So, they just announced what the weapon balance update for December will be and it looks like a lot of good things and a few bad things but I'll try to break it down via my own [b]Opinion[/b]and general [b]Facts[/b] for [b][u][i]PVP Only[/i][/u][/b] and you're welcome to disagree with me. [b][u]Base Weapon Changes[/u][/b] [b]Auto Rifles:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] The ever so slight buffs to high ROF and low ROF should put them right in line to better compete in any fair fight with pulse rifles, scouts, keeping shotty scrubs (primary=shotgun) at bay and stronger hand cannons such as the last word. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] Now the 7% increase on medium ROF autorifles seems to be a bit much considering the pulse rifle nerf. If it were me, I would be searching for medium ROF auto rifles with good impact and decent stability. That will be a death dealing weapon very soon. [b]Pulse Rifles:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] I mostly support all of the pulse rifle nerfs as it was hard to match them even at range with my scout rifle and I have a high precision shot accuracy so I shouldn't have to bail out at mid-long range against a pulse rifle user; even one just as good as myself. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] With the buffs on med ROF auto rifles and many of those also having high impact and decent stability I'm afraid the low ROF pulse rifles will become few and far between as they won't pose a threat and the high rate of fire ones won't have enough kick to match the mid range auto rifles either. [b]Hand Cannons:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] They needed the buff as only a few exotics were even being used as every other hand cannon didn't pose any threat against any decent players just because people couldn't land their shots at their combat ranges, so hawk moon which gives free kills if the right shots hit and that magazine helps to win their fights and obviously the last word never lost it's talent of being the spray and prey space cowboy pistol of choice. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] N/A [b]Shotguns:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] For once buckshot shotguns won't have the massive range that OHK anything it can do damage to. We all know conspiracy theory and party crasher have been running the close quarters game since TTK launched. Now shotguns will have to finally be used as secondaries because you'll be far more vulnerable if you use it as a primary. This means blink shotgunners will actually be able to be killed at close and mid range which before was doable via supers, teamwork, and entrapping but definitely not with your rifles as they're invulnerable mid blink which covers massive distance quickly and they could fire as soon as they phased back into existence. Now there will be a delay on these dominate shotguns on their ability to put rounds down range and pull up sights for that range accuracy. That paired with the range nerf and finally some damage fall off that doesn't go OHK - 2 dmg and actually progresses downwards beyond that (ie: OHK, 150, 100, 75, etc dmg per hit at CQ ranges) will finally force shotguns into the place they have always belonged. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] The forums will be full of rage from shotgun primary users. The chaperone which was never a one hit body shot shotgun also took a massive hit which will immensely hurt it's combat effectiveness. In my opinion the chaperone should have the most range of any shotgun because it fires slugs and not buckshot and always a one hit precision kill weapon just like a sniper due to again if they're in range that slug to the dome = Death. I'm not sure why they buffed the precision damage on it as it has always been a one hit to the head unless it's a sunbreaker... I'm hoping they buffed the precision damage to counter the nerfs to its damage, rate of fire, and range(which again should be higher than any other shotgun) [b]Fusion Rifles[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] All of what they did sounds great and maybe we will see some fusion rifles take the place of all the conspiracy theories but I'm curious to see the "better behavior" based off player state. Obviously it's ideal state is while strafing or standing still, but I'll be interest to see the new behavior on the move and in the air. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] N/A [b]Sniper Rifles:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] No more being shot in the hand and being killed in that singular shot. Probably the best thing since vanilla arcblade shield nerf. Luck in the chamber will reward those facing shielded enemies/ sunbreakers with a kill that's otherwise extremely difficult to get. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] The damage fall off shouldn't actually exist in this game. Not a single map is large enough to justify a fall off on a high velocity round such as a sniper. That's coming from someone who hates sniping in this game purely because I cannot stand aim assist and am constantly facing snipers with a scout rifle that has that fall off after medium ranges. [b]Side Arms:[/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] Rewards the ability and decision to swap between weapons instead of just reloading even if it is to a very low DMG weapon. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] They should've gotten a slight dmg buff as well to make them more viable as their useful ranges put them against far superior weaponry more often then not. [b]Exotic weapons:[/b] [b][i][u]First Curse:[/u][/i][/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] I've honestly never seen anyone opt for this exotic in pvp over the hawk moon which is far more rewarding with 3 brutally hard hitting rounds per mag, but now I'm certain I will see it being used. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] They may have over buffed it to meta thorn levels but on the bright side it doesn't have the DOT thorn has, so bailing out is still an option. We shall see on the over buff potential issue. [b][i][u]Hawkmoon[/u][/i][/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] This relatively small nerf has finally opened the door to using other hand cannons. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] N/A [b][i][u]Chaperone:[/u][/i][/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] Honestly It will never stop bugging me they treated a slug using shotgun the same as a buckshot one, but... I suppose it will join the other shotguns in the melee range combat which is fine because it wasn't one of the ones that could shoot beyond blink strike ranges anyway for any damage. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] So so much.. This fires slugs and should be the shotgun with the most range and should obviously be the most rewarding for precision shots(this part it actually is) but it's still going to be out ranged by every single viable shotgun which means in a shotgun fight you again need to go for the head or be prepared to lose as it's body shots always took 2-3 shots compared to a conspiracy theories 1 and party crashers 1 that both had far better range shooting buckshot. I understand wanting to nerf the range to match the other shotguns and the damage to the body but it should've just nerfed body shot damage... They increased precision damage but only to offset the loss in its already low base damage and unless it's offset by a lot it won't be worth an exotic slot any more. [b][i][u]Fabian Strategy[/u][/i][/b] [i][u]Good:[/u][/i] I'd say everything as all my Titan friends loved this gun until they realized it was worthless. Couldn't put enough hurt on the enemy to be worth using so everyone swapped over to pulse rifles or better auto rifles instead. [i][u]Bad:[/u][/i] It has the autorifles buff as well as it's own buff so being a high fire rate autorifle with now phenomenal stability it may be a little intense to fight. The loss of extended mag is going to bum out a lot of people as it's such a high ROf weapon to begin with, but the faster reloads should help offset it. [b][i][u]Black Spindle & Sleeper Simulant[/u][/i][/b] All good/ no bad. [b]Overall:[/b] I think this will bring around some of the best weapon balance in the game for pvp, but I'd of course as everyone else would have liked to see the sunbreaker class finally get the nerf it's needed since before TTK launched. Overall this looks like a great balance patch for weapons that will bring about a much better variety in weapons used. Trials should be interesting for certain.