***** Haven't you heard? Nanite Systems hooked up with a Vanu tech dude who specializes in maglev tech, and somehow managed to incorporate that ability of reloading.
To me, this weapon appears to fill two niches: Stalker Infiltrators who want to operate at a distance, and as a compliment to the deficiencies of a CQC setup (shotguns, SMGs, fast carbines). It certainly doesn't seem to be the supremely powerful killing machine some have claimed it is, though- "pocket battle rifle" is what I've also heard from other more level-headed players, and battle rifles are not exactly scythes reaping the fields of enemy lives at this juncture.
TheRogueWolf Can you confirm that? I know the reload animations are different, but I didn't think that the reload times were actually changed at half a mag.
Wrel Actually, I'm wrong on that. I was judging by the reload animation itself, but after checking in the VR it seems that it just plays the different animation faster. So I'll excise that bit as nobody likes bad info! Though also from checking in the VR it seems that today's patch may have fixed the issue with the default scope; I didn't see any issues when using it.
Long-time Blackhand user here... This gun was MADE with the Stalker in mind. I have racked up a number of kills with it by using ambush tactics at terminals and typical sniping points. Very fun gun if used right.
As a returning player of planetside recently i find your videos very useful. I find your reviews well executed and interesting. You helped me find my carbine of choice the Zenith VX-5, thank you for your great work :)
This seems like a fun sidearm to use for a my shotgun light assault - while I give up a reliable holdout weapon, I can still contribute to the fight when sitting up high while waiting for the heat from my last shotgun run to cool down.
I really like the thought that went into this weapon, that being that Stalker/SMG/Shotgun users can get more range in exchange for good aim. It certainly feels more worthy of the term "sidegrade" than a few of the other pistols. That said, I think I personally would be more likely to use it with a shotgun/SMG class than a Stalker. I see the main benefit of Stalker as the greater ability to hide closer to enemies. When fighting at range, you can generally cloak to cover even with low ranks of Hunter, and there are several classes of Infiltrator primaries that could be considered direct upgrades to this. Still, it's certainly not worthless, and it's good to see a weapon that offers new play-styles without invalidating older ones. Enjoyed the review.
I love pre-capturing bases as my team has the inertia capping bases with this weapons, this means I will not encounter a lot of enemies and thus 2-headshots from this gun are perfect, the rest are a backup in case of a miss. Range for me is just a nice additional quality of it. I haven't noticed the reticle being bugged, but I do take my time with the shots at the risk of being killed instead of just putting many bullets downrange. So it is indeed a suiting weapon for players with patience, strategy and landing precise shots.
This is one of the few sidearms I was really looking forward to. It's pretty much a pocket sniper/battle rifle, and is the solution for long ranged engagements for stalker infiltrators or light assaults. As a light assault, you feel like a sniper with a jetpack. This is going to be fun to use.
I like that you are reviewing sidearms. You really have not gone over many options for sidearms, but you have a couple. Keep making sidearms, I think new players would enjoy reviews for those since there aren't that many options.
+Wrel Just to mention the activated knife you were using, I would like to see a video discussing how sounds can impact on the effectiveness of weapons and equipment, namely cloaking sounds, silenced rifle sounds, and the activated knives, because I find myself even after a while now noticing certain faction specific ones in combat much more than the others e.g. the activated chain knife for the the TRUTH and silenced Vanu rifles
Any NS sidearms (Underboss, Commissioner, Blackhand) can perform a type of shotknife if a headshot is landed with either the knife or sidearm. Although harder to land, on moving targets, one can use this efficiently to preserve ammo on camping targets.
10:55 The crossbow is not the only shot+knife potential sidearm. The NC's Mag-Scatter (shotgun pistol) can shot+knife within 12m so long as at least 5 pellets land on a non-max/HA-shield target who's not wearing NW armor. (Though even with the choke and ADS, landing 5 to 6 pellets in one shot is virtually impossible past 4m.) And the VS' charged shot on the Spiker does 500 damage within 10m, meaning a shot on any non-max or HA shield target not wearing NW armor can shot+knife (and it's suppressible).
12:09 "But I also don't have great aim". *throughout the video is able to head-shot the majority of targets*. I would love to have half the accuracy you do Wrel believe me!
After recently getting the commissioner and having had the blackhand for a bit... Personally I find the blackhand more useful and get more kills with it. For the role I want a sidearm to fill, the blackhand is the round peg in a round hole. Easy to either finish someone or supplement a CQB loadout. The commissioner is much more like a standard sidearm, it's not something to replace a primary like the blackhand is. A light assault with a blackhand is truly a terrifying force on the battlefield, find a tree where you can hide behind a branch for cover and you will have a significant impact on the battle. Stalker infiltrator is nice as well.
Honestly, this has become my go-to sidearm. I really love the way it feels. My one big complaint is the reload time. You'd think since it has a fairly slow fire rate and small magazine size, that you'd have a fast reload to make up for it, but it just isn't the case.
To anyone still watching this video, here to answer Wrel's question about adding input from someone who mains this: TLDR - anyone who stands still within medium range of you is done. Three P's: Patience (wait for stationary/slow target), Positioning (open area, behind enemy line, not in reinforcement flow), and Precision (head, body). With patience being the biggest.
I've tried the Blackhand, and I'm confident in saying that the Commissioner with a scope feels far more useful to me. It's more forgiving, and easier to adapt to a larger variety of roles. The Blackhand does feel useful as a "secondary primary" kind of a thing, where it can give a short range loadout a touch more effectiveness over-all, but I feel those benefits come with too high of a skill requirement to really recommend. Certainly enjoyable to run with, but goofing off aside I feel more effective without it.
