PISTOLS: Better Than Reloading

I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it
💥Download Enlisted for FREE and get your bonus! ► Use my link - playen.link/arch. Thanks to Enlisted for sponsoring and supporting the channel!
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⍜ SUPPORTER TIER PATRONS: - THANK YOU! -
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⍜ Musician Featured in this Video:
⤷ Chris Doerksen: / chrisdgnq
⤷ HOME: • HOME - Tides
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⍜ Timestamps
00:00 - Intro
02:17 - Welcome the Weapons
04:23 - Economy Shooters
05:20 - Hero Shooters
06:29 - Pick/Find Shooters
09:43 - A Primary Solution..?
13:35 - Make it better?
15:42 - Game Study 1: Enlisted
18:21 - Enlisted Shoutout
19:22 - Game Study 2: Rainbow Six Siege
25:31 - Game Study 3: Ready or Not
27:36 - Extreme Depression
29:10 - Extreme Happiness!!
30:00 - A Secondary Solution..!
35:37 - Outro and Patron love
Arch is a channel that releases high quality videos on media like games, series and movies... aside from the shorter ones I guess :)

[@OfficialArch]

💥Download Enlisted for FREE and get your bonus! ► Use my link - playen.link/arch #ad Tarkov obviously had to update their recoil when I finished the video... & sorry for the delay on the video. It got corrupted while rendering and I lost a bunch of footage

[@JoAuJan]

We accept the apology

[@Pogoed]

@@JoAuJan same

[@stoutishvoice4185]

I swear i tought this game wuold never be free as how cool this game seemed. Oh wait since its free it will have its downsides...

[@ChildOfSTARSowlhouse]

Can't wait for a story vid!

[@mariangabrael373]

​@@stoutishvoice4185progression is really really slow eversince they added the merge update its a good update but with alot of downsides

[@ChillyMcChill]

As a wise man once said "Remember - switching to your pistol is always faster than reloading"

[@macromage]

"using your knife is even faster than switching to your pistol" "knoife the wortormelon"

[@JoAuJan]

@@macromage I heard throwing your primary is even faster than switching to your knife

[@macromage]

@@JoAuJan might as well just throw the bullets themselves, because "what is a bullet, but a high velocity knife"

[@SolTheIdiot]

​@@macromage i mean, yeah but... The technique for throwing a bullet and a knife are VERY different. Throwing a bullet required mostly back energy, a tactical axe persay needs spin and back energy and a knife... Well you throw it with little spin because it is NOT aerodynamic. A bullet=aerodynamic high velocity knife. They're BUILT for high velocity, a knife (unless it's a throwing one) isn't built for that (and generally it's harder to throw a knife anyways) essentially, knife = hard to throw slow non aerodynamic projectile Bullet = fast af, don't throw, just shoot, aerodynamic projectile.

[@CrimsonHeart187]

eating a poptart is faster than reloading

[@joshjustison3421]

Laughed at the inclusion of a subway surfer cutaway but also unironically found myself watching it. Funny touch

[@amazingnoo9935]

I love visual gags like that

[@_sansvisage]

lol

[@kalimbasax2108]

i was so confused when i saw that i was like pls no its too distracting

[@PureGlaceon]

I wasn't sure it was a joke or not, I actually blocked that part of the screen with my arm.

[@mazenfriaa151]

Heh I was wondering about that too

[@5katz]

Totally accurate battlegrounds (TABG) had a very nice per-hand handgun/melee/spell/grappling hook system, where you could even have 2 main slots with 2 guns each, AND a single pistol/melee slot, so if you wanted you could have 5 auto revolvers on you to swap between before reloading :D

[@talbotsolenberger4434]

Tabg the goat

[@amazingnoo9935]

Was it removed? How come you’re speaking in the past tense?

[@5katz]

@@amazingnoo9935 Not removed, but the game is no longer supported, as in most times the servers are empty, you can still play it just fine with enough players i think

[@imamorp7980]

I prefer the regular revolver to the auto revolver because there is no fire rate cooldown, meaning you can empty the full mag in a quarter second if you could click fast enough. I've killed full teams with a revolver before.

[@co5micwaffle742]

5 tasers.

[@calebruh_]

14:32 this video’s got everything including Subway Surfers gameplay for our short attention spans

[@JustAGuy360p]

Fr fr

[@asxp2433]

speak for yourself

[@carbonx0718]

If I would have a short attention span, I would not watch this video... The clip only removed my attention!

[@yuyureishinoshojo]

@@carbonx0718 true! but it was really funny!

[@owen4376]

This is where VR really shines through, trying to aim and move with a rifle is much more cumbersome and difficult than a pistol, especially in games like Pavlov I find myself favouring pistols over larger firearms like shotguns and rifles

[@Appletank8]

You could simulate it in M&K games with a lot of bloom if you have to move your weapon very quickly and more than like, 45 degrees(or disconnect your aim point from where the gun is pointing), but I feel like a lot of people would complain. The only type of game I've seen that controls how quickly a heavy weapon can turn are in tank/mech combat, where the limitations of the turret drive speed basically stop large cannons and heavily armored turrets from spinning on a dime, while smaller tanks and their lighter guns can generally get around faster, and also spin their turret faster too.

[@justcallmenoah5743]

​@@Appletank8 escape from tarkov has a mechanic called "ergonomics" in the game, basically a numeric value given to a gun which indicates how easy it is to handle. A gun with low ergonomics will sway in your hands more when aiming, it lags behind slightly when moving point of aim quickly, takes slightly longer to do things like reload or aim down sights etc. Pistols tend to have much higher ergonomic values than rifles or other large weapons, giving it a slight advantage in how quickly you can react to seeing someone and flick to their head. Guns can also be customized to improve their ergonomics and that does allow some rifles to have as high ergo as pistols tho so it's not a perfect system as it is right now.

[@accounterror5517]

you might wanna try Hot Dogs, Horseshoes & Hand Grenades. because their gun selection is pretty awesome.

