Howdy again folks! I'm back to beat my Pulse Rifle drum.
I've posted threads on this in the past, so please permit me to summarize as best I'm able.
(1) Legendary Pulse Rifles lose out in DPS to all other Legendary primaries, assuming optimal range for max damage
(2) Legendary Pulse Rifles suffer in ammo depth compared to most other Legendary primaries, with more inventory than Hand Cannons but often less rounds per magazine (and poorer reserve AND mag than almost anything else)
(3) Legendary Pulse Rifles theoretically offer more damage-per-trigger-pull than Scout Rifles, more range than Hand Cannons, and more precision than Autorifles. In actuality, controlled bursts from Shadow Price (as for example) are noticeably more effective than 3-round shots from Pulse Rifles, and Hand Cannons don't give up enough range to matter, especially since their Impact is so high they can still hit creditably hard near the limit of their optimal ranges. The PRs do cause more damage than SRs if all 3 bullets hit, but that requirement limits the PRs' effective range even more.
My suggestions are to reduce the stability of high-Impact Autorifles like Shadow Price very slightly, worsen the Handling of Scout Rifles very slightly (make them more awkward in CQB), and globally increase the Impact of Legi Pulse Rifles slightly. I would recommend these be implemented and tested individually rather than en masse, as it might be possible to resolve the role of Pulse Rifles without damaging the performance of any other type of primary weapon. But please do consider Pulse Rifles for a buff. Super Pox VLO and Fair and Square are two of my very favorite weapons, and they really feel underpowered in comparison to their other Legendary primary peers.
Thanks for reading!
-
Pulse rifle across board buff. How often do you see people using a pulse rifle in or out of crucible? Not many unless they use strangers rifle.