Hey, Wrel. I wanna ask you a question about an interesting topic. My friends and I have been talking about making a game. We don't want to disappoint the community when we make the game because there should have been this class or whatever. So, we decided that, if we do make that game, we want to make it a Community Based Game. The way it works is that the community votes on the content that we offer. They can choose between the stats, skins, classes, and a lot of other game mechanics.They can offer advice on balancing the class. That way, it seems more like the community is more involved in the game, rather than be forced to accept changes that may come. I am extremely interested in what you think about the topic. If you can, please do a whole video about this. Around 5:00 should be fine. Thanks for reading this comment, and keep up the amazing videos. They do help me in Planetside 2.
GG my friend. Unfortunately I couldn't see you until you'd already popped me twice. I blame rendering issues lol. In any case, was fun swapping kills on the hill.
Great work again Wrel. However, unlike most of your comments where my eventual findings are consistent with your recommendations, I find the blackhand amazing. Im terrible in close and also dont switch well. My light assault is racking up the kills with this mini sniper weapon. Fi8ns a tree top or remote aerial location and start counting certs after multiple twin head shots. Low detection at those ranges compared with using a carbine Im really enjoying this weapon, but it is situational. Great when primary is a shotgun or infiltrator with SMG.
The Blackhand is a tremendously useful tool for any class. I particularly like it for a specialty tool to pick off enemies at long range cover (when I'm being suppressed) as a Medic, Engineer, or Heavy. You can use it as a semi-sniper when Light Assault or Stalker Infiltrator. However, I think the normal Comissioner is better for Stalkers.
seems to have the same issue as the commissioner and underboss. This issue is not game effecting but once you notice it if your like me it drives you NUTS! Fire these weapons till mag is half then reload here the thing though. the spent round rotate to the right so when you reload you are actually unloading and reloading unspent rounds instead of taking out the spent rounds lol
Here's the short version of Wrel's Review: it is a sniping pistol. You will see they added the x2 scope to the NS pistols. Whereas, before they didn't have them and thus you could get some range with them, but not more. This pistol could have had the 3.4 scope and maybe that would have been a sweet spot but really this gun can really use that x4 scope so you can really use it as a Sniping Pistol whereas, stick a higher scope on the crossbow and you'll find bullet drop might become an issue, and you need 2 shots to kill basically with the X-bow, so this pistol is an alternative to that, and the X-bow in CQC sucks = you die most of the time, but if you sneak and get close and hip fire it can be deadly, but otherwise you are very weak in CQC this pistol would help you snipe AND have some CQC ability, but clearly must be lower mag capacity, longer reload to keep down the awesome factor for CQC since realize you can have a Commissioner with a x2 scope and still do some sniping, but just not at those longer ranges. This blackhand fills that role and is a good weapon. I think it is balanced and I like that it is not to fast a reload and that it has the 4 shot capacity. Trust me, I wanted the new pistols (like the shot pistol and the Spiker and the auto pistol) to allow Stalking Infilitrators to CQC and sneak attack. They do but the spiker still might see the less effective version. The shot pistol is deadly but once your beyond a certain range, it quickly be comes less so. Thus when you buy these weapons, your really picking your niche. Your saying I want to be great at this. If you have the NC Shot pistol your good at uncloaking and blam blam 2 shots later the enemy is dead. Sneak Attack King is your super-power, but once you uncloak, that Black Hand using Infiltrator who is also stalk cloak will uncloak and shot you dead. If he is also well placed. This game is about angles and being in the right spot, and these weapons capitalize on that. They are not run and gun weapons. Black hand is well worth it (unlike, say the Lancer, which is ONLY worth buying in a bundle or at half cost). If your in doubt, simply wait for a sale or something. Yet, my experience is some weapons are well worth full price and you won't regret them. I love most of the weapons I've gotten, but some are, well, not so great and the ones I got at half off made me feel more at ease with getting them. So if your like that, just wait and be patient but I feel if your needing a sniping weapon and you want a bit more CQC over the X-bow go for this Blackhand. The only other thing I think of is the X-bow has the Explosive tip and the thing that allows you to find infilitrators which many non-infiltrator classes like. I own the X-bow and love it (yes it is worth full price) and I found this blackhand a great alternative which I appreciated.
I use it with my light assault with a serpent combo, using the serpent for cqc and the black hand to snipe. I could make a great streak from the top of a tower. Really great gun! Love it! It give the LA the long range + he was missing...
Liam Bass I'm talking statistically. From full health, 450+500 = 950 damage (unless you get headshots,) which is not a kill on anything besides an Infiltrator.
Wrel Wrel, last time I checked the weapon car ddfor the knif said 550 Damage plus if I knife someone and get killed by that person I clearly see he is missing his shields and a tiny bit of his life
This weapon is absolutely disgustingly good on a stalker. My only question what is the exact time it takes to re-equip? I think the crossbow takes 0.51 or 0.52 seconds to pull out when your holding a knife. About twice as long as your enemies sidearms. If the blackhand is on par with normal sidearm equip times that would be a minor advantage to consider when using the new active knives. BH is also not as synergistic with EMP's when compared to the crossbow which gives easy OHK ambushes . Anyway, Seriously SPOT ON review Wrel, hopefully more people will give this weapon a fair chance. Its not just a shitty COMMY.
Cute .Beaver I think the equip time is 0.2 seconds, like for other pistols, yeh. I agree that this isn't just a bad Commissioner, it's got a lot of potential. Glad you enjoyed the review!
