Let me open up with the disclaimer that this is in fact my own opinion, and while your opinion is welcome, let’s be civil about our discussion on a very current hot topic. Trolls are still welcome :) I don’t think Hand Cannons need to be nerfed. (Before you let the belligerent comments fly, please read the next statement). Hand Cannons remain uncontended in the Crucible. Here is what I mean. Personally, I have all three Exotic Hand Cannons, and yes I have used them all to their devastating prowess in PvP. Does the Thorn need a slight nerf? Possibly. But it wouldn’t be because of the core stats, it would fall solely on the fact that the majority of the player base uses it. However that’s another topic. After using all three hand cannons a majority of the game, and having a lot of fun with them (you can check my stats if you want to verify), the past few months I’ve been noticing a staggering increase of other players using hand cannons. To specify, I’m not just talking about Thorn. I’m not even specifically talking about Hawkmoon, and TLW. Just hand cannons in general. One team I joined had everyone on my side with some hand cannon or another in the spawning animation. This prompted to me to see if hand cannon’s REALLY were overpowered. Everyone was using them, so there had to be a common theme. I grabbed/leveled a Pulse Rifle (A55-ALLFATE), that a buddy recommended as being good. I absolutely loved the gun, and had a fun time finding perks that would work for me. The goal was to use a different load out to what I had usually run, and contend against some of the most popular crucible weapons right now (e.g. Thorn, TLW, and Hawkmoon). Here is what I found: Based on my perks, which I outfitted for damage over long range – it definitely gave me a great edge over hand cannons at long range. At long range, 8/10 of confrontations with my PR VS Exotic Hand Cannons, I could easily win. This was just against the average player. At medium range, it would become completely scenario based, and fall more on skill. Who knew the map better, make maneuvers quicker, who could duck in and out of cover leading to an even 5/10 win rate of those confrontations. Here is the part that I think everyone is really frustrated with: At close range, it was nearly impossible to beat out an exotic hand cannon, so much so that my counter strategy became to put some distance between us to level the playing field. You may be thinking, “well yeah, a PR isn’t going to beat out a Hand Cannon at close range…” You’re right. So what is? A scout? I hope you’re getting closer to the realization here. The main issue with hand cannons isn’t the stats or even the exotic perks that come with them. The main issue is the fact that there is NO REAL contender to a Hand Cannon. Shotguns maybe? Sure, but you have to close the distance, and what if you’re out of ammo? That aside, shouldn’t SPECIAL weapons ALWAYS beat out PRIMARY given they’re used in the correct situations? The real problem here is that the counter to Hand Cannons has been nerfed to oblivion. A buff to Auto Rifles is what I believe is the answer to the Hand Cannon problem in Crucible. If we’re too worried about it being effective at range, give it a major accuracy reduction the further the bullet travels like with what happened to hand cannons. Regardless, auto rifles should be the primary king of close range. PR’s were made for Medium/Long, Scouts are primarily Long range, and Hand Cannons were meant for Close/Medium range. Until this core issue is resolved, Hand Cannons will still “feel” over powered. The truth is that they’re really not, they just don’t have any primary that can really challenge them in terms of DPS at close range. If Auto rifles can be maintained at a healthy rate of DPS at close range, without giving them the ability to beat out Scouts at a distance (launch day players will know what I’m talking about here), then I believe that will maintain a healthy balance in PvP content. That concludes my opinion, please feel free to share yours :)