close to medium range.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. Need higher damage per bullet.
    b. User cannot keep rifle on target for 6+ shots.
    c. User needs low recoil weapon - M4X has highest recoil in group due to ROF if taking high recoil build.
    d. User does want a higher spread weapon - low spread requires higher precision.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Extended magazines help mitigate highest ROF.
    b. Low spread parts excel in niche; high damage parts still leave moderately low spread.

  • Bullpup Full Auto (BPFA)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 46; Default: 50; Max: 54 (AK470 > AR > BPFA > M4X)
    b. ROF - 550 RPM. (M4X > AR > AK470 > BPFA)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Weapon uses grips instead of barrels, and bullpup stocks instead of normal stocks.
    b. Most grips/stocks significantly reduce run speed, while speed increasing grips/stocks have spread/recoil/reload tradeoffs compared to default parts.
    c. Only muzzle affects damage - grips only affect spread / recoil / move speed.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Goes quite fast with default parts.
    b. Hipfires for days - tightest non-SMG spread on the move, and automatic fire does not bloom cone much at all.
    c. Lowest recoil in class - nearly nonexistant.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. GP is limited and user does not want to rent/buy grip/stock.
    b. User hates recoil - BPFA has lowest recoil in class by far, despite numerical value.
    c. User wants to run and gun, as BPFA both goes fast and has tight hip spread.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User needs light weapon with high ROF for CQC.
    b. User needs higher damage per bullet.
    c. User wants a heavy build and does not mind having high recoil on gun.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Muzzle is only part that affects damage.
    b. Other parts are flexible based on what user wants to match build.
    c. Default grip/stock can be a good balance of run-fast and medium spread.
B. Non-Automatic Rifles
  • Bolt-Action Rifle (BAR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 160; Base: 180; Max: 200 (Highest single-shot non-AMR non-automatic).
    b. ROF - Variable (Recoil affects bolt cycle rate).

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. ROF is directly tied to recoil stat. High recoil = lower ROF.
    b. Bolt cycling between shots will bring you out of scope.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. One-shot headshot 99% of builds. (Extreme scenario: 25% helmet + 250HP build = 167 DMG rifle needed to headshot)
    b. One-shot bodyshot builds with less than 200 HP with a damage build.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Long-distance precision sniping.
    b. User can make headshots reliably.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User cannot land shots on target for life of self.
    b. Need to go FAST, hip-fire, or run-and-gun to get to objective. (Go fast BARs work fine, but have much higher skill requirement due to lower damage base.)
    c. Need a high ROF due to large enemy team presence.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. High-damage, low-spread barrel / muzzle - spread is for hip-fire accuracy.
    b. Low-recoil parts - Lower recoil = higher ROF.
    c. Ammo tag - Low magazine size means +2 bullets counts more.
    d. Quick Magazines or Extended Magazines - pick one based on preference to reload often or get the last few bullets out at once.

  • Combat Rifle (CR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 70; Default: 80; Max: 90 (BAR >> CR > LRR)
    b. ROF - 300 RPM.

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Aim spread is 0.00 degrees, regardless of parts chosen or move/hip spread.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. 3-shot any build when built for 84+ DMG.
    b. 0.00 degree aim spread all day, every day.
    c. 2-shot nearly any build, if one of those shots is a headshot.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Long-distance precision suppression. Some call it spam, some call it darn good coffee.
    b. 3 shots, all skill. Dump more bullets onto the BAR user than he can return.
    c. Any time 0.00 degrees of spread is needed - e.g. flushing users out from barricades.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. At ranges that don't match your scope; i.e. close range when using a 4x scope.
    b. User needs a higher ROF for mid-to-short distance engagements.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Quick Magazines - reloading often keeps you from getting caught with half a mag.
    b. High-spread, high-damage barrels / muzzles.
    b. High-spread, low-recoil stocks.

