They completely changed the weapon. Why didn't they just say, "Haha! We hate our players! And -blam!- any weapon they like!"?
I'm really disappointed, but to be honest, I predicted this(though, not so extreme). It's what I expect from this game and its developers, and why I am smart enough not to buy any more of it.
I hope you all enjoyed it while it lasted, it was a remarkable weapon.
Edit: It's very likely Bungie planned this from the beginning; so many people grinded for so long not only to get HP, but then the 100+ motes to get the perfect roll. That was a substantial hook, and boost to their numbers. They don't respect your time or effort in their game. Really, they are playing you more than you are their game.
Edit2: I agree that it needed a reduction in stability. What this proves, though, is that Bungie has NO respect for your time or effort in a game designed to rely heavily on both of those things. And, that they aren't above, not thinking very highly of you, playing their patrons for fools.
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The only thing this proves is that good guns will always get nerfed. The community should start keeping things to themselves because if they talk too much about one weapon bungie will hear and nerf it to oblivion. The next nerf will probably be high fire rate scout rifles. They're performing pretty good now. I was doing surprisingly well in Crucible.