Bandit’s staying power as one of Siege’s player favorites is truly amazing. Overtime, we’ve gotten a handful of defender operator operators that can prevent hard breaching, but when it comes to preventing walls from being breached, Bandit is still the best. That’s because with his Shock Wires, he can perform the legendary “Bandit trick” and completely prevent even Thermite from performing a hard breach.
In this article, we’re going to discuss how the big changes to the game that came with Year 9 should affect Bandit players’ choices when it comes to choosing the loadout setup that they’re going to run this incredibly useful operator with. Especially since the current meta is drastically different even from just a few seasons ago.
5. MP7 with Red Dot A and Flash Hider + P12 with Suppressor and Laser + Barbed Wire
The flash hider barrel attachment is one of the most powerful barrel attachments in the game. Generally, it’s the safest one that you can attach to your weapon. It’s sort of like the type of attachment that you can’t just go wrong with. What it does is it greatly lowers the overall vertical recoil of weapons, and that generally results in them being manageable. And that’s important in a shooting game like Siege, because the more manageable the recoil of your gun is, the better accuracy you’ll have.
Another benefit that the flash hider brings and is very seldomly talked about is that, as its name implies, it hides the muzzle flash of the weapon’s shots. So with the flash hider on Bandit’s MP7, his shots will be less noticeable by enemies, and it also prevents players’ visions from being obstructed by their own muzzle flash. As for the barbed wire as Bandit’s generic gadget, it’s a good utility for preventing enemies from fragging Bandit from his flanks, and that’s very important for his role as he usually needs to focus on preventing hard breaching.
Excels in:
- Providing Bandit players with great vertical recoil on his MP7 submachine gun due to the presence of the flash hider barrel attachment which lowers the overall vertical recoil of weapons
- Making Bandit’s gunshots from his MP7 submachine gun less noticeable by enemies due to the flash hider barrel attachment removing its shots’ muzzle flash which also clears the player’s view while they’re shooting
- Providing Bandit players with a good accuracy on his MP7 submachine gun when they’re aiming-down-sights because of the red dot A’s center dot reticle, as well as giving them a +5% ADS speed boost
- Bandit having a good secondary weapon in the P12 handgun which can also be used as a utility for silently disabling enemy gadgets due to the suppressor on its barrel which will silence its shots
- Bandit being able to protect his flanks from enemies trying to catch him off guard while he’s performing his Shock Wire trick, through the use of the barbed wires as his generic gadget.
Build Details:
- Primary weapon - MP7 with Red Dot A and Flash Hider
- Secondary weapon - P12 with Suppressor and Laser
- Generic gadget - Barbed Wire
Recoil pattern test on the MP7 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:
4. MP7 with Red Dot A and Compensator + P12 with Suppressor and Laser + Nitro Cell
This loadout setup is for Bandit players whose aim is to have the best recoil control possible on his MP7 submachine gun. One might think that it would be the flash hider that will provide the best recoil control on the MP7, but upon testing it on the shooting range, I found the recoil in this setup with the compensator to be much easier to control. That’s probably because the recoil diamond of the MP7 becomes much wider after the fourth shot, and the wider the recoil diamond is, the higher the tendency is for horizontal and random recoil from all directors.
Unlike the flash hider that specializes in lowering weapons’ overall vertical recoil, the compensator lowers weapons’ horizontal recoil by 35%. In certain guns like the MP7, the huge reduction in horizontal recoil brings in a much more stable shooting experience. That’s because when the horizontal recoil is not that strong, the player will only have to worry about handling the vertical recoil which is easier than handling horizontal recoil. With this loadout setup, Bandit can empty his MP7’s magazine without losing much control of the weapon in the process.
Excels in:
- Providing the Bandit player with the best recoil control possible on his MP7 submachine gun due to the presence of the compensator barrel attachment which lowers weapons’ horizontal recoil by 35%
- Providing the Bandit player with pinpoint accuracy at close to medium range due to the center dot reticle from the red dot A 1.0x sight which provides a clear view of the target
- Bandit having a 5% aim-down-sight speed boost due to the red dot A 1.0x sight on his MP7 submachine gun which will be helpful during sudden enemy encounters at close to medium range
- Providing Bandit with an excellent secondary weapon for finishing enemies in the suppressed P12 handgun which can also be used for silently disabling enemy gadgets
- Bandit having the capability to take out multiple opponents in one go due to the nitro cell being his generic gadget. The nitro cell has a wide explosion radius and those who get caught in it will either be dead or heavily damaged
Build Details:
- Primary weapon - MP7 with Red Dot A and Compensator
- Secondary weapon - P12 with Suppressor and Laser
- Generic gadget - Nitro Cell
Recoil pattern test on the MP7 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:
3. M870 with Reflex B + P12 with Suppressor and Laser + Barbed Wire
This loadout setup is for Siege players who excel at using non-slug shotguns. That means shotguns that shoot multiple pellets per shot. Understandably, most Siege players do not excel when it comes to using them because they have an incredibly short range, especially when you don’t go into aim-down-sight position before shooting them. However, just a few seasons ago, they’ve been buffed, and they’re definitely a much more viable primary weapon now that they were before.
