User blog comment:Willbachbakal/Singleplayer Enemies: Leadhead Splicer/@comment-1330314-20100817182735

"Also, Vanguard Splicers already deal more damage than their predecessors, by virtue of being in a later level."

I think it got stated pretty clearly right there.

Also, how the hell does a shrapnel gun make sense? It makes no sense whatsoever. A gun that shoots random bits of metal does not hurt more than a shotgun that can shoot 12-gauge metal slugs. You can't refill your ammo reserves for said shotgun by picking up random bits of metal. On top of that, why would anybody in their right mind ditch a perfectly good shotgun for a much more primitive weapon that fires bits of scrap?