Reviewing some weapon stats over at guardian.gg (https://guardian.gg/en/weapon-stats?platform=2&start=2015-10-29&end=2016-01-19&mode=10&activity=0) illustrated some interesting patterns regarding pulse rifles and how they are performing in Crucible.
Using top kills by weapon type in Control:
1) Pulse rifles own the top three primary weapon spots and five out of the top ten since 10/29/2015.
2) Since the 2.1 re-balancing act on 12/9/2015, total pulse rifles kills dropped roughly 15% from 25% to 10% putting them behind Auto Rifles, Hand Cannons, Scout Rifles, Shotguns, and Sniper Rifles.
3) Despite this 15% drop in total number of kills since 2.1 update, pulse rifles still hold five of the top ten spots for most primary weapon kills.
It appears that while the 2.1 re-balance significantly affected their total combined kills among all pulse rifles, they continue to have top standouts in the primary weapon slot.
So for those still using pulse rifles, what has your experience been with them since the last update?
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Of the ones I use, the Nirwen's Mercy archetype has the most noticeably damage hit (I don't use high-impact ones, so can't comment). You need to land your headshots, or it's going to take one more burst than you have time to do. Hawksaw-style pulse rifles are more or less fine; their fire rate can compensate for the damage drop; and the lowest-impact /highest-RoF pulses are monsters.