Sounds like a good mid range finisher for sniping if you run out of bullets or just need something to whip out at a moments notice. Example situation being: having a 12x scope on and needing something better for enemies that make it into your mid/short range.
imo this gun is MUCH more effective on light assault. On infil you could just run hunter cloak and kill people just as easily, but on light assault you can snipe people from the top of towers and rooftops. A majority of my 400 blackhand kills so far have just been from farming NC zergs from the top of antennas as light assault. This gun is especially good if your main is a shotgun or smg, now you can easily kill people out of effective range! You do need good aim to use it though.
Note: This is outdated now, the min dmg was increased when Auxy shield was added so this weapon would maintain 2 headshot kill at all ranges even if the target has the extra 50 shield hitpoints.
only buffs I want for the black hand would be a base damage buff to 500 damage within 5m, this would make it actually competitive to high aim players because there is nothing good about the pistol over a CQC bolt action.
Ryan Hanson Right, Spiker was completely revamped. It's now a two-round burst weapon, very similar to the NC's Desperado. Go ahead and play around with it in the VR Training room, it's a good weapon now.
This paired with Stalker Infiltrator and a max level Ammo Printer & Regeneration or Target Focus would be deadly at medium/cqc sniping as well as having good survivability
Hi Wrel, I've done a second video on this weapon, this time at some serious ranges, and I also prefer the "Dot" sights. At certain ranges, the hit-box for the head seems nonexistant (shots will go right through the head). Here's my most recent clip (Mentioned above), longest kill so far at 509m: watch?v=gCXPdLGnwg8
Wrel, in case you play(ed) BF3, does the Blackhand feel similar to the .44 magnum? In general a nice review as always and that might be a fancy gadget to play around with...i bet there will be people who already rekt thousands of faces on the servers ^_^
Several of the guys in my outfit love this gun. They don't use it with stalker that much. They combine it with a shotgun light assault to increase their versatility without sacrificing firepower.
If you can hit headshots from a reasonable distance away with an infiltrator from hiding it's the only weapon for you I mean when it comes right down to ityou can be far enough away that if you screw up you can escape but it does enough damage . I haven't gotten very good at it yet but I run around with my knife in my handbut if I decide to post stuff on something and watch it for a while I switch the black hand and get ready to snipe
My accuracy hipfiring with this weapon increases to an almost instant kill when I get scared. As a heavy I had to reload and just as I started someone showed up. I killed them with a head shot and was able to wipe out another player with the same magazine.
+Vlad Stepanov This is exactly what I am planning to do with it as well. I am planning on using it as a sidearm for my CQC/Short Range builds (SMG and Full-Auto Scout Rifle).
+Vlad Stepanov Idk what you would consider 'godlike', but thus far I have a cumulative accuracy of about 37% with the the NC14 Bolt Driver (default NC Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle), and the bulk of my sniping has been at an average of ~200m+. Thing is, I shouldn't usually need to use the Blackhand closer than 50m on the builds I plan to run it on, so the better down-range damage and muzzle velocity are worth smaller mag I think (especially since I can just cloak to reload without much danger).
Justin Benfield I mean, it's your SC/Certs xD. But personally, I'd get it on trial first. If you are conftormable, go ahead. (But just saying, the gun is a full mag body-shot/half mag head-shot kill, so go to VR training and get a LOT of practice with it before you buy,)
Already tried it out in VR room, I'm pretty used to sniping things with my semi-auto sniper which can't 1HK, so I should be able to manage the 2HKs w/ Blackhand just fine. (Heck I've even used my Bolt Driver at ranges where IT doesn't 1HK a fair amount).
this might be a good weapon for an infiltrator but it is an INCREDIBLY powerful weapon for a light assault. running around with a silenced zenith and blackhand gave the option to be close range, stealthy, or long range at will. you're on a rooftop as a light assault and you miss half your shots? easy, back off, reload, and finish them with your carbine. cloakers generally can't run away faster than the class pursuing them. if you've got good aim, well, there's a reason LA's don't have access to battle rifles and that's that it would be too powerful. the low rate of fire and clip size mean you're not just instakilling everyone, but you can get all the right angles with a jetpack to drop people with two quick shots. i thought i'd prefer the comissioner but damn...this gun is fantastic for otherwise close-range LA's.
My friend and I used our trial period for this weapon at the same time and where a pair of REALLY annoying Infiltrators. I really annoyed a max, it was looking ALL OVER for me (came within knifing distance a few times...). Ran out of ammo before I killed it but still!
Are you running adrenaline pump at the beginning as an infiltrator? You seem to be moving pretty fast. Also, seems like this would be a good-ish weapon to pair with a shotgun build to give you some range option. Thoughts?
Should have 5 shots while dealing 500 damage per shot or 4 with 550-600, both with lowered rate of fire, to be honest. More fitting for a hunting revolver/hand cannon type of weapon.
Now I can use a Flash Suppressed Phantom (NS44 is essentially flash suppressed, has a quiet noise but still shows up on minimap) with my other fully Suppressed Phantom, thanks DBG.
Not sure if he mentioned this but the crossbow is better at close range due to the better cone of fire and the fact that most infantry only takes 2 body shots to kill. Where as the black hand takes 3 body shots.
I don't want to strike a nerve or offend- always a good start to a sentence haha. Never understood why it seems like your enemies are worse than on Cobalt and previously Ceres. I know Connery is pretty beastly at Server Smashes but I think we are about a similar skill level, is it mainly due to your ability to use tactics and strategies more effectively?