  • Light Recon Rifle (LRR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 45; Default: 55; Max: 70 (CR > LRR)
    b. ROF - 600 (LRR >> CR >> BAR >> AMR)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. Normal speed bonuses.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Base run speed on LRR is extremely fast.
    b. ROF is highest among non-automatic primaries, provided user can click fast enough.
    c. Highest base ammo count of non-automatic rifles that are not the BFR.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants Heavy Pistol in primary receiver slot, but needs more bullets. (Performance of LRR is comparable to Heavy Pistol, but with higher damage cap.)
    b. User wants to go FAST with potentially strong hip-fire.
    c. User wants to buck conventional wisdom and humiliate opponents.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants low-spread primary - natural spread on LRR is extremely high and CR/BAR is better for long distance engagements.
    b. User wants automatic primary.
    c. User does not want to deal with large skill cap.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Damage barrel / muzzle - Damage spread is so large that +/-DMG parts have larger impact.
    b. Quick/Express Magazines - Reloading will happen extremely often, and the reload benefit will see frequent use. Express if you need that extra bit of go fast.

  • Anti-Material Rifle (AMR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG: 275 (highest single-shot in game)
    b. ROF: 120 RPM (Has one round in chamber)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Has special 6x multiplier against Hardsuits; 12x vs. Hardsuit weak spots.
    b. Ammo tag increases reserve ammo; shots before reload remains 1.
    c. Scope-in time is at least 0.50s regardless of open or closed scope.
    d. Cannot customize muzzle or barrel. No special ammunition.
    e. Stock determines reload time, with lower recoil = faster reload.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Can kill any player with single body shot.
    b. Can kill Rhino hardsuits in 5 shots to weak spot; 7 if over-repaired.
    c. Can kill Gunman Hardsuits in 3 shots to weak spot; 4 if over-repaired.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. One shot, one skill.
    b. Hardsuits on the prowl.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. When you need two shots.
    b. Any engagement not a long-range engagement.
    c. Any long-range engagement you wished you had 0.00-degree spread.
    d. Any time using depot weapons, e.g. Stinger rockets, that cannot handle multiple opponents.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Scope - Can't reduce the spread to 0.00; get comfortable with missing long-distance shots and pick a scope useful for you. Fixed scope time makes closed scopes more attractive.
    b. Stock - This is the only part choice that affects major stats. Stock choice especially important, as faster reloads give agent better presence on battlefield.

  • Burstfire Rifle (BFR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 52; Default: 57; Max: 62; (Lowest semi-automatic per shot; comparable to BAR if all 3 rounds in burst hit)
    b. ROF - 725 RPM* (Lower in practice due to user input)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Stocks are restricted to bullpup stocks.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. DPS on target - Low spread and high ROF during burst can drop agents, especially with at least one headshot.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants precision long-range fire, both aimed and from the hip.
    b. User can keep aim on target to minimize TTK.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User has poor aim with bursts.
    b. User requires hip-fire in high volume or need to go fast.
    c. User is in constant close-range engagements.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Extended magazines + ammo tag gives 12 extra bullets for four more bursts.
    b. Spread parts - building for low long-distance spread has positive benefit of making hip-fire cone tight and surprisingly useful.
C. Machine Guns
  • Light Machine Gun (LMG)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. Low: 57; Default: 65; Max: 73 (LMG-R > LMG > All other Automatics)
    b. ROF: 650 RPM. (LMG >> LMG-R)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Recoil is highest on first few bullets in first and zeroes out as burst continues. Hold down trigger to win.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. DPS. High DMG + High ROF + Large Magazine; LMG is king in category.
    b. High Spread. LMG has notoriously high spread and choosing high-spread parts will lead to awful engagements past melee range.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. More bullets, more better. Can easily handle whole team streaming through door.
    b. Can three-shot many common builds.
    c. Onslaught - king of mowing down waves.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. Map requires frequent hip-firing.
    b. Long sight-lines require low spread.
    c. Need to go fast.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Quick Magazines reload all 80 rounds at once for half reload time; perm first.

