You say it's the edge of their effective range but there's nothing effective about missing multiple direct shots. Hand cannons have extremely harsh damage falloff so they'll never be able to challenge scout rifles at longer ranges.

Of course a hc shouldnt beat scouts at scout range. Bloom purpose is for balance and removing it will just repeat y1 hc meta. Though reducing bloom is a better option.

It most definitely would not repeat the year 1 meta. Damage fall off makes it impossible.

It would unfortunately. I love hc but i agree that bloom was needed. Does it need improvements. Yes of course but it would be a mistake to remove bloom. I can say reduce the interger for bloom but not completely remove. I mean i do well with hc in pve because AI are predictable but in pvp it could be difficult to determine enemy movement.

It's not balance. It's appeasement to a whiny minority that has no place playing this game. At all.