i picked up the hammer once but died from a sniper before i was able to even have a swing at it, the sword is something i got plenty of kills from but like u said it is quite easy to do so. i also agree about the brute, i was playing in the val halla map and i went through the whole clip and my oppenet was not dead and as i am shocked and quickly trying to reload he busts my ass with his shot gun. i havent seen as many people as i thought use the needler yet. when u play with ur friend, do u too stay near each other and move in a pack or go seperate ways taking each person on seperatly