How to Use the Plasma Pistol and The Power Sword
By Coilspun.
The Plasma Pistol is best fired on a fully charged-up shot – any shots you land will count as headshots for damage purposes. To help Plasma Pistol ammo economy always take the version with the most ammo.
I use the Plasma Pistol against clusters of ranged damage dealers I can’t get to easily and to thin out massive enemy waves of smaller, low-health targets – if I don’t want to be rushed.
Against larger targets I’ll use the Plasma Pistol to soften them up, Rubric marines are easier to deal with if you have landed one or two full charged shots to them before closing. And the same for Venom Cannon Tyranid Majoris or the cursed Barbed Stranglers.
Overall, melee weapons do feel, even at Relic like the don’t do quite enough damage.
The trick to Bulwarking, in my experience, is to perfect parry with the shock DoT perk (one perfect parry will drop a shock field on your position – you can then stand in this and parry attacks) and get the gun strikes in on larger targets, use your attacks to deal some damage, but there’s nothing wrong with letting them come to you, don’t over extend in melee.
Against smaller melee targets, keep them largely in front of you, you can shield bash to create space for a charged up melee, and then begin parrying again. When you’ve a managable amount of mobs left, or you’ve restored your armour from executes, gun strikes or perfect parrying, go ham and finish the rest off.
Use the right stance: fast stance for Majoris, power stance for minoris. The damage output on both styles is the same. Power stance gives you extra reach and makes all minoris enemies to give you gunstrikes. Fast stance can kill majoris with ease. Use the thrust (dodge + attack) to break any guard.
Switching stances can be tricky. I found very helpful to go to sparring area and practice, dodge + hold attack to switch stances.
Usually my combo is: couple of power style light attacks, gunshot, into a thrust with stance change, into 3 fast attacks into a parry, gunshot, execute, rinse and repeat.