I wish special weapons were balanced against primary weapons. In year 1 fusion rifles were voted the [i]most fun[/i] weapon to kill other players with and the [i]most frustrating[/i] weapon to get killed by. Bungie deemed it a problem (I agreed) and attempted to fix it by reducing the effectiveness of fusion rifles at longer ranges. In year 2 shotguns were widely considered the [i]easiest[/i] weapon to get kills with and the [i]hardest[/i] weapon to defend against. Bungie deemed it a problem (I disagreed) and they attempted to fix it by reducing the ability to quickly close distance & shoot. Now snipers are the hot topic of debate. Rather than argue about whether these weapons were/weren't OP and whether they were/weren't fixed, I would like to present the argument that [b]special weapon types are simply better than [i]all[/i] primary weapon types.[/b] So, my proposed solution is to [b]balance all special weapon types by assigning one primary weapon type as a counter[/b] to it. Let me clarify. I'm not suggesting that this becomes rock-paper-scizzors and every time a shotgunner and a handcannoneer meet that one should beat the other. But, I am suggesting that if a shotgunner runs straight at a handcannoneer in line of sight that the handcannoneer has a better chance of killing the shotgunner than he would if he had a scout, auto, or pulse rifle equipped. Here's how. [b]Snipers:[/b] Force snipers to choose between No Scope, Quick Scope, and Hard Scope. Give players more reaction time when being sniped. 3 frame delay when aiming down sight before being able to fire. Drastically increased flinch when aiming down sight OR Taking damage knocks the sniper out of aiming down sight. This would allow snipers who are good at quick scoping to still do it. This would encourage snipers to considering going for a no scope to avoid the penalties associated with being ADS. This would also force snipers to be in ADS longer making the red laser mechanic a useful tool for players to avoid being sniped. With these changes, long range primaries could viably pin down a sniper long enough to get out of the line of fire. Scout rifles would naturally float to the top as a counter weapon. [b]Shotguns:[/b] Force shotgunners to think about engaging and where they engage. Give players more reaction time when getting closed in. No further changes necessary to shotguns. BUT, hand cannons could rise to be a conscious choice to counter shotguns. In that regard, the minimum range of handcannons should be the maximum range of shotguns. Handcannons already lose stability faster than other primaries when firing rapidly. But, rapidly firing will still work if the enemy is getting closer and closer as you lose stability. [b]Fusion Rifles:[/b] Force fusion rifleman to pick between quick close range bursts or slower mid range clusters. Give players a reliable way to burn down a charging fusion rifleman. Fusion rifles are in a pretty good spot as well. BUT, auto rifles are naturally the best primary to track and sustain DPS during the few seconds it takes to charge a fusion rifle. So, give auto rifles wider cones even in ADS at optimal ranges with a slight damage increase to offset more shots missed. The stability of an auto can be compensated for with player skill. The RNG that puts raytraces inside a reticle cannot be compensated for so use it on this weapon type in a meaningful way. Then players are choosing a lower accuracy sustained DPS weapon without the option of using it like a faster shooting pulse rifle. [b]Sidearms:[/b] Give sidearms a niche that no other weapon type can occupy. Ensure there is a check to that niche. Without changing weapon stow speeds on other weapon types, maximize the ready speed of sidearms. Slight increase in precision damage multiplier. Sidearms are the answer to both "I need to reload but I'll die if I do" and "I need to hit them once but they are getting away!" The above changes solidify this role. The check to sidearms is to burst them down before they do the same thing to you. Which brings me to Pulse Rifles. Pulse rifles are great for burst damage at the risk of missing shots within a group due to stability. Currently, that's not much different than auto rifles. Autos just shoot a bit faster and have a bit less damage. Once autos have wider cones then pulse rifles can expand into the space they currently compete with autos in. At the same time, landing a headshot with a sidearm could win the fight even if you get hit with a 3-4 round burst to the head first since you were ahead in health when you chose to swap to the sidearm. [b]TL;DR[/b] [b]Scout > Sniper[/b] (not killing them just getting away from them / pinning them down) [b]Hand Cannon > Shotgun[/b] (not close range killers just stopping the straight on rush) [b]Auto Rifle > Fusion Rifle[/b] (if you survive the first FR burst, melt them while they charge the next one) [b]Pulse Rifle > Sidearm[/b] (burst them down more consistently then they can as long as your not behind in health from the get go)