Does anyone else feel underpowered?

All you need is the right rare or UR weapon, even if it's just a rank I. Buying the ammo gear for 70 mission funds will go a long way towards making low rank weapons perfectly viable without hugging ammo boxes (it adds 75% spare ammo).

Dont be afraid to work at getting the common guns up there. They do a rather decent job of hitting, though the sniper/shotgun commons are rough if you arent the host.

The base m8 ends up about 60 damage at rank 10, and is pretty capable of hitting at medium and long range accurately. The Charger smg is pretty much the short range version of the m8, does a tad more damage, but suffers at longer ranges. It does feel rough at first, but the average game lands you enough to buy two basic packs usually, and those packs add up fast. Plus, this also gets you more stock for max consumables, gear for the guns, and the character cards, which give you power points to spend on your character as well. This helps out with starting the matches with a level 1, since you can go in with most skills at rank 2 and 3, and the first game usually ends with all skills at 3, compared to having to spend more time.

Yes, some of the higher tier guns are nice, but there are tangible rewards in the common pool, and you can get them out of the way far quicker via bronze.

Take the blue pill and you'll feel better..........and so will she.

Yeah. Plus I apparently can't get headshots at all now.