There will never be "actual balance" in the Crucible unless Bungie puts their metaphorical foot down and restrict weapon choices to pre-designed gear that are only used in Crucible. They won't do that though because they like the concept of having a character being able to move from one medium to another seamlessly, with collected gear moving with them. At the very least only applying a weapon restriction to Competitive would be enough. Post: On Luna's Howl though, the weapon isn't that big of a deal. It has a fairly strict range in Crucible, and a better player will always have a stronger influence than the weapon.