My personal preference has always been SMGs. I like the versatility and the ability to customize that an SMG has.

I like blades myself... both hand and thrown.

Machine Pistols: all the fun of full auto without all the mess.

Polearms. Very easy to improvise: just wire a broomstick to a knife.

Explosives. They go boom. How can you not like things that go boom?




-karma

I like pistols, light, concealable, fun on a Friday night.

machine pistols: flattening light ammo against armor faster than ever before.

My practical preference is heavy pistols. Easy to carry everywhere, and often with licenses.

After that, HMGs. Full auto hosing fun.

Shock gloves-nothing says loving like a <thunk> and a <zap>.

SMGs are hard to beat, with handguns a close second. Those two, firearm-wise, you can at least moderately get away with carrying around Seattle day in and day out (if you show a bit of tact about it).

Sniper rifles, missile launchers, explosives, assault rifles, etc, while all unarguably usefull and fun, are (or at least should be) fairly rare in an 'average' Shadowrun -- they are, in my mind, the big guns. The ones you only dust off and gear up with when the kid gloves are off and all modicum of subtlety has gone out the window. That shouldn't happen real often.

Shotguns: Putting big holes in Trolls since 2043.

I like rifles. Sport rifles, specifically. They have a lot of power, a lot of range, can be permit-ized, and are really deadly with a skilled character. At long range with a scope a mundane can be just as deadly as a super sammie with a heavy pistol at close range.

Magic!

I was going to vote SMG for all-around usefulness, but it occurred to me that it's kind of a run-only weapon, whereas a pistol was something to carry almost all the time.

Edit: Fraggin' double-post...

Pistols can't be beat, but for melee I have to go with Pole Arms. I love the Bo Staff and sometimes get a weaponsmith to modify mine with a retractable blade at the end for when things need to bleed.

Favorite ranged:
Narcojet pistol: Small, easily concealable, easy to get a permit, less likely to piss off security or the Star, infinitly flexible (depending on what you dose it with) for different situations.

Favorite melee:
Shock baton: Small, doesn't draw that much attention to you, non-lethal, and works against spirits.

Who says a shock baton works against spirits?

Shotguns and Gyrojet pistols.

Another thing I like to do to my Bo Staff... add a Shock Batton mod to the end of it. Whats to say it can only be used with a club?

A chain and a touch range electricity based elemental manipulation. Wrap 'em and zap 'em.

Although, a free spirit or ally spirit with demolitions and a bit of masochistic tendencies can be fun too.

pistols are the best. most times you want a heavy pistol.

capsule rounds are great for stun knockout. first they take stun from the round, then the effect of the drug. neurostun is good for a fast takedown, especialy if you can stage up the damage on the round.

high concealability and low weight is a must. the range is a bit short, but most fights indoors will be at short range anyway. pistols are best within 20 meters.

for close combat (and you will get into close combat eventualy), a shock glove is best.

Ooh, and LAWs and MAWs. Easy to get, even at chargen.

Explosive fun, and you don't even need a vehicle, (but you can kill one!)

Shotguns, cause with a good one you never have to worrry about forgeting the keys. My last charatcer named his "Key to the city"

Pistols - so many options.
Hold outs
Light
Machine
Heavy
Tasers
Dart
Squirt

Highly concealable. Decent to excellent takedown capability. Lethal or excellent non-lethal capabilities. Low to no recoil. Enough options to make them usefull. Some have BF capability.

My preference is Tasers, and Dart/Squirt with Gamma Scopalamine/DMSO. You have to use assault rifles on full auto, sniper rifles, or heavier to equal that take down power. Unless of course they have Security armor.

With Security/milspec armor. I go with the sniper rifle. 14S or 14D before staging in a weapon that can be broken down for easier transport. Great range. No recoil. Silent. Just not concealable.

Firearms: Shotgun. The "ch-chink" sound is just awesome.
Melee: Quarterstaff. I'm simply a fan, and they work as much as a tool as a weapon.

*high fives Doc Funk*

Rifles. Rifles = Carbine Rifles(Multiweapons), Sport Rifles, Sniper Rifles.

With a Carbine Rifle from a Multiweapon, you get 7S with Burst Fire. With Sport Rifles, you get your Permits. With Sniper Rifles, you get SA Death dealing.

Best gun type is pistols. If I pick a melee weapon, I usually pick clubs.

1. Hitting people with the butt of your rifle or pistol whipping uses clubs. Thus, if you run out of ammunition, you still have a last ditch chance of survival.

2. Surviving a round against a melee monster.

3. Virtually everything counts as a club or can be quickly broken into a club. Anything blunt that's a meter or less long is a club. A keyboard, a folding chair, a dead cat(Well, that'd count as a whip if you're swinging it by the table), a table leg, a broken pool cue, ripped/blown/cut off limb...You're able to find a weapon at almost all times.

any thing that can punch a hole through a solid wall is good in my book , explosives all the way.... except when you botch that much needed throw of a grenade and you end up as wall pizza....

Shotguns. Best bang for your buck. And with more types of ammo than anything else. Be kind of strange, but you can still fire capsule round slugs from it (not exactly quitely though)

Shotguns,

A sharp wit and a quick tongue... oral slasher anyone?

For firearms, though... erm... pistols are the way to go methinks...

Pistols are good for many reasons mostly their con.

I like heavy good stopping power.

With the right ammo you can go through some armor.

As to melee weapons I go with bladed weapons most of the time.

My new favorite weapon though is the polearm.

I like the No Dachi spend some extra cred get it either extendable or quick snap (think DD's walking stick)

Then disguised as a walking cane or something and you have a pretty deadly weapon with some nice reach.

For the most part no hassles from police/security although I guess you might get a permit for it as well not sure on the legality of a No Dachi.

I'm curious. How much, exactly, does it cost for one to purchase a "Daredevil-style" extendable two handed sword?

All your sanity and self respect.

Shotguns are the best. With one skill, you have the short barreled shotguns and the regular ones. The Short Barreled ones are for all intents and purposes heavy pistols with small clips (and can permits for in SR3). The Regulars can quite easily deal out tons of pain. It's the closest you can get to the good ol' days of the Firearms skill in SR2.

Shotguns (no option above???).

Theyre just so cool.

I don't get the pistol craze. Pistols get majorly screwed on range. In many of the games that I GMed the bad guys were often literally out of pistol range and only the PCs with SMGs and rifles could take a shot.

Come-on give the kid a break, He probably doesn't know what a No-Dachi is since it's in the "Polearms" section.
On the other hand if he does know we can all hunt him down and give 'em a good thrashing
Back to topic. Pistols get my vote for their flexibility. They can be carried damn near anywhere, have the second greatest Power, with tracer ammo can affect spirits(although not well), can be silenced, can deal stun damage......
I almost never build a character who doesn't have a pistol. Except a Mage

I suppose you have a point, but he seemed to have some sort of clue what he was talking about.

In this situation pitch forks and flaming brands are my weapon of choice.

The assault rifle!

FA with the new rules is awesome. You can basically use it as extended burst fire, strafing, a couple short bursts at multiple targets-all in one combat turn. If you reconfigure it into bulpup config or build your own in CC they can be pretty concealable.

Big E might like this, seeing his pole arm modifications: dikote throwing stars, silent and deadly.