Well i just started this game 3 days ago, then i saw this vid and i decided to buy a blackhand for my stalker infiltrator. and it's super amazing !! :D
I so far LOVE this pistol, nothing is better for me. I get headshots a LOT and they REALLY pay off. This is not a weapon for the low skill player obviously, but if you have the skill to fill the boots, than this thing is just amazing! I only think it needs a reload speed that matches the underboss to compensate for the huge downtime. I also wish there was a no scope option as that would look REALLY cool.
i quit on this game a long time ago because getting new stuff was too much of a grind,and then not having to ability(that i knew of) to test red dots/weapons stuff like that. i think the point i stopped at was after buying some tank cannon upgrade,or something like that and finding it completely useless,there went a week worth of saving up XD so has that changed any since around release ?
Julian Carbajal what is this system you are talking about? because yes i do remember getting in a dropship thing and sneaking deep into the enemy's grounds
Lee Harvey Oswald There's the VR (where you can trial any weapon and add-ons before purchasing it), which has been in game since at least since i started (around october 2013). You need to go to a WG and change continents to the VR room (near the moon on the screen that comes up). As for the grind, it gets easier as you get better at it. Playing medic and engineer is good for certs if you have issues with actually getting kills.
I love the blackhand because its basically a sniper rifle for all units, but when i can engage long range with a light assault, then its sure worth it.
You speak of the commissioner as a jack of all trades. I haven't played in a couple months and now im starting to get into ps2 again. Did the commissioner get buffed or the underboss nerfed? I heard from someone that the shoot knife combo works again like it did a while ago does it really? Is the underboss as good as the commissioner but for a slightly different purpose or do you recommend the commissioner a lot more now?
I dont know about u but I think I can still aim wil cloaked with the standart iron sight. if you look carfully you can see the outlines of the crosshairs I use the commisoner(I dont have good spelling) but I think the blackhand is still I really usefull weapon
Ok... Where's our vanu specific laser sniper pistol that replaces the spiker? Tr got a machine gun, Nc got a shotgun, and we got a double peashooter? Yeah, sniper pistol plz. :P
Always when i go to terminal there is a message that say "Error: String ID5998787 Not Found". Do you now what the problem is or what i should do? Everything else is working. I also repaired my game but the message was is still there. Ps: excuse my english, if somethingh is wrong;D
Currently running a heavy assault with the vanu flare lmg (the 167 damage one). I'm thinking of buying this as a compliment to the lmg. Would this be a good idea or not?
Just a question for you guys: which class will you choose for a "ginslinger build"? I often take the infiltrator.... but would like to play differently so, any advice?
Hey I run heavy assault on TR, I haven't been happy with my guns I own the AMR and the t9 carv but I don't like either of them, I want to be able to shoot atleast medium range, should I get the other variant of the Carv, the tmg50 or the ss, and advice helps thanks
the first part of the video gave me a heart attack because i bought it recently and haven't been able to get on and use it and he was basically just shitting on it. the second half calmed me down
That reload at 8:22 XD Great review as always Wrel
Wow, didn't notice that. That's some crazy vanu high-tech shit, yo.
***** Apparently the Vanu have discovered the force...
***** Haven't you heard? Nanite Systems hooked up with a Vanu tech dude who specializes in maglev tech, and somehow managed to incorporate that ability of reloading.
Yea, I noticed that, but hey, when in Vanu,
***** It is done with the power of spandex
Wow! Haven't played PS2 in a while! Looks like the community is still kicking and growing even stronger!
SystemRichie Go check reddit...
TheHyperMagi wear a hazmat suit.
TheHyperMagi You know subreddits are where all the unsatisfied vets go.
***** No it just takes you a while to figure out the truth...
SystemRichie hes not even playing on a ps2
To me, this weapon appears to fill two niches: Stalker Infiltrators who want to operate at a distance, and as a compliment to the deficiencies of a CQC setup (shotguns, SMGs, fast carbines). It certainly doesn't seem to be the supremely powerful killing machine some have claimed it is, though- "pocket battle rifle" is what I've also heard from other more level-headed players, and battle rifles are not exactly scythes reaping the fields of enemy lives at this juncture.
TheRogueWolf Can you confirm that? I know the reload animations are different, but I didn't think that the reload times were actually changed at half a mag.
Wrel Actually, I'm wrong on that. I was judging by the reload animation itself, but after checking in the VR it seems that it just plays the different animation faster. So I'll excise that bit as nobody likes bad info!
Though also from checking in the VR it seems that today's patch may have fixed the issue with the default scope; I didn't see any issues when using it.
Wrel I can confirm. the reload time was exactly 4 seconds after I fired 3 rounds as well as 4
TheRogueWolf Thanks for that, I'll take another look at the default sights when I get the chance.
KageRa Well obviously it would be. The only difference in reload times would be between 1 or 2 shots and 3 or 4 shots
Long-time Blackhand user here... This gun was MADE with the Stalker in mind. I have racked up a number of kills with it by using ambush tactics at terminals and typical sniping points. Very fun gun if used right.
As a returning player of planetside recently i find your videos very useful.
I find your reviews well executed and interesting.
You helped me find my carbine of choice the Zenith VX-5, thank you for your great work :)
This seems like a fun sidearm to use for a my shotgun light assault - while I give up a reliable holdout weapon, I can still contribute to the fight when sitting up high while waiting for the heat from my last shotgun run to cool down.
I really like the thought that went into this weapon, that being that Stalker/SMG/Shotgun users can get more range in exchange for good aim. It certainly feels more worthy of the term "sidegrade" than a few of the other pistols.
That said, I think I personally would be more likely to use it with a shotgun/SMG class than a Stalker. I see the main benefit of Stalker as the greater ability to hide closer to enemies. When fighting at range, you can generally cloak to cover even with low ranks of Hunter, and there are several classes of Infiltrator primaries that could be considered direct upgrades to this.
Still, it's certainly not worthless, and it's good to see a weapon that offers new play-styles without invalidating older ones. Enjoyed the review.
