Warning: long post [spoiler]TL;DR - High RoF pulses not the problem. Buff other primaries. Y1-style perk tree should be the only tree available on pulse rifles. Goal: more primary interaction and you can only have HCR on a pulse if you forego a stability perk.[/spoiler] [b][u]In Defense of High RoF pulse rifles[/u][/b] This archetype of weapon is not a problem and does not deserve a nerf. Currently, it does 23hs before drop off allowing for decently quick kills. Faster than a lot of other primaries. But here's the thing: even in y1, this archetype of pulse rifle did 24 to the head. This archetype of pulse rifle is not the problem and never has been. Were Timepiece, Oversoul or Skorri's(and a couple of others currently escaping my memory) a problem in y1? I didn't think so. The problem is not the gun. The problem is that other primaries took nerfs (larger than this archetype took) and the perk tree on some pulse rifles starting in y2 allows for lasers that can flinch the holy hell out of you. Example: Anyone who used Timepiece in y1(specifically before HoW when give/take perks became a thing) knows Perfect Balance maxed out the stability on it. The types of lasers we see in game today have been around since Vanilla and have been just as effective as they have been since TDB (after a blanket pulse rifle buff). The damage output from this type of weapon is NOT over powered and never has been. [spoiler]Skip this paragraph if you used High RoF pulses in y1. You already know.[/spoiler] I'm no PvP god. In fact, my gunskill (arguably excluding The Chaperone) is average at best. When I finally obtained Timepiece(late in TDB), it quickly became a love of mine. A very forgiving weapon, it had max stability with Perfect Balance active, Headseeker for a little extra damage and Secret Round (which was pretty broken in a good way for the user during that time). All I had to worry about was pointing and shooting as fast as it would let me. Then during HoW, Skorri's Revenge was made available AND you could re-roll it. I settled on Outlaw, Braced Frame and Glass Half Full. A wonderful weapon for sure, but over-powered? Not in the slightest. [b][u]The Real Problem[/u][/b] Y2 came and with it, several primary nerfs, most notably to hand cannons (and to low RoF pulses in 2.1). Y2 also brought new foundry weapons. SUROS foundry weapons became extremely popular across the board, none more so than Hawksaw/PDX-45. Why was this? It was the perk tree. It wasn't long before we all figured out how much of a game changer the new SUROS perk tree was, especially on their pulses. Having a setup that allowed for max stability, high range (read: accuracy), Counterbalance AND rounds that caused increased flinch? Hawksaw/PDX-45 took over the Crucible (outside of Doctrine, anyway) and it's easy to see why. Hand cannons were de-throned, low RoF pulses and autos were mostly unusable and scouts just couldn't compete with the long-range flinching machines that these pulse rifles had become. Now some of you are going to bring up Grasp of Malok. Before that infamous nightfall (I believe it was Omnigul's first y2 appearance as NF), it was pretty rare but it was still one of the only weapons able to compete with the new SUROS pulses. I still have a nice Grasp I obtained from this era. The thing was they could compete, but still lose out to a perfectly rolled SUROS pulse even if you had the drop on the opponent. Fast forward to y3. The oft-discussed Clever Dragon. We have more options than ever inside of this archetype of weapon, yet we still gravitate towards this one. The answer, again, is the perk tree. Because of the ability to have very high stability AND the flinching ability of HCR, this weapon stands above others in its archetype. It has made even the feared Hawksaw/PDX-45 from y2 as useless as a low RoF auto with Focus Fire. It can still kill cleanly in 3 bursts, has close to the same flinching power but is just that much faster. [b][u]The Solution[/u][/b] The easy answer is to buff primaries across the board. Reduce bloom on HCs, increase damage on low RoF autos, slight damage increase on Lyudmila/Spare Change type pulses, etc. The hard answer is to make sure that pulse rifles only have a y1 style perk tree. There is likely no way to alter the guns like this that are currently in game and I get that. But if we're looking ahead to Destiny 2, pulse rifles with perk setups like Hawksaw and Clever Dragon should not exist. If you want HCR on your pulse rifle, you shouldn't be able to get anywhere close to max stability and vice-versa. As far as balance goes, I believe this is the best way.