From Season 1 Outcomes Report:
“Feedback: Many players have reported that the Pulse Carbine is hard to use effectively against Spartans
Feedback: Similar to above, the Plasma Pistol was also viewed as not being effective enough on Spartans
Feedback: Some players report that aiming is too “loose” and difficult with the VK78 Commando
Beyond that, we are also tracking balance issues with the Pulse Carbine, Plasma Pistol, and Commando, and are aware they’re underperforming. After the Mangler, Ravager and melee changes are in for Season 2, we’re going to evaluate their impact on the meta and make adjustments to the other weapons as necessary in a future update.”
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Thank you so much! Aside from the Mangler, these were precisely the three weapons that I took issue with in an otherwise fantastic sandbox.
VK-78: Please DO NOT adjust bloom and recoil. They are perfect as-is. This needs to remain a weapon that rewards skill and mastery developed over time. A new player should never see this on a rack and instinctively swap their BR out for it. But they should feel an urge to practice with it at the firing range and in social matchmaking to hone their ability to one day wield it as a semi-power weapon. This would do wonders to encourage scavenging in ranked.
Please DO return it to all of its July technical preview glory. 7 headshots or 10 body shots to kill, as opposed to the current nerfed version that takes 8 headshots or 13 body shots. That’s all that needs to be done.
Currently, there is no incentive for even a skilled player to grab it unless they landed into a social match without BRs or the skill gap between them and the rest of the lobby is quite obvious.
Bonus: For those of us who grinded to SR-152 in Halo 5, it would be AMAZING if you could give us a VK-78 Watchdog coating that drops alongside the redesigned armor coating.
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Plasma Pistol and Pulse Carbine: These are also fairly straightforward. Simply increase the projectile speed of the plasma and improve the tracking ability. At low levels, the Pulse Carbine is actually pretty strong. If all five plasma bolts in a burst hit an enemy, one BR burst will finish them off. However, at high-level play, opponents maintain their distance, use cover, and strafe too quickly to make it viable. Again, we want to encourage scavenging, right?
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Just my opinion. Other thoughts?