The problem is that the full auto AR is better than the breach and burst in all situations. TAC AR is still viable, but only a select few still use it. It needs to be a little less effective in all situations while the burst and breach get buffed so the AR is more diverse in its own class.
Also, I'm glad you enjoy the ScR but on paper it isn't that much better than the AR in all situations. You applied player skill into a niche weapon and can perform that weapons niche more effectively than a weapon that's supposed to be all around good. Player Skill > Weapon's Effectiveness

The issue isn't the spam of blaster rifles, that is merely sympomatic of the real problem which is the imbalance of the rifles.

Part of this is due to their only being 2 of the 4 total rifles available yet.

Part of this is due to the basic starting militia fits favoring the blaster rifle fit over the scrambler rifle.

And a large part of this is due to the inherent, "never not" reason to use the duvolle.

As is, there is no scenario in which the duvolle isn't one of the best weapons. Close quarters, at a distance, accuracy, high damage and rate of fire, large clip size, tracking, it excels at everything. Maybe not as good as some specialized weapons in specific scenarios, but being 90% as good in 100% of the fields, is better than being 100% as good in 20% of the field.

There are a number of things that should change to resolve this.

1. Give a reason to use other weapons. ShotGuns and HMGs should by default be better in closed in areas or up close. The scrambler rifle needs to have its kick removed while zoomed in (there's no reason for this, and the Duvolle/laser rifles don't have one).

2. The Duvolle, and other blaster rifles in general, need some sort of draw back in comparison, be it a higher kick than the scrambler, a shorter effective range (and I mean actually effective, see below*) smaller clip size or poor'er zoomed in accuracy, or any number of other ideas.

* By effective range I mean range that is actually seen in game, 40m sounds short, but when you play the game rarely (unless sniping) do you see targets that are outside of your effective range. Using the scrambler rifle, you rarely have a chance to use your higher range at an advantage, because maps are generally closer than your effect range. If you do find that chance, your damage isn't high enough to kill someone before they seek cover. So, what is thus the point of that? You end up needing to use a charged shot to score head shots, effectively sniping, to have real range advantage. Which asks the question, why bother when the blaster rifle is 90% as good in almost every other scenario?

3. The shield discrepancy and the Scrambler Rifle. The other aspect, is that currently the only other rifles, the Scrambler and laser, get a distinct DPS decrease when you hit armor. The blaster rifles continue to chug through both shield and armor without consequence. This is another reason to not use energy weapons, as this fact isn't compensated by a higher DPS overall. So likely, if using the SCR rifle, you end up with a lot of enemies with 70% armor left and no shields, and no kills. The one advantage the energy weapons do have, is the ability to charge up a shot, and deal extra damage. Yet if you try to capitalize on this extra damage, the weapon overheats, damaging you, and ruining your ability to continue to do damage. You can't do anything else while the gun cools, you can't swap weapons, you can't throw grenades, you can only run around and hope that A, they don't kill you in this time, or B, they don't get away from you in this time. Why, would you handicap yourself with such a mechanic, that has no real advantage to it?

The assault scrambler variant removes this ability for a fully automatic firing, but the kick and DPS issues aren't compensated in regard to the GEK/Duvolle, so why would you bother using it?

Overall, there are distinct reasons NOT to use the other rifles, but no real reason to not use the Blaster rifle. Hence, the never not issue. Players seek to maximize their efficiency and have thus specialized into the weapon that gives them the best return, the Duvolle. Making the best gun, even better, and the worse guns, even worse.

Nerfing the range but not buffing the DPS would put the AR as one of the worse weapons in the game, the ASCR is a great weapon and easily comparable, and sometimes outmatches the AR. But a proto ASCR will not compete with a full specced duvolle due to the duvolle getting skills to increase accuracy.

Precisely.

Show me numbers? Or go and play on both? Because I have, and the ASCR is much harder to maintain via recoil. This may be do to the increased zoom on the ASCR scope in relation to the iron sites of the Duvolle, but no, I disagree flatly unless you have stats on the weapons themselves to prove to me otherwise.

And again, 2 dmg per shot may not seem like much, but look at the rate of fire, and the overheating aspect, why then choose the ASCR over the duvolle.

The point being there needs to be some drawback from the duvolle if you want to see other weapons being used. Currently there isn't, and using anything else artificially handicaps you for no reason.



FTFY.

lol what?

The AR has NEVER been nerfed.

Here's the STD AR stats through out the prior builds.

Precursor- DMG:31, ACR:56.2, ROF:750

Codex- DMG:31, ACR:56.2, ROF:750

Chromosome- DMG:31, ACR:56.2, ROF:750

Uprising 1.0- DMG:31, ACR:56.2, ROF:750

Post Uprising 1.0- DMG:34, ACR:56.2, ROF:750

As you can see, the AR has never been nerfed, in fact, its been buffed recently!

