Continued from [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/140828016]part 14: exotic heavies[/url] [b]Fusion Rifles[/b] Next to auto rifles, fusion rifles are the weakest class of weapons, seeing as how shotguns outrank them in ease of use and damage in both pve and pvp. In the beginning, fusions were still a love it or hate it weapon class, but they were a viable alternative to shotguns in pvp that required and rewarded more skilled shooting, and outclassed shotguns in every respect in pve. Then people whined because they didn't like getting one shot at range but couldn't be bothered to master the fusion, and fusions got a spread nerf. With the right fusion, and enough skill, you could still engage at the higher ends of medium range. Then two things happened: shotguns got their 200% damage buff and Felwinter was unleashed upon us. Things have never been the same since. Now, in case it's already apparent I love fusions. I think they're the only actual futuristic weapon class in destiny, love the visuals, and find the challenge of learning to master charge time and projectile velocity really rewarding, in short I think they're freaking awesome. Those who can, fusion; those who can't, shotgun. There's nothing better in pvp than watching some jump charge me with a shotty for what seems like an easy kill then flipping to plan c and vaporizing the fool before they know what happened. Now, Bungie, here's the thing about fusion rifles: every single other weapon class in your game is hitscan. Besides Dreg's Promise, fusions are the only weapons with projectile travel time. What this means is that these high range fusions you're so afraid of us being able to acquire require not only mastering charge time and tracking targets, but also adjusting to using a non hitscan weapon in a hitscan weapon's world with very fast moving targets. Ever fire your fusion first, watch your bullets hit, get killed by a shotgun, and watch that chump walk away unscathed? It's the single most frustrating thing in pvp, especially considering everyone's running shottys with longer effective ranges than most fusion rifles. Now, given fusion rifles' current weakness across pve and pvp, anything short of leaving fusions alone in pvp and buffing them in pve would have annoyed me. But that's not why I'm pissed off about the incoming changes to fusions. I'm pissed off because it seems like you just want to turn fusions into the thinking man's shotty. If they occupy the same combat range and lethality, but fusions require more skill and have no benefits over shotguns, they become a useless weapon class. Sure, I'll still use them, because I'm a cheeky bastard who amuses himself by turning unsuspecting shotgun noobs into his own personal lightshow, and I'm sure others will too, in the same way that people currently amuse themselves by sniping fools with NLB. If you don't want scouts and hand cannons to occupy the same combat roles you should at least be consistent about it and keep fusions distinct from shottys. I understand the reasoning behind and agree with your objectives for all the other weapon classes. Stop trying to turn fusions into shotguns. Goals: * Fusion Rifles are optimal at mid-range, where targets are easier to track but they're not close enough to attack while charging up – this is a good target as it carves out a niche between sniper rifles and shotguns and sidearms, and for the most part fusions occupy this role... in pvp. The fault is mainly with shotguns now having absurd ranges that can even push effective fusion rifle ranges. In pve they function at this range as well, but they don't do enough damage to be truly effective in high level encounters against yellow bars. No amount of range tweaking will fix this, it's going to require a good old fashioned damage buff. How about 100% for starters, seeing as how a 200% buff made beasts out of the lowly shotty, but fusions used to be effective until they were outclassed. * Require combat foresight and the ability to predict a target's movement to use successfully – this is why I love fusions; they reward your skill by letting you vaporize your enemies at a flexible range. * It should not be easy to find and build a Fusion Rifle that can achieve maximum range – here's the thing Bungie, it's never been easy to find and build a fusion that can achieve max range, and even when you can, it always comes at a price. If you're just looking at raw stats, it's easy to max a fusion rifle's range stat. However, there's a subtlety to the fusion rifle class' stability stat. For every other weapon in destiny, stability limits how fast you can accurately fire (except on rockets, where it's currently irrelevant). Fusion rifles, however, have fire rates limited by their charge time. While stability still governs muzzle climb on a fusion, their unique firing mechanics produces a unique effect: unlike shotguns, not all of a fusion rifles' projectiles are fired simultaneously, so a fusion rifles' stability actually ends up affecting its spread. At short range the effect is negligible, but becomes increasingly pronounced and become quite dramatic at maximum range. Even with a max range fusion, landing a max range one-shot is very difficult unless you also have max stability. Go take your longest range fusion out on patrol and try to snipe with it. Play around with its stability and see for yourself. Of the 3rd gen stat modifiers that replaced perfect balance and hammer forged, there's only one that increases range, and it comes at the cost of stability. Of the new fusions, there's really only two that have high enough stability that they can take the hit required to max their range and still produce a gun that's actually effective at that stated range: snakebite surgeon and give/take equation. With the current spread nerfs, stability is vital for reliable long range kills. The ideal max range roll for these two would be hidden hand/reinforced barrel/rangefinder, and requires not only passing up hip fire and hot swap, but also the reload perks (spray and pray, feeding frenzy, final round), and most critically for pvp, accelerated coils. What this means is that you are committed to a mid to long range fusion, and have to be very good at anticipating when guardians are going to try to surprise charge you. Given the potency of shottys and the typical pvp engagement range, that's a whole lot easier said than done with a slow charging fusion. Now what about those discontinued 1st and 2nd gen monsters? Well, there are two that can hit effective max range with just a hammer forge roll: Plug One.1 and Purifier VII. Purifier VII has never been sold, and cannot be rerolled. When I finally got one, it was a perhaps the single most worst roll possible: vacuum and kneepads. While Plug One.1 was the 2nd gen vanguard fusion, it came standard with perfect balance, not send it. For comparison, these two fusions have charge rates of 18, which is just slightly lower than the 3rd gen ones. Any send it/rangefinder roll would be the holy grail. There are also two that can push max range by a perfect balance/rangefinder roll: 77 wizard and the Trolly Problem, the 1st and 2nd gen Crucible fusions. Neither came standard with either perk. While these have best in class range, they have worst in class stability and charge rate. The hybrid of these two high impact archetypes, Final Rest II and Light/Beware, have higher charge rates and more balanced stats. While these two weapons have just enough stability to tolerate the send it/rangefinder roll, they'd be tricky to use reliably at that range. Light/Beware was sold with rangefinder, but not send it. There is one other fusion I've left out, and it's an absolute beast. Praetorian Foil. It has best in class impact, worst in class charge rate, a range surpassed only by 77 Wizard, and comes with Glass Half Full and Reactive Reload, and you get to take your pick of Accelerated Coils, Perfect Balance, and Send It. In my experience, it also seems to have a noticeably tighter spread than other fusions. Anything the Foil touches dies. It is also the actual single rarest gun in the entire game. In short, Bungie, it is not, nor has it ever been easy to find and build a Fusion Rifle that can achieve maximum range. And even when you do, you have to sacrifice accelerated coils, leaving you with an incredibly slow charging gun. Yes, you can precharge, but it's not what it once was, and landing those max range shots is harder than it looks on paper. Its like trying to land a full Red Death burst from sniper range with lag and no aim assist. Hell, even landing a shot on a charging shotty with Plan C can be unreliable. To be continued in [url=https://www.bungie.net/en/Forum/Post/140863966]part 16: more griping about fusions[/url]