Gameplay discussion: Increased Rate of fire variants.

Fire away, fire away! These characters have an increased rate of fire compared to their default counterparts, allowing them to deal more damage per second. The increased rate of fire means you can afford to miss shots more often without missing out on much damage.

These characters are able to autofire to maintain their fast speed. These characters may suffer from a cost to counter their increased fire rate, such as reduced damage or an increased ammo usage and overheat time, which depends on how the character's weapon works.

Shadow Flower: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular Sunflower, and you have the exact same amount of maximum ammo (which is 50) and damage. Your shots will deal 8-9 damage or 9-10 critical damage, depending on range from you and the enemy. However, your shots are more affected by damage dropoff and it takes you longer to reload your weapon. You may want to attack at closer ranges to maximise your damage and accuracy.

Sky Trooper: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular Foot Soldier, although you deal less damage and have less maximum ammo. Your shots will deal 4-7 damage or 5-8 critical damage, depending on range from you and the enemy. You have 25 maximum ammo (instead of the default 30). You have around the same damage per second as regular Foot Soldier, however you could improve your damage at closer ranges and can afford to miss your shots more often.

Zoologist: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular Scientist, and you have the ability to autofire. You deal less damage than regular Scientist at extremely close range, although more damage than Scientist when he attacks at further ranges. His primary weapon is limited only to close range, although he can deal huge amounts of damage quickly. Each shot deals 30 damage to enemies that you hit. Once you engage enemies at closer ranges, you may find that you need to reload often, but you will be dealing plenty of damage.

Hockey Star: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular All-Star. This is the fastest firing All-Star variant, but with the least damage per hit. Your shots will deal 2-4 damage, depending on range from you and the enemy. If you engage with your enemies at closer ranges, you can maximise your damage output. You overheat faster than normal and your shots do not deal as much damage, although the greatly fast fire rate will allow you to deal plenty of damage per second if you can land your shots.

Golf Star: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular All-Star. This is the fastest firing All-Star variant, except for Hockey Star. Your shots will deal 3-5 damage or 3-6 critical damage, depending on range from you and the enemy. You have increased zoom as well. If you engage with your enemies at closer ranges, you can maximise your damage output. You overheat faster than normal and your shots deal less damage, although the really fast fire rate allows you to deal lots of damage per second if you land your shots.

Baseball Star: You shoot at a faster rate compared to regular All-Star. Your shots will deal 3-7 damage or 4-8 critical damage, depending on range between you and the enemy. Your weapon has improved accuracy as well. If you engage with your enemies at closer ranges, you can maximise your damage output. You overheat faster than normal and your shots deal less damage, although the improved fire rate and accuracy should allow you to deal good amounts of damage per second.

Basic Notes

• You could use the Ammo or Overheat upgrade to keep shooting for longer before needing a reload or before you overheat. The increased rate of fire will cause you to reload more frequently or to overheat more quickly. Use these upgrades to allow you to continue shooting for even longer. Each character can only get one of these upgrades, so just equip the appropriate upgrade.
• You could try using the Reload or Overheat Penalty upgrade to make each reload faster or to be able to start firing again sooner after an overheat experience. This is an indirect way to improve your fire rate, and these upgrades are quite useful for these characters as you will need to reload often or you may overheat often. Each character can only get one of these upgrades, so just equip the appropriate upgrade.
• You may get better results from attacking single enemies at a time, as your weapons are not really suited to attacking multiple enemies at once. Use your fast attack speed to take an enemy down quickly, then focus your fire on a different enemy. 
• All of these characters have the ability to autofire by holding down the trigger. You will not be able to achieve maximum fire rate unless holding down the trigger, so make sure you do that. If you need to change direction or reload, you can take a break from the trigger. All-Star variants have to wind up each time before attacking, but hold the aim button before you start attacking to begin firing instantly.
• While the damage of these characters are reduced compared to their basic counterparts, attacking at closer ranges will allow you to dish out lots of damage to enemies quickly. The same could be said if you are accurate at longer ranges, although you will have improved accuracy at closer ranges.

Characters with high fire rates are some of my favourite characters, as I prefer attack speed over damage!