Your majority of the post is null as heavies are more likely to die from things like tanks, while scouts die from a stiff breeze, your own deaths do not represent the majority of the player base, which is what validates my point as I took my point from the general kill boards, not my own deaths.

Its balance since the TACAR is a better version of the Scrambler rifle Maybe they should switch the two.

The AR was also nerfed, in terms of range, with Uprising, but all weapons were nerfed then, so it doesn't really count.


Despite the iron sights issue, we still have, in pub matches, the vast majority of kills being performed by the AR. It's killing diversity. You'll note that in the OP, I mention the overuse is the problem whether or not we choose to label the AR as OP. I understand the reluctance of the AR users to label, or even admit, that they're pride and joy is OP. I think it is, but above and beyond that argument, the weapon has removed most of the diversity in handheld weapons from Dust simply by representing almost the equivalent number of kills as 11 of the 14 weapons.

That's a massive problem and the most expeditious way of correcting it is to make the AR less desirable.

basically, the ratios of AR users to other weapons right now is very high. the proper ratio is supposed to be 50/50. namely, 50% of people should be using ARs or less, and 50% or more should be using other weapons (not including AV, save forguns).'

Ideally a 40%-60% ratio is desirable because specialty weapons will be used by the majority of players and so every squad in a match will have a diverse load out where as tankers, pilots, LAV specialists, and dedicated AR users will be the only people really using them (by dedicated i mean all 10million SP in assault suits, and ARs. to be a dedicated AR user you must be good with every AR, breach, tac burst, etc. there is at least variatiion in the Ar used). All other weapon types will be fitted to every other type of individual based on their playstyle.

currently this ratio is more of a 70 or 75% to a respective 30 or 25%. i see very few people using lasers, scrambler rilfes (i mean actual scrambler rilfes and not Ascr). shotguns i only see proto (but i have noticed a few ppl using milita shotguns and light suits, most of their names i recognize as experienced players who specced into shotguns), all the HMGs i see are proto level, and even at that they dnt fair well, MD have to ADV or PROTO to be effective... these weapons simply aren't as effecient, even in their Area of expertise vs an AR.

AScr are useless compared to regular ARs. they are only decent at best in close range. between the muzzle flash and horrible range only dedicated Scr users and amarians use it. these same individuals with an AR in hand would completel devastate.


you don't need to be a scientist to use logic. you don't need to be a scientist to see an end result. if i see a car crash, logic dictates that the car had crashed, to think otherwise is crazy would you not agree? well, i see nothing but ARs on the kill feed, so logic dictates that ARs are get most of those or rather most of those players died as a direct result of an AR. therefore, if 70% or greater of the kills in a game as diverse as dust are coming from 1 gun, chances are its OP, or inversely everything else is UP. jus sayin

also, he isnt trying to FORCE weapon diversity, but SUGGEST it. kinda like with the flaylocks (which in fact were never OP) which after the nerf diversified the secondary weapon category, its only logical to assume the same wold result with primaries.

Oh really?


Click the second link.

That's thirty matches worth of data.

Plus Mcbob's 4 matches.

34 Matches.

That's more matches then what every other weapon in the game was smothered into paste by.

Just so you know.

Thats the data.

I will not resort to spits and name-calling.

Next game, go into the MCC.

Now shoot at the wall in ADS.

See your crosshair move?

No?

Just wait until half the Mag is gone.

Now just stop shooting.

Now start again.

Hey! The recoil is gone!

See the issue?

No Recoil until half the magazine is shot continuously, Long Effective Range, Broken SGs, Wimp HMGs, all combine to make the one gun that can get 1100 kills in 30 matches.

So, no. The Recoil/Kick Buff obviously isn't working.

Cut Mag size to 45.

Increase Rate of falloff, i.e. decrease effective (In the ingame mechanics terminology) range.

There.

3-3.25 Seconds sound good?

1st off, no.
The assault Rifle is GOOD at was is supposed to do.
Kill , and be effective at different ranges and circumstances .

2nd
What CCP needs to Do is to Buff all the other weapons to AR level except some of them,(Scram Rifle is ok/ Forgegun is ok/ Smg's are ok, Shotguns are ok....),and then Ignore AR players who every single time they get killed by something that is not an AR they whine for a nerf.....

And before someone says that IM the same ,since i asked for a nerf on the Flaylock?
Yeah i asked for nerfs on flay-locks but i USED them too.....

Sooooo true.

I'm almost 8mil sp and haven't touched an AR for more than a couple matches because I like the challenge of crapier weapons. I would say I'm a decent but not great player, especially for running shotgun and MD before 1.2. Anyways I got so sick of AR dominance, I threw 3 points into AR and bought an AUR duvolle. I went 6 - 2 with 8 assists and over 1000 WP in my first try.

What the hell are the AR drawbacks? I get MD qqing from player, I get 18 freaking ammo that's nearly 5 kills max before needing a nano. TAC gets 300 rounds with the games best range not incl sniper and no overheat mechanic? Jeez. Don't think ill e going back.