True, but you'd have to get him to walk right over to a gal holding it, without ripping her into shreds. And she can only turn and squeeze the trigger. *And* then he can still CQC dodge. That's a load of crappy odds for the torch wielder.
Yes, my friends. I don't melee here very often, unless inside a building/craft. In my game, each gal has a melee weapon, so in such places, Death Blossom SMG and Poisoned Dagger make for a cool CQC combo. Melee outside? Hmm... Gotto approach, reaction fire..? Nah... But CQC? WOW, I can pack a Viking Axe, if any.
You can be anytime ready, however, if you carry a big Melee weapon AND an accurate 1H gun (Magnum, DeBlossom, Painbringer SMG...). Like this, ya can anytime holster the gun and use the Mmelee if 2H, or get a grenade and do the job.
The Fusion Torch is great for entering ships. BUT, you have to have the boarding team (right) behind the welder gal, as she can't do crap once she makes a hole in the wall. I had this yesterday, twice. An enemy appeared and my boarding team just took care about them.
ATTN Suzume-san.
O-Suzume-san,
missions wo zenbu yatta houga ii no desuyo. You should do all the missions, friend, as necessary things can be frequently found in ONE type of mission ONLY. So research and make/make buyable. You need various kinds of infantry weapons, good armors, good aircraft and good weapons for aircraft. If I was you, I'd get some good infantry weapons and Guerilla/Sniper Armor first. After that, You also need the Hyperwave Decoder for every base. Don't forget to check the market after every more serious research, but don't buy too much (See? Now I have 200 banana clips to sell...). Buy as many weapons as you need for your gals and maybe 3 dozen of ammo clips for each gun, buy more as needed. Same for grenades and stuff. Buy to have some in reserve, buy more as you need. Don't forget to make your bases as safe as you can. Don't forget dogs for bases and for missions. Research. Read. Manage. Fight. Sell surplus stuff. IE, If you have like 500 plastasteel or 10 ship engines, sell half of those for - you will get more in the future.
As for which weapons... Well, You best try them in battle and see which are good for your style. Have fun.