Balancing is hard, especially when you have a rabid 'meta' community that skew weapon usage in ways that may not actually represent reality.
How doesn't it represent reality, like most competitive games people figure out guns/class of guns offer the best TTK and are consistent across the board. Right now PRs offer great TTK, and with the increase flitch are about to deliver a lot of bullets in quick bursts. I think the problem developers might face at times is they don't try and think like the competitive minded players that will go out and grind a strike for 4 days straight too get the perfect weapon.
I think the real issue is that in todays world that data gets moved across very very quickly. I used too play a lot of MMOs back 10 years ago and things where different, info on the best setups where typically kept closed too heart, a lot of people didn't want too share their perfect setup. Now its different as soon as someone figures something out its all over youtube/reddit/twitch and then with very short turn around we have an established meta.
Also fully agree that balancing is hard, and at the same time for Bungie PVP is sort of a side project for the game and PVE gets a lot more focus, so they have less resources/time devoted too an already difficult task. However I think these huge sweeping changes are not the best way too fix things, we have had this game for over 1 year now and ever balancing patch before has ruined some guns and over buffed others as a result.
The weapon balancing seems about right. Shotguns need to OHK, otherwise they are completely pointless. OHK range needs be melee range, no further. That alone should bring fusions back into the game.
The range changes are fine, but they have basically made them a none start, they have really bad weapon handling (slow ready/stow) for every shotgun, more recoil, slower reload for an already really slow reload, slower ADS movement speed, and extra animation frames. I personally never use shotguns but that really is overkill, its not just a range nerf, but basically just punishing players for choosing a shotgun which makes no sense at all. Its seems more inline with its overused so we will stop people using it like they have done in the past with ARs, FRs.
I've never really understood this and to be fair this issue isn't just with Bungie quite a few devs do it, why do developers have to buff 1 thing.. and then nerf another? Why not just buff the thing that needs it and leave the rest alone. I personally didn't see any problems with pulse rifles, they weren't overpowered they just happened to be the strongest mainly because of 'tweaks' Bungie made to other weapon types.
Power creep is the main reason they won't just buff stuff, if you think about it original when ARs would melt everything, if you just buff everything else the the whole game is full of really high TTK guns.
I do think PRs are overpowered right now, even with pretty low range I can out snipe a sniper, the Nirwens is great with this since it has max stability I can land ever shot across map. I think the damage is fine but the range needs tweaking and I personally feel across the board they should have less stability. I see PRs as a gun that needs a bit more skill but rewards you with high burst damage if you can land your hits, thats the problem with all these really low damage/high fire rate guns, you can easily land a lot of shots, flitch is great from PRs, and it just leads too totally owning everything else.
maybe a full raid will help.