[@youmukonpaku3168]

@@justcallmenoah5743 this is also how Cataclysm Dark Days Ahead and Metal Gear Solid (3-V) handle the difference between larger and smaller guns; while Cataclysm represents an "aiming speed" in time units (being a turn based RPG rather than an FPS) it tends to make the somewhat weaker pistols a very good choice in a tight space - they're quiet, small, light, and you can draw and aim quickly when encountering an unexpected monster. Metal Gear Solid actually reduces your aiming/turning speed with heavier weapons in 4 onward, and still does so in first person in MGS2 and 3; further, while you can still use your handgun while holding a human shield or carrying someone in MGS, you cannot use a rifle that way - bringing in the "free hand" considerations from this.

[@owen4376]

@@accounterror5517 i gave it a whirl a while back it wasn't too keen, might give it another go now though

[@Val-ud9fn]

SWAT4 had a damage system where if your arms get damaged your aim is affected, and often you end up switching to a pistol when your arm gets hit because you just can't aim with your primary.

[@Niksstuff]

Thats actually a really good idea

[@FleshWizard69420]

Fallout has a similar system where if you're arm gets crippled, your aim becomes terrible

[@sourmaui392]

It’s like that in Tarkov , your head stomach, arms, chest and legs have their own health bars

[@erikkarlsson9192]

sick

[@koolerstuff]

SWAT 4 is the goat, that game is criminally underrated yet so good and realistic specially for its time

[@Denali187]

10:42 really love this mechanic in stalker,i usually have a pistol to use with a artifact detector,so that if i get attacked while artifact hunting i can use a weapon do defend myself

[@huaen8880]

I find it funny that I don’t play a single fps game and I still enjoy your videos. They’re just really well crafted!

[@reapr31337]

Another thing that would be relevant in PvE games is concealability if you have a "social stealth" system. Something I find annoying in games like Deus Ex: Human Revolution and Starfield is that the inventory system allows you to somehow have long guns conveniently carried without raising suspicion. On the other hand, the Hitman games give pistols a clear role as the weapon you can easily holster and walk around with.

[@MilataB32]

I mean this could be attributed to some games but both Adam Jensen and Your character in starfield have non nefarious reason to be carrying assault rifles, Adam lives in Detroit as a security guard, and your character in starfield lives in space.

[@DorkN313]

@@MilataB32 non-nefarious reason to carry an assault rifle is an oxymoron

[@MilataB32]

@@DorkN313 There are plenty of non nefarious reasons to be carrying an assault rifle, but what I really ment was the people in detroit are probably just used to military looking augmented men holding assault rifles.

[@Dat_Jonx]

PAYDAY 2 has similar system as well. You still can bring AR's, but modding for concealment would make most of them less viable than high damage pistols/SMG's in stealth.

[@autronic9306]

calling starfield a game is a bit of a far fetch

[@Basement_Ckickn]

I love how Arch incorporated the sponsor of the video into the argument, rather than just an interruption to the video. Love your content.

[@legendaryblob8227]

Yeah I really liked that, this is probably the first sponsor segment that I really didn't mind/enjoyed

[@austinpeterson4898]

@@legendaryblob8227one of the few sponsored segments I’ve ever watched and been actually engaged it

[@ubnominal]

I’ve seen a couple of KZbinrs do that in a variety of ways Either interesting or straight up the funny type of intriguing

[@ubnominal]

I really wish many KZbinrs do the same cause the sponsor would be much more enjoyable

[@PocoSaintFTW]

I wasn't watching the video, just listening at the time, and by the time I realized that it was the ad, he said thank you to the sponsor and continued on

[@pfitz9346]

Really like the idea of the "extra hand" concept. Interestingly enough I often both play support and gravitate towards pistols. I used to buy nades and a pistol on buy rounds if I couldn't afford a rifle in CS. The newest COD just added a vest that replaces your primary weapon slot with another secondary weapon slot and gives you a bunch of free perks. I already think the pistols are kinda OP in the game and now they're getting a huge buff.

[@SilverVoiceTrolls]

There's gonna be a game that revolves ( pun intended ) around Arch's gun balancing videos, it's gonna be unique that you can shoot a pistol while reviving, a realistic shotgun mechanic and a sniper's unique charge mechanic and range balance.

[@rubenfeijoolopez8572]

As a Scout main once said, "It is always better reloading your scattergun than using your pistol."

[@cseagul1]

I disagree

[@vyor8837]

That scout main was bad.

[@4ppl3z59]

Skill issue on their part

[@Joosher56]

Not always, especially with the force a nature

[@vintagememelord8168]

I guess you never played with a gun with fast reload.@@cseagul1

[@xeskeyjetski]

Honestly, this doesn't likely seem like a chance to happen, but if Arch ever covered melee weapons, and how they have changed throughout games and their weird consistencies across games, that would be a really neat video.

[@zombieslayer1468]

i believe he replied to another comment saying a melee weapon video was on the way or something

[@xeskeyjetski]

If so I am so excited@@zombieslayer1468

[@Supalayzee]

About to comment the same thing, glad someone talked about it first

[@homeygfunkoffacherryfruitl4971]

We've gone from the days of useless melee weapons like the axe in Quake to melee literally being more powerful than a point blank gunshot.

[@Tucher97]

@@homeygfunkoffacherryfruitl4971 Interestingly, many older games the melee weapon was a case of "Strictly for starting enemies" to preserve ammo and once you get your fourth weapon, you pretend the weapon doesnt exist yet in a game called Turok Evolution, the melee weapon is never useless, as long as the enemy is on the ground, you can effectively do harm, infact I think it does a lot more damage than rockets. You may say "oh there maybe some enemies that are freaking dangerous to approach and yes, you are correct, that does not mean they are immune to the poison arrow, if the arrow isn't killing them, they are busy vomitting.

[@Light_2461]

I can’t lie, the sponsor introduction here was the absolute best I’ve ever seen. I was actually engaged with the discussion of how Enlisted’s handguns work instead of having the usual reaction of repeatedly fast forwarding.

[@tiseril]

13:01 Load one with armour piercing and another with explosive rounds and you've got yourself a combo deadlier than any rifle could achieve

[@papakamirneron2514]

Hey arch could we get melees and armour next please (Maybe even healing)? Love your content and would love to see more of those meta discussions like this!

[@OfficialArch]

Its planned!

[@papakamirneron2514]

@@OfficialArch Hell yes! Thank you so much! Might I enquire as to wich of those are planned and in what order?