I love pre-capturing bases as my team has the inertia capping bases with this weapons, this means I will not encounter a lot of enemies and thus 2-headshots from this gun are perfect, the rest are a backup in case of a miss. Range for me is just a nice additional quality of it.
I haven't noticed the reticle being bugged, but I do take my time with the shots at the risk of being killed instead of just putting many bullets downrange. So it is indeed a suiting weapon for players with patience, strategy and landing precise shots.
Every time I see your videos it just makes Emerald look like easy mode.
Eu and us are easy mode briggs players are not that retarded and more chilled in general (my opinion) and no I'm not from briggs
xflamousz emerald has its share of hot heads and morons but we also produce some talented players and nice people.
Just like any other server
This is one of the few sidearms I was really looking forward to. It's pretty much a pocket sniper/battle rifle, and is the solution for long ranged engagements for stalker infiltrators or light assaults. As a light assault, you feel like a sniper with a jetpack. This is going to be fun to use.
I like that you are reviewing sidearms. You really have not gone over many options for sidearms, but you have a couple. Keep making sidearms, I think new players would enjoy reviews for those since there aren't that many options.
+Wrel
Just to mention the activated knife you were using, I would like to see a video discussing how sounds can impact on the effectiveness of weapons and equipment, namely cloaking sounds, silenced rifle sounds, and the activated knives, because I find myself even after a while now noticing certain faction specific ones in combat much more than the others e.g. the activated chain knife for the the TRUTH and silenced Vanu rifles
Any NS sidearms (Underboss, Commissioner, Blackhand) can perform a type of shotknife if a headshot is landed with either the knife or sidearm. Although harder to land, on moving targets, one can use this efficiently to preserve ammo on camping targets.
10:55
The crossbow is not the only shot+knife potential sidearm.
The NC's Mag-Scatter (shotgun pistol) can shot+knife within 12m so long as at least 5 pellets land on a non-max/HA-shield target who's not wearing NW armor.
(Though even with the choke and ADS, landing 5 to 6 pellets in one shot is virtually impossible past 4m.)
And the VS' charged shot on the Spiker does 500 damage within 10m, meaning a shot on any non-max or HA shield target not wearing NW armor can shot+knife (and it's suppressible).
TheKhopesh Heh, I said it's the only "NS" weapon capable of a shot+knife combo.
12:09 "But I also don't have great aim". *throughout the video is able to head-shot the majority of targets*. I would love to have half the accuracy you do Wrel believe me!
i watch all your stuff wrel, and i gotta say great review.
maxximuss Glad you enjoyed it!
After recently getting the commissioner and having had the blackhand for a bit... Personally I find the blackhand more useful and get more kills with it. For the role I want a sidearm to fill, the blackhand is the round peg in a round hole. Easy to either finish someone or supplement a CQB loadout. The commissioner is much more like a standard sidearm, it's not something to replace a primary like the blackhand is. A light assault with a blackhand is truly a terrifying force on the battlefield, find a tree where you can hide behind a branch for cover and you will have a significant impact on the battle. Stalker infiltrator is nice as well.
Honestly, this has become my go-to sidearm. I really love the way it feels. My one big complaint is the reload time. You'd think since it has a fairly slow fire rate and small magazine size, that you'd have a fast reload to make up for it, but it just isn't the case.
Haven't yet tried this on infi, but for other classes the standard scope seems like the most precise and comfortable. Never noticed problems with it.
Great work as always. I learned a lot about this pistol.
To anyone still watching this video, here to answer Wrel's question about adding input from someone who mains this: TLDR - anyone who stands still within medium range of you is done. Three P's: Patience (wait for stationary/slow target), Positioning (open area, behind enemy line, not in reinforcement flow), and Precision (head, body). With patience being the biggest.
I've tried the Blackhand, and I'm confident in saying that the Commissioner with a scope feels far more useful to me. It's more forgiving, and easier to adapt to a larger variety of roles. The Blackhand does feel useful as a "secondary primary" kind of a thing, where it can give a short range loadout a touch more effectiveness over-all, but I feel those benefits come with too high of a skill requirement to really recommend.
Certainly enjoyable to run with, but goofing off aside I feel more effective without it.
If I kill an enemy with hip fire with this weapon,does it counts as noscope?
may it is, but it won't be that swag
no because the cone of fire is too small for it to be as hard as a noscope
Hey, Wrel. I wanna ask you a question about an interesting topic. My friends and I have been talking about making a game. We don't want to disappoint the community when we make the game because there should have been this class or whatever. So, we decided that, if we do make that game, we want to make it a Community Based Game. The way it works is that the community votes on the content that we offer. They can choose between the stats, skins, classes, and a lot of other game mechanics.They can offer advice on balancing the class. That way, it seems more like the community is more involved in the game, rather than be forced to accept changes that may come. I am extremely interested in what you think about the topic. If you can, please do a whole video about this. Around 5:00 should be fine. Thanks for reading this comment, and keep up the amazing videos. They do help me in Planetside 2.
0:46 currently? are they planning on changing it?
The default scope is not bugged per se, it just uses old mechanics. All scopes used to be that way, don't you remember?
The Blackhand is amazing with stalker cloak! As long as you have patience and restraint you'll fall in love with this gun. Once you go black.......
whoah what's that camo at 10:00? It looks awesome!
TheKingKookie SOE Live coin camo
+WinchesterLock how can you get it?
GG my friend. Unfortunately I couldn't see you until you'd already popped me twice. I blame rendering issues lol. In any case, was fun swapping kills on the hill.
woot! time to watch a video on a game i used to play... goddamn your voice is so smooth. Seriously, i dont care about the content just the voice.