  • LMG Recon (LMG-R)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 63; Default: 68; Max: 73 (Highest in automatic category)
    b. ROF - 450 RPM (LMG >> LMG-R)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Recoil is largest on first bullet in burst, then levels out to near-zero across automatic fire.
    b. Magazines affect reload time, in addition to both run speed and ammo count.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Extremely tight hip spread when built for low spread.
    b. Low ROF leads to long periods of supression fire - can fire over 10 seconds continously with drum mags.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants to run and gun with a high damage per bullet weapon.
    b. User wants to hold down trigger for long periods of time, especially prefiring.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User has to aim down sights and fire suddenly with no cover.
    b. User is against higher ROF weapons.
    c. User faces extremely long sight lines.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Spread parts can narrow down hipfire tremendously; high DMG base mitigates normal drawbacks.
    b. Magazine choice is based on how comfortable you are with reload time v. ammo count.
D. Heavy Rifles
  • Heavy Assault Rifle (HAR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 54; Default: 62; Max: 70 (TAR > HAR; HAR >> AK470 > AR > BPFA > M4X)
    b. ROF - 500 RPM (HAR > TAR; All other automatic rifles > HAR)
    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. 110% speed modifiers.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Can four-shot any build when built for 63+ DMG.
    b. Full-auto fire with near CR / BAR accuracy and moderate recoil.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. High damage per bullet.
    b. High accuracy at long range across long sight lines - Low spread and lower recoil than other "heavy" options make this attractive.
    c. User does not waste bullets.
    d. User does not mind emphasis on "heavy".

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. 22 (or 30) bullets requires frequent ammo depot trips.
    b. User wants to run fast and hip fire tightly. Build a go-fast HAR to fix this.
    c. User needs higher ROF.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Quick Magazines knock off 25% of reload time; default reload of 3.00s is highest in non-machine gun automatic category.
    b. Extended Magazines give 33% firing time per magazine and greater overall ammo.
    c. Spread parts can get spread as low as 0.11 degrees.
    d. Ammo tag - +2 ammo goes further on HAR than other rifles.
    e. Damage tag - Extra half-point of damage can get several builds to 63 or 67 otherwise unable to.

  • Tactical Assault Rifle (TAR)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 62; Default: 67; Max: 72 (Higher on average than HAR, comparable to LMG / LMG-R)
    b. RPM - 450 (HAR > TAR; TAR = LMG-R)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Speed changes only count 40%, same as Assault Rifle (Parts with +20 speed only give +8 speed, while -10 speed is only -4 on TAR/AR).

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Has 30 bullets and high damage while being able to take quick mags, at cost of high recoil.
    b. Can four-shot any build when made for 63 damage or higher.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Mid-long distance shooting where moderate accuracy is needed; damage keeps well across range.
    b. Larger magazine size than HAR is wanted.
    c. Want to run a heavy parts build on a light armor build - half speed penalty helps with going fast.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User want spread less than 0.50 degrees for highest-accuracy automatic fire
    b. User wants a low-recoil gun.
    c. User wants a higher rate of fire and hip spread for close-quarters combat.
    d. User wants to go fastest - go-fast build can get tight hipfire with 63 DMG easily though.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Quick magazines, as the express and light magazines only give half speed benefit.
    b. Spread reduction parts, then recoil reduction. High base damage helps mitigate normal penalties.
E. Submachine Guns (SMGs)
  • Submachine Gun (SMG)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG: Low: 33; DEFAULT: 40; Max: 47. (BFSMG > SMG > TSMG)
    b. RPM: 900 (slowest of SMGs; higher than other automatic rifles and machine guns)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. Normal speed modifiers.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Low recoil overall with moderate spread and range let the SMG rip for long bursts with good accuracy.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Speed builds that want an automatic weapon - high base speed on SMG helps tremendously.
    b. Moderately tight hip-fire cone is good for running and gunning.
    c. Long bursts of automatic fire are therapeutic.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. More precise spread stats are needed for long-distance shooting. (Aimed spread is difficult to get under 0.7 degrees.)
    b. 45 rounds is not enough for a kill.
    c. User cannot hit with 6+ rounds in a row.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Extended magazines give 45 bullets vs. 30, securing more kills that would otherwise be lost.
    b. Low base recoil means spread, damage, and speed are higher priorities to build for.