[@Valveplsfixtf2]

@@papakamirneron2514 i don't think he well want to ruin the surprise

[@SolTheIdiot]

​@@OfficialArchhealing is probably a problem, honestly... Overtime healing, more balanced, requires you to really take cover, but something like a stim in a fast paced shooter also makes sense. Or perhaps overtime healing, when you just stay still.

[@feraBR]

Finnaly, melees that actualy do damage and don't just exist to make you faster

[@AGuywhohasGoodTaste]

Love seeing an Arch video. His minimalistic approach to videos are always my favourite type of video. Keep doing what you’re doing, Arch!

[@leomuller2841]

ahoy did it best

[@prinlerdsri405]

same bro, i love his vid because of it

[@aqua-bery]

The damn subway surfers killed me 😭

[@KizaSues]

I agree it gives more of an distinction compared to other youtubers

[@lucajohnen6719]

@@leomuller2841 Sure, but Ahoy uploads once a solar eclipse.

[@goldfish5456]

there was an open world zombie survival game i used to play with a cool inventory grid system. for the same inventory space as 1 rifle, you could carry a pistol, food, bandages, and a flashlight. of course, handguns were outclassed in combat by any other firearm, but they were still popular because you could have viable firepower in your pocket, while keeping your hands and back slot free for a fire axe or something. it was an interesting way to get more players to choose a pistol over long guns.

[@justine5799]

One really interesting case study for pistols in gaming is Isonzo and the WW1 series. Because everyone is running around with bolt actions that take a long time to ADS and ready, the pistols become amazing trench- and objective-clearing weapons. That, coupled with the limited slots for certain roles and weapons, makes the pistols fulfill the primary and secondary niche simultaneously when combined with the equipment system.

[@Ladyjuliet-uv5qt]

Also Light LMGs are done well inaccurate when hip fireing But deady and accurate when put on a surfiace

[@ADMICKEY]

Bf1?

[@RawBerserker]

To expend the ammo in your primary, pull out your pistol and finish them off, winning the firefight... The clutch feeling is one that stays with you. But when you take a pistol out and clean up the match? That's when you have a story. The pistol; simple yet effective.

[@SkyChaser-]

Spy's default revolver is not weak at all, it packs quite the punch when you consider other classes' health numbers

[@bruschetta7711]

It is also weak when you compare it to other primaries except maybe medic, a shotgun would be better for a close range class like him but it doesn’t suit him well Still better than pistols and smgs

[@CAMSLAYER13]

Its a good job most spys don't seem to know they have a gun

[@i_have_kids_in_my_basement.]

@@CAMSLAYER13 Except gun spies. I think they might know they have a gun most of the time.

[@handson4580]

in many cases they can outright carry because of there reliable solid damage

[@qwedeh100]

i agree, they just dont use their revolver actively at all, have you seen spies retreat shooting at you? most of the time, they dont

[@KayGreylai]

That was the single best sponsored segment ive ever seen, it was so integrated into the videos premise that I diddnt notice and was actually interested until the end when yo u reminded me with the overlay. Props mate!

[@octavio2155]

i really love your simple and yet really nice style. always understable and easy to see.

[@TheEasyRedRider]

Something I want to note about Ready or Not is that handguns are way smaller. This lets you identify targets faster, see if they have a knife or gun, your gun won't get blocked by walls as easily, etc. If you aim it canted and have a laser on it, it becomes a very viable alternative to the primaries.

[@Zectifin]

yeah Darktide handles this well too. instead of putting the pistol at the bottom of the screen when ADS they hold it at a bit of an angle with one hand, takes up way less of the screen, you move faster when ADS and you sprint faster too. great for melee characters and the vision is important when getting attacked at all sides during a horde. I've seen so many people go down because they tunnel visioned with their rifle. Also you can pull your gun out much quicker when switching from melee which is great when theres a sudden ranged enemy and you can take them out quicker before they can shoot you.

[@Cheesegirl31415]

what i find interesting is that, in ultrakill, the revolver maintains use and is one of the best weapons purely because of it's marksman variant, allowing you to throw a coin and shoot it to kill an enemy within sight, and this simple tool combos with tons of other weapons in the game and there are still 2 other variants you can use and an alt variant with slower fire rate but higher damage if you use the revolver more as a secondary

[@Hoothouse]

*shooting a coin with a railgun*

[@sethbigboy324]

i really love ricochet alternate, able to wipe out mass lower-class enemies or deal quite a bit of damage to higher-tier ones (granted theres a ceiling)

[@multigrandmarquis]

Not even necessarily in sight. The coin tracks anything *it* sees, and it has 360 degree view.

[@chillyconmor]

the pistol/revolver is also just such a nice weapon in general. every weapon has some sort of gimmick that makes them usable in certain scenarios, but the pistol/revolver can be used at all times. its such a like, good general versatile weapon for any situation

[@mishagaming1075]

@@chillyconmorBlast resistance? Nah no need to approach with a shotgun, you have a revolver! Range? Revolver while approaching

[@terminal_2495]

These videos are amazing! They’ve been helping a ton in my game dev of a shooter metroidvania

[@sebastiankeddy167]

this video editing is fantcastic. I have never seen animation and footage blended so well.

[@-AAA-147]

I like the way Half-Life balanced its pistol the most. The MP5 has a way higher fire rate but way less accuracy while the pistol is perfectly accurate. Makes it a great utility secondary.

[@15braincellsremaining]

The glock also has more damage per round than the mp5, but less dps due to the rate of fire, which encourages switching between the two based on range

[@gudmansal3468]

the mp5 is just a longer crowbar with a grenade launcher

[@SSgtBearKing]

Based on my recent experience in VR shooter, there is one extreme important factor that have not been mentioned: Length / size. When encounter in extreme close or narrow space, long guns can sometimes stuck in the wall (or forced to be held vertically like Tarkov) and unable to pre-aim. This factor can bring pistol as sometimes a great advantage in narrow environment, and could be discuss as a factor. Alao best quote of the day: "I have a very strict gun control policy: if there's a gun around, I want to be in control of it." - Arch, PISTOLS: Better Than Reloading

[@alexdrockhound9497]

not just moving around obstacles, but also a long gun is easier for somebody to keep pointed away from themself in hand to hand combat.

