This thread is inspired by another: view original post
First off, I understand that exotic weapons need to feel powerful and satisfying as an extension of that. That came from Bungie themselves, I believe. And I agree - you get to use one exotic (weapon) at a time, it SHOULD feel powerful, powerful enough to be your choice for your one exotic slot.
But when I see teams (in Trials, I mean, where it's highly competitive) armed across the board with Thorns, I think that's a red flag.
In my personal experience, I think I see about 50% of enemy teams' members sporting a Thorn. And it's for a reason, too: fairly high capacity magazine, above average accuracy and fire rate and even stability (with the perk), and insane damage that can lead to a two-shot potential given enough burn time between shots. I would mention reload speed but I don't think that's as critical, especially since that may vary due to armor perks and such.
My point is this - I think the burn effect is too powerful (IN PvP!). The fact that the Thorn can allow a player to write-off an enemy at low health who is burning is just too over the edge in my opinion.
[b]So here's my proposal. [i]Keep the burn.[/i] However, I think the burn should not apply damage to health ("Red bar"), and only to shields ("white bar"). BUT, the effect should still prevent shields from recharging for the duration of the burn.[/b]
This way, the Thorn still has scary damage to shields and a lasting punch for its first shot, but no one would ever die from a Thorn-burn (death from burns should be reserved for class abilities, in my opinion ex. Incendiary Grenade, Scorch, etc.).
While perhaps only a [u]slight[/u] nerf, I think that would be the best course of action before taking more drastic measures against the Thorn, especially since it would keep the weapon's identity intact - one that is able to put an enemy out of a fight after taking fire, unless they risk themselves to receiving a killing blow.
If that proved insignificant towards the Thorn's overall power I'm sure other aspects of it could be nerfed, possibly having the burn's duration work inversely with the distance the shot traveled (the farther the target, the less time the burn lasts).
Thoughts?
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Just turn the burn effect into a lifesteal effect.