Extremely helpful. Thanks Wrel.
Great work again Wrel.
However, unlike most of your comments where my eventual findings are consistent with your recommendations, I find the blackhand amazing. Im terrible in close and also dont switch well. My light assault is racking up the kills with this mini sniper weapon. Fi8ns a tree top or remote aerial location and start counting certs after multiple twin head shots. Low detection at those ranges compared with using a carbine Im really enjoying this weapon, but it is situational. Great when primary is a shotgun or infiltrator with SMG.
The Blackhand is a tremendously useful tool for any class. I particularly like it for a specialty tool to pick off enemies at long range cover (when I'm being suppressed) as a Medic, Engineer, or Heavy. You can use it as a semi-sniper when Light Assault or Stalker Infiltrator. However, I think the normal Comissioner is better for Stalkers.
I kinda disagree, the Comissioner does better up close, the Blackhand beats it everywhere else.
video made 4 years ago, but the animations and scope are still broken lol. Also really weird that the weapon has no bullet drop...
oh, is that why the default scope looked so bad?
seems to have the same issue as the commissioner and underboss. This issue is not game effecting but once you notice it if your like me it drives you NUTS!
Fire these weapons till mag is half then reload here the thing though. the spent round rotate to the right so when you reload you are actually unloading and reloading unspent rounds instead of taking out the spent rounds lol
Here's the short version of Wrel's Review: it is a sniping pistol. You will see they added the x2 scope to the NS pistols. Whereas, before they didn't have them and thus you could get some range with them, but not more. This pistol could have had the 3.4 scope and maybe that would have been a sweet spot but really this gun can really use that x4 scope so you can really use it as a Sniping Pistol whereas, stick a higher scope on the crossbow and you'll find bullet drop might become an issue, and you need 2 shots to kill basically with the X-bow, so this pistol is an alternative to that, and the X-bow in CQC sucks = you die most of the time, but if you sneak and get close and hip fire it can be deadly, but otherwise you are very weak in CQC this pistol would help you snipe AND have some CQC ability, but clearly must be lower mag capacity, longer reload to keep down the awesome factor for CQC since realize you can have a Commissioner with a x2 scope and still do some sniping, but just not at those longer ranges. This blackhand fills that role and is a good weapon. I think it is balanced and I like that it is not to fast a reload and that it has the 4 shot capacity. Trust me, I wanted the new pistols (like the shot pistol and the Spiker and the auto pistol) to allow Stalking Infilitrators to CQC and sneak attack. They do but the spiker still might see the less effective version. The shot pistol is deadly but once your beyond a certain range, it quickly be comes less so. Thus when you buy these weapons, your really picking your niche. Your saying I want to be great at this. If you have the NC Shot pistol your good at uncloaking and blam blam 2 shots later the enemy is dead. Sneak Attack King is your super-power, but once you uncloak, that Black Hand using Infiltrator who is also stalk cloak will uncloak and shot you dead. If he is also well placed. This game is about angles and being in the right spot, and these weapons capitalize on that. They are not run and gun weapons. Black hand is well worth it (unlike, say the Lancer, which is ONLY worth buying in a bundle or at half cost). If your in doubt, simply wait for a sale or something. Yet, my experience is some weapons are well worth full price and you won't regret them. I love most of the weapons I've gotten, but some are, well, not so great and the ones I got at half off made me feel more at ease with getting them. So if your like that, just wait and be patient but I feel if your needing a sniping weapon and you want a bit more CQC over the X-bow go for this Blackhand. The only other thing I think of is the X-bow has the Explosive tip and the thing that allows you to find infilitrators which many non-infiltrator classes like. I own the X-bow and love it (yes it is worth full price) and I found this blackhand a great alternative which I appreciated.
I use it with my light assault with a serpent combo, using the serpent for cqc and the black hand to snipe. I could make a great streak from the top of a tower. Really great gun! Love it! It give the LA the long range + he was missing...
At 10:58 you said the Crossbow is the only NS weapon capable of shot/knife combo, i do this all the time with my NS-44 Commissioner
Liam Bass I'm talking statistically. From full health, 450+500 = 950 damage (unless you get headshots,) which is not a kill on anything besides an Infiltrator.
Wrel Wrel, last time I checked the weapon car ddfor the knif said 550 Damage plus if I knife someone and get killed by that person I clearly see he is missing his shields and a tiny bit of his life
This weapon is absolutely disgustingly good on a stalker. My only question what is the exact time it takes to re-equip? I think the crossbow takes 0.51 or 0.52 seconds to pull out when your holding a knife. About twice as long as your enemies sidearms. If the blackhand is on par with normal sidearm equip times that would be a minor advantage to consider when using the new active knives. BH is also not as synergistic with EMP's when compared to the crossbow which gives easy OHK ambushes . Anyway, Seriously SPOT ON review Wrel, hopefully more people will give this weapon a fair chance. Its not just a shitty COMMY.
Cute .Beaver I think the equip time is 0.2 seconds, like for other pistols, yeh. I agree that this isn't just a bad Commissioner, it's got a lot of potential. Glad you enjoyed the review!
Sounds like a good mid range finisher for sniping if you run out of bullets or just need something to whip out at a moments notice. Example situation being: having a 12x scope on and needing something better for enemies that make it into your mid/short range.
imo this gun is MUCH more effective on light assault. On infil you could just run hunter cloak and kill people just as easily, but on light assault you can snipe people from the top of towers and rooftops. A majority of my 400 blackhand kills so far have just been from farming NC zergs from the top of antennas as light assault. This gun is especially good if your main is a shotgun or smg, now you can easily kill people out of effective range! You do need good aim to use it though.