[@Bane-um1rr]

One of the reasons I love Phantom Forces is that they have A LOT of weapons that can do different roles. Such as the Desert Eagle's (L5 and XIX) being a pocket Sniper/DMR (albeit it has pretty bad muzzle velocity to be effective as one), or the TEC-9 and MP1911 being really good panic guns to use to spray (especially when you're primary's a Sniper). Heck there's even a machine pistol thats basically a really short Bullpup Rifle (the Arm Pistol). This really makes the game really interesting with the amount of weapon combinations and attachments that you can use (each weapon also has the potential to switch to different conversions which may change the weapons playstyle. One example is the Judge, a Shotgun Revolver which can switch from .410 Bore or Slugs. Or the 1858 New Army which can switch from its default calibre to Snakeshot, which transforms it from a single action revolver to a fan-fire shotgun revolver. Very fun.)

[@mindo4122]

I watched every video from you (except this video what I am watching right now) and I have to say that I love your videos!!! I am feeling very comfortable when I am watching them. Big praise to you!

[@L5GUK]

Just a small comment on the Tarkov recoil model, in case someone else hasn't already mentioned (and I'm sure you may already know if you are an avid fan), but the game has just had a huge update to certain mechanics, including the recoil one. Early thoughts are that it's incredible, although how that balances late game with 'meta' weapon builds is to be seen. But that's a digression. In short, pistols and SMGs seem to be 'realistically' balanced regarding recoil now.

[@Ironpine27]

Yup, the changes definitely pushed the game's realism forward, so Arch's remark about "horrible recoil changes" kinda stuck in my ear. I really like this series, and it mostly makes sense, but some small things throughout the videos makes me think Arch's knowledge about weapons is based on research, instead of hands-on experience. Not that it matters that much in this context, since we're talking about balancing guns in video games.

[@L5GUK]

@@Ironpine27 Since these videos take a long time to make (script writing, story boarding, animation, editing etc etc) the script was made before the update. The previous recoil change from about .12 to now was universally considered bad and I assume that's what was being referenced, not the current iteration. Hope that helps.

[@osijtcrunch8500]

yh, I was shocked when he said terrible recoil changes at first, it's leagues above the old recoil now

[@psych0ticbanana]

@@Ironpine27 yea no idea what Arch was smoking with that comment.

[@Cyber_element_lz]

14:45 No way was the subway surfers game play in the video, our attention spans are still here

[@Xackory]

LMAO RIGHT??

[@AN4ROK]

Fr fr

[@Homerboy44]

I was gonna say, I often select pistols to compliment my primary. Semi-Auto Pistol in case the Assault Rifle runs dry, A Revolver to backup the Shotgun's lack of range, and swapping to your Machine Pistol when you hear someone approaching your Sniping position. This type of secondary firearm selection can drastically increase versatility in most shooters. Alternatively, in the case of "using a pistol as a primary", it IS possible, but you need to be in a mid-range or close-range map and picking your fights carefully when you perform such a task. I remember going on a rampage with a stock M9 once out of sheer boredom once, and I did keep those two factors in mind to ensure I stayed alive as long as possible. Adding a suppressor can also help with avoiding detection - I didn't add one for my given case because I forgot. lol.

[@Oltiemal]

Smart Pistol from Titanfall 2 is why I hope that no other games try and have good pistols

[@maestros_echo5770]

Normally, when you shoot a pistol with iron sights you don't only look through the sights, you have one eye through the sights and one eye able to see around. instead of just adding scopes you could make the pistol with irons semi-transparent with distinct ironsight.

[@christianschlogl6295]

Also, you can play around with the zero of your gun, so that your shots don't land exactly where you aim, but slightly above the iron sight, so you don't cover your target.

[@RandarTheBarbarian]

I don't think this actually resolves the issue though, pistols feel worse in games than in real life because games very rarely take into account the dreaded 3rd dimension. Guns end up so often being a flat overlay on your screen, you can get right up to a wall with your weapon still in your shoulder ready to fire, but in actuality with my weapon in my shoulder straight forward the closest I can get to the wall is however long the weapon is, if I want to hold tighter to that barrier I have to hold the weapon tighter to my body, something that in games seems rarer than not. In an enclosed space or going through a door I can't just be sideways with the weapon facing forward, I have to transition to a low or high ready, maybe even hold tight, to move sideways and even if I go straight in that might be better because the weapon will appear some distance in front of me alerting someone hiding to my presence before I'm aware of theirs.

[@BertieW0oster]

That's actually a brilliant and very realistic depiction of how it looks in real life.

[@alexstevens8861]

I would love if the flintlock also had a hand club option, so you shoot once and then have a melee weapon, like in real life.

[@Kyuschi]

a realistic element that also fits the get out of jail free card type in the video would be the fact that black powder weapons produce a giant cloud of smoke when fired. The term 'fog of war' originally referred to a literal thick fog that would roll across battlefields when these things were in use, that's the whole reason for the brightly coloured uniforms is so you can see who's who

[@thunderatsea3843]

I've never cared much for pistols, but I do like them as suppressed secondary's. For the weight argument, slings exist. I do like the option to have something else in your hand, as an airsoft player I've caried a pistol before while acting as a medic, spam firing in the enemy's general direction while grabbing the downed player and bringing them back to medic them. I've also used them as a primary, using two extended mags plus the standard mag already in it. I do also like being able to add a red dot to pistols, as it gives better visibility than iron sights.

[@normalchannel2185]

for the oddities, best to give them a gimmick: Flintknock: has so bad recoil that you and anyone you shoot get launched flare: sets areas on fire/adds visibility/marks opponents as recon

[@spacemarine4349]

I really like how insurgency sandstorm manages its weapon stats. Every weapon can kill you with one or two shots, usually depending on whether the bullet hit your upper or lower half, anything at chest height or higher is a confirmed kill 80% of the time (except for headshots of course, that's 100%). Armor is pretty much just dead weight and will only protect you once damage falloff comes into the equation, or if the caliber is small enough. Then again, it'd only take like an additional shot or two to take you down. Keeping things equally lethal makes it easier to give handguns a little more protagonism, you're still outmatched by even the shittiest rifle, but if you're a better shot than your opponent then your chances are not that bad, specially in CQB.

