It does the same now than it before its unintended nerf. 2 headshots always guaranteed a kill. 3 body shots as well. Problem with the ninja nerf was that it nullified the dot aspect of the gun which required you to use 3 shots. The gun is quite balanced. Pre patch thorn users will testify the gun was really a dark horse and most of the complaints against it were from run gun ho users. Thorn rewards slow steady precise gameplay. Now with the added advantage of taking on multiple targets with an increased mag.