  • Tactical SMG (TSMG)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG: Low: 30; Default: 34; Max: 36 (Lowest per shot in group).
    b. RPM: 950 (best in class)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Cannot customize barrels or stocks.
    b. Scope-in time fixed at 0.15s, regardless of scope.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Extremely fast base speed with no part investment.
    b. Highest RPM means first-class TTK, provided user can aim.
    c. Extremely tight hip spread and moderate aim spread.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. Running and gunning between objectives.
    b. User is able to focus on a single target and not divide bullets between targets.
    c. User can reliably headshot (extends kills per magazine).

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. Cannot land 8+ shots on target (damage is extremely low per shot).
    b. Long sight lines (extremely low range).
    c. Enemy team travels in large groups.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Damage muzzle to keep damage above 33.
    b. Extended magazines bring ammo to 55 from 40.

  • Burstfire SMG (BFSMG)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 39; Default: 43; Max: 47 (BFSMG > SMG > TSMG)
    b. ROF - 850 RPM. (TSMG > SMG > BFSMG)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Cannot customize barrel or stock.
    a. Muzzle only DMG modifier.
    b. High base run speed.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Highest DPS on the run - Tight hipfire + long bursts = dead agents, provided excellent accuracy.
    b. Run fast with little investment (no stock/barrel needed).

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User can land all four shots on moving targets.
    b. User can keep engagement ranges close.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User cannot control recoil to keep all four shots on target.
    b. User reloads often.
    c. Enemy team travels in large groups.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Damage muzzle to hit damage breakpoints. Be mindful of recoil changes on muzzle.
    b. Extended magazines give extra full bursts.
    c. Extra ammo tag gives half-burst.
F. The Brave and the Bow-ld
  • Compound Bow
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. Low DMG: 180; High DMG: 240. DMG based on drawing bow while aiming down sights (ADS).

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Melee attacks punch people with the arrow for 180 DMG (compared to normal 125). Melee can headshot.
    b. Hipshots can scatter while moving.
    c. Ammo tag does not let user draw three arrows at once, but does give +2 in reserve.
    d. Iron sights are currently misaligned - arrow shoots slightly to right of post. Confirmed to be fixed in next patch.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. It shoots a projectile, versus the hitscan bullets of most guns. This can get you kills after death in situations you die while arrow is in flight. If agent is shot and killed while bow is drawn, projectile will still fire.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. You wish to bring a bow to a gun fight.
    b. You are confident in your aiming ability using default iron sights.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. When you do not have a solid secondary as backup.
    b. When hardsuits are afoot.
    c. When enemy team is in heavy cover (e.g. barricades, railings). Fences are the bow's worst nightmare, as arrows will get caught on geometry.
    d. Enemy team has multiple players with >240 HP and you cannot headshot reliably.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Mk.I Eyeballs.
    b. Scope only modification choice currently. New arrow types pending.
G. Pistols
  • Light Pistol
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 39; Default 40; High: 50. (Lowest semi-automatic per shot; Second-lowest in group)
    b. ROF - 600 RPM. (Tied with Heavy Pistol, BFP, and Snub 260, higher than other semiautomatic pistols)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Attaching a Barrel lets you mount a stock to the Light Pistol, which is otherwise prohibited.
    b. Muzzles and sight attachments are optional, but encouraged.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Extremely fast run speed when no barrel is attached.
    b. More bullets in the magazine than other non-Machine Pistol options.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants similar RPM profile to Heavy Pistol, but wants more bullets in the magazine.
    b. User wants a fast run speed secondary.
    c. User wants a ridiculous-looking weapon when all attachments are added.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants to kill in less than five to seven hits.
    b. User wants fully automatic option.
    c. User wants high-precision weapon.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Barrel attachment - no barrel means fast run speed, but either barrel jacks up damage and spread values significantly beyond default.
    b. Stock - if using a barrel attachment, remember to equip a stock for positive benefits.
    c. Magazine - Extended or Quick mags depending on reloading preferences; both are huge improvements. Light if going with no barrel for maximum go fast.

