LET'S DO SOME MATH! (I fucking love math)
TLDR at the bottom cause math is boring.
---OUR WEAPONS---
M41 mk2: Attachments: NONE
Rate of fire: 5 per second
Damager per bullet: 44 non-ap / 33 ap, pen of 40
Scatter: 4
Accuracy: 20.8
Falloff: 4 / Range 7 tiles
M39: Attachments: NONE
Rate of fire: 7.69
Damage per bullet: 34 non-ap / 24 ap, pen of 30
Scatter: 12
Accuracy: 4
Falloff: 8 / Range 4 tiles
Quoted straight from Nanu308(Head Developer), "Secondly attachments are very rarely considered for the balance of the base gun as they are limited by design to change/buff etc. due to their limited availability." As Such I am making all calculations removing any and all attachments on the weapons. All calculations are from base weapon stats.
---DAMAGE TABLE ARMOR VALUES---
Pulled straight from the game current info tables as of 1/5/2022
:M41:
Regular:
0 _5 _10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
44 44 40 36 33 25 21 17 13 10 7
AP:
0 _5 _10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 33 30 27
:M39:
Regular:
0 _5 _10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
34 34 30 28 21 18 14 11 8 _5 _3
AP:
0 _5 _10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 50
24 24 24 24 24 24 24 21 17 14 11
---DAMAGE PER SECOND---
Note: we are going to make a few assumptions when calculating;
*All shots hit with perfect 100% accuracy
*No spread or missing our target
*All shots hit are within optimal range
*You are fully utilizing the Rate of Fire of said weapon
*Xeno Armor values are from Wiki, not taking into account strains or abilities.
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Armor Value 0: Drone, Runner, Sentinel, Carrier, Hive lord, Lurker, Boiler
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 44 damage = 220 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 34 damage = 261.46 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 24 damage = 184.56 damage per second
The M41 is 84.14% as effective as the M39. AP is 89.40%
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Armor Value 15: Spitter
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 36 damage = 180 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 28 damage = 215.32 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 24 damage = 184.56 damage per second
The M41 is 83.59% as effective as the M39. AP is 89.40%
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Armor Value 20: Warrior
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 21 damage = 161.49 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 24 damage = 184.56 damage per second
The M41 is 102.17% as effective as the M39. AP is 89.40%
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Armor Value 25: Burrower, Praetorian, Ravager, QUEEN
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 25 damage = 125 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 18 damage = 138.42 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 24 damage = 184.56 damage per second
The M41 is 90.30% as effective as the M39. AP is 89.40%
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Armor Value 30: Crusher
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 21 damage = 105 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 14 damage = 107.66 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 24 damage = 184.56 damage per second
The M41 is 97.52% as effective as the M39. AP is 89.40%
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Armor Value 35: Defender
M41 Reg: 5 per second X 17 damage = 85 damage per second
M41 AP: 5 per second X 33 damage = 165 damage per second
M39 Reg: 7.69 per second X 11 damage = 84.59 damage per second
M39 AP: 7.69 per second X 21 damage = 161.49 damage per second
The M41 is 100.48% as effective as the M39. AP is 102.17%
---SPREAD AND ACCURACY---
For these calculations I have taken both weapons and shot 300 rounds in the firing range while tallying every time a bullet missed. In the firing range the dummies register every hit with an animation so it is easy to keep track of every hit and miss due to accuracy and spread.
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M41 at 7 tiles with 300 rounds base stats of weapon: 0 misses
Mag1:0 / Mag2:0 / Mag3:0 / Mag4:0 / Mag5:0 / Mag6:0 /Mag7:0 / partial Mag8:0
DPS loss to spread and accuracy: NONE
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M41 at 4 tiles with 300 rounds base stats of weapon: 0 misses
Mag1:0 / Mag2:0 / Mag3:0 / Mag4:0 / Mag5:0 / Mag6:0 /Mag7:0 / partial Mag8:0
DPS loss to spread and accuracy: NONE
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M39 at 4 tiles with 300 rounds base stats of weapon: 85 misses
Mag1:14 / Mag2:12 / Mag3:18 / Mag4:12 / Mag5:14 / Mag6:10 / partial Mag7:5
DPS loss to spread and accuracy: 28.33%
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M39 at 3 tiles with 300 rounds base stats of weapon: 28 misses
Mag1:4 / Mag2:6 / Mag3:5 / Mag4:4 / Mag5:5 / Mag6:2 / partial Mag7:2
DPS loss to spread and accuracy: 9.33%
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M39 at 2 tiles with 300 rounds base stats of weapon: 0 misses
Mag1:0 / Mag2:0 / Mag3:0 / Mag4:0 / Mag5:0 / Mag6:0 / partial Mag7:0
DPS loss to spread and accuracy: NONE
At 4 tiles range the spread and accuracy issues of the M39 actually make it have less DPS than the M41 so the effective range of the M39 is actually closer to 3 tiles.
