Devestators+ Bolt Pistol (or "thats a dick build hirm")

[Hirmetrium]

Yesterday I was messing around in a dolt game with the devastator to AWESOME effect.

Turns out, the bolt pistol is awesome. I messed around a lot, and if you use the super stomp or fast stomp, as well as another armour boosting or based skill (such as the AOE damage when it deactivates, or the iron halo/chaos icon) you can turn into an absolute melee mountain.

First things first - you run faster with a bolt pistol. In seize ground, this is awesome. Run to the middle and deploy with your heavy bolter, and follow it up with some LOLOLOLOLing. This is probably the thing I see the least - nobody is weapon switching at the moment, and it means devastators are slow to get out into the field. Every second counts, and the bolt pistol will save you a number of them over the game if your running to and from locations.

Second, the bolt pistol itself - when rapid fired at close range, it has a potentially higher damage output than the other weapons, plus you are able to strafe and move easier. This makes it ideal for dealing with assault marines or ballsy tactical marines, and even other devestators who are terrible at aiming.

Finally, perks. The BP perk itself is limited to assault marines, which means you can't take it, but that doesn't make the weapon any less powerful - combined with the stomps (which push back and severly damage folks) you can shoot, pop a stomp, then quickly headshot or fire a few more off to finish them. Still not enough? BOOT TO THE FACE.

I used this build last night. Pissed a lot of people off, and I was surprised nobody else was using it.

Any opinions?

P.S. Pocktio stole this build from me.

[KDR_11k]

I don't mind not having the BP perk, you don't even need a full regular clip to kill a target, never mind an expanded one.

[AridMonk]

I was trying this on the Xbox, and while it works to a certain degree, you just plain cant shoot the damn thing fast enough with the trigger. AOE Stomp is just plain awesome though, was getting loads of kills by just using that on seize ground, and then boot-boot-booting everyone in the face.

[KDR_11k]

Are you sure it's the trigger? I think the BP has a very limited rate of fire unlike the plasma which seems to shoot as fast as you click.

[AridMonk]

Hmm, never though of that. Have never used the plasma pistol (didn't like it in the campaign) so didn't use it here. Will give that a try though.

[Hirmetrium]

The most important part I forgot is that the devastator is still about his weapons. Heavy Bolter and Lascannon are both beasts when combined, since you gain either a good counterpart for longer range accurate shots or a powerful short range weapon to compliment your lascannon.

I haven't had any problems with the BP firing speed. It seems perfectly capable of dishing the damage out.

[Pocktio]

You're a dick.

Anyways yeah, this build is awesome. I think the main attraction is that people don't expect it. So get them ASMs to attack you and then completely troll them. BP is sexy anyway. It was the first gun I got master with, excluding SB. It's delightful. I much prefer it to the plasma pistol. You can actually snipe with it. Limit your fire and you can really dissuade enemies from engaging you at range, or form a great distraction. Plasma pistol may strip shields just a bit faster but BP can get the kill after!

[Caeltos]

Old

I prefer the Iron Halo + faster setup, means you can go pure agressive and just setup and meltfaces like no tomorrow, regardless of situation. This is in particular very useful with seize ground + swapping to bolt pistol to run faster and get to key locations.

Putting people in the dumpster like no tomorrow.

[Sturmhaubitze]

I'll have to start using the bolt pistol more often in combat; right now I only use it to run faster. Hip fire from the heavy bolter is also effective against assault marines, once they're stomped. It does more damage than the other bolters, at about the same rate of fire as the bolt pistol, and the inaccuracy isn't that much. Only drawback is your slower movement, which I admit is a good thing to have when an assault marine is trying to insert a chainsword into your chest.

I noticed that the True Grit bolter counts for getting bolter challenges, so I imagine that Devastator bolt pistol kills will also work for getting the extended bolt pistol magazine for assault marines. Another reason to give it a try.

[Shuma]

I prefer the Iron Halo + faster setup, means you can go pure agressive and just setup and meltfaces like no tomorrow, regardless of situation.

This. Besides, it's more fun to you know, use the heavy bolter.

[Gabriel Gorgutz]

They should remove everything from Devs that makes them stronger in melee than non-thunderhammer ASM. Otherwise you might as well give ASM heavy bolters to make it fair. Right now the strongest melee character is a melta tac, and the second strongest is a Dev with stomp and a heavy bolter. There's no reason to make devs the toughest AND have the most firepower AND have the second best melee/close combat options, and they can have all these without sacrificing one for the other.

[Gorb]

That's not how fairness works, and I think you are underestimating other Tactical builds, as well as the Assault class in general.

[Pocktio]

They should remove everything from Devs that makes them stronger in melee than non-thunderhammer ASM.

