EDIT 2: Just added the perfect clip idea to the title (some thought the post was a pun) [spoiler]No, this isn't a Nerf post (as much as I'd like it to be), I will be tame and say nothing more about Last Word other than its popular and powerful. I have left my opinion out.[/spoiler] So, what hand cannon is better than Last Word? Sure, Palindrome has more range, Thorn can burn and Hawkmoon has a 2 shot potential, but think outside just the obvious. The Last Word is the only hand cannon in the game with the perk "Fan Fire" (which is full auto, but for hand cannon) meaning it also claims the spot for being the fastest shooting hand cannon. This isn't a problem, as it is an exotic, but keep this in mind. The Last Word has one of the quickest kill times at around a 0.7 or 0.8 (I don't remember). This kill time is when you hit Headshots, which it is hard to get with the Last Word, but if in theory you only hit Headshots, you would have one of the quickest time to kill guns in the game. The Last Word's range is pitiful, and suffers from both inaccuracy and a high damage Dropoff. Not to mention it's 8 magazine allows usually only 1 kill (2 if all Headshots). Gathering all of this data shows that The Last Word is a very powerful gun; especially in close quarters combat. This, you already knew. But I push forward this question. What other primary is better than this gun? [i]No other gun shoots as fast as this one[/i] Like a doctrine, in a sense, the more bullets that go into you per second, the more you will suffer from stagger (or flinch). Yes the bullets are hard to hit, but if they do (in theory), your opponent will find it extremely difficult to retaliate. [i]Last Word has one of the quickest time to kills[/i] The Last Word (even just shooting body shots) has a quicker kill time than any Auto Rifle. [u]any[/u] Auto Rifle. This effectively means if you land every shot using a Last Word, you will outgun any and every auto rifle user. (See Figure 1) [i]Last Word is very popular[/i] In a game of shotguns, it's only natural for a sniper to deal with rushers using this gun. But when you take into account that 20% of all kills in Destiny are owned by The Last Word, deciphering and identifying Last Word users who are actually skilled, time investors and land Headshots from other players who prefer to use cheese combos (body shot sniper to primary) becomes a thin line. All in all, this discussion is to just provoke a question: [b]What is better than a Last Word (theoretically landing only "perfect" shots {Headshots})?[/b] [quote]EDIT: Consider the opponents stagger, the damage and time to kill. Grasp isn't automatically a winner if you think more about it.[/quote] EDIT 3: I tested at Bannerfall, at spawn's bridge (person either side of the door). mid - close range. Not optimal for both Last Word or Pulses. Use this as a reference towards the question; it's obvious at range that anything would win against the Last Word. What do you guys think? [u]Figure 1: Last Word killed in a controlled environment and was timed. No other Guardian interactions were present. If both guns started at the same time, Last Word won every time. Just to clarify any doubts :)[/u] [spoiler]This discussions answer is going to change nothing (Bungie and a majority of fans love the weapon)[/spoiler] EDIT 4: After gathering some of your best comments, here's the answer! What could beat a "perfect" Last Word clip: • A "perfect" Vex Mythoclast clip ... that's it. Guns that require conditions: • (With enemy armor low) First Curse, Ill Will, etc. (or with luck in the chamber). [b]this will most likely turn out in a trade.[/b] • Hawkmoon (with 2 luck in the chambers in a row) And that's it! No, Eyasluna/Palindrome wouldn't beat a "perfect" last word clip even with luck in the chamber as they need 3 taps (in most cases). No pulses (even Clever Dragon) could beat it's "perfect" clip, but as a lot of you said, it would at range. Any gun could beat Last Word at range. That wasn't the point of this experiment. Of course, in technicality, No Land Beyond and Universal Remote could beat it, but I consider those false primaries. But those are the only weapons (and conditions) that can withstand the "perfect" Last Word clip and [i]maybe[/i] come out on top. Thanks for reading! And yes i hate Last Word come at me