---MAGAZINE EFFICIENCY---
Full Auto with a full magazine of M41 will last 8 seconds, full auto with an M39 will last 6.24 seconds. Let's run some more funny numbers using the same stipulations above and non-ap, All calculations will be rounded up to the nearest bullet:
Carrier 650 HP:
M41: 15 rounds (37.5% of a mag) / M39: 20 rounds (41.66% of a mag)
Runner 230 HP:
M41: 6 rounds (15% of a mag) / M39: 7 rounds (14.5% of a mag)
Spitter 550 HP:
M41: 16 rounds (40% of a mag) / M39: 20 rounds (41.66% of a mag)
Ravager 650 HP:
M41: 26 rounds (65% of a mag) / M39: 37 rounds (77.08% of a mag)
with AP; M41: 20 rounds (50% of a mag) / M39: 28 rounds (58.33% of a mag)
Queen 1,000HP:
M41: 40 rounds (full mag) / M39: 56 rounds (full mag + 16.66% of another mag)
With AP; M41: 31 rounds (77.5% of a mag) / M39: 42 rounds (87.5% of a mag)
Defender 500HP:
M41: 30 rounds (75% of a mag) / M39: 46 rounds (95.83% of a mag)
with AP; M41: 16 rounds (40% of a mag) / M39: 24 rounds (50% of a mag)
I'm not going to run through every caste. But glancing at the above numbers it's obvious that the M39 is less ammo/magazine efficient except when killing runners.
---LET'S PONDER SOME THINGS HERE---
How many of you can confidently say you can do 7.5 clicks per second consistently? Sounds kinda difficult huh? How about 5 per second? Sounds comparatevly easy doesn't it? Now maintain that amount of clicking while you are tracing a moving target, 2.5 clicks per second more is 50% more clicks in a second comparatively. Imagine you are not doing optimal clicking, suddenly the M39 (17% more at best) DPS drops off and the M41 is superior. In fact if you are unable to get at least 6.4 clicks per second consistently than you are doing less DPS with the M39 100% of the time.
With the weapons listed above the M41 has oh I dunno over 5 times the accuracy of the M39 and 3 times less spread. Even at max optimal range the M41 manages to hit all it's shots while losing none to spread or accuracy. The M39 on the other hand, at it's max optimal range it misses 28.33% of it's shots, at 3 tiles it's 9.33%. It isn't until it's within 2 tiles does the M39 not lose DPS to spread or accuracy issues. Funny enough the M39 doesn't even do more dps at 4 tiles range isn't that hilarious?
The edge of your vision is 7 tiles the optimal range of the M41, the optimal range of the M39 is 4 tiles, with 1 tile of falloff on the M39 you lose 8 damage per bullet which is enough to be weaker than an M41 100% of the time. Nanus provided damage table confirms this.
Using the M39 Optimally will get you in best case scenario 35.32 DPS (spitters) more than the M41. The M39 AP mag does 19.56 more DPS than an M41 AP mag and HV is still actually worse at killing defenders and warriors with the updated calculations(isn't that just funny how math works?). At screen edge the M39 actually does 0 damage with AP.
The M41 can use the U7 Under Barrel Shotgun, the Mini Flamethrower, the Under Barrel Extinguisher, and the Under Slug Grenade Launcher. The M39 cannot use any of these and is unable to use the Verti grip for some random ass reason, even after continual nerfs it still cannot use the attachment which I feel was LITERALLY MADE FOR THE M39.
