It's currently my go-to Solar sniper, and the Secondary I use for Crota's End.

Longbow Synthesis

Finally, someone else who appreciates that gun. I hardly ever hear it mentioned, but I have a couple and I like them just as much as LDR.

I only have the Longbow on PS4, but it's been pretty great. Managed to get the Ambush scope, Firefly, and Clown Cartridge, so I'm pretty happy with it. :) My only gripe is that with the Crucible ammo supply changes, the Longbow only picks up three rounds per ammo crate.

While upgrading a weapon may make it more effective, upgrading your armor makes all weapons and abilities more effective.

True, but there will be lots of ways to level up. You can get armor with new light levels from drops, or buy it from the new vendors.

Whereas there's only one way to get a 365 Fatebringer.

Longbow Synthesis

Finally, someone else who appreciates that gun. I hardly ever hear it mentioned, but I have a couple and I like them just as much as LDR.

TDYK
Shadow Price
Fatebringer
Atheon's Epilogue
Praedyth's Timepiece (unless I get Oversoul Edict before then, which probably won't happen)

Armor, I'm not worrying about yet because I figure I'll depend on drops and bought items to level up initially, and then maybe ascend whichever old armor has the perks I want.

Bought armor might be much more viable this time around - I think I heard something about stock rotating at the new vendors? As opposed to the current vendor gear which just stays static - kind of a problem if they don't sell the particular stat boosts/perks you want.

If I want to use The Last Word in high-level PvE content, I'll just wear my normal outfit for the level; I'd miss out on a few perks, but oh well. Those are much more useful in PvP anyways, where my level just doesn't matter.

* They cause serious bonus damage against certain enemies (vex in particular)

Once I am able to upgrade Fatebringer to 365, I'll probably turn off explosive rounds for the Vault of Glass. Currently, you can kill a level 30 Vex only with explosive rounds on, but doing so doesn't allow outlaw to trigger. A 365 Fatebringer should do the same damage as a 331 Timur's lash, which would be a one hit kill. I currently turn it off in the Abyss.

Ooooh, that reminded me of my Firefly + Explosive Rounds ANitC. Such a great combo of perks on a scout rifle :)

I've got that same gun with those same perks, and I find that explosive rounds tend to interfere with triggering firefly, especially when I WANT it to. Explosive rounds messes with my head shot count :P

I play around with turning one off over the other and it handles much better IMO.

They do mess with Firefly a bit, but I find it's still worth using explosive rounds for a few reasons:

* They seem to take down enemy shields more quickly
* They cause serious bonus damage against certain enemies (vex in particular)
* They cause a small amount of splash damage with every shot which can stagger multiple weaker enemies

Plus, you can actually work around the interference. The trick is that your ballistic damage needs to be what kills the enemy in order to trigger firefly, not the explosive bonus damage. So if you plan your shots a little more carefully, you can ping a bunch of targets with body shots, staggering them and making them easier to hit, then follow up with a headshot or 2 to trigger firefly (which will work now that the enemies have been damaged), plus the resulting explosion(s) now have a greater chance of finishing off any nearby enemies since they've all been softened up by the explosive rounds :)

Ooooh, that reminded me of my Firefly + Explosive Rounds ANitC. Such a great combo of perks on a scout rifle :)

I've got that same gun with those same perks, and I find that explosive rounds tend to interfere with triggering firefly, especially when I WANT it to. Explosive rounds messes with my head shot count :P

I play around with turning one off over the other and it handles much better IMO.

I just recently bought a set of Warlock armor for Hand Cannons to mess around in Crucible with The Last Word with; those probably won't see upgrades unless I actually have enough to boost every weapon in my armory. Hm. Though now I'm thinking I should swap my Hand Cannon using-character to my Titan... Oops.

I never really got into creating special builds for special purposes because the investment involved is just so high. Without running alts every week I would never be able to level everything up in a reasonable amount of time. I only just hit 32 two weeks ago or so.
While I like to have to work to level up, I kind of wish this activity had a lower barrier to entry.

Then it'll be on to armor; I'll probably lead with Light Beyond Nemesis, and then my Iron Banner shoulders. I like the aesthetics of both and definitely love those perks, whereas my chest and legs I could take or leave in those departments. I'm sure I can find some snazzier pieces with the ammo boosts I want that better fill out my setup Str/Dis/Int-wise.

Probably then I'll do Bad Juju for my Hunter, then Super Good Advice, then just mess around with random weapons and Hunter/Titan armor as I get the stuff.

I just recently bought a set of Warlock armor for Hand Cannons to mess around in Crucible with The Last Word with; those probably won't see upgrades unless I actually have enough to boost every weapon in my armory. Hm. Though now I'm thinking I should swap my Hand Cannon using-character to my Titan... Oops.

My Warlock will be Obsidian Mind + VoG armor

My Titan.. I have no idea. Right now it's Crota-themed. Maybe it will be PoE-themed, if that even has armor.

My Hunter might even be given some weapons if I have time for 3 characters.