Ok, so it’s no secret the DMR is plaguing Matchmaking right now with it’s raw power, bullet magnetism, and overall kickassery. But what if it could be nerfed without sacrificing what it is the DMR supporters absolutely love about the weapon? Without changing its fire rate, and without changing it’s damage?
Well, hear me out on this, it could take some explaining. There are 2 things I would like to see done to the DMR that could potentially solve the weapons real issues without making the actual use of the weapon any different.
1 - Remove player stun:
So player stun is what I’m calling the effect of being hit by a weapon, and slowing down your movement speed. From the gameplay I’ve played I’ve gathered there are two kinds of stun, one is Stopping Power, which prevents a player from sprinting, the other is flinch, which does seems to affect players who AREN’T sprinting, and I’m not sure if it’s just a visual/controller vibration trick, but it feels like it slows you down even more.
As far as I can tell, the DMR has more stopping power than any of the non-automatic primary weapons. And it is the primary factor in the DMR’s absolute dominance over Mid-Close range combat, where it should be weak compared to the BR or Carbine.
The effect of removing player stun from specifically the DMR would make it more difficult for the DMR user to maintain it’s target on smaller, more cover oriented maps. As a player getting DMR’d could bolt off into cover. This would further promote CQC-Mid Range Carbine or BR use as both of these weapons would still prevent players from running away.
On larger BTB maps, there is alot less cover for player to try to use to survive, and with an 8 player team you have plenty of crossfire to kill them with. So as Reach proved, having no stun on the sprint would NOT have a major effect on long range engagements, and it would actually help BTB flow better, as players will be more capable of pushing up.
This is the most important, and best nerf I feel the DMR could get. It would give the BR and Carbine more ground to stand on in 4v4 games, without negatively impacting BTB.
2: Remove (Or vastly reduce) recoil.
Another major factor in the DMR’s dominance is the recoil it causes any player that is shot by it while scoped in. This makes it VERY difficult to fight back at mid-long ranges against a DMR no matter what weapon you have, even if it’s another DMR or a Sniper. It somewhat evolves those scenarios into “First shot kills” especially because of the rate of fire of the DMR keeping the recoil coming shot after shot.
But what if the DMR uniquely did NOT cause this recoil when it shot a player? All of a sudden DMR v DMR long range fights become more about strafing and skill, and less about abusing Camo to get the first shot off. (Note: This would also make the Camo/DMR combo less effective, still effective, but less so.)
This is another nerf I feel would help make the DMR a more balanced weapon in the sandbox.
But I want to hear what the rest of you have to say about the potential of these nerf ideas? And what other ideas you can bring to the table. There are so many factors that Halo 4 just happened to introduce that could help balance the DMR, maybe if the DMR gave you less Ordinance Points? Or if the DMR’s Reticle Bloomed whenever you move, jump, use your AA, etc.
What should happen to the DMR to make it fair, that the DMR fans out there will accept?