In my opinion , hard light has always been one of Destiny's (and gaming in general) best gun designs . Whether we're talking about the aesthetics of the gun , the sound or the concept , firing ionized polymer rounds etc. it's a really cool gun . Sadly , in terms of utility , it has always been one of the worst , and even in D2 with the option to change elements , it is still underwhelming . But here's how to make it a very useful , well-balanced and overall good exotic weapon : MAKE IT STABLE ! Seriously , think about it . Currently , what is hard light's niche ? the ricochet rounds ? not really , they're more cosmetic than anything else , except in VERY RARE situations when the ricochets might hit something multiple times . The overpenetration ? yes , that's pretty nice and useful but nothing special , worthy of exotic status . being able to change elements ? maybe if it has been in D1 , but in D2 not really since we can do that for 5K glimmer and you can't switch elements during prestige nightfalls for example . No , currently what really sets it apart is one thing : no damage falloff . That's right , technically hard light has infinite range (which makes sense since the ionized rounds' damage is caused by their heat than their kinetic energy ) . The only problem is that it is pretty much the MOST UNSTABLE gun in the game , despite having the highest stability and recoil direction stats . That means that if you're trying to shoot at something from a distance , your first bullet will hit , but the gun will kick so much that the next ones will miss by 20 miles . HOWEVER , if you were to make it ACTUALLY as stable as its stats indicate , then we could ACTUALLY make use of this perk , allowing hard light to be the only gun that can effectively sustain continuous damage on distant targets . That WOULD be useful , that WOULD make sense , that WOULD set it apart from other guns and that WOULDN'T be overpowered/broken in any situation . So basically make hard light as stable as possible (more stable than a coldheart for example , which is another omolon weapon which is pretty stable , proof that omolon can pull that off) and POOF it suddenly becomes a desirable exotic !