John, I've been bad,
and they're coming after me
Done someone wrong,
and I fear that it was me...
I could use a bit of comfort content so we're still doing the near-neurodivergence level of hyperfocused SR3 infodump. I wanted to sort of write a guide on firearms in SR3. They're pretty easy to interpret on their own, but there's a lot of them and I wanted to showcase how many different use cases there can be in Shadowrun. Of course this only applies to SR3, though: I've got limited play experience with the others and anyway, both 5e and 6e collapse the range of your options a bit, for the better.
Before I begin I wanted to say that I'm not weighing the accessories the guns are packaged with very highly. Unless it's something that's unique, the extra cost and impact on conceal(if any) is somewhat trivial. What I'll do instead is give generalized suggestions on accessories each category should be using.
Finally, a note on targeting systems: Obviously a cybernetic Smartlink-2 and Rangefinder system is best, but not all of us are chromed. Without 'ware you can use smart goggles, or you also have the option to use an extended range laser sight and a mag-3 scope. This is the only time I'm gonna mention this, so just keep it in mind if you're gearing up a physad, mage, or just someone who doesn't have the room for a smartlink-2.
Loadout Philosophy
Put simply, every character who uses firearms ought to have three of them. The first should be a gun focused on carrying it all the time, something that's decent in a fight but has an eye on concealability. Your GM may vary, but even attempting to conceal a weapon goes a long way with cops. The second is a gun for stealth missions: something that has a silencer and/or something extremely concealable that can be smuggled into a building past guards and MADs. Your choice depends on your methods. The third is a weapon purely built for killing, to be pulled out only when you don't care who sees you. Frequently, these categories can mix: if all you use are pistols, your EDC and your "loud" gun are probably going to be the same one. Regardless of your skills, you should keep these three roles in mind.
Ammo types are mostly easy to interpret, but I'm putting some notes here for you. First, the difference between capsule and gel rounds is that delivering a chemical means your successes on the attack go toward scaling the chemical, not the stun damage. You can not choose otherwise. Capsule rounds are powerful and interesting, but gimmicky.
Next, a note on EX Explosive ammo vs. APDS. You may think that APDS is universally better than ex-ex because of the cost and availability, but consider this: APDS only pulls ahead if the target's ballistic armor rating is 6 or more. Underneath that, it's only reducing armor by 2 points...the same(essentially) as EX Explosive. Those APDS bullets are expensive, so consider your loadout carefully. If you're dealing with ganger punks in armor jackets...save your nuyen.
Finally, there are a lot of ammo types that are resisted with double armor in some way, either double impact or ballistic plus impact, or what have you. These ammo types have limited usefulness in general, usually only for moments when you're taking called shots to unarmored portions of the body. In these instances, Glazer rounds are best...but honestly, I think you should see this as an extreme niche and not something every character should be buying. Form-fit armor is decently popular, and can ruin your plans even with its 4/1 armor rating.
Heavy Pistols
I want to note here that hold-out, light and machine pistols are generally not worth using. Their downsides and lack of damage don't make up for the few extra points of concealability you get. If you're concerned with hiding a weapon, a Morrisey Elite inside a concealable holster and underneath a Long Coat is a concealability of 12. That's a lot.
Accessories: Smartlink, Rangefinder, Personalized Grip, Concealable Quick-draw Holster. First off, the only recoil you need to worry about is the +1 for your second shot in the round(but see below), so your personalized grip will take care of it. This also means you're free to put a silencer on these guns if you want. After all, these are the most common silenced firearms in the game for a reason. Pistols are also one of the few categories of weapon you're able to use a concealed holster with, as well as quick draw. You should take advantage of that functionality every time you're able.
Every-Day Carry: You really can't go wrong here. For every day use in a wide range of situations, most heavy pistols are okay. The Morrissey Elite trades clip size for an amazing conceal of 7, but the Browning Ultra-Power or Morrissey Ultra are decent concealable guns as well. If you don't care about concealability that much, there's always the old standard, the Predator III.
Quiet Time: The WW Infiltrator isn't available at chargen, but fools MADs and disassembles into items which look like luggage accessories. For a concealed weapon with a huge punch, the Eichiro Hatamoto II chambers a single shotgun round, and has the stopping power you'd expect from that. Finally, for simple infiltration, you really can't go wrong with slapping a silencer on your EDC gun just before your run starts. Pistols generally don't need barrel mounted accessories, so even characters with no stealth skills at all should carry around a silencer to mount on their pistol.
Loud Crowd: Boringly, your core damage option is going to be firing twice with a 9M pistol. Any one of them. You really may as well make purchases based on the Quiet Time section above, even if you're the party's Plan B. A few other weapons bear mentioning, however. We spent years thinking the Savalette Guardian and its ability to fire a burst as a complex action was the king of weapons, but I don't believe that any more. Blowing a complex action for a burst seems worthwhile only if your regular shots are flattening against someone, because of armor or body attribute(or both). For high armor targets or called shots, though, I guess it's handy to have the option. The game's big-time revolver, the Ruger Super Warhawk, can also be seen in a similar light to the Guardian. It can't be silenced and it's single-shot only, but...who knows, maybe you have something to do with that other simple action. Careful Aim comes to mind: a Ruger loaded with ex-ex or APDS and used for called shots after a careful aim action could be a valid option.
SMGs
Accessories: Smartlink, Rangefinder, Personalized Grip, Folding Stock, Underbarrel Weight, Gas Vent IV. As you can see, we're trying to get your recoil compensation up to ten for maximizing Full Auto fire. You won't get there with a stock firearm without some external factors like a cyberarm gyromount or foot anchors, but we can get you to 7 easily. This is also a category that can use concealable quick-draw holsters, so long as your SMG has a conceal of 4 or above.