The best thing about this gun IMO, is the lack of scope sway. Just line that little dot up with their head. Two shots usually does the trick.
Note: This is outdated now, the min dmg was increased when Auxy shield was added so this weapon would maintain 2 headshot kill at all ranges even if the target has the extra 50 shield hitpoints.
only buffs I want for the black hand would be a base damage buff to 500 damage within 5m, this would make it actually competitive to high aim players because there is nothing good about the pistol over a CQC bolt action.
Just like the crossbow this weapon makes an excellent pair with a shotgun loadout.
Would/are you considering doing a Commissioner vs Underboss review?
TheDragonman55 Absolutely, it's on my list.
Ryan Hanson We've reviewed the Archer, and talked a little bit about pistol selection there, if you're interested in checking that out.
Ryan Hanson Right, Spiker was completely revamped. It's now a two-round burst weapon, very similar to the NC's Desperado. Go ahead and play around with it in the VR Training room, it's a good weapon now.
This paired with Stalker Infiltrator and a max level Ammo Printer & Regeneration or Target Focus would be deadly at medium/cqc sniping as well as having good survivability
Hi Wrel,
I've done a second video on this weapon, this time at some serious ranges, and I also prefer the "Dot" sights. At certain ranges, the hit-box for the head seems nonexistant (shots will go right through the head).
Here's my most recent clip (Mentioned above), longest kill so far at 509m:
watch?v=gCXPdLGnwg8
I think I will stick to my Commisioner, it feels so OP
Thanks for this vid!
This gun is exactly what i thought it would be: a secondary sniper rifle!
Wrel, in case you play(ed) BF3, does the Blackhand feel similar to the .44 magnum?
In general a nice review as always and that might be a fancy gadget to play around with...i bet there will be people who already rekt thousands of faces on the servers ^_^
this is my favorite sidearm
I love you, Kitchen Gun!
It is good fot TR's, actually
Several of the guys in my outfit love this gun. They don't use it with stalker that much. They combine it with a shotgun light assault to increase their versatility without sacrificing firepower.
6:35 - next level strats!
As a battle rifle lover this might be something for me.
If you can hit headshots from a reasonable distance away with an infiltrator from hiding it's the only weapon for you I mean when it comes right down to ityou can be far enough away that if you screw up you can escape but it does enough damage .
I haven't gotten very good at it yet but I run around with my knife in my handbut if I decide to post stuff on something and watch it for a while I switch the black hand and get ready to snipe
The ns44l does an excellent synergy with the TR t7 mini chaingun, becuse you can use it to pick off longer targets
Has anyone ever noticed that when you reload a revolver, the cartridges ejected still have their bullets still seated?
My accuracy hipfiring with this weapon increases to an almost instant kill when I get scared. As a heavy I had to reload and just as I started someone showed up. I killed them with a head shot and was able to wipe out another player with the same magazine.
Its quirky, but I have a cqc infil. loadout so this balances it out. I, personally use it as a pocket sniper
+Vlad Stepanov This is exactly what I am planning to do with it as well. I am planning on using it as a sidearm for my CQC/Short Range builds (SMG and Full-Auto Scout Rifle).
Justin Benfield Don't, unless your aiming is god-like. Just stick with the commissioner, or underboss.
+Vlad Stepanov Idk what you would consider 'godlike', but thus far I have a cumulative accuracy of about 37% with the the NC14 Bolt Driver (default NC Bolt-Action Sniper Rifle), and the bulk of my sniping has been at an average of ~200m+. Thing is, I shouldn't usually need to use the Blackhand closer than 50m on the builds I plan to run it on, so the better down-range damage and muzzle velocity are worth smaller mag I think (especially since I can just cloak to reload without much danger).
Justin Benfield I mean, it's your SC/Certs xD. But personally, I'd get it on trial first. If you are conftormable, go ahead. (But just saying, the gun is a full mag body-shot/half mag head-shot kill, so go to VR training and get a LOT of practice with it before you buy,)
Already tried it out in VR room, I'm pretty used to sniping things with my semi-auto sniper which can't 1HK, so I should be able to manage the 2HKs w/ Blackhand just fine. (Heck I've even used my Bolt Driver at ranges where IT doesn't 1HK a fair amount).
this might be a good weapon for an infiltrator but it is an INCREDIBLY powerful weapon for a light assault. running around with a silenced zenith and blackhand gave the option to be close range, stealthy, or long range at will. you're on a rooftop as a light assault and you miss half your shots? easy, back off, reload, and finish them with your carbine. cloakers generally can't run away faster than the class pursuing them. if you've got good aim, well, there's a reason LA's don't have access to battle rifles and that's that it would be too powerful. the low rate of fire and clip size mean you're not just instakilling everyone, but you can get all the right angles with a jetpack to drop people with two quick shots. i thought i'd prefer the comissioner but damn...this gun is fantastic for otherwise close-range LA's.
It's been 5 years, so uhh.. I have to wonder -- is the default scope fixed?
7:07 bloom 0.4 or 0.2
My friend and I used our trial period for this weapon at the same time and where a pair of REALLY annoying Infiltrators.
I really annoyed a max, it was looking ALL OVER for me (came within knifing distance a few times...). Ran out of ammo before I killed it but still!
Just auraxiumed it, favourite revolver by far
Are you running adrenaline pump at the beginning as an infiltrator? You seem to be moving pretty fast.
Also, seems like this would be a good-ish weapon to pair with a shotgun build to give you some range option. Thoughts?
Thanks for uploading this video.
Should have 5 shots while dealing 500 damage per shot or 4 with 550-600, both with lowered rate of fire, to be honest. More fitting for a hunting revolver/hand cannon type of weapon.
