So, we've had a few weeks of Trials, a bit more of standard Crucible, and now the first Iron Banana is half-way peeled. We've seen the things that there are to see, shot what there is to shoot, and died how there is to die. It's time to discuss how weapons are currently functioning, and how that balances on the scales as a whole. For the purposes of ranges, I will be using a scale of: CQC, close range, close-mid, true-mid, far-mid, close scout, long scout, and sniper. Please refer to this as needed. So first, let's define the weapons. Auto Rifles: rapid-rife bang sticks; hold the trigger while keeping the site on the target to win. Comes in various rates of fire, with 450 rpm being the preference. notable examples are the Uriel's Gift, Prosecutor, Jiangshi, Origin Story, The Number. TTK: moderate to good on the body, good to very good on the crit Ease of use: good to very good Range: CQC to far-mid, sometimes stretching the barrel to close scout Pros: Easy to learn and use, great for team shots, functional across most ranges, lots of options to select from, very versatile Cons: one archetype seems dominant over the others, loses to good sidearm or SMG players in CQC, loses to good scout users in far-mid to far-scout ranges Scout rifle: long-range precision weapons, built for hitting crits and holding ground. The marksman's long gun of choice. Notable examples include Mida Multi-tool, Pleides Corrector, Frontier Justice, Skyburner's Oath. TTK: poor to decent to the body, good to very good to the crit Ease of Use: Moderate; the concept of hitting your crits is simple, pulling it off depends on a lot of factors. Range: close-mid to far-scout, sometimes sniper. The rule of thumb: the faster it shoots, the closer it can be used effectively from time to time. Pros: with healthy crit damage and a ton of range, you can sit out of other player's range and still land full damage shots, great for holding lanes, excellent in team shooting. Cons: Huge differential between crit and body damage punishes sloppy shooting, high-impact versions are punished sharply for missing. Not great in all ranges, suffering in close. Requires more effort to match other guns effectiveness. Hand cannons: If scouts were smaller, they's be hand cannons. Made as a high-damage, slow firing weapon, these weapons are good for front-liners and as a hold-out weapon. Prefered type is the 140 rpm category. Notable examples are the Better Devils, Old Fashioned, Judgement, Annual Skate, Minuet-42. TTK: very slow to the body, slow to moderately decent to the crit Ease of use: somewhat difficult. the recoil and fire rate aren't terribly welcoming, and the requirement to land all of your shots properly, use cover to dip in and out, carefully choose engagements, and account for bloom is a lot to juggle. Range: hip-fired in CQC to true mid; a lot of guns have some flexibility, but I will say outright that using a hand cannon beyond true mid is currently assisted suicide Pros: Efficient shots, allowing you to place maximum damage on a single bullet. Decent accuracy in the air, especially with the Moving Target perk. Cons: slower than almost anything else to kill, demanding to use. Lacks for much range, but not amazing in CQC. Slow reloads. Bloom in effect, and hit registration is unreliable. Pulse rifles: burst fire semi-auto weapons; essentially the bridge between scouts and autos. Combines decent range with decent damage output to make for a versatile weapon type. Notable examples are the Vigilance Wing, Nergal, Agenda, Nightshade, Lincoln Green, Final Perdition. TTK: slow to the body, good to the crit. Ease of use: moderate to decent. Learning the proper recoil control and burst timing can be a bit of a challenge for some. Range: close to close-scout range. Pros: versatile, allowing good performance in a variety of ranges. Decent damage output, decent range, decently simple to use, making this weapon type great for a primary carry gun. Cons: operates in the same range as most ARs, and is typically going to either trade or lose to them. Crit registration on some types seems to vanish after a certain range. the possibility of missing part of a burst can invisibly alter your TTK. Sidearms: small-caliber clip-fed weapons, meant to help you hold it together in close combat. Lower damage, faster firing versions of hand cannons. Notable examples include: Last Hope / Last Dance, Fool's Remedy, Drang. TTK: in the proper range, good to the body, excellent to the crit. Ease of use: these little guys take a bit of getting used to. The overall concept of 'shoot the dudes' is easy, but the mechanic of it in close combat are chaotic and more difficult than it would appear. Still decently accessible for everyone. Range: varies depending on type, but generally CQC to far close range is the limit. Some can get a little traction in close-mid, but you're at a disadvantage. Pros: Best in-air