[@bluesides8323]

Armor helps a lot with protecting from explosives. But you're 100% right it's dead weight for bullet protection. At most, it'll let you last 1 or 2 bullets, assuming it's low calibre.

[@Jenner_IIC]

And another thing that helps insurgency (both OG and sandstorm) is that it's a generally urban focused tactical shooter, even if pistol is objectively worse on all aspects compared to a rifle or SMG, you mostly use it around corners in snap encounters, pre-aim and first to peek advantages are far more than enough to make them still come out on top.

[@picatdim]

Another thing I love about Sandstorm's pistols is that they are made more useful due to slow primary weapon reload speeds. In games with fast primary weapon reloads, there is rarely a reason to use your pistol unless you're totally out of primary ammo, but in Sandstorm it's critical to get good at smoothly switching to your pistol once you realize your main gun is dry. Also, Sandstorm has a system where your gun's barrel length affects whether or not it can be used when close to objects, and pistols are significantly less clumsy than rifles in CQB.

[@JohnPeacekeeper]

STALKER realistically puts this to practice as well. An AK-74 will kill a human regardless of body armor at close range, but at longer ranges, even simpler ballistic armor can keep you alive from 1-2 hits

[@realman7016]

12:55 fun fact: there is a game where they add this kind of customization. They even add the ability to duel wield heavier guns if your character is strong enough Madness: Project Nexus

[@lucaaaa994]

bro i literally thought of that as well but i wasn’t expecting to find someone that played that too lmaoo

[@Scroolewse]

I've never heard of this. Interesting ooohhhh, it's one of those kind of games with the silly character models. I can't for the life of me remember the first time I saw that style of character. Anyway I'll definitely pick it up on sale.

[@johngellare3507]

@@Scroolewse It's from Madness Combat.

[@danylfilatov]

Borderlands 2 Salvador

[@realman7016]

@@Scroolewse the gameplay is extremely fun, especially in the combat arena mode with a ton of customization can be unlocked by playing the game multiple times

[@blacksh1ft_]

Arch, your videos are giving me good insight for gun balancing, since I'm making a game myself. Honestly, you give me a really good perspective on gun balancing that no one else can give me. Thanks, man!

[@aripenner6425]

To be honest, I agreed with basically everything in this video, but I have to take a little bit of a stance when it comes to Ready or Not. In Reay or Not, the main use of the pistol is as a one-handed weapon to be used with a shield, which instantly makes them balanced, as shields are absurdly good. In addition, when peeking doors, you will often find yourself with a dilemma: do you push the door open after peeking it (which you might do to check for bombs), or do you open the door completely? In a few cases, I have found that it puts me in a much better situation to open the door by pushing it open with my body. And while primary weapons are undoubtedly better in terms of damage, fire rate, accuracy, etc., there is an problem in Ready or Not where your gun will become unusable when you are too close to a wall or door. Your character, instead of allowing the gun to clip through the surface, will instead aim it directly up. However, with a pistol, the range at which this occurs is essentially negligible. This allows you much more versatility in clearing rooms. Loved the video though, keep it up!

[@KaneMarks]

As an aspiring game designer, I really enjoy these videos. I hope that in the future, you keep making videos like this.

[@whywontyouletmechoose]

PLEASE take this guys advaice he thinks of such good and fun looking ideas i would die for them to be in a game

[@HD_HerpDerp]

As a game designer, please take everything this guy says with a heap of salt. His videos are mostly for entertainment purposes. Most of the 'problems' he discusses are only there because he either misunderstand certain aspects of design or because he oversimplifies a feature to the point problems start appearing that wouldn't be there if he'd just show the whole picture. Its honestly been incredibly frustrating seeing this man spreading so much false information and half-truths in his past couple FPS design related videos. If you want good information on game design, go look up GDC talks (they're on KZbin) or look up videos by more well-researched hobbyists like Mark Brown. Its fine to enjoy these videos as entertainment or to get yourself thinking about design, but if you're serious about design there's more to be learned by figuring out what he's wrong about.

[@whywontyouletmechoose]

@@HD_HerpDerp oh i understand now thank you

[@ryelywall228]

@@HD_HerpDerp all i saw in the solution was use the semi auto glock or the 1911 if you want a slightly better option, all other pistols are worse than the primary options, also 2 meme weapons to dunk on new players with

[@HD_HerpDerp]

@@ryelywall228 See, this is part of what I'm talking about. I don't think HALO players would agree that pistols are necessarily worse than other weapons because the Magnum in those games is notoriously good. Also the way he described these 'meme weapons' they would be ridiculously unbalanced in your run-of-the-mill shooter. He makes these sweeping statements about the way 'things are' when he hasn't played a wide variety of games and he's talking about game design from the perspective of a player, not a dev. I mean hell, his first two videos were mainly about the way sniper rifles and shotguns are balanced in Counter-Strike (while acting like these are generally applicable), claiming they're unbalanced without even making a single mention of the whole economy system which is a core balancing factor. Then when he finally actually mentions the economy in this video, he just sweeps it under the rug with a 'I'm not an economist'. He's not a game designer either, so why does he feel comfortable talking about that subject with authority but not about in-game economies (which is a part of game design)?

[@randomuser1579]

Whats with the random subway surfer clip around 14:30 lmao

[@jishnusuresh4021]

I was also wondering that😭

[@normaldude0130]

to make sure we pay attention since ppl now-a-days have an attention span worse than a goldfish

[@user-vg1pp8ko8i]

All that animation in the beginning was so smooth and so hypnotizing... And overall great video!

[@stuxvt]

You should look at the way Destiny 2 balances handguns among other weapon types. It doesn't focus on realism at all, with long TTK comparatively. However, it gives a new perspective and I think they do REALLY well at giving handguns their own identity as a primary weapon option.

[@umbralgaming3443]

You could also add in a weight mechanic where the less and smaller gear you have, the lighter you are and faster that you are. Having less armor means that you’ll have less health and protection, but you are faster, have a ton more stamina and get hit less. While having more gear means more options, such as heavier armor means more health and protection with being able to use heavier weapons for effectively at the cost of moving fairly slowly. And an idea for next video, you could do a video about lethals, tacticals, medicine or gear. Since they are the smaller but very useful things that can help shape if you win or not. Find a small room that you’re not confident in? Use a flashbang or grenade. In a wide area with small areas to go? A smoke should be able to conceal you. Wounded? Use a medkit which will heal you but takes a while. Need a quick get up? Use morphine and adrenaline, but it doesn’t last very long and if you use too much you’ll start seeing things

[@papakamirneron2514]

My guy you should play Ready or Not.

