Build a Loadout

NOTE: THIS WAS PRE-SEASON 3, when I took 21231, but now the GK2 and AI Stability Engine are different, so refer to my [updated loadout](https://karl.gg/preview/17138).
 
 
This build is built around the AI Stability Engine overclock, which gives you zero recoil and 1000% spread recovery speed. As such, we already know we don't need Floating Barrel in tier 3 because we already have no recoil, and we don't need Battle Cool in tier 5 because we already have insanely fast spread recovery. Although it might seem like it would make sense to take Gyro Stabilization in tier 1 in order to make your accuracy truly perfect, when you're using AI stability engine, the difference in accuracy between 100% base spread and 0% base spread is almost entirely unnoticeable (see [https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Accuracy](https://deeprockgalactic.fandom.com/wiki/Accuracy)), so you really don't need Gyro Stabilization (explained in a bit more detail in tier 1 below).
 
Now that we've talked about which weapon mods you shouldn't take, let's talk about the ones you should take. Basically my philosophy with this loadout was to take weapon mods that compensate for the penalties that come with the AI Stability Engine overclock, which means that instead of taking superfluous accuracy mods, I take mods that build up my DPS. AI Stability Engine comes with -2 direct damage and -2 rate of fire, so I specifically chose to take damage and rate of fire weapon mods. The mods I take increase direct damage by +3 total and rate of fire by +4 total, so I actually still end up with higher direct damage and higher rate of fire than the base gun. That means that you get a really accurate weapon that does the highest DPS possible with this weapon and this overclock, so you can do a lot of damage because you rarely miss and have great DPS.
 
Tier 1: Take Supercharged Feed Mechanism for +2 rate of fire since Gyro Stabilization doesn't make much difference. The base spread on the GK2 is already so small that the only time I notice a difference with Gyro Stabilization is when I'm running, since running adds to your base spread, but even then it only affects the accuracy of your first shot since spread recovery is so fast that you get down to zero spread by your second shot. This does make it a little harder to pick off swarmers and jellies with single shots when you're running away from them, but that hasn't caused me too much trouble.
 
Tier 2: I take Increased Caliber Rounds for +2 direct damage. Expanded Ammo Bags for +100 ammo is a very good option, too, but I find that I rarely run out of ammo on the GK2 so I went with damage instead. For context, I usually take Zhukovs with Cryo Minelets as my secondary and I build those out to have lots of ammo, so that's probably a big reason why I don't feel like I need to take more ammo for this tier on my GK2. I talk about using AI Stability Engine along with Cryo Minelets a bit in my [Cryo Minelets Tutorial](https://youtu.be/zmgdaFslzEI?t=446).
 
Tier 3: I take Improved Propellant for +1 direct damage because personally I don't find +10 magazine size from High Capacity Magazine to be all that helpful since your reload time isn't that long and as the scout you have the mobility to get out of dangerous situations rather than being swarmed while you're trying to reload. Increasing your magazine size would be reasonable, too, though, if you find it bothersome to have to reload frequently (e.g., if you're using the Boomstick with Special Powder as your secondary so you have to more solely rely on your GK2 for combat). Just don't take Floating Barrel because it will do nothing.
 
Tier 4: Really any of these options would be acceptable. Personally, I take Improved Gas System for +2 rate of fire because this improves my DPS against everything (i.e., not just weakpoints and not just against armor). I think the +20% weakpoint bonus from Hollow-Point Bullets is kind of overkill since you already have a 50% weakpoint damage bonus without it, and going all the way up to 70% weakpoint damage bonus feels like min-maxing too much. But again, for context, I use Zhukovs with Cryo Minelets as my secondary, so there are a lot of enemies that I freeze with Cryo Minelets before shooting them with my GK2, and therefore maxing out the weakpoint damage bonus isn't as useful to me as it might be to someone who is using a different secondary weapon or just a different play style. As for Hardened Rounds, I don't find armor breaking to be that useful because I'm trying to use the accuracy of AI Stability Engine to avoid armor as much as possible. So I like taking increased rate of fire because it's the most well-rounded option and will increase my DPS whether I'm hitting weakpoint or missing the weakpoints and hitting body shots instead.
 
Tier 5: Again, Battle Cool won't do anything for you, so this comes down to Battle Frenzy vs. Stun. Both are reasonable, but personally I really like maxing out mobility in my scout loadout (I also take Get In Get Out on my Zhukovs). Battle Frenzy procs every single time you kill an enemy with the GK2, and it's a whopping 50% movement speed bonus lasting 2.5 seconds, so you get a big movement speed bonus very frequently. For comparison, the Second Wind perk is only a 12% sprinting speed bonus, so Battle Frenzy is really big bonus. Stun, on the other hand, only increases your stun chance by 30% and only on weakpoint hits, which is only helpful against a few enemies like praetorians (oppressors are immune to stun). With this loadout's DPS, you can take out grunts fast enough that stunning them doesn't make a difference, and the same goes for mactera if you're hitting their weakpoints (which is easy to do with AI stability engine if you wait until they stop to puff themselves up just before they shoot at you). So I really only take the Stun weapon mod when I'm using Bullets of Mercy (although I should also mention that you get diminishing returns if you're using cryo minelets because you can't stun something that is frozen).