I think the SCR is still probably the best rifle in the game, but I read that thread when you posted it and liked the analysis (though I am not in a position to verify). A good change we could make to the Scrambler would be to delay increased heat per shot and increased damage per shot until the charge is significantly built, so microfiring is not a spoiler in how the weapon works. Love to see this on the ion pistol as well. However as usual I dont get to tell CCP what to do, so **** it.

Regardless that change doesnt change the fact that for shield based dropsuits the scrambler easily does 800+ dps, which is enough to absolutely murder most dedicated shield fits in less than a second, and that does not include charge shots. Compare that to what you say is close to the second best weapon in the game, the rail rifle, which does about 500 dps to armor fully upgraded and has **** firing characteristics and **** mechanics to boot especially in CQC, compared to the Scrambler which works with pinpoint accuracy throughout its range and has a drawback that generally only comes into play after the target is dead.

Edit: add to that second paragraph that shields generally have less total HP, working against a significantly higher source of dps, and its just ******* absurd to think that the scrambler isnt imbalanced.

Its cute that you tell me to get gud while simultaneously claiming tac rifles are hard to use or overheat is hard to avoid.

"Every other rifle you simply point, shoot, forget. "
Utter bullshit especially if we are talking about rail tech, which CCP has seen fit to make bounce around like a kid with ADD on a sugar high 10 bullets into the clip. Keeping rails on target is a constant struggle and requires multiple cease fire/recharges per clip if you want to hit anything with any kind of accuracy.

"is he supposed to announce he is going to shoot you" and "what about when someone hits you with a bolt pistol before you notice": One of the problems with the scrambler is you have the front loaded damage of a bolt pistol but then get to switch to the spam shots of a tactical rifle. With the bolt pistol alone you are stuck with the charge and fire mechanic (in addition you cannot hold charge on a bolt pistol, which is a significant difference), with the TAC AR you are stuck with the trigger spam.

In addition to that the raw dps on the bolt pistol is WAY lower (~220 v. shields and ~300 v. armor) than the raw dps on the scrambler rifle (800-900 v. shields vs. low 500s v. armor).

I agree that the overheat is a factor, but its not nearly as important as people who defend the scrambler seem to think, its pretty simple to avoid overheating and easy to employ cover or your sidearm to simply avoid it entirely unless you want to take a calculated risk with the last scrambler shot (which again is a choice you make, overheat is not forced upon you).