In BioShock: Infinite, you generally see two versions of the same class of weapon, a standard one used by Columbia forces and another used by the Vox Populi. For example, the Columbia Carbine and the Vox Burstgun, or the Columbia Shotgun and the Vox Heater.
Are there any consistent differences between these weapon versions? For example, do Vox weapons do more damage but have lower accuracy, or less damage but a higher firing rate?
Or are all the weapons unique, and it's just coincidence that there's one of each type for each faction?
Best Answer
The weapons are similar but slight differences exist between some of the pairs. For instance, the Carbine is strictly single-shot, while the Burstgun fires a 3-round burst (with annoying recoil); the Heater has a more limited range than the Shotgun but does more damage and ignites, and the Hail Fire allows you to bounce grenades around corners as well as airburst them, neither of which you can do with the Volley Gun. The Repeaters are essentially trade-off weapons, exchanging slower rate of fire for magazine size and more controllable recoil. So I guess the answer is that there aren't strictly codified differences between the weapons - some handle quite differently, some can be seen as basic trade-offs.
More here: http://bioshock.wikia.com/wiki/BioShock_Infinite_Weapons