The thing is, unless you drive the AR a mile into the ground, it's always going to be the most used weapon, and maybe it should be.
But wait, there's more. An AR is a simple to use weapon, and many will be familiar with it. It's you standard "do all" weapon that doesn't excel in any area.
Now, I'm not saying it's perfect as is, but chances are, unless the nerfhammer hits it harder than an LAV hits a heavy, it's probably going to stick as the most used weapon for a while to come, because of it's familiarity and versatility.

Compiles 4 skirmish games worth of "data"

Implies that CCP don't know **** 'bout their own data, through suggesting that 4 games worth of data counters well over a years worth of gameplay data

Cla.....

What I see here are a lot of people looking at the 50m target and not seeing the 300m.

First let me say that the idea that dust doesnt favor diversity is off base. I maintain about 20ish fits, for whatever situation I might run into/can think of. The game is intended to be situational. In that sense having all theses options by simply running to the resupply and resuiting is a core mechanic......if you use it. No I dont switch suits every game. Yes, I favor the AR because the AR is a standard weapon.

The idea that the SP system locks you into a role only reflects the fact that the game is still new. Ya if feels like that now, it wont feel like that in a year when you have 20-30m sp or whatever. If you are still locked into a role at that point it is because you chose to do so. Naturally, if you can do a few roles well, you proabably arent as good at any of them as someone who stayed specialized. Yet, you have more options.

This is a core CCP philosophy and isn't going anywhere. Welcome to New Eden. HTFU.

I've made this argument so many times, so I'll shorten it for you. The Mass Driver will not get "nerfed". It's functioning perfectly as intended.

Diversity.

Imagine a hypothetical battle between two equally-skilled squads, both employing teamwork to optimize the strengths of their respective weapons (snipers providing cover fire, etc.).

Now imagine that one squad is using nothing but ARs, and the other using a mix of weapons. Which squad do you think would come out on top?

ARs DON'T overpower everything on the field. A sniper rifle is still a better alternative for long-distance support, for example.

However, that's not to say that Diversity means all weapons are used equally, either. It just means that all weapons have a place and a purpose, and, right now, most of them do.

Despite the fact that the AR might be predominantly used, that doesn't necessarily mean there can be no diversity. Even a squad comprised of two ARs, a Mass Driver, an HMG, a Shotgun, and a Sniper displays depth and diversity, even though there are more ARs than any other weapon.

have said before...

think in terms of RL military (shut up, i know it's a game)

... it's built around everyone being able to use a standard weapon (AK-47, M16, w/e). this is your baseline.

... everything else in the military's inventory is specialized and brings certain advantages/disadvantages compared to that baseline. so in a sense, the predominance of ARs makes some sort of sense - everyone is playing average joe infantry guy because it's what they are able to play best.

having said baseline doesn't necessarily hurt anything in this game.

diversity? is not a goal in itself. the goal is to make sure that specializing has proper advantages as well as disadvantages and then everyone can play within their playstyle. long range, close range, or mid range ... using a specialized weapon to leverage its advantages and compensate for disadvantages requires additional time commitment, tactical awareness, ... whatever. not even sure what my point was now.

in conclusion: AR's fine, other weapons are ok. except for CFLP. nerf that ****.

It's sort of my point. Useful does not have to mean abundant. Niche does not mean useless. Popular does not mean OP. And rarely seen can sometimes only mean people haven't explored all of the options yet. Forge guns and drop uplinks (modules being relevant to tangential discussion as well) have shown their true worth with the advent of PC, for example.

Definitions of diversity aside (acceptable levels being subjective/opinion-based so w/e), I do not find a problem with a majority of people using ARs, no, and there's not much else for either side to add to this argument at this point lol.

Ok.

Duv AR: 37.4 dmg/rnd, 750 rnds/min, 60shots in a mag // 467.5 dps (420.75 armor / 514.25 shield)

SixKin SMG: 25.3 dmg/rnd, 1000 rnds/min, 80shots in a mag // 421.7 dps (463.87 armor / 379.53 shield)

... Duvolle enjoys a 10.9% advantage in the base dps department (35.5% advantage on shields) over the SMG as well as advantage in range. The SMG has a 10.2% advantage against armor, as well as the advantage in fitting requirements, reload speed, and dual wield potential. With maxed Min Assault bonus, it will also have significantly more damage per clip with no comparable advantage to AR; however the AR's significant advantage at range and shield makes it preferable for non CQC applications...

... but it's decent, as well as the more deadly option paired with flux grenades.

My point just being that other weapons are certainly viable if you take the effort to create the situations in which they excel.