I wrote this in another thread:
Black Widow sniper rifle:
This is probably the one weapon that most people will point to as being worth getting. But I am hesitant to agree. I think a lot of it depends on your class and playstyle.
Black Widow is really only worth it on the Infiltrator and Soldier. With the other classes, you are likely casting so much more often than you are shooting and so this weapon kills your cooldowns too much to be worth it, particularly on the Engineer which relies on cooldowns with tech's short priming windows.
Also, it depends on your playstyle. If you want one-shot, one kill, then Mantis (with Energy Drain + Disruptor Ammo) or Kishock (DLC, with Disruptor Ammo) are early options.
Black Widow is basically a three-shot Mantis, which makes it sound better than the Mantis, but, i have a few misgivings, namely:And if you have the Collector's Edition (or modding), you have access to the Valiant, also a three-shot sniper rifle. Not nearly as strong as the Black Widow, but it has a faster rate of fire and a much faster reload time.
- Even on Infiltrator with all the sniper bonuses and Disruptor Ammo, it will not one-shot shielded enemies on Insanity. It will take a minimum of two shots.
- It is overkill on unshielded enemies where the Viper can also one-shot kill with headshots. Particularly with the Infiltrator's damage bonuses, or the Soldier's damage bonuses.
- Therefore, it is most useful on super elite enemies like Atlas mechs, Banshees, Geth Primes, and Brutes... which are not that plentiful in the game. And even when it comes to the super elite enemies, you have powers and power combos to compensate for your potential lack of weapon damage.
I am not saying it is a bad weapon; a lot of players really like using it in the single player campaign. I am just not sure if it is worth the credits considering the other choices and how they work in-game, particularly with the Infiltrator which most players use it on. I think the Infiltrator has other options worth considering. Heck, if you do not like the sniper time dilation, buy the Paladin instead and stick a scope and Cranial Head Trauma mod (Leviathan DLC), or wait for the Supressor.
Soldier can probably make better use of the Black Widow than the Infiltrator I think. Infiltrator has to reload after three shots, and all that sniper damage bonus tends to go to waste. Soldier can fire three shots > hit Adrenaline Rush for instant reload > fire three more shots.
As an Infiltrator you could use Marksman to help increase its rate of fire under sniper time dilation. You could use Energy Drain to help combat shields, but at that point I still think the Viper would be better overall.
I figured it was time to test my statement. Namely, is the Black Widow actually worth using on a Sniper Infiltrator, or can you get away with using just the Viper?
Infiltrator build:
Disruptor Ammo: Damage - Headshots - Damage
Cryo Ammo: Squad Bonus - Headshots - Damage Combo
Tactical Cloak: Damage - Melee Damage - Sniper Damage
Operational Mastery: Weapon Damage - Weight Capacity - Sniper Damage
Fitness: Durability - Shield Recharge - Durability
Marksman: Firing Rate - Headshots - Accuracy and Fire Rate
Conditions tested:
- New Game+ with a level 60 Infiltrator, Insanity difficulty. Enemies will be at their strongest with maximum health/armor and shields.
- Mission: Sur'Kesh. I think this is a good test level with a good mix of basic health-only enemies, shielded enemies (Cerberus Centurians and Ceberus Engineers), and an Atlas mech.
- Both the Viper and Black Widow are at level V. Weapons are capped at level V on a first playthrough, so this is a good indicator of how the weapons will perform when Shepard reaches level 60.
- +40% damage from armor (Hadne-Kedar legs, chest, arms, and shoulders).
- No Intel bonuses.
- Viper test 1 and 2 uses mods Armor Piercing V (armor penetration) and Sniper High Velocity Barrel V (armor penetration and +25% damage).
- Black Widow test 1 uses Armor Piercing V (armor penetration) and Sniper High Velocity Barrel V (armor penetration and +25% damage).
- Black Widow test 2 uses Armor Piercing V (armor penetration) and Spare Thermal Clips V (+90% spare thermal clips).
- Squadmates used Avengers with no mods for Viper tests and Black Widow test 1. I wanted to limit squadmate weapon damage as much as possible. I should probably not have equipped Squad Cryo Ammo to focus on my weapons only. James uses the Saber in Black Widow test 2 because I forgot to switch his weapon after a mission restart so I could switch the Black Widow mods. I do not think it affected the test that much.
Viper test 1:
Viper test 2:
Black Widow test 1:
Black Widow test 2:
Observations:
I am a terrible shot.
The Black Widow performed better than I expected against the Atlas mech, although I suppose I should have expected that result.
The Viper V could not kill a Cerberus Troopers with a body shot, even with all the damage bonuses.
Black Widow test 1 took about a minute longer than the two Viper tests because I spent a bunch of time hunting for thermal clips.
Black Widow test 2 took about a minute shorter than the two Viper tests since I did not have to worry about thermal clips.
Conclusions:
Black Widow is better that I expected, although I am still not sure it is completely worth taking, although you can most certainly afford it fairly early in the game (typically post-Sur'Kesh if you scanned the galaxy for credits and you have the +5% Store Discount Bonus from Intel).
Viper can keep up with the Black Widow, especially if you score headshots, but can lag behind in the long run, especially for mission segments where you face a lot of armored enemies.
Power combos with Disruptor Ammo + squadmate powers (not shown in videos) could help save time with the Viper. Black Widow can also benefit from squadmates using powers as well, notably Overload or Energy Drain on shielded enemies.
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