[quote] why so many pulses?[/quote] [b]Map Design, Weapon Niches, and Bungie's awful attempts at Balance. [/b] Most maps are designed with medium-long sight lines connecting a handful of close-quarters engagement areas. –[b]Handcannons [/b][spoiler]used to be a viable option, but with the most recent range/stability nerfs, it's become next to impossible to hit anything standing further than 30 feet away; much less so in rapid succession: a skill that is necessary to outgun your opponents in the Crucible. The ability to use a handcannon in the larger areas of a map has been hamstringed, and in close quarters, Rate of Fire is too slow to overcome most other weapons. Hawkmoon appears the be the only weapon to have survived these changes, but is still heavily reliant on 2-shot Lucky rounds to kill in a timely manner. [/spoiler] –[b]Auto Rifles[/b] [spoiler]have been improved in the short game, which is awesome. However, Stability and damage falloff really impact these weapons more than any other. Consistent headshots are difficult to achieve with the "improved" recoil pattern that dances all over the place and longer-range engagements are almost certainly a lost cause. Which is all well within the bounds of Auto Rifle niche, but impractical for any kind of competitive use due to a lack of adaptability. [/spoiler] –[b]Scout Rifles[/b] [spoiler]got a damage buff to compensate for damage falloff at longer ranges, but as with Auto-Rifles, are locked into a niche engagement range. This makes sense as they were designed as mid-long range precision weapons, but similarly, impacts their adaptability in the Crucible. The biggest factor being Rate of Fire. Current scouts are too slow for the amount of damage they deal. As a semi-automatic weapon, (Handcannons included) there shouldn't be a cooldown on rate of fire. Let the stability dictate the "recommended" rate of fire, but don't trigger-lock the players. I'm confident this would improve Scout Rifles trmemndously, especially Mida Multi-tool which is supposed to "fire on a hair trigger" but is still restricted by a RoF cooldown.[/spoiler] –[b]Pulse Rifles[/b] [spoiler]are the all-stars of the Crucible, and for good reason. They adapt well to changes in engagement ranges. This has been true since the Pulse Rifle damage buff back in TDB days. At the same time, unfortunately, Thorn and TLW started becoming ever more popular and eventually overshadowed every class of weapon for a solid 8 months. But weapons like Red Death, Hopscotch Pilgrim, and The Messenger were still very competitive despite handcannon supremacy. Why is that? •They're forgiving of poor aim: Burst firing makes it easier to hit a moving target, and the recoil pattern naturally produces precision hits •They're flexible: From Close to Long range, the Pulse Rifle is the most consistent in terms of DPS and Target Acquisition (ie: sight window) •They're strong & fast: Sure, the Rate of Fire appears slower than most handcannons/scouts, but the number of bullets flying actually surpasses damage output of either in most cases. For example, the Hakke [armory]Lyudmila-D[/armory] hits for 31 on a precision shot without damage buffs. x4 means a potential of 124 damage per burst. This is well above EVERY other Y2 Primary without the use of damage buffs. This is offset by the fact that the recoil pattern is unlikely to produce a 4x crit, but the potential is still there. [/spoiler] [quote] If 80%+ of crucible uses pulse rifles, doesn't this show up that imbalance?[/quote] Not necessarily. More and more, players are looking for an "all-in-one" weapon. Something that is versatile and strong in a number of situations. While it's possible to be successful with other weapons, their range severely impacts your ability to react to the various engagements. Hand Cannons and Auto Rifles are great for getting up close and personal, but with the abundance of shotguns, not really an option one would generally recommend. Scout Rifles are awesome for the long ranges, but are subject to counterattacks by Sniper rifles. So why use 3-4 bullets when it only takes 1? The pulse Rifle allows the player to change up their playstyle without changing their primary weapon. Wanna stick to long range? Pulse and Sniper. Wanna get up close? Pulse and Shotgun. In either case, the Guardians deadliness is nearly equal at all ranges because the Pulse Rifle can pick up where the Special weapon leaves off. With other primaries, the "recommended" range dictates which special weapon the player "should" use to fill the remainder of the range gap. Or else leaving themselves extremely restricted to one engagement zone and vulnerable to the opposite. (ie: AR+Shotgun, or SR+Sniper) In summary, I don't think the Pulse Rifle is OP. I just think that overall, it fulfills a majority of the needs of many Guardians by way of its versatility, and therefore is the smart choice given the current layout of Crucible Maps, and the current state of Weapon Balance (Hand Cannons most of all) My Suggestions: –Revert Hand Cannon Accuracy/Stability/Range (TLW by only 50% or so) –Remove/Reduce RoF constraints from Semi-Auto Weapons (*Without Full Auto perk) –Increase Auto Rifle damage falloff ranges by 25-50% (SUROS Regime may require less increase) Without messing with damage values, I feel like this may be an appropriate way to increase the feeling of overall balance between all weapon types while still keeping the "OP" Exotic Weapons in Check.