Every-Day Carry: The Heckler & Koch HK227, HK227-S, and MP-5 TX all combine a 7M damage code with full-auto fire and respectable conceal ratings. The HK227-S has a sound suppressor, however, so see notes on that below. Outside of that, most of the options here are good if you don't mind accepting a 6M damage code, with the Colt Cobra series and AK-97 Carbine both having all three fire modes. The Ingram Warrior bears mentioning for having a 7M damage code, but no full-auto mode.
Notes On Fire Modes: Full Auto is a benefit to you even if you can't effectively use it in a straightforward manner. It allows Cover Fire and Searching Fire as options, both of which have plenty of uses in combat outside of "kill the mans as fast as possible". Therefore, having full auto capability on your weapon is a benefit even if you can't use it as well.
Quiet Time: You give up your gas vent for a sound suppressor, meaning the most recoil comp we can squeeze into the gun is 3 without some external factor. It means you'll be using full-auto solely for cover or searching fire and otherwise attacking with bursts. SMGs aren't great for quiet infiltration, but you could do worse.
Loud Crowd: I'm only putting this section here to say that it really isn't necessary. Having an easily concealed but powerful firearm is literally the point of SMGs, so there isn't a need to have a "Plan B" SMG...it simply wouldn't be very different from your every-day SMG.
Shotguns
Wow, so there aren't special sections with funny names here, are there? That's because we've landed on our first uniquely powerful weapon, the SPAS-22. It has a folding stock(something not technically allowed for custom firearms), burst fire capability, and can be sawn off. It lowers the damage code by 1, but with a 9S weapon the size of a pistol with a conceal of 6? You'll manage. You need six points of recoil compensation, which you can accomplish via personalized grip, the SPAS's stock, and gas vent IV. Make sure to cover your ass here, because shotguns double uncompensated recoil modifiers.
Every other shotgun is worse than the SPAS-22. It isn't by a lot in most cases, but they're all worse.
Rifles
I'm not gonna insult you by laboriously going over your choice of six guns. You can tell the difference. However, I did want to bring up the Barrett 121. It has a higher damage level than the other sniper rifles, but has special +2 per shot recoil and can only fire its own special ammunition. These drawbacks ensure that it isn't worth it to use this gun over the other two sniper rifles. Firstly, the recoil may come up: with a personalized grip, shock pads and its bipod you're able to mitigate two shots worth of recoil...until you're not able to use that bipod. It can't mount a gas vent, either. Second(and more important), its 14-availability ammunition means you'll either struggle to find it, or pay through the nose. In a pinch, the Ranger Arms SM-3 and Walther MA-2100 can both fire the regular rounds that you bought at Dick's. If you're wondering why Dick's Sporting Goods is carrying .50 caliber sniper rifle rounds, well...welcome to 2065.
Assault Rifles
First off, let's not imply that an assault rifle is part of anyone's EDC. Don't be that guy.
Accessories: Smartlink, Range Finder, Personalized Grip, Gas Vent IV, Shock Pads, Underbarrel Weight(see below). Just like SMGs above, we're maximizing your recoil compensation. This is another weapon type that benefits a lot from being able to use full auto, but AT MINIMUM you want six points so you can fire two bursts in a round and still hit whatever you're aiming the gun at. This weapon type more than any others has loads of underbarrel accessory options, so weigh those against the simple +1 RC from the underbarrel weight or foregrip.
Loud Crowd: People buy assault rifles because you can put underbarrel grenade launchers on them, so the Ares Alpha Combat Gun stands out. In addition to having one of those, it's also got a "special chamber design" that's worth 2 points of recoil compensation. Other assault rifles come close, but none of the other ones have that special chamber. It can't mount an underbarrel weight, but you're still a full point above other options, even if they choose not to mount a grenade launcher.
Quiet Time: I'm just gonna reiterate here that silencing a weapon means giving up your gas vent system. In this case, it puts the Alpha even further ahead the other guns: with its special chamber, personalized grip, and shock pads, you can get to 4 RC and still keep your grenades. You want to get up to 6 RC so you can fire two bursts, and a -1 from a STR of 6 is a pretty easy start.
Custom Firearms
I'm not gonna give a rote explanation of the custom firearm rules, because I think they're pretty simple. However, I should point out what this system is good at creating. I'm leaving out one or two arguably-shouldn't-be-allowed options like the assault rifle with a conceal of 7, because that build's not even that hard to find.
Unique Options. Barrel Extension, Selectable Clip, and Ceramic Components are all things that don't show up in book standard firearms. I personally find Selectable Clip handy as hell.
Concealability. With stuff like bullpup design and barrel reduction, it's pretty easy to get a weapon's conceal rating up, even with shotguns or assault rifles. While this can go overboard with the larger weapons, it's still important to note.
Recoil Compensation. Thanks to Heavy Barrel, Bullpup Configuration, and integral recoil compensation, custom large weapons can be up to 4 RC above stock weapons. This is particularly helpful if you're set on a silenced assault rifle.
@}-,-'--
Thank you for putting up with all this content written on an arguably-busted niche edition of a game. I love SR3 and, as the years go by, I'm starting to think that my posts are all the love it's going to get. If nothing else, I'm having a lot of fun revisiting a game from my childhood with much more expertise and knowledge under my belt.
Oh, and one final word: if the FBI or police are reading this post, please google "Shadowrun" before kicking my door down and scaring my Mom. Thanks. <3
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