accuracy in the game, excellent for aggressive pushes and demanding defenses. Excellent rush counter guns. Cons: Not all models are competitive, extremely sharp damage fall-off. Requires quick thinking and thumbs. Worthless outside of intended ranges. SMGs: extremely rapid fire small-arms. What side arms are to hand cannons, SMGs are to ARs. Meant for close encounters of the Guardian kind, nothing shreds faster in CQC notable examples include the Antiope, Red Mamba, and Mida Mini-tool. TTK: in the proper range, fast to the body, extreme to the crit. Ease of use: good to excellent. The recoil can be a bit daunting, but can be learned and controlled with practice. Range: Ummm...is none an option? Seriously though, CQC to far-close range, with closer being better. The exception is the Antiope, which seems to have a much further reach. Pros: great accuracy in-air, very quick times to kill in the intended range. Very good for aggressive pushes or urgent defenses. Cons: requires good reflexes and consistent recoil control to be at it's peak. Good use of vertical space is required to make these weapons be all they can be. Worthless outside f the intended range. Ok, so let's get real. what is the best weapon type in the game right now? Honestly, the 450 rpm AR. It functions well across the most ranges with the most consistent times to kill. They dominate most pulses in the same range, compete with scouts, and can outgun hand cannons. They are sort of the total package. Next up is a three-way tie between scouts, sidearms, and SMGs. All function exceptionally well inside of their intended ranges, and have great utility and TTK. Extremely close behind that are the pulses; i would have put them in the same category, but for reasons I'll mention, are just a shade lower. Bringing up the rear is the hand cannon. With the slower TTK, lack of range, ability to be outgunned by AR's at any range, and side arms and SMGs up close, the hand cannon simply doesn't have a lot to recommend it in PvP (unlike PvE, where they can be amazing). What does all that translate to? Basically a loadout without a 450 rpm AR is at an automatic disadvantage. from there, you are simply choosing if the AR will be you shorter or longer range weapon. Pair it with a scout, side arm, or SMG as desired. The exception is Vigilance Wing, which is deadly enough and kills quickly enough to cover the longer ranges. Unfortunately, anything else is not optimum, and puts you at a disadvantage in some respect or another. Biggest apparent problems? The hand cannon is invalid as a weapon class currently. Too many other things do the same job or better, in all the ranges it can cover and are easier to use. And pulses are somewhat invalidated by ARs from the mid and scouts from the far ranges, making both of these types a weapon that feels like it's struggling for a purpose and a place to fulfill it in. Additional issues? High-caliber rounds are vastly dominating, making the person that gets the first shot much more likely to win a duel, unless the skill gap is very large. Explosive rounds do roughly the same, but simply because of a visually distracting effect. These constitute winning fights because of random factors, rather than skill. They also contribute to all weapons without these perks being inferior to all weapons with them, creating a bit of invalidation. Solutions: Keep in mind, I know none of these are perfect and aren't the end all be all solution. They are suggestions and starting points for conversations. That said... Increase the severity of damage fall-off for ARs, and increase the gap between body and crit damage. At the same time, increase the flinch resistance of the weapons substantially. With the ease of use, range, and TTK, not doing something like this makes ARs the obvious go-to for everything. If they aren't changed, there is a good possibility that they will remain the dominant choice for a long time to come. Increase the range on hand cannons by quite a bit, out into far-mid, but keep the same damage fall-off tiers (just spread them out more). Remove the bloom mechanic 100%, as it simply isn't a realistic factor for any other gun in the game. Fix hit registration so there are no more blank / drifting bullets. Make the gun kill in 3 crits, or 1 crit, 3 body. This keeps them from becoming powerhouses in all ranges, but allows them a chance to be competitive, or at least useful for something. Fix pulses vanishing crit registration after a certain range; the recoil will handle that naturally if you're trying to stretch the barrel too far. Increase the TTK so they are on par with ARs and scouts. Leave scouts, side arms, and SMGs alone, they are doing just fine. Increase the skill and positional requirement of the AR, shore up the weaknesses of the hand cannon and pulse, and I think we'll see a lot more varied and fun PvP play. Oh, and one last little request...