[@spaceship-dd8fz]

Battlebit already has that

[@PJ183]

Loadout points yo

[@drifter4520]

already in insurgency sandstorm

[@RednekGamurz]

12:46 I love that you brought up the idea of mixing and matching different guns when dual-wielding. Halo 2 did this back in 2004, and aside from Halo 3 and Halo 2 Anniversary, I can't think of any other shooter that allows this as an option. It was so much fun to try different combinations of weapons together to see what works really well and what doesn't. I really wish other games tried this out.

[@wormy7279]

Wolfenstein new Colossus allows both hands to have completely different guns. So I'd run the shotgun and the AR for that wombo combo

[@amazingnoo9935]

Just Cause 2 allows dual wielding with different weapons. I wish it’s sequels kept that feature, because it was really cool holding an SMG in one hand and a compact grenade launcher in the other.

[@RednekGamurz]

@@amazingnoo9935 I can't believe I forgot about Just Cause 2 when I made the original comment, but that game is another great example of the mechanic done well.

[@scrubscruby4112]

Ive pretty much only seen this in vr games, which is a shame.

[@ToxicAtom]

It was possible through cheating in Apex Legends, but that cheat has either been patched or fell out of favor because of how blatant it is. It would be cool as a legitimate mechanic though.

[@rubensf7780]

One of the best handgun uses I know is in SW Battlefront II in the form of the infiltration pistol for the sniper class. It’s really effective with great mobility and recoil, a precise minimap and lots of close range damage. It can, however, only be equipped for a certain amount of time as it takes up an ability slot and is only for close range engagements (especially if someone manages to surprise you at close range where the sniper will be useless). This all makes it a great “secondary” for the sniper and incredibly fun to use

[@vortexsux]

14:36 that was funny when i just saw the subway surfers pop into existence after 6 seconds

[@asterikin2742]

Please keep up this way of doing sponsorships. Tying sponsorships into the content you are creating, and talking about and critiquing the sponsor, are a great way to make your audience feel respected, while also keeping the sponsor happy and getting paid for all the hard work you put into these videos. Keep it up, can't wait for the next upload!

[@Wingsfanacc]

I just use sponsorblock lmao

[@Vivi-yw1eu]

@@Wingsfanacc Well, and this approach gets you a sponsor segment beside the "main" one that doesn't even get tagged for sponsor block because it's part of the content.

[@Wingsfanacc]

@@Vivi-yw1eu skipped it anyways lol, should actually dm the dev of the plugin about this

[@waltertar9986]

i love that the "using your secondary hand for something else thing" already exists in VR games like pavlov or contractors cause why wouldn't it, you could hold 2 LMGs even just gotta try and control the recoil

[@PorgChamp]

After playing Helldivers 2 (like everyone else) I have totally reevaluated my stance on secondaries being useless. Because it has realistic magazines, you want to expend all of your bullets before reloading to not be wasteful. This leads to you entering gunfights with a partially empty weapon leading to you switching weapons. In other games, ammo isn't much of a concern, so you impulsively reload after shooting one bullet which means you are always able to kill your opponent before emptying your mag (unless you are a really bad shot/unlucky/fighting multiple enemies). So really switching to your pistol ISN'T always faster than reloading but it is more economically efficient.

[@korneliuscorny]

best line ever : we need to do more for our one handed friends to make them feel special

[@SpectralSpartan]

I have a suggestion for potentially solving the whole "pistol blocks your view" issue that I believe makes justifiable sense. Semi-transparency. In fact, it could apply to most weapons aside from heavies or high magnification scopes. So in most games you ADS by closing one eye, slowing down, and focusing down your scope. Makes sense to line up a target in a rifle or magnified scope, but for a pistol consistently held in a forward position, especially without a scope, its easy enough to move around and keep the gun in a sighted position while moving at less than a sprint. You wouldn't be running around the map with one eye closed, would you? Due to the offset nature of our binary vision, you technically have two fields of view from separate angles that combines to make our vision seem singular, but when using both eyes you can easily see *through* close-held objects. This is actually how professionals are trained to use firearms so that they aren't running around squinting through a scope that blocks 70% of their peripheral vision. In most FPS games, scopes lower the main body of the rifle out of the way already, so I don't think it's entirely necessary to apply transparency there, but for pistols I think giving the player full or even fuzzy vision through the gun would make a lot of sense and provide that little gameplay advantage to an otherwise underwhelming support item. This, combined with free-hand contextual actions/accessories, would be a great step towards making pistols feel more useful for certain situations.

[@zuon_0182]

Thats actually quite the genius idea

[@tariqalhamdan5041]

I abuse the see through close objects thing in laser tage

[@tariqalhamdan5041]

Tag

[@SpectralSpartan]

@@zuon_0182 Thanks, but really it's just mirroring real life, so if anything it'd be considered as realism rather than innovation.

[@Zectifin]

while not trying to be a more realistic modern military shooter, Darktide makes it so they hold the pistols with one hand and aim it at a bit of an angle and it takes up way less screen space.

[@David-vm9rn]

Hi Arch, In Ready or not , if you have a primary weapon, and your front is blocked by something, you can't aim/ posture it. there's a mechanism in place where if you have a long gun, it will take into account the space in front of you, making pistols very viable for CQB. especially in narrow corridors/ rooms.

[@ShiddyKong]

Does CQB stand for Close Quarter Battle?

[@laserfoxpro]

@@ShiddyKongyes

[@piketchupwarthog3574]

He also didn't mention the very thing a free hand (which he mentioned in earlier segment funny enough) offers: Tactical Shield. In a well-coordinated team the utility of having someone take aggro while your teammates flank and neutralize suspects is invaluable, especially when going against HVTs like Brixley, Gerald, Voll (may he rot in hell)

[@emilejanin614]

One of the best video game essays I've ever seen, even better than your previous ones !

