I will propose a few possible balancing mechanics to achieve that goal. I don't want to talk about nerfs, but much rather about a rebalance, and the reason why close range sniping should mostly get eliminated is simple: A game with an average primary TTK of 0.9-1.1(Destiny right now) seconds has to balance snipers differently than a game with 0.3-0.5 sec TTK (Destiny in the HC meta during TDB/HoW). Oh and because nearly every single weapon category got nerfed, when it exceeded in ranges it wasn't intended for. Snipers are long range weapons by definition, so that's obviously the case currently. Descoping when getting shot (after a certain damage threshold has been overcome or on Headshots only), Massively increased flinching, Massively lowered ADS speeds, Removal of Quickdraw and Snapshot perks on Snipers (like the shot package removal) Complete removal of low zoom scopes, A reverse handcannon like inaccuracy for close ranges, Scope sway, Ammo drop reductions. The order goes from most preferred, to least preferred. A combination of all of them is obviously an option as well.