Nowadays, when the player goes into aim-down-sight stance before shooting, the shotgun will have a much better range. Their destructive capabilities have also been buffed. That is why this loadout setup ranks quite high in this list. With the M870 shotgun, Bandit will be a menace at close range. That’s because the M870 shotgun has incredible stopping power per pellet. The M870 also has a pretty good rate of fire and can even be shot while in the process of being reloaded. Making it harder for Bandit to get fragged while reloading the weapon.
Excels in:
- Bandit being an absolute beast at close quarters combat due to the M870 shotgun which has heavy stopping power per pellet and can take down an enemy with just one shot at its optimal range
- The reflex B 1.0x sight on Bandit’s M870 shotgun will provide him with a clear view of his target and surroundings due to its main frame not taking up a lot of screen space which is perfect for shotguns
- The reflex B 1.0x sight will also provide Bandit with a 5% aim-down-sight speed boost on the weapon because starting from Year 9 season 1, all 1.0x sight apart from the iron sight now provides a 5% ADS speed boost
- The suppressor on the P12 handgun will silence its shots, making it a great utility for disabling enemy gadgets, while the laser will provide a 10% aim-down-sight speed boost on the weapon
- The two barbed wires as Bandit’s generic gadget will greatly help him when it comes to not being caught off guard from the flanks, especially when he’s performing his Shock Wire trick
Build Details:
- Primary weapon - M870 with Reflex B
- Secondary weapon - P12 with Suppressor and Laser
- Generic gadget - Barbed Wire
2. MP7 with Red Dot A and Extended Barrel + P12 with Suppressor and Laser + Nitro Cell
This is for Bandit players who are looking to inflict the most damage possible regardless of the distance. That’s because the extended barrel increases the base damage of weapons as well as lower their range damage drop-off. With this loadout setup, the base damage of the MP7 submachine gun will increase from 32 to 35. Now an increase of 3 may not look like much at first glance, but if you factor in the fact that the MP7 is a fully automatic weapon, you’ll be able to appreciate that improvement in damage a lot more.
Because that will likely mean that most of the time, you’ll be making multiple hits to the enemy. So let’s say you make three hits on an enemy in one burst with the MP7 in this setup. That means you will have done 9 more damage than you would have if you didn’t have an extended barrel on your MP7. This is why more people in the Siege community really should stop underestimating the small increases in damage that the extended barrel does for certain weapons.
Excels in:
- Inflicting the best damage possible from Bandit’s MP7 submachine gun due to the presence of the extended barrel attachment which increases its base damage from 32 to 35
- The extended barrel on Bandit’s MP7 submachine gun will also greatly reduce its range damage drop-off, allowing Bandit to still inflict high damage even from long distances
- The red dot A 1.0x sight with its simple center dot reticle is great for accuracy since it doesn’t obstruct the view of the target’s body parts. It’ll also provide Bandit with a 5% aim-down-sight speed boost.
- The suppressed P12 handgun as Bandit’s secondary weapon will allow him to shoot enemy gadgets without giving away his location. The laser on it will also provide him with a 10% ADS speed boost.
- Bandit having a utility in the nitro cell that can take out multiple enemies in one detonation because of its very high explosion damage as well as wide lethal radius
Build Details:
- Primary weapon - MP7 with Red Dot A and Extended Barrel
- Secondary weapon - P12 with Suppressor and Laser
- Generic gadget - Nitro Cell
Recoil pattern test on the MP7 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:
1. MP7 with Red Dot A and Suppressor + P12 with Muzzle Brake and Laser + Nitro Cell
For Bandit, the suppressed MP7 submachine gun is still the best weapon because the suppressor just brings so many benefits that align so well with Siege’s gameplay. First off, the suppressor silences weapons’ gunshots, making it hard for enemies to know where Bandit is shooting from. Conversely, since his gunshots will be more silent, it will also allow Bandit to hear sound cues from enemies while he’s shooting. That’s something that could help prevent him from being caught off guard.
The thing is, the suppressor also has other great benefits. Perhaps the best is that it will also hide the weapon’s directional threat indicator and muzzle flash. Without those and the MP7’s shots being silenced, it can be incredibly hard for enemies to know where Bandit is shooting from. That’ll prevent them from immediately and effectively being able to counterattack and even protect themselves, especially at a distance of more than 30 meters where shots from a suppressed weapon will be inaudible.
Excels in:
- The suppressed MP7 submachine gun’s shots will not have muzzle flash and directional threat indicator, making it very hard for enemies to immediately know where Bandit is shooting from
- The suppressor on Bandit’s MP7 submachine gun will also greatly silence its shots, making it even harder for enemies to determine where Bandit is shooting from especially at a distance of more than 30 meters
- The center dot reticle on the Red Dot A is great for pinpoint accuracy at close to medium range. The 1.0x sight will also provide Bandit with a 5% aim-down-sight speed boost which is great for sudden enemy encounters.
- The P12 handgun with a muzzle brake on its barrel will have great recoil control per shot, and the laser will provide Bandit with a 10% aim-down-sight speed boost when aiming with the weapon
- The nitro cell will be a great utility for Bandit for taking out enemies that are pushing, especially when they’re pushing from the same direction, due to its wide lethal range.
Build Details:
- Primary weapon - MP7 with Red Dot A and Suppressor
- Secondary weapon - P12 with Muzzle Brake and Laser
- Generic gadget - Nitro Cell
Recoil pattern test on the MP7 in this setup with the author’s own recoil control applied:
Attention operator, please be advised. There is a new directive from Six. Read up on these related articles, and prepare for deployment:
