If you get in the passenger seat first you can swap over to the driver's seat with it
I have almost never used it because in the early days carrying an arc thrower was a red flag that you were there to grief. It doesn't seem like that's the case anymore but I just have never picked it because of that. I love the Blitzer though, that is my new go-to primary weapon on the bug front.
Arc thrower was a mainstay of my play early on when I first unlocked it. Before the Laser Cannon was any good and before the Quasar existed. At the time it was the only infinite ammo anti tank option and you could slowly chew your way through any mission with it. As for the arcing it is actually pretty controllable and friendly fire never happens to me anymore. The hoverpack had revitalized the Arc Thrower for me. Especially on Terminids, there is hardly a more efficient weapon for killing crowds. Plus, you can wittle away at armored enemies and still be killing chaff since any charger you stunlock or bile titan you chip is effectively turned into a giant turret that your shots will arc off of and into the enemies behind it. Very effective against all factions. It a was always slept on.
And a gas barrage and a gas creeping barrage and a gas eagle strike and a gas grenade launcher. That's all the delivery methods I can think of.
Gas SEAF artillery canisters would be a lot more helpful than the static field or smoke shots
The laser pistol from the latest warbond is pretty solid.
The Senator is also a solid choice. Heavy armor pen on a secondary is nice, I've killed a few Hulks with it when I forgot to reload the recoilless and had that "oh fuck" moment.
I never drop bugs without grenade pistol. The utility it brings when fighting them is too much to pass on. It closes bug holes, wrecks bile/nursery spewers, and it can even be used against chargers, impalers, or bile-titans in a pinch.
I'll recommend the Verdict from Polar Patriots. I find the most troublesome enemies for the Cookout are the hive guards since their plates block most of the pellets. The Verdict can burst down hive guards and finish off bigger enemies like commanders and stalkers. It can also still be used against a horde in a pinch.
The Talon has become my new favorite sidearm including over the Ultimatum and the Senator because of its strong utility against all enemy types and ammo. It has a good fire rate and puts down solid damage so it will take out chaff + mid tier enemies fairly easily with well placed shots. It's also accurate enough that you can get good shots between the armor plates on the hive guards to deal with them, and makes for some kickass cinematic moments when you take out the laser 6gun and get yourself out of a pinch. If you have good fire control and can limit yourself to not rapid firing the entire mag at once it also has effectively infinite ammo which makes it very valuable as a SHTF secondary.
