I think everyone would agree that 1.8 did some great things with TTK and some relative balance between the four rifles, but it seems like the AR is still the least used (probably as a result of the shortest range and on-par damage with the rest).

For you mercs that have extensively used the AR in 1.8, does it feel as solid as the others? Does it need buffs in the form of damage increase, rate of fire or otherwise? The range is probably fine, but within that range it should significantly more damage than the other rifles--it should feel threatening and deadly--considering its only competitive advantage is its damage.

And if Dust ever is to become a game of specialties, then the AR's specialty is most definitely damage.

Try the Breach variant. Much better than the standard.

The AR is fine, even with BPO you can murk a PRO Sent if you get behind him.

AR has only 2 problems.

1- the dust community are scrubs
2- the CR is basically the AR with more range

A nerf on the CR (which tbh is needed considering how powerful it is versus its tiny fitting requirements) and you will see the AR lifted once again. Still a powerful weapon in its intended role.

The TAC AR however, I think this needs a slight ROF buff and a slight base dmg buff.

The AR is fine, even with BPO you can murk a PRO Sent if you get behind him.

AR has only 2 problems.

1- the dust community are scrubs
2- the CR is basically the AR with more range

A nerf on the CR (which tbh is needed considering how powerful it is versus its tiny fitting requirements) and you will see the AR lifted once again. Still a powerful weapon in its intended role.

The TAC AR however, I think this needs a slight ROF buff and a slight base dmg buff.

The ACR was nerfed significantly less than the other rifles and people are capitalizing on it.

Try the Breach variant. Much better than the standard.

The AR is fine, people are literally just bad at shooting. I won't argue against a buff, I'd be fine with more damage or range or anything you want to give me.

Haven't you heard? Ceeceepee is caldari so by their own twisted logic Gallente weapons are fine as they are.

In 1.8 creates new set of rifle balance issues with the damage per second of rifles of the same type (particularly the assault type).

It is necessary that everyone understands what is meant by type, & CCP's plan for the racial "assault rifles" before moving forward. This is a quote from CCP Remnant on what rifle types and variants.

"The idea being that each race will have it's base variant be Assault (Gallente), Burst (Minmatar), Breach (Caldari) or Tactical (Amarr) and then the variants are a specific race's take on the others using their own tech. So, you'd get an Assault Rail Rifle that attempts to somewhat mimic the behavior of the Gallente Assault Rifle and a Tactical Assault Rifle that attempts to mimic the Amarr Scrambler Rifle and so on."

It is also important to know the ranges of weapons of different damage profiles. Can be found here, from 1.7 weapon dev blog.

Assault type
AR (hybrid-plasma damage profile: short range)
Assault SCR (laser damage profile: medium to long range)
Assault RR (hybrid-railgun damage profile: long range)
Assault CR (projectile damage profile: short-medium range)

Tactical type
SCR (laser: medium to long range)
Tactical AR (hybrid-plasma: short range)
*Future tactical variants for RR (hybrid-railgun: long range)
*Future tactical variants for CR (projectile: short-medium range)

Burst type
CR (projectile: short-medium range)
Burst AR (hybrid-plasma: short range)
*Future burst variants for RR (hybrid-railgun: long range)
*Future burst variants for SCR (laser: medium to long range)

Breach type
RR (hybrid-railgun: long range)
Breach AR (hybrid-plasma: short range)
*Future breach variants for SCR (laser: medium to long range)
*Future breach variants for CR (projectile: short-medium range)



[Comparison]
So we have identified the types, & their comparative ranges (short to long, everything in between) within the type. Now lets compare the rifles by type using 1.8 stats. All stats prototype.

Assault
AR: 412.5 DPS, shortest range (45 optimal/78 effective)
aCR: 420, short-medium range (56/84)
aSCR: 420.59, medium-long range (56/90)
aRR: 400, longest range (75/102)

Tactical
tAR: 462 DPS (acheivable without modded controller), 69.3 damage per shot, restrictive ROF (you can tap R1 faster than it can shoot). Shortest range range (57/84)
SCR: 841.17 DPS (not acheivable without modded controller), 71.5 damage per shot, non-restricive ROF. Medium-long range (75/96)

Burst
buAR: 474.38 DPS, shortest range (50/78)
CR: 594 DPS, short-medium range (67/84)

Breach
brAR: 330, shortest range (46/78)
RR: 397.69, longest range (75/102)



[Conclusion]

The assault SCR is OP compared to the AR; has both more DPS, on top of more range. Perhaps if the aSCR had overheat play a bigger factor, it would be balanced.

The assault CR is OP compared to the AR; has both more DPS, on top of more range.

The assault RR does have less damage per second in exchange for range, but it gets 30 meters more optimal to deal full damage in exchange for only 12.5 less damage per second. The aRR gets the much better end of the deal. The spool-up time may be enough to balance things, but not clear at this point.

The tactical AR sucks compared to the SCR. SCR has more damage per shot, more rate of fire, way more range, the charge shot ability, better hipfire accuracy; unless you're really really bad at managing overheat, there is no reason to use the tac AR over the SCR.

The burst AR sucks compare to the CR. CR has more massively more DPS, & more range.

The breach AR sucks compared to the RR. Less range, less DPS, less magazine size, there's just no reason to ever use the breach AR.

While not of the same type, the AR & RR are comparable because they are both automatic. The AR has about 14 points more damage per second, but the RR gets 30 meters more optimal range to do full damage in. While it is a tradeoff, it seems far from equitable; the RR gets the better end of that deal.

All weapons of the AR family pretty much suck.



[Solutions]
Rifles need to be balanced against others of the same type: the tac AR balanced against the SCR, or assault CR against the AR, etc.

The main thing is the DPS vs range is not something CCP seems to actively think of as a tradeoff for weapons. Generally (meaning not always, yes there are other factors) If a weapon has more DPS than another of the same type, it should have less range; likewise, if a weapon has less range, it should have more DPS.

The AR weapon family has the least ranges within whatever type they are in, they should have the highest DPS within their types.

The CR weapon has the 2nd least ranges within whatever type they are in, they should have the 2nd highest DPS within their types.

The SCR weapons has the 2nd most ranges within whatever type they are in, they should have the 2nd lowest DPS within their types. Overheat should be factored in as well.

The RR weapons has the most ranges within whatever type they are in, they should have the lowest DPS within their types. Spool up time should also be factored.

Instead of nerfs, ARs should be buffed.

The AR is fine, people are literally just bad at shooting. I won't argue against a buff, I'd be fine with more damage or range or anything you want to give me.