Now I can use a Flash Suppressed Phantom (NS44 is essentially flash suppressed, has a quiet noise but still shows up on minimap) with my other fully Suppressed Phantom, thanks DBG.
Dominic Donahue Can we just take a second to talk about how much I love the Phantom? A lot.
It'd be hilarious if they made an NS slingshot that launched deadly projectiles.
NS musket rifle and flintstock pistol pls, I'd pay good money for that nanite systems xD
NS bird that carries heavy rocks which it drops on the heads of enemies
Not sure if he mentioned this but the crossbow is better at close range due to the better cone of fire and the fact that most infantry only takes 2 body shots to kill. Where as the black hand takes 3 body shots.
Crossbow has a slow projectile speed though, this one will have a faster projectile speed and therefore less drop over long distances
kal skiratta the projectile speed and rate of fire kind of makes it less forging than a revolver.
as I said, the crossbow is better at close range. at long range the Blackhand beats it hands down.
kal skiratta on a close range basis both are the same as you will most likely jus shotknife people so it is irrelevant
I don't want to strike a nerve or offend- always a good start to a sentence haha. Never understood why it seems like your enemies are worse than on Cobalt and previously Ceres. I know Connery is pretty beastly at Server Smashes but I think we are about a similar skill level, is it mainly due to your ability to use tactics and strategies more effectively?
Is that a battle rifle in your pocket or are you just happy to see me?
Well i just started this game 3 days ago, then i saw this vid and i decided to buy a blackhand for my stalker infiltrator. and it's super amazing !! :D
I so far LOVE this pistol, nothing is better for me. I get headshots a LOT and they REALLY pay off. This is not a weapon for the low skill player obviously, but if you have the skill to fill the boots, than this thing is just amazing! I only think it needs a reload speed that matches the underboss to compensate for the huge downtime. I also wish there was a no scope option as that would look REALLY cool.
Thanks for your videos and congrats on your Daybreak employment opportunity. You def deserve it.
i quit on this game a long time ago because getting new stuff was too much of a grind,and then not having to ability(that i knew of) to test red dots/weapons stuff like that.
i think the point i stopped at was after buying some tank cannon upgrade,or something like that and finding it completely useless,there went a week worth of saving up XD
so has that changed any since around release ?
Lattice system killed the game for me IMO.. I loved it when fights happened ALL OVER THE CONTINENT and not just the borders of territories
Julian Carbajal what is this system you are talking about?
because yes i do remember getting in a dropship thing and sneaking deep into the enemy's grounds
That the territories are chained (or linked) and you have to capture a territory to capture the next one
Other wise a territory is invulnerable to capture unless your empire captures a neighboring territory
Lee Harvey Oswald There's the VR (where you can trial any weapon and add-ons before purchasing it), which has been in game since at least since i started (around october 2013). You need to go to a WG and change continents to the VR room (near the moon on the screen that comes up). As for the grind, it gets easier as you get better at it. Playing medic and engineer is good for certs if you have issues with actually getting kills.
8:23 that reload though.
great gun review i play the pc and ps4 beta version. It is must play game for fps fans.
Awesome review, Thank you very much.
I love the blackhand because its basically a sniper rifle for all units, but when i can engage long range with a light assault, then its sure worth it.
You speak of the commissioner as a jack of all trades. I haven't played in a couple months and now im starting to get into ps2 again. Did the commissioner get buffed or the underboss nerfed? I heard from someone that the shoot knife combo works again like it did a while ago does it really? Is the underboss as good as the commissioner but for a slightly different purpose or do you recommend the commissioner a lot more now?
I dont know about u but I think I can still aim wil cloaked with the standart iron sight. if you look carfully you can see the outlines of the crosshairs I use the commisoner(I dont have good spelling) but I think the blackhand is still I really usefull weapon
has anyone seen the reload glitch at 8:20? Wrel ?
mistereddy That has been in the game since the two first revolvers got released.
really? i dont use revolvers alot so i wouldnt know :P
Ok... Where's our vanu specific laser sniper pistol that replaces the spiker? Tr got a machine gun, Nc got a shotgun, and we got a double peashooter? Yeah, sniper pistol plz. :P
Always when i go to terminal there is a message that say "Error: String ID5998787 Not Found". Do you now what the problem is or what i should do? Everything else is working. I also repaired my game but the message was is still there.
Ps: excuse my english, if somethingh is wrong;D
Currently running a heavy assault with the vanu flare lmg (the 167 damage one). I'm thinking of buying this as a compliment to the lmg. Would this be a good idea or not?
Just a question for you guys:
which class will you choose for a "ginslinger build"?
I often take the infiltrator.... but would like to play differently so, any advice?
Hey I run heavy assault on TR, I haven't been happy with my guns I own the AMR and the t9 carv but I don't like either of them, I want to be able to shoot atleast medium range, should I get the other variant of the Carv, the tmg50 or the ss, and advice helps thanks
8:24 Reload by Vanu Magic D:
so wrel would you say this is a good weapon for learning to snipe because of being able to use it with stalker
Why do you cloak everytime you reload! I want to see the guns reload animation! But great review as always Wrel :)
the first part of the video gave me a heart attack because i bought it recently and haven't been able to get on and use it and he was basically just shitting on it. the second half calmed me down
I agree, a reload speed buff would be nice.
is it gonna do well in light assult tower stomping ????
No
I have a question, how do you video and audio record? Do you use the PS2 game recording feature, or do you use a program and or device?
Directive shotgun isn't heat-based? another directive ill be skipping! :D
where was this gun been whole my PS2 life ?
Are the bullet drop stats for each weapon listed on the spreadsheet?
The cross hairs still cloak with the standard sites with this weapon...