So in a game of three classes you want one to be flat out better than the other?

Yeah, real fair.

If a dev is specced for anti-asm it rapes asm. Deal with it. Just because you think the devastator should always lose to assaults doesn't mean it SHOULD be so. Similarly assault is called assault for a reason, it isn't called melee. Learn the difference, learn how the game mechanics work and please stop whinging incessantly about the same things. Each class has to be able to beat the other. Having perks to increase that efficacy against a certain build. That doesn't mean it is OP, it just means you have to change your own tactics. it sounds like you just want to be able to hit devs the same way every time and win. Why is that fair? Why shouldn't they be allowed to beat you?

And no 'they should be able to beat you but not so amazingly well' is bollocks. If someone is beating you consistently it is because they are better than you, not because the class is OP. If there was genuinely a set of class and perks that let you beat everything like you seem to claim they can, EVERYONE would be using them. They aren't.

[Quak0r]

Actually Gorgutz you got it mixed up. What devs need right now is the removal of the setup time so they can fullauto the heavy bolter while running and the ability to dodge like the tac. also something like the double Iron Halo would be cool because i get killed right now way too easy.

[Sturmhaubitze]

ASMs that surprise me will usually kill me, often before I can unbrace and use the stomp. Its pretty rare that an ASM blinds me before moving in to kill me, but that works too. When ASMS don't surprise me they're giving up a crucial advantage, and I can can triumph if I do things right.

I don't see this as being unfair or unbalanced; this is not a perfect game of rock/paper/scissors. Tacticals can beat Devastators, Assaults can be Tacticals, and Devastators can beat Assaults, if they spec themselves for it and play skillfully. However speccing yourselves for countering the other class makes you weaker at killing other classes, so that is balanced too. Having furious stomp doesn't help me against Tacticals or Devastators, for example, so I'm paying a price by making myself more effective against Assaults.

[ImmortalChaos]

Gief invites next time there be enough dolts for that?

Anyways, the bolt pistol is great, but I've been having pretty good success with simply backing away and firing whatever my primary weapon is when I find myself under sword. Iron Halo/Icon is pretty much a must-have in every single build right now. Extra life force is too good to pass up- after that, I usually go for HB expertise, plasma heat sink, and artificer armor for HB, plas, and las respectively. Stomps are still strong, and I like to take my percs for my primary function instead of countering pesky melee bugs. I'll be sure to remember this pistol sprinting business though.

[Chad Ghostal]

Only time I ever found myself switching to bolt pistol was with the lascannon, other than that weapon you never need it as dev.

[Pseudonymn]

If someone is beating you consistently it is because they are better than you, not because the class is OP.

Why is this always the de facto "I win" argument whenever something comes up that just might have some legitimacy even if it does tread on people's comfort zones?

It was the same exact thing back in the DoW: DC days when the Necron Walk of Doom was sweeping everyone off the map. Or the commie wank rushes that saw no end of complaint in WA. Or Eldar fire prism spam in DoW:Vanilla. Those who most vigorously defended "tactics" like these were the same people most directly benefiting from them.

"Oh, hurr if you're getting beaten by the Necrons, you're really just not playing your race correctly durrr. L2Counter kkthxbai lol."

[Lamps]

I've been using Bolt Pistol for close ranged fights since game release, I'm amazed that I haven't encountered anyone else doing it yet, except for the odd asm every now and then. It 6 shots tacs with full health and armor, 7-8 for devs with the armor perks. It's imba as shit up close.

[coldplay]

Haha, I don't know about imbalanced, but the Bolt Pistol is a savage beast, for sure. A lot of new players forget they even have it, I think (especially Assault). A lot of fights can be won as an Assault Marine by Ground Pounding and not going for the melee, but the pistol or bolter shots and then re-jumping or bullrushing (if needed).

[KDR_11k]

The pistols are good enough that we're debating whether True Grit is a downgrade.

[Shuma]

It pretty much is.

[Uncle Benny]

Not too bump this, but well...
I have to admit to jumping on the BP Dev bandwagon, it's entirely too much fun to gak ASM when they think they have an easy kill. Not invincible, mind you, but definitely gives opponents a "WTF?" moment. Started because I ran out of ammo on my PC right after a Charged Shot, then went, "Oh yeah, I have a sidearm!" and *blam*. Got pinned down so I couldn't get his ammo, next thing I know I have a Killstreak x5!!! Lol'd everytime I saw "lolplasma" or "plasmaspam", and replied "no, bp spam, blame Hirm"
Cheers!

[EDIT] Apparently, they caught on.
Dev switching to BP seems to reduce his speed now. The end of an era. Gentlemen, 21-Bolt-Pistol salute is in order...