The M39 does not slow you down while wielding the weapon. The M41 does slow you down while wielding. This is actually a pretty amazing thing about the M39 and I do not want to undersell this. It allows you to stay closer to a xeno for longer while chasing to get in more damage. Now imagine you have a broken foot from a scummy lurker, perhaps you have some pain from a spitter hitting you with acid, maybe you got pulled by a Prae since you're up close and it got a few hits off on you. Suddenly it's harder to close with xenos quickly and it's easier for them to escape your optimal range. With the M39 you are relying more on your speed to close and maintain effective range and every slow down lowers that time, compared to the M41 being slower is less of an issue as anytime a xeno is within open sight of you you can be projecting effective damage. This problem is even more striking when you take into account you have to be closer than 4 tiles to utilize greater DPS with the M39.
One should also consider the amount of time a target is within effective range. If a xeno is charging the front line, attacking, and then retreating to safety that can effect DPS as well. Hypothetically let's assume it takes a Praetorian .5 seconds for it to close to within 3 tiles, 3 seconds of them attacking, .5 seconds for them to retreat past 3 tiles, and 1 second for them to retreat past vision range with you giving chase for a total of 5 seconds. With the M41 you can utilize the full 5 seconds, with the M39 you are really only able to utilize 3.5 seconds in this instance. So while the DPS of the M39 can be higher than the M41 the overall damage that the M41 can do efficiently can be higher over time. These numbers are purely hypothetical and should not be taken as concrete, but the method is sound, higher DPS can be offset and eventually overcome by a longer time of applying a lower DPS. This can be even more apparent if taking into consideration xeno abilities. Such as Spitters attacking from range (you get NO DPS HERE), Defenders tail sweep, Ravagers spike shield, Burrowers AOE stomp, etc. Many abilities are designed to be used close to your target and punish close range where the M41 can apply damage before the xeno gets close and uses an ability that disrupts your DPS then after it retreats, the M39 must be close to utilize effective DPS as a whole. Note that there are far far far too many variables to give accurate calculations and this section should be taken with a pound and a pinch of salt.
While the M39 may be less effective in a straight away engagement I do want to point out a situation where the M39 is more effective and that is with corner fighting and certain niche uses. While the M41 may do more dps in the provided example above it does not in a situation where a xeno may appear and retreat from around a corner within effective range. The uptime of effective DPS in this instance is the same for both weapons and the M39 would win out in short bursts of close quarters combat. Another niche but often overlooked function of the M39 is the existence of the arm brace. Using the arm brace, you can effectively strap the weapon to a hand and have it be ready even if you are floored and get up, the M39 will be ready for shooting immediately after standing, whereas using the M41 would require you to pick up and wield the weapon to be effective.
Being less magazine efficient means you will have to reload more with the M39, not only that but it also empties its clip faster which means you have less up time to suppress and provide assisting fire for allies. You are shooting within 4 tiles of a xeno with the M39 to be doing optimal damage. How does reloading when a xeno is close to you sound? If you are in the front of a push and are spraying like a mad lad, you have to reload more often than an M41 user which a xeno can take advantage of. Oh, hey, you also need to carry more magazines to remain combat ready for longer since you burn through them at a faster rate. Also, with more space devoted to magazines that leaves less room comparatively for utilities such as grenades, healing items, flares, etc.
---CONCLUSION---(Did I mention I fucking love math)
There is a lot more that the math tells us than simply that the M39 deals more DPS than the m41 in close range and should be taken when planning on such. That would be false information indeed and a disservice to bright eyed PFCs coming fresh off the meat wagon.
You get less flexibility mainly due to attachments which limits the strategies you can apply (shotgun for stun and flanking, flamer for area denying, grenades for kill securing and versatility), uptime since you have to carry more magazines as well as having your clip empty faster, and ease of use since you have less than half the effective range and need to take into account mobility (including the pitfalls of traps, terrain, and the fact that many xenos need to be close to use their abilities), when you use the M39 over the M41 with only slightly better DPS (just under 17%) in optimal conditions when compared to the M41.
Now for my completely unbiased assessment: The M41 is superior, throw a Master key on that baby, BOOM, it's now the most based weapon to ever exist for a PFC. The M39 is a noob trap, it's garbage and it needs some love.
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---------- TLDR: DA FUQ ARE YOU STILL USING AN M39 FER, ITS FOOKIN' TRASH MATE! ----------
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Did I miss-calculate something? Is something wrong with my thought process? Was there an oversight somewhere in my judgement? Am I an idiot? Tell me in the comments below.