The jackhammer is a fricking glorified sweeper shotgun  Why can people never see beyond that? |
Might have something to do with the fact that the Jackhammer kills in about two hits, and that a Jackhammer user can easily take out three Reinforced guys in close quarters when used by absolutely anyone, which the Sweeper can not not.
As for the Vanu, the only weapons I ever see them with are Sweepers, Lancers, Rocklets, Bolt Driver, an occassional Thumper, and Lashers. I fought for a few hours last night against the Vanu, and I only saw the Pulsar once. Everyone else was using one of the above weapons (not including when they'd have a Surpressor, because they're low BR). Of those weapons, the Lasher and Lancer were by far the most common. Virtually all Vanu who weren't sniping with a Bolt Driver had Reinforced and were carrying both of these weapons. And, really, it makes a lot of sense, because the Lancer kicks ass after they buffed it in Beta, and the Lasher rocks too.