  • Heavy Pistol
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 49; Default 50; High: 60. (Lower than revolvers, highest of semi-auto pistols.)
    b. ROF - 600 RPM. (Tied with Light Pistol, BFP, and Snub 260, higher than other semiautomatic pistols)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Attaching a Barrel lets you mount a stock to the Heavy Pistol, which is otherwise prohibited.
    b. Muzzles and sight attachments are optional, but encouraged.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Extremely fast run speed when no barrel is attached.
    b. Look even more ridiculous than a Light Pistol when fully modded out.
    c. Sounds chunkier than other semi-automatic options.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants high-RPM secondary and wants ability to four-shot most builds with more bullets than Snub 260.
    b. User wants a fast run speed secondary.
    c. User wants a chunky sound with beefy pistol looks.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants large magazines - need to hit with >50% of base magazine to kill most builds.
    b. User wants fully automatic option.
    c. User wants high-precision weapon - even with range attachment, spread is inferior to variety of primaries.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Barrel attachment - no barrel means fast run speed, but either barrel helps damage and spread values significantly beyond default.
    b. Stock - if using a barrel attachment, remember to equip a stock for positive benefits and maximum tacticool.

  • Burst-Fire Pistol
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 39; Default: 40; High: 43. (117-129 per burst; Second-highest after Revolver / High Caliber Snub)
    b. ROF - 600 RPM. (Tied with Heavy Pistol and Snub 260, higher than other semiautomatic pistols)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No major quirks. Normal speed.
    b. Muzzles and sight attachments are optional, but encouraged.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Extremely fast run speed with no mods required.
    b. High DPS on target.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants similar RPM profile to Heavy Pistol, but wants more bullets in the magazine.
    b. User wants a fast run speed secondary.
    c. User wants a ridiculous-looking weapon when all attachments are added.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants large magazines.
    b. User wants fully automatic option.
    c. User wants high-precision weapon - even with range attachment, spread is inferior to variety of primaries.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?

    a. Muzzle - the only part on receiver that affects damage.
    b. Magazine - Extended magazines is a 40% boost in uptime.

  • Revolver
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - 125. (Highest per shot. Cannot be modded.)
    b. ROF - 200 RPM. (Lowest in pistol class.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No mods besides sight attachment.
    b. Crouching has 0.00º hipfire spread.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Two-bodyshot any build in the game, or kill many builds with one headshot.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User needs high-damage finisher, especially in contrast to low damage primary receiver.
    b. User wants to be in a Sci-Fi Western.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants actual magazines - 6 shots per cylinder is immutable and goes fast.
    b. User wants high ROF weapon.
    c. User needs more than 40 range - two shot kill turns to three quickly afterwards.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Scope - Only major modification to make; pick a sight picture comfortable for you.
    b. Ammo Type - Toxic kills slower than regular bullets; Incendiary adds +10 DMG but resisted by patch. Normal bullets highly suggested.

  • Snub 260
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Default: 93; High: 125. (Second-highest per shot. Tied with Revolver at high end.)
    b. ROF - 600 RPM. (Tied with semiautomatic pistols; far higher than revolver/shotgun options.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. ROF is significantly higher when hip-firing than while aiming down sights due to agent fanning the hammer with his/her free hand.
    b. No mods besides magazine and ammo choice. Enjoy the iron sights.
    c. Hip-fire spread tightens significantly with crouching. With precision cylinder, can make cross-map shots when crouched.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. High damage, high precision semiautomatic fire. Spread / ROF / DMG - pick two.
    b. High style.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User needs high-damage, high ROF finisher, especially in contrast to low damage primary receiver.
    b. User really, really wants to be in a Sci-Fi Western

