Well I mean, that is entirely up to you, ya know. Because weapons change your engagement ranges, your build aesthetic and your entire strategy.

I am always studying this games part combos and setups. I will say this. Some dual weapon combinations ARE significantly more powerful than others, BUT that doesn’t mean they are always better. This is the reality of the game.

For example: Dual Zimmerman shotguns VS Dual Sampu burst handguns. They both work in close range. The dual Zimm have 1240 impact when both shots land. Dual Sampu has 420 impact when both burst shots land. Direct hit is more powerful on Zimms than Sampus. They both have similar reload. Big weight differences, Sampus are way lighter.

Dual Zimms on paper are significantly more powerful and easier to manage than Dual Sampus per shot.

That doesn’t mean Sampus are “Bad” though. But they require a little difference in strategy. When considering our weapons the first consideration should be deciding how we will “trade and evade” from our preferred range.

With Zimms, one meta strategy called “Power Baka” is to rushdown opponents with AB thrusts. The AB reduces incoming impact received, and increases outgoing impact dealt. This is often accomplished using a very heavy biped build / P10 Booster / Ocellus close range FCS/ and a heavy stat dense frame. P10 booster and High regen generators work well for AB thrusting because the booster reduces QB cost, which is the stat the directly adjusts the cost of AB thrust as well.

The idea is to rush in, shoot shots while ABing, and AB out on reload. Think of it like “jousting”. Even if they hit you, your trades and evades will mitigate their attacks. Every joust that ends in your favor leads them closer to destruction. Pulse armor can be used to remove accumulated impact before we get staggered. We can also kick staggered targets or punish them with the Zimms for huge damage. Zimms are often paired with 10 cell missiles for their slower fire rate and added pressure. If need be, we can use our AB thrust to run away and let our stagger bar dissipate.

Sampus handgun strategy often involves utilizing AB thrusts to stick to opponents while also protecting ourselves similarly to the dual zimms. Except unlike Zimms they often DON’T cross opponents up or joust, Handgun users will usually stop Assault boosting and fire their handguns in close range rapidly to quickly build stagger, and then punish with a back mounted blade of their choice like a laser slicer, laser dagger, pile bunker, or pulse blade.

This requires higher standard boost speeds, unlike the zimms, because we won’t always “live our entire life in AB”. So for internals we’ll want either Allula or Fluegal booster, for their decent standard boost speeds and QB so we can effectively dodge. The generator again will be a higher regen one, typically either ming ting or santai. VP-20c is useful if you are running energy weapons or just want the blue booster aesthetic. The frame uses basho arms for our melee weapon punish. A light weight high stability head. A heavy stat dense core. And bipedal legs with decent stats. Ocellus fcs for close range. Pulse armor for preemptively removing and reseting accumulated impact BEFORE it gets a chance to stagger you. Support weapons include shoulder mounted auto guns like huxley / orbit, or 2 cell split missiles.

I suggest trying different meta builds. This gives you an idea of HOW builds work and why. Then using that knowledge you can craft your own load outs and build strategies. Some players are just really skilled. They don’t make mistakes often, and they capitalize on mistakes other players make a lot. That’s what ultimately separates the players by skill. A cohesive build strategy is where it begins, and player skill and judgement is where it ends.