Venting here. Take it how you will, but you can't change my mind about this. I've seen enough in my Crucible hours. [Salty Destiny 2 player with strong opinions about the Crucible. If my intense passion for the game is too much and you're looking for a more positive, less meta-roasting post, this is not that post and you might be better off ignoring it. You have been advised.] Click the Spoiler Alert to continue reading. [spoiler] Just got done in a 6v6 Control match against 6 Hunters not even in a fireteam. Surely if you pay enough attention to the game, you can imagine what that's like. Hunter's spamming invisibility, using their shotguns as primaries, "panic jumping" (don't tell me you don't know what that is if you don't play enough Crucible), teamshooting with Bygones if they even bother to use a real primary, Wormhusk, Void Battery, etc, etc. All randoms. Not a fireteam at all. But they all did the exact same, frustrating things just to win a simple Quickplay match. Matched against a few of them multiple times in a row, in fact. Here's my big, unfightable point (you will not win this argument against me, don't try, I play the game and know more than what those stats and numbers you find on the internet tell people, experience matters). The class meta is a Hunter meta. A lot of you will probably laugh and not believe it, but then again, almost everyone is a Hunter main for [b]obvious reasons (that Hunter agility and PvP synergy)[/b], so you'll defend your precious meta to the ends of the earth, won't you? So what tends to get used by Hunters the most? Shotguns. Mindbender's Ambition usually. And because the great majority of Hunters use shotguns, because they are the great majority of Guardians a.k.a. Hunter meta, it's a shotgun meta (because shotguns aren't exclusive to Hunters and many others use them on top of that). If they're not using a shotgun, they're usually using Revoker because [i]easy ammo, right guys?[/i] [b]Who doesn't like free special ammo?[/b] Well, I for one because almost all of the Hunters I come across don't know how to win a gunfight without a special and/or pinnacle weapon. Or they just can't 1v1 so they run to their teammates the majority of the time, but I digress. You want to know why fusion rifles like Erentil aren't commonly used by Hunters? Because their charge time doesn't work with the fast-paced, rushing nature of common Hunters. A Hunter isn't going to keep jumping in the air to kill you with a fusion rifle like they would a shotgun. And Hunters usually "panic jump" or dodge before they'd ever get a fusion rifle shot off in time on the ground. Unless they use something like Proelium, but how many Hunters can you count using a fusion rifle like that? One in a blue moon, maybe. And once again, because it's a Hunter meta, where the great majority of Guardians are Hunters and they don't use fusions that much, fusion rifles are used less. That doesn't mean that they aren't lethal. Hunter's are [b]just that good with other weapons[/b]. How about I elaborate on that "panic jump" now? What is it? It's when a Hunter is in combat and they double jump as a dodge. Why does it work? Because it instantly shoots a Hunter fast in the air and makes enemies have to reacquire their targets. While it is unpredictable to the enemies, the Hunter is in control of the jump and can react more accordingly. They can also use Strafe Jump to give them a burst of horizontal momentum on top of that, which is a strong type of movement in this game for a variety of reasons including avoiding fire or closing gaps. Another thing about the Hunter double jump is that since there's no hover mechanic, weapons basically remain ready unlike other classes where you normally have to cancel the hover to aim. That gives them an aerial advantage in combat when they can already use it just to escape combat. Shotguns and hand cannons are commonly used with a Hunter jump. Now about the Hunter's Dodge ability. Bypasses reload mechanics on any weapon or grants you a [b]full melee charge while near enemies[/b] (I wish other classes had any benefits like that). Oh, and with the easy max Mobility builds, Hunters get it back in 10 seconds. That's it. There's nothing special about how you get it back. It doesn't require kills or damage or nothing. You just have to wait 10 seconds. [i]While other classes have to wait for over 30 seconds for Warlocks to stand still in a Rift and Titans to put down a small Barricade that really just makes them stand out.[/i] Not counting the fact that [i]they take a full second just to successfully use their abilities when many TTK values are less than a second (meaning that you are at risk of high damage if you don't plan on using your class abilities outside of combat) while Hunter dodges come out instantly, letting them use their class ability more efficiently for combat over other classes.