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants actual magazines - 5 to 8 shots at 600 RPM goes in a flash.
    b. User cannot aim - User needs to land 40%-50% of shots without headshots to secure kill.
    c. User needs a scope for zoom purposes.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Magazine - Only major modification to make. Precision Mod reduces cylinder size to 6 but gives significantly higher accuracy. High Caliber round allows for two-shot kills, but adds spread and reduces cylinder size to 5.
    b. Ammo Type - Toxic kills slower than regular bullets; Incendiary adds +10 DMG but resisted by patch. Normal bullets highly suggested.
H. Not Pistols
  • Shotgun
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Default: 23. High: 25 (230 damage per shot base; 250 per shot on high end.)
    b. ROF - 100 RPM. (110 with grip. Lowest in secondaries.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Shoots 10 pellets. Each pellet gets double damage headshot multiplier.
    b. Reloads one shell at time with default magazine.
    c. 85% speed mods. Tube magazine lightest.
    d. No muzzle.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Can one-shot almost all builds with good aim.
    b. Chew through enemy team on single magazine due to damage efficiency.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User needs high-damage finisher.
    b. User needs high capacity shotgun - drums can get surprisingly large.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants high ROF option for multiple opponents.
    b. User cannot aim - if user misses shot, death usually follows before follow-up round.
    c. User needs long-distance option.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Magazine - Any magazine allows for reloading of all shells at once. What size magazine depends on desire to go fast balanced by need for more shells.
    b. Grip - Having a grip is strictly better than no grip on this receiver.
    c. Barrel - Damage barrel cuts number of pellets to kill most builds by 1, which can secure kills otherwise lost.

  • Shotgun AR-k (SAR-k)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Default: 23. High: 25 (115 damage per shot base; 125 per shot on high end. Lowest per shot.)
    b. ROF - 250 RPM. (Third lowest in secondaries. Over double RPM compared to Shotgun.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Shoots 5 pellets. Each pellet gets double damage headshot multiplier.
    b. Reloads one shell at time with default tube magazine.
    c. 85% speed mods. Tube magazine fastest run speed, but light mags reload entire magazine.
    d. No muzzle.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Highest ammo capacity for medium-high single-shot damage.
    b. Chew through enemy team on single magazine due to damage efficiency.
    c. Fully automatic shotgun - hold down trigger to win.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User needs high-capacity, medium-damage finisher.
    b. User needs more forgiving shotgun - high ROF allows follow-up shots on misses.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants to one-shot opponents - headshots needed to one-shot with S-AR-k.
    b. User cannot aim - low damage, tight aim, and hip spread requires more precision than Machine Pistol or other automatic options.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Magazine - Any magazine allows for reloading of all shells at once. What size magazine depends on desire to go fast balanced by need for more shells. 20 Shells with big drum mag.
    b. Barrel - Damage barrel cuts number of pellets to kill most builds by 1, which can secure kills otherwise lost. Especially important due to lower pellets per shot.

  • Machine Pistol
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Low: 32; Default 35; High: 38. (Lowest per shot for guns with Pistol in the name; Second-lowest in group)
    b. ROF - 850 RPM. (Highest secondary. Third fastest receiver ROF in game.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. Muzzles and sight attachments are optional, but encouraged.
    b. Cannot customize barrel and stock.
    c. No major quirks. Normal speed.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Fully automatic secondary with extremely fast ROF.
    b. Highest capacity magazines in secondary class.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User wants automatic secondary, especially to go with semi-automatic primary receiver.
    b. User wants a fast run speed secondary.
    c. User has trouble with precision aiming and needs more bullets.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User wants long-range option.
    b. User wants ability to one-shot opponents.
    c. User wants tight hip-fire cone - worst automatic aim and hip spread in class.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Magazine - Extended magazines extend firing time by 50%.
    b. Muzzle - Allows MP to hit higher damage breakpoints - Anything 34 and up cuts off a solid bullet on most kills.


  • Breech-Loaded Pistol (BLP)
    1. What is the damage range and RPM? How is that compared to group?
    a. DMG - Default: 250; Incendiary: 300; Scatter Shot: 20x16. (Highest per shot in class.)
    b. ROF - 400 RPM. (Far higher than shotgun options. One shot loaded at time.)