[@user-ux2dj7jc5l]

when i first watched the other weapon balancing videos i thought you were done. but i love these keep up the good work

[@yomfykwis]

1:00 That's because in that game, Rainbow Six Siege, that operator's (Caveira) special ability is to be kind of a silent assassin and her pistol is made to have high damage closerange but also having a high damage dropoff so it aligns with other pistols for consistency. So close range her pistol does more damage but for far range I'd pick Rook with his MP5 and 2x scope.

[@gabe7109]

That was legitimately one of the best integrated sponsorships I've seen on KZbin, and I genuinely enjoyed it rather than skipping it to get on with the video.

[@Zodaxa_zdx]

this was the cleanest sponsor spot I ever seen, what a good watch the whole video was

[@agoosteel]

14:33 guy pulls out the stats and jingles some keys in front off us to keep us entertained. Brilliant.

[@JaccoKCH]

Pistol in Ready Or Not is actually pretty useful, because it is short :) In some tight space or doorways, your long gun is more likely to be blocked, stopping you from firing your gun. If you use a pistol, however, you can fire your gun freely in tight spaces, I usually use it while I am attacking some tight corner Well, it can be replaced by smg in this case :P

[@eternalgamer9770]

I am honestly shocked nobody here has brought up Hunt Showdown, a fantasy cowboy style fps with PvPvE gameplay. almost half the guns in Hunt are pistols, mostly revolvers, and they are almost all just as important as your primary weapon if not more so. some of them straight up ARE primary weapons! Honestly the way Hunt Showdown handles it's handguns could be an entire followup video to this in and of itself! Anyway, loved the video, looking forward to more like it in the future!

[@pixelcrust]

its one of my fav game, because you can win with every gun, if all are op none are :)

[@minecraftbros36]

Came to comment this, really works with how the ammo stacking works, especially with stuff like the sparks pistol! The whole ammo thing is an entire different breakdown.

[@bombglass2509]

8:44 could’ve picked any other alternative angles to aim then the 2nd one

[@baconninja4481]

I knew I wasn’t the only one who sounded the alarms

[@md93nen]

_aim for head :)?_

[@tuckerbrown1349]

The way you described the Deagle is exactly how it is in Pavlov, such a fun gun.

[@CyrahGamez]

i feel like the "interaction thing" you were talking about is something that is way more prevalent in VR games like Breachers and Zero Caliber. Zero Caliber also has the customization down for secondaries where i personally like an SMG as my primary, i carry a scoped revolver as a secondary. It might be an interesting video to see what VR does to the FPS genre.

[@adissentingopinion848]

How about Pavlov? I often played with revolver purely because it does rifle damage. My free hand was holding cocked grenades, the bomb, a knife, healing pills, or even grabbing the magazine of my enemy. And recoil control was unmatched compared to rifles, so I could play deathmatch with no problems at all. A knife in my off hand instantly won me any fight if we both turned a corner. The ability to carry 2 pistols was key to my reload management, and I could hold 2+2 if I included the ones in my hand (-1 since I needed to drop one to reload, balancing!). One more thing that pistols can do? Concealment. I played TTT and I can assure you that guessing who is fooling around and who is carrying the oneshot detective Desert Eagle made subterfuge possible. I literally held my hands up, reached for my waist, and got killed. We had a chuckle in deadchat about how I almost made it to my revolver.

[@MADCATMK3103]

I think you did not emphasize the barrel length in realistic games. One of the big benefits pistols have in close quarters they do not need to be lowered, plus height over bore when shooting near cover. I could also see additional movement options/speed for taking pistols. I will say good video and I hope you do more!

[@madmacaw6177]

that ad snuck up on me at just the right time, good job impressive video i am trying out enlisted rn

[@kianchristopher7704]

this channel is so so good (i mean i expect it for an upload schedule as good as vsauce) but the effort in this channel is absolutely jawdropping. every upload feels like absolute heaven every animation feels so fluid and that's what makes this channel good (not forgetting there's manual captions)

[@DefaultProphet]

For revolvers SA/DA revolvers(So cocking a double action revolver) could give the first shot a quick followup so essentially with the revolver you’d get 2 round burst, single x4. Or whenever you reloaded the first shot would be burst again.

[@collinsnow2203]

Can’t wait to watch this video, thanks for taking the time to bring quality content to us. Will edit after I watch for my reaction :) Edit: Incredible video with a lot of thought provoking ideas. I agree that pistols should be a slightly weaker version of primary weapons with worse ammo capacity, however I still want the choice of it being a primary with a free hand and an ability if I feel like it. My main gripe with pistols today isn’t even the balancing anymore so much as it is the lack of customization.

[@OfficialArch]

I hope you like it!

[@Lukepuke311]

@@OfficialArchits really good

[@RaeveMaster211]

The intro alone got you a new sub, I love the style of the video

[@reaprxram]

Thanks atf, for the consistency

[@_Beezly]

When you run out of ammo and juke the enemy by retreating and then immediately 180 with the pistol and get the kill is one of the best feelings in gaming

[@CARLTHEGAWD]

The amazing video quality combined with the simplistic style and references to media creates a perfect video. Keep up the good work!

[@Fefo2572]

Love your videos, keep it up man

[@petersmythe6462]

Other possible advantages of handguns: 1. Ease of concealment. In a game where people will not just shoot you on sight no matter what, having a weapon you can actually conceal helps a lot. Some small pistols are so concealable people might not even think to check everywhere they could be. 2. Lack of report: pistols naturally go well with subsonic ammunition and suppressors. This helps keep people far away from knowing what's going on. A suppressed pistol is not truly silent, but it is much quieter than most guns. 3. Ease of transport: if the game features realistic inventory management, smaller is better. Taking up one pocket vs taking up your hand. Also helps with scavenging a bunch of them for a group. 4. Ease of drawing: If you have a rifle on your back, you cannot instantly draw and fire it. It is much easier to draw and fire a handgun, even a concealed handgun, than a rifle. 5. Ease of arming others: you can carry more than one pistol and give someone one of them. 6. They DON'T penetrate everything metal. You can shoot them without fearing that they will punch through thick pieces of metal as easily. 7. If modeled, handgun rounds seem to have a high ratio of stopping power to lethality. That is, people are more likely to be stopped but not killed. If the game has a concept of nonlethal damage, this means that you can shoot someone with a chance they will survive, which could make them better for taking prisoners if that's a thing in your game. I'm not terribly sure how useful this is, but in self defense shootings, many of those shot by handguns live. About 97% of those shot in the head or torso by rifles (often multiple times) don't.

