RF Damage over time: K31 & XM3 & such
For more context, check out my earlier article comparing the damage output of some popular ARs over time. As the other main DPS class, it's time for some rifles to get their own set of charts. RF selfbuff skills are a lot more homogeneous, so there aren't many good candidates to include. There are also many skillshot types that don't fit well into these types of comparisons.
Daytime#
RFs are usually paired with lots of HGs, which can mix matters up a bit with their buffs. For a fairly generic setup, let's suppose a HG trio of Calico mod + P22 + Grizzly is used with all of them.
WA2000 and Lee Enfield are clear winners here with their high overall DPS. IWS unusually has 10/16 uptime (rather than the 5/8 usually seen on rifles), which makes her stronger in the 10-18 second range while the longer ICD hurts her before that.
M14 fares quite a bit better than FNC did in the AR version. In addition to the long ICD, XM3's night-oriented skill putting her at the absolute bottom for day performance is very much expected.
This does not factor in any RF tiles that may change the HG's cooldowns.
For the raw standalone performance:
IWS doesn't do as well in the 10-18 second range here. With HG buffers, her skill activates alongside the HG skills and is active for their entire duration plus some, giving her an advantage.
Nighttime#
At night, accuracy becomes a bit more valuable and XM3 gets a real skill. No drastic changes, though.
Without buffs:
If we're talking about evasive enemies at night, it'd be hard not to mention M200. Her solo DPS against such targets flies far above typical selfbuffing rifles, but isn't directly comparable due to her skill's different mechanics. It fires at a fixed interval and doesn't benefit from ROF buffs, while using either of the Carcano sisters speeds up her skill just enough to fit in another shot.
Selfbuff rifles will improve relative to M200 if you add ROF/ACC buffs, but she's still clearly an important doll to consider.
Keep in mind...#
Your dolls probably aren't in echelons all by themselves, so other skills and tilebuffs will change how things work out. There are plenty of other possible HG/RF combinations out there. Add a Fervor talent for even more fun.
Enemy stats will also vary per encounter.
When in doubt, you can always use a combat simulator to get the specifics.
These plots use the average total damage per time interval. Critical hits, different number of frames between attacks, accuracy rolls, and so on will make the percent difference vary per combat. The frame timings of each attack may also cause slight differences with simulators. Think of this as a more general average relationship. The gray vertical lines in each chart indicate the windows where WA2000's skill is active - dashed when it activates, dotted when the duration runs out.
Overkilling is a bigger concern with rifles as well - IWS, for example, may underperform compared to these charts when going against larger groups due to her abnormally high FP/low ROF.
All dolls have their SPEQs equipped and fully enhanced/calibrated as appropriate in these charts.