[welldressedgent]

look to be the best ammo in the game; but arent literally explosive, as far as i can tell. They fragment on impact, so I'm not sure how they differ from hp rounds or why they should cause damage on a glitch. Is there any reason to use ex as opposed to ex ex? Do they work with silencers?

-g

[CanRay]

Explosive Rounds (And EX-Explosive Rounds) are mini-shaped charges, essentially.  They don't fragment on impact, they detonate with a very small cratering effect.  (Think less "Grenade" and more "Anti-Tank".  Only a LOOOOOOOOOOOOOT smaller!).

Explosive rounds are a cheaper, generic brand, and they use less powerful explosives.  EX-Explosive is a brand name with more "Pop" for your nuyen.  They will work with silencers, which will muffle the muzzle blast, but not the whip-crack of supersonic rounds or the "POP" of the round hitting it's target.  So it's quieter, but not exactly QUIET, if you catch my meaning.

[Operator]

That's how my last GM caught me off guard in a 3rd edition Shadowrun game, when I was still learning the ropes. Had to dump the rifle in the Puget Sound to throw off suspicion from Lone Star.

[TheNarrator]

Is there any reason to use ex as opposed to ex ex?

They're cheaper and easier to get ahold of. That's about it.

look to be the ammo in the game; but arent literally explosive, as far as i can tell. They fragment on impact, so I'm not sure how they differ from hp rounds or why they should cause damage on a glitch.

While Shadowrun probably has the best rules for guns of any RPG I've ever played, it was still largely done by people who learned everything they knew on the subject from action movies. Some of the rules don't really line up with reality.

In the SR universe, at least, the implication seems to be that the aggressive fragmentation of the Explosive rounds is aided by a micro-explosive that detonates right after impact (or on really bad malfunctions, represented by a critical glitch). Given that normal fragmentation isn't reliable with handgun ammunition (not enough velocity), it does have its benefits.

Do they work with silencers?

Nothing specific about it one way or the other in the rules as far as I know. If you want to justify it still working with a suppressor, that's simple enough: if they detonate inside the target, then the (fairly tiny) explosion is probably muffled by the target's body. And if it hits a hard target then the sound of the impact and the round in flight (since you didn't use subsonic ammo) are probably already just as audible as the mico-explosive.

[Mirikon]

Any round, even the suppression rounds in WAR!, work with a silencer. The Silencer/suppressor deadens the sound of the gun going off, and hides the flash. Explosive rounds or shrieking bullets are sounds that happen after that. However, because bullets tend to move pretty quick, and are really small, it is hard to judge where they came from without the gun flash and sound.

[TheNarrator]

For maximum efficacy, a suppressed weapon should be loaded with subsonic rounds (which are listed in Arsenal).

For minimum efficacy, use tracers. 

[_Pax_]

For maximum efficacy, a suppressed weapon should be loaded with subsonic rounds (which are listed in Arsenal).

  Yes.  With an integral silencer and electronic firing (modifications, both found in Arsenal), then loaded with Subsonic ammunition?  That's a -9 die pool penalty on all perception tests to hear the weapon being fired.  Essentially, "if you can hear this gun over your own heartbeat when you're the guy who pulled the trigger ... something is broken, get it fixed.

[JustADude]

For maximum efficacy, a suppressed weapon should be loaded with subsonic rounds (which are listed in Arsenal).

  Yes.  With an integral silencer and electronic firing (modifications, both found in Arsenal), then loaded with Subsonic ammunition?  That's a -9 die pool penalty on all perception tests to hear the weapon being fired.  Essentially, "if you can hear this gun over your own heartbeat when you're the guy who pulled the trigger ... something is broken, get it fixed.

And don't forget it's Threshold 2. So even with Edge, it's gonna be a longshot.