[@dyohk3646]

love how hes genuinely honest about his sponsor, thats great tbh

[@Empa101]

12:01 You can hear the regret and shame before he said it, that being said. AMONGUS

[@DarwinHallock]

This is a very interesting topic especially in VR or Airsoft, a lot of the things are different like when you have limited ammo, are encumbered by a large primary, get a jam or runout of ammo, when its faster to switch to the secondary than reload, or the fact that you hopefully have two eyes and can aim while being able to see everything else. Also as mentioned in the video they are smaller and less heavy. One other thing of little interest is rotating the item; you only need your wrist while with bigger two handed primary you use both arms. I may have forgotten some stuff about this topic so there is likely more to it, and keep up the good work.

[@flameninja_]

Love to see another Arch video!

[@TheMrMayo]

I fell in love with your sniper video, and then enjoyed your shotgun video. The fact you made a video for pistols makes me so happy. Cheers for your hard work, and consider me subbed... oh, I forgot I already subbed.

[@Severkin2343]

You just *KNOW* it’s a good day when Arch uploads. Props.

[@Lorentz_Driver]

Destiny does sidearms really well. I don't enjoy them because they kick like a mule on PC, but they are amazing at close range on controller. There's even special ammo sidearms that can 3 tap.

[@masterzoroark6664]

You reminded me of a talk with a friend who played (and got me to play a bit) of Warzone- due to pistols being "unviable" people don't use them in that game. They have a modification that let's you quickdraw the handgun- you hold the main gun with one hand and one hand the pistol. My friends idea was to give the handguns the inherit fastdraw to make them "faster than reloading" as certain chainsmoker once said.

[@Maverick-gg2do]

For Enlisted, I think you may have missed a few things about pistols Pistols aren't all built equal. The semi-autos like the C96 and the 1911 and the Hi-Power are blatantly better. More controllable, higher damage and rate of fire. I can't speak for the autos since I don't have any. At lower BRs where most infantry are armed with bayoneted bolt actions. You can use them very effectively in close quarters. And because it takes its own slot, you still have your regular weapons available to you. I regularly use semi-automatic pistols to give my sniper squads assault capability. They can clean house against a player and AI who only has a bolt action and well timed reloads combined with good use of cover can let you pick apart a whole squad. If you die, every soldier in your squad can carry a pistol, so you have more chances. It's fun to John Wick your way around buildings and houses with the 1911. You won't win a straight up fight with a submachine gun but that makes sense, that's thier niche. You can still clean house with pistols against rifle squads. Another niche I've found for Pistols is with Machinegunners. Machineguns in enlisted really slow you down when equipped, so I give my machinegunners Pistols I swap to whenever I need to quickly change positions. They give me some defensive capability while being able to run and move more freely than with the Machinegun. As an aside, you can also fire sub-machineguns from the hatches of tanks. Really useful for surprising sneaky AT players.

[@margoldgallentara8968]

HUD as an offhand option is definitely a game designing idea. Especially if the player normally would have to swap to their HUD object if they have a 2 hand item equipped.

[@elementalternate2321]

Your voice is sooo soothing Plus the video topic is interesting Love this channel,subscribed

[@Boredability]

This is exactly why in vr I always lean toward pistols

[@deaglan6641]

What I think all games should do (that have ads) for all handguns is have them displayed center of frame like in DOOM, but slightly below where your crosshair is instead of the weird and unrealistic off to the side frame thing. Then, when you use your sights you raise the gun slightly. This is done in real life and it’s called a “low ready position” so you can keep your spacial awareness but be able to ready the gun really quick.

[@TehNoobiness]

I honestly want to see games lean away from the way ADS works right now and back toward relying on just a crosshair. Ironsights on guns aren't always accurate to where the gun's going to shoot because of how the gun is animated, and this is a difficult problem to fix--but if you just _had a crosshair_ as if you always had a red-dot sight on your face, then it would be a nonissue, and the gun's model could be moved much lower to enable a clear field of view.

[@jacobj436]

Genuinely this isnt something that has ever crossed my mind, but I think you're absolutely right. Id love to see this in more games

[@radiant9230]

A video on balancing guns in VR would be pretty sweet

[@danielllitpek2014]

Both Halo 2 and 3 had this feature where you could pick up a one-handed weapon (with the exception of the energy sword and later in Halo 3 the needler) and pick up any other one-handed weapon into your secondary. The pros where insane combos like the plasma pistol with the magnum (the plasma pistol can destroy a shield immediately when a charged shot hit and the magnum could one-shot enemies without shields if headshot) and to balance it they made you drop the second (left) handgun in order to throw grenades or when you switch to the other weapon in your inventory (which most often was a 2-handed one anyways)

[@Jamies-Jam]

Genuinely one of my favorite implementations of pistols in FPS games is CoD WWII. Specifically, with akimbo pistols. Basically, both pistols are their whole own gun, kind of. You can't customize them separately, but you CAN fire them separately. The left fun is on the left trigger, vice versa for right. No ADS. What's awesome is that along with firing separately, they also reload separately. What this means is that you can train yourself to only use one gun at a time, and swap to using your other gun while ones reloading. Empty your right pistols clip, start firing with your left as it reloads, and vice versa. If you have good trigger control, you can effectively have an infinite stream of fire, no down time where you can't fight back. It's awesome!

[@doodlegarbage6769]

An awesome detail enabled by VR is that the "free-hand" mechanic is built in! Yet another of the details that (I hope) will eventually lead to VR shooters someday being an awesome, innovative way to experience the genre.

[@blast9136]

the two handed style that can freely managed with any "onehanded" weapon is very fun and can be balanced. A good example is "Totally accurate battle grounds" for it is really fun and often encouraged to use two pistols at once because of the lack of better dmg options as the drops are random. It is obv a joke game but still manages to represent the "what if" factor really well.

[@someone_246]

14:47 i love the subway surfers here lmfaoooooo