The proficiency bonus is 3% per level, not 5%.

You are effectively proposing a skill-gated damage buff to armour. There are better ways of buffing the AR, I feel. If you really want the proficiency changed, a sensible change to the proficiency (which has been proposed before) is a change from 3% against shields to 2% against shields and 1% against armour to improve the hybrid aspect of the weapon whilst still remaining primarily shield specific.

Very true, but doesn't that just make it the Light HMG? And if that is the case, and you want to fit for that kind of fighting, why not just take the heavy with all its additional EHP? To clarify, I'd take a straight up damage bonus for the AR any day of the week, because at least that makes it effective. But in an ideal world, I'd like the solution to the AR dilemma to be a bit more nuanced, and something that ultimately makes the AR completely unique *and* effective.

to anyone that complains about the range of the AR, you do realize the AR has far more dps overall about 30-40 points more to shields and armor respectively taking into account the damage profile that is so it does more overall damge to its weakness compared to the ARR and the ARR has an optimal of 72 while the AR has an optimal of 40m thats a 32m difference so about 1 point more damge per 1m lost

the fact that people seem to forget that its a anti shiled weapon makes the whole argument pointless

the RR and ARR both do less damge compared to the AR and its respective role, sure the RR and ARR will do more damge to armor and at better range but that's because that's its job, if you take a look at the RoF and damge per shot both the RR and ARR are lacking in those aspects but make up for it in range while the AR has more damge and is meant for short to mid range

the proficiency is not the problem, the problem is the ScR which does a far better job then both of these weapons, also the fact that a single ScR user and a few AR users forces shield suit users to engage only at range, and the fact that a lot of armor users use the ARR makes it even worse making it seem OP by sheer popularity rather then actual performance

the ScR throws a lot of things when speaking of balance as it makes the AR obsolete in comparison and it ruins counter play with shiled suit RR users as it does far more damge in comparison to both profiles at the same ranges far overshadowing the RR less now that it was nerfed but only due to fear from those that do not want to fall off the top meaning whatever these people choose to move to becomes the FOTM and seems OP in comparison when taking into account field stats which in case makes them completly useless when speaking of balance

I have given plenty of paths to fix this and bring parity to each role and weapon, the community just needs to agree on something rather then keep complaining about their gear and no one else's being UP and everything that kills them OP