You won't hear this much out of me, but I really enjoy the benefits and reasonable penalties of the Scrambler rifle. I only use the Advanced variant, so that's all I've used so far. I just wanted to say that I think it's great and it should be a standard by which other weapons are judged.

To elaborate, here are some Pros and Cons:

Pros:
- Accuracy: The rounds go right where the dot is. No noticeable deviation when scoped.
- Fire Rate: Excellent fire rate.
- Charge-shot: Awesome for winning peek-a-boo cover fights.
- Damage: Great damage considering it's semi-auto. Tears up shields.

Cons:
- Accuracy 1: Poor at close range. "Yikes! Do scope or hip fire?" Doesn't matter. You're already dead.
- Accuracy 2: Chews one guy up at close range. ONE GUY. Go for #2 and you'll overheat.
- Fire Rate: Awesome until you go nuts and over-heat! Initiate 3-second overheat penalty + damage.
- Charge-shot: Great, but finishing off enemies with a quick tap burst will make you overheat in a hurry.
- Damage: Noticeably less effective against armor.

NOPE!!! The scrambler rifle is not perfect. It doesn't match to the Tech and Lore of EVE.

MAybe you should do some light reading and see the error of your ways.

https://forums.dust514.com/default.aspx?g=posts&m=860472

This is probably one of the most thoroughly thought out analysis of a weapon in Dust when comparing it to the lore of EVE.

It is funny at times how it becomes painfully obvious of the fact that so many people deny the existence of the Lore of EVE and how the lore affects the presentation and usage of the tech within EVE.

The Scrambler Rifle is almost perfect. A few things are holding it back.

1. Tactical Assault Rifles outrange them, do just as much damage and don't produce heat.
2. Charged shots produce way too much heat to be viable against a suspecting opponent.
3. Overheating is far too painful. No sprinting, no sidearms, no surviving.

These are bad things, but you need to think of them from the entire game perspective -- not comparing them to other weapons, and not dismissing their role in game mechanics as a whole. I'll match your points one by one:

1. The Tac AR should out-range the scrambler rifle because that is its role in the game. Also, regardless of EVE lore, the scrambler rifle is effectively a shield-busting variant of the regular AR.
2. I don't think it's for "suspecting opponents." I use it primarily as a surprise first hit, or when someone wants to play peek-a-boo shooting around a corner with me.
3. Risk vs. Reward -- the benchmark of all great game mechanics. Did you notice that the scrambler rifle has a blindingly fast firing rate? There needs to be a drawback for this much power. It's wonderfully balanced, actually.

The scrambler rifle is the Amarr equivalent of the tactical (like the rail rifle is to the breach, or the combat rifle is to the burst), and a laser, so it should outrange the tac AR IMO. They share the same role, which is semi-auto fire mid-long range high damage rifles.

1. The Tac AR should out-range the scrambler rifle because that is its role in the game. Also, regardless of EVE lore, the scrambler rifle is effectively a shield-busting variant of the regular AR.
2. I don't think it's for "suspecting opponents." I use it primarily as a surprise first hit, or when someone wants to play peek-a-boo shooting around a corner with me.
3. Risk vs. Reward -- the benchmark of all great game mechanics. Did you notice that the scrambler rifle has a blindingly fast firing rate? There needs to be a drawback for this much power. It's wonderfully balanced, actually.