    2. What unannounced quirks does this receiver have?
    a. No mods besides magazine choice and scope.
    b. Scatter shot load shoots 16 pellets. (Does 320 to agents if all pellets hit. Multiplier versus hardsuits is less.)
    c. Has pistol in name but none of its functions are similar to other pistol pistols.

    3. What does this receiver do that other receivers cannot?
    a. Shoots an explosive round by default. Other guns shoot bullets.
    b. Incendiary round burns pilots out of hardsuits quickly.
    c. Scatter shot does most damage of single shot receiver.

    4. What situations would someone pick this receiver?
    a. User needs ability to do damage around corners via delayed explosion.
    b. Hardsuits are afoot and no CP for rockets / flamethrower.
    c. User needs one-shot shotgun.

    5. When do I NOT want this receiver?
    a. User needs two shots.
    b. User cannot aim - Projectile gets caught easily on surfaces and fences.
    c. User needs any sort of normal gun.

    6. What parts make the biggest difference?
    a. Magazine - Only major modification to make. Each magazine choice changes BLP performance drastically.
    b. Scope - No scope mod can make it difficult to judge long distance shots. Pick an Ammo Counter scope if you have trouble counting to one.
I. Receiver Speeds/Ranges Table
This section of the guide compiles the base ranges and base run speeds of each receiver. Each receiver has a unique speed part modifier as well; a part that gives +20 run speed will only give +8 on the AR (40% modifier) and +22 run speed on the HAR (110% modifier).
[Group]
[Receiver]
[Base Range]
[Base SPD]
[Speed Part Modifier]
A.
AR
70/110
7.65
40% SPD
A.
AK470
70/110
7.65
85% SPD^
A.
M4X
40/80
7.79
90% SPD
A.
BPFA
60/95
7.83
90% SPD^
B.
CR
160/180
7.42
90% SPD
B.
BAR
160/180
7.20
90% SPD
B.
AMR
180/200
6.75
225% SPD
B.
BFR
85/110
7.51
90% SPD^
B.
LRR
45/80
8.10
90% SPD
C.
LMG
80/120
7.20
90% SPD
C.
LMG-R
80/120
7.29
90% SPD
D.
HAR
80/110
7.38
110% SPD
D.
TAR
70/110
7.65
40% SPD
E.
SMG
55/90
7.92
90% SPD
E.
BSMG
45/90
7.88
100% SPD#
E.
TSMG
30/60
8.10
100% SPD#
F.
Bow
160/180
7.65
**
G.
LP
40/80
8.10
90% SPD
G.
HP
40/80
8.10
90% SPD
G.
BFP
30/80
8.10
90% SPD
G.
Snub 260
40/80
7.79
**
G.
Revolver
40/85
7.79
**
H.
Shotgun
40/50
7.73
85% SPD^
H.
SAR-k
30/50
7.65
85% SPD^
H.
MP
40/80
7.92
90% SPD
H.
BLP
28/40
7.88
**
^ - Rounding errors create imprecise percentage measurement.
# - Cannot modifiy speed parts beyond magazine; ADS time fixed.
** - Cannot modify speed at all.

Ranges (in meters) affect weapon damage by reducing each bullet's damage by 1 for each meter past the first number of the range, stopping the decrease at the second number. Compared to Call of Duty where ranges are measured in single digits, Blacklight: Retribution ranges are astronomically long especially compared to the map sizes.

Speed parts not only affect run speed, but also scope-in time of your weapon. This modifier is linear based on the base barrel and stock speeds added together, ranging from -40 (two heavy parts) to +40 (two go-fast parts). Closed scopes range from 0.40s (+40 SPD) to 0.50s (-40 SPD), with 0.45s base (+0 SPD), while open scopes range from 0.15s (+40 SPD) to 0.30s (-40 SPD), with 0.22s base (+0 SPD). Individual scopes have slightly different modifiers, but the general trend applies. Individual receivers can serve as exceptions to this rule - the AMR and TSMG are the most notable exceptions, being fixed at 0.5s and 0.15s respectively regardless of scope choice.
J. What's Next?
Now that you've read the content of the guide, hopefully you've got a better idea of what receiver you want to pick. The next step would be customizing your receiver, which is a whole different ballgame.

