Planetside 2 Shuriken

The Shuriken is the reward for completing the SMG directive in Planetside 2. To complete this directive, you need to unlock 4 SMGs of your choice and rake in 1160 kills each. That's 4640 kills in total - that's a grind.

Yesterday, I decided to finish the directive once and for all. I only had about 300 more kills to go on the last SMG. So, for the entire Saturday afternoon, I grinded (ground? grounded?) for those 300 kills. By evening, I finally completed directive.

The SMGs I used to complete the directive were:

• SMG-46 Armistice
• MG-S1 Jackal
• NS-7 PDW
• MKV Suppressed

I did not intend to work on the SMG directive, it all happened by accident. I picked up the Jackal to play offense while still playing an infiltrator. I picked up the PDW because it's a popular SMG. Then I discovered that I already had 1160 kills with the Armistice, but don't remember when I ever did that. And since I'm one SMG away, I picked up the MKV to finish the line.

Now that I got the Shuriken, my thoughts on it can be summarized in one line:

It's an Armistice.

The only thing you can customize are the optics - you cannot customize the barrel, rail, and magazine. Compared to the Armistice, it has a slightly slower reload, 10 more rounds (similar to Extended Magazine), a slightly longer range (similar to Soft-Point Ammo), but with increased bullet velocity (similar to High-Velocity Ammo).

The Shuriken wrecks my play style. On all of my SMGs, I use a suppressor and the Advanced Laser Sight. Together with the Sensor Shield and Assimilate implants, Nanoweave Armor and Nano-Armor Cloak, I can storm a room and take out opponents with deadly accuracy without being seen or heard. But with the Shuriken, I lose the stealth aspect and make it a bit harder than usual.

Conclusion

Just like all weapons in Planetside 2, it's another "sidegrade" than an upgrade.

Is it worth getting? Not really, it's not that different from the regular Armistice. But If you're really into SMGs, or if you're already more than half way towards completing the directive, then it's a good goal to aim towards. For me, it's a welcome addition to the collection, but I don't see it as something I'll be using on a regular basis.