The hand canon could use a little tweak. I love the idea of being dirty harry and just blowing dregs away, but instead of asking them if they feel lucky it's more like if I feel lucky. It just can't compete with the rifles.
It just doesn't belong in the primary slot. Put it in the special weapon slot and buff its damage. Its a skill weapon with a low amo count, and it a good medium range weapon between the shotgun and sniper. It belongs there and them maybe it can get the love and respect it deserves. =)
-
My friends and I talked about this topic all day Sunday...especially when one of them [b]HAD[/b] to upgrade their weapon and the only (real) choice given to them was a Hand Cannon (it was the loot drop they received, the only weapon in the damage range at the Weapon Smith for their level, and the only type of primary weapon the Cryptarch was carrying at the time). We came to this conclusion: the Hand Cannon should actually be a Special (secondary) weapon while the Sniper Rifle should be a Primary weapon. Yes, there is the Scout Rifle, but honestly....if you're a true Hunter (ranger/sniper type), you're going to go for long distance as your primary weapon. Your backup (Special weapon) is going to be made for close combat - Shotgun, Fusion Gun . . . . Hand Cannon. Here are the reasons we came to this conclusion: * The Hand Cannon just does NOT have the distance, stability NOR ammo capacity that the other Primary weapons have. * Other than the Hand Cannon, the lowest ammo capacity Primary weapon we came across was 15. Nearly [b]ALL[/b] of the Special weapons we came across had ammo capacities of 6 - the [b][i]SAME[/i][/b] as the Hand Cannon. * It is meant for close combat not range, while all of the other Primary weapons are meant for at least medium range combat. * The ONLY Special weapon that has range is the Sniper Rifle. So....why not swap the two? Either keep the the ammo capacity the same on the Sniper Rifle or bump it by 2 or 3. (Although 6 is fine - you're at range. If you're really firing at enemies close enough that they can get to you by the time you reload, then you need to switch to your Special weapon anyway.)