AAAaaannnd I'm back! Now it's time to go over the second half of the sidearms category...as stated before, sidearms are small (generally one-handed) guns that usually deal [Pierce] damage and have solid (but not extraordinary) stats. One of their most useful features is their ability to use gun mods (with a few exceptions), giving wielders the option of branching out into various elemental damage types not normally available to them. That being said, the weapons we are looking at now (magic guns and SMGs) are quite a bit more varied than their more vanilla counterparts, so let's get down to it!
First off, let's look at who can use what in these subcategories...both Carmen and Stark can use magic guns and SMGs (making Stark the only character that can use every type of sidearm in the game), Nolan is limited to SMGs and Nyla is limited to magic guns. So what's the big deal about these weapon types? First off, let's look at the magic guns...these weapons all offer some sort of MEN bonus as well as some sort of bonus skill or stat effect (with the exception of the Toy Gun); however it's important to note that only two of these weapons (the 0.00 Absolute and the Aldaraia II) are compatible with gun mods. Now, for the SMGs...these are definitely the "black sheep" of the sidearm family for a number of reasons...they have very low ATK bonuses, the user gets a massive penalty to their HIT, and they are two-handed weapons, meaning you can't wear a shield while using one! However they make up for all of that for one simple reason...every SMG changes the normal "Attack" option to "Sweep", allowing the user to attack every enemy on the field at once! In effect, these babies act as a low-power AoE weapon that can wipe out whole groups of small enemies before the battle even starts. And as for that low HIT chance? All three of the characters who can use SMGs have a way to mitigate (high Luck, high Agility, or a passive HIT bonus).
Now for a look at (you guessed it) some of my favorite weapons from the subcategories we've looked at.
1) Stun Gun - Topping off the list is the Stun Gun...this weapon is available fairly early (just swap Nyla's Stun Gun for a different weapon during her first quest), and is unique because it is one of only two sidearms that does not deal [Pierce] damage, making it more effective against some heavily armored enemies (like Pugil Crabs or most robotic enemies) that have a built-in resistance to [Pierce]. In addition, being a Garen Military Industries (GMI) weapon means that it has a decent attack power and packs a 5% HIT bonus. The "stun" / "overload" effects are nice too, but since you only have a 2% chance of each don't count on them.
2) Harumaru - As the top-tier magic gun, the Harumaru boasts an incredible +73 MEN bonus, but lacks the physical stopping power of other sidearms...to add insult to injury, it isn't compatible with any gun mods either (boo!). So what makes this weapon worthy of being on my list? Simple...its built in skill "Piercing Shot" deals damage as a normal attack, but ignores all enemy defenses! That's right...low ATK doesn't matter quite so much when you are breezing past shields and chitin shells like they aren't even there. If you can get your hands on this weapon, pretty much anyone who can use it will benefit from it immensely.
3) Uziel Gal - Another GMI weapon, the Uziel Gal can be obtained early on in the game by choosing the "Gun" option (instead of "Volts") when Carmen asks you how you want to split the loot from your first adventure with her. Because it's a GMI weapon, the Uziel Gal will only drop your HIT chance by 25% (instead of 30%) when equipped. This may not sound like a lot, but early on in the game when your stats are too low to give you much in the way of bonus accuracy it can be a big help.
4) HK-71a - Another top tier weapon, the HK-71a is one of only three Imperial Senate of Garen (ISG) weapons in the game, and boasts best-in-class ATK along with a 5% boost to HIT and EVA. Most importantly of all, it grants the wielder use of the devastating "Steel Rain" attack skill, which effectively doubles the potential damage to each opponent it strikes (compared to a normal SMG attack). The AP cost isn't cheap, but when you absolutely have to wipe out all of the mobs by the end of the turn there's no better option.
And there you have it! Another day, another weapon category down! At this rate, I'll have every single weapon on the forums before you know it! Until next time, stay safe out there...the Deadlands are a dangerous place.