Those wanting a more in-depth look at what parts to use on your receivers, I'm working on a separate guide for gun parts customization, ETA December 2015.

The beauty of Blacklight: Retribution is that what's on the gun is usually far less important than the gun itself or correctly using your Hyper Reality Visor. If you can aim and you fire first, you'll generally be the victor. Remember your gear, backpack, and depot, and no matter what's in your hands, you'll find a way to give high caliber hugs.

In the meantime, press V to win.

LATEST AND GREATEST: Most Recent Updates
  • Added extra detail on scope-in times. Fun fact - TSMG has fixed 0.15s scope-in!

"Receiver Quirks and You" Steam Guide To Do List:
  • Update elemental ammo interactions with receivers.
  • Get more precise speed modifiers on guns.
  • Get more precise closed scope scope-in modifiers.
  • Update with further balance passes December 18, 2015 holiday patch (BSMG & BLP were easy fix) (patch notes on Hardsuit Labs's site).[www.hardsuitlabs.com]

Feel free to add comments on desired things you want to see or to correct information in the guide. It's a work in progress.
24 Comments
ElizatronicWarfare 1 Aug, 2018 @ 12:48am 
Thankyou very much!
HeliGungir 31 Jul, 2018 @ 8:59pm 
We're stuck with the half-baked 3.0 balance changes
HeliGungir 31 Jul, 2018 @ 8:58pm 
By all indications, HSL has put BLR on cruise control.
40 Proof Listerine  [author] 31 Jul, 2018 @ 5:39pm 
Yes and no on current stats - the 3.0 patch in January 2018 redid the recoil and range profiles on the receivers. Most notably, recoil is more severe across the board and ranges have been reduced across the board and certain receivers now have accelerated bullet damage drop off where they functionally do zero damage. Part of the delay in guide update has been waiting to see where the dust will settle, as further balancing to come. No official ETA yet as of July 2018 for sweeping balance overhaul.

You can get the latest on balancing feedback on the official BL:R Discord, located at: https://discord.gg/blacklight
ElizatronicWarfare 31 Jul, 2018 @ 4:19am 
Is this guide still current, or has the information become outdated?
VIRTUE 11 Jun, 2016 @ 10:33am 
What is the users name?
The user has no name.
40 Proof Listerine  [author] 25 Dec, 2015 @ 4:31pm 
Also, there's never enough camos.
40 Proof Listerine  [author] 25 Dec, 2015 @ 4:30pm 
Damage modifiers from gun parts, like spread and recoil, operate on a -10 to +10 step scale, with +0 being the base. Each receiver's change in damage per "step" is based on the receiver's damage range. So on the LMG, each step adds or subtracts 0.6 DMG, while on the BAR each step adds or subtracts 2 DMG. Easy one to see this is on the AK470 - each step adds 1 damage exactly. Rounding gets a little funky but tends to round up.

I'm going to go into this in more detail in the gun customization guide.

With regards to speed mods, it's pretty consistent across the board that 1 step in DMG/recoil/spread is equal to +/- 0.05 base SPD on a part. Base speed on a part (like -0.20 on the ArmCom Assault Barrel) is what goes into adjusting scope-in time and move spread, while the run speed is adjusted by the percentage, so on an AR the ArmCom Assault Barrel only subtracts 0.08 speed from the base of 7.65. Let me know if that explanation can be refined.
HeliGungir 25 Dec, 2015 @ 12:32am 
Wow, the speed modifier table is phenomenal work hotdog; I'm not aware of anybody else who had derived that info. However... Are you sure it's a flat speed modifier and not based on some function? I know damage parts don't add damage uniformly from playing around with high damage builds for the LMG. Heck, the regular +damage tags can add anywhere from +0 to +2 damage on certain weapons builds.
andrew 22 Dec, 2015 @ 6:11am 
how many fucking camos do you have dude