Overview
G28 is a general purpose RF that can be considered the upscaled version of M14. She has a bit higher RoF than Lee-Enfield, allowing her to take advantage of RoF buffs better, but this stat is still slightly lower than M14’s. It is worth noting that G28 does make up for her lower RoF with higher Damage which results in a higher overall DPS, but 1 or 2 extra frames to cycle through per attack in comparison to M14. As with any Damage RF, their high damage per shot needs to be compensated for with a myriad of RoF buffs, but once G28 has been properly buffed, she is no pushover – and may very outperform Lee-Enfield and M14 in some circumstances. Overall, she’s a great choice of Damage-focused RF and comes highly recommended if Lee-Enfield is not readily available, though it should be noted that the small differences in overall damage output means that G28 can be used if she is simply preferred over Lee or M14.
Pros
Good Stats
G28 has a decently high Damage stat of 118 and a great RoF stat of 39. These base stats allow her to take advantage of her Damage self-buff Skill and additional RoF buffs provided by HGs.
Great Buff Tile placement
G28’s tile placement allows her to reduce the main buffer HG’s cooldown by 1 second regardless of her position in an Echelon. When combined with her 5 second initial cooldown, this offers great utility.
Cons
Cannot conventionally cap RoF
G28 – like all Damage-up RFs – cannot cap her RoF in meta RFHG Echelons and therefore pales in comparison to WA2000 and SVD as a result.
Full analysis
G28 performs her duty as a Damage-focused RF very well. Due to her good stat distribution – with special attention given to her Damage specifically – she outperforms M14 against meatier targets such as Manticores, Guards and Aegises. G28’s base RoF, while on par with the likes of WA2000, is still rather low considering she cannot increase it by herself with a Skill activation. It still is 3 points above Lee-Enfield, though, and that creates enough of a difference in their firing rates that G28 has to cycle through 1-2 less frames per shot than Enfield. In meta RFHG composition such as Welrod/Five-seveN/Calico and Makarov/Five-seveN/Calico, G28 is unable to reach the 116 RoF cap and therefore pales in comparison to WA2000 and SVD, just like her counterparts M14 and Lee-Enfield.
In particular when comparing M14, G28, and Lee-Enfield with Welrod/Five-seveN/Calico buffs active, on the 8 second mark G28 ranks higher than M14 by 1400 damage and lower than Lee-Enfield by 500 damage. And while theoretically this difference in damage translate to less than a x5 Jaeger’s health, in practice it can still be the difference between finishing an enemy or requiring an extra shot. This does make Lee the more practical and consistent choice between the two, and may create a margin between M14 and G28 that swings in G28’s favor.
One great advantage over other RFs that G28 shares with Lee-Enfield is her ability to reduce the main buffer HG’s Cooldown by 1 second, which in optimal scenarios would be Five-seveN or Stechkin. This means that their RoF buffs will kick in at the same time as G28 and her allies’ Damage buff and therefore moves the team’s overall power spike from the 6 second mark to 5 seconds into the battle. Since faster Skill activations results in shorter battles that put less pressure on the main HG tank, this is undoubtedly a positive that further supports G28’s use.
G28 is overall no pushover and can stand up to the likes of M14 and Lee-Enfield without issue. She is, in fact, the middle of the road between them, so if you never particularly liked M14’s fast firing approach or Lee-Enfield’s potent but slow shots, G28 may be a very good replacement for either of them.