[/i] I'm not saying other class abilities need to come out instantly, but their current utility in PvP sucks against the meta. How about shotguns though? What makes them annoying? Mindbender's does. If you need a bigger explanation, it's due to cover and the lack of reaction time. When you're in a 1v1 against a shotgun user that's hiding behind a wall that's hard to get around with a ceiling, what do you do? A) Wait for them to move. B) Rush them with a shotgun. C) Wait for your team before you rush them. D) Look for a different target. If you picked A, B or C, you would be [i][b]wrong[/b][/i]. Even if you're waiting for your team, IF you wait, you are giving the enemy and their team time to react and catch up. If you push them with a shotgun, you are coming from one direction and you still have to be acquiring your target while the enemy is already pre-aimed generally in the right direction. If you're a [b]HUNTER[/b] though, then B is a fine choice. You're unpredictable. You can turn invisible and/or abuse your jump around the corner to gain so much momentum that you'll catch the enemy off-guard. Or you could just dodge with Void Battery. That's original, right? Revoker is ridiculous. If you miss your shot, that's on you and it should be punishing normally. But no, free ammo. You get another shot back in about 3 seconds. That's a one-shot against anything in PvP. The game just gives it to you for being bad at aim. I think if you're down to one shot left and you waste it, it shouldn't give anything back. That way the perk still works in there, but you would have a bigger reason to watch your ammo if you're not landing some shot. Fusions are strong and [i]very[/i] underrated. So many people don't want Erentil nerfed because they claim "it's easy to dodge." [b]Maybe if you're a [i]Hunter[/i], it is![/b] Some reasons why I disagree with those statements are stated above. Hunter meta, unpredictable class. Other classes don't have the kind of mobility that makes it easy. Even if you claim they do, I can only see that you must be fighting some easy opponents that don't have the best grip on their favorite fusion rifle. I've been to Legend. [b]Twice. Almost [i]three times.[/i][/b] I know what it's like in the sweaty environment and that fusion rifle [i]lives there[/i] in the secluded, non-Hunter hands of other class [i][b]sweat lords.[/b][/i] Did you see that fusion rifle optics are getting nerfed with the overall range? If I said that I didn't know why, I'd be lying. After all, I main fusions. Those optics granted fusion rifles some high consistency at far ranges alongside the benefits of the main perks. It's understandable that a fusion rifle has a lot more range than a shotgun, but when it starts to make pulse rifles and even scout rifles in some situations look bad at their expected ranges, there's a problem. Especially if it one-shots a moving target consistently at those ranges a.k.a. my Elatha. For whatever reason, high-zoom fusions are just better against moving targets and I don't know why but I see it. Those stats on the internet don't give you an answer for that, do they? -------------------- So are you shocked that a lot of things are getting nerfed? Does "weapon retirement" bother you? If you paid attention to the sandbox and the meta, you'd know exactly why these changes are happening. And the stats and gameplay that Bungie saw? The information that lead to these decisions? Guess who gave them that info? That guy when he used that god-roll Mindbender's for the 1,000,000th Crucible match along with his entire team. That YouTuber who flexed on everyone with his Izanagi DPS in raids. That "PvP god" that has way too many Erentil kills to keep track of. That guy in Comp spamming pinnacle weapons because exotics are overrated. Handheld Supernova because it [i]exists[/i]. I say if you have time to be arguing about the changes, you have time you could be using to prepare for the changes [b][i]like always.[/i][/b] And about your current gear? All of your gear will still be relevant for regular Crucible or other older activities such as our current raids. If they go this route or they keep making better gear, either way, [b][i][u]you WILL be moving on from them at some point. Either the next best thing comes around and replaces what you have or you lose the incentive to grind for anything and quit due to boredom.[/u][/I][/b] At least their solution deals with the meta problem while they're at it. I welcome the changes with open arms. [/spoiler]