I really, really hope so. (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Friday, January 12, 2018, 16:28 (2322 days ago) @ Harmanimus

In Destiny 2, Kinetic and Energy Weapons essentially perform the same utility role.

So, in some regards, yes. In others, no. Kinetic weapons actually do more damage against unshielded enemies, by about 10% for Precision Auto Rifles for example. Both Crit and Non-Crit.

Against red bar Fallen in Outskirts in the EDZ, both at 335.
Origin Story
Crit: 75
NCrit: 30
Shield: 30

Uriel's Gift
Crit: 68
NCrit: 27
Shield: 81

I understand that regarding their base usage they are roughly the same, but that is more an effect of range than the actual weapon in most cases. A Sniper Rifle is used, tactically, in the same method as a Scout Rifle is, but most especially when you are using the Scout at greater distance. To contrast, you move around with an SMG in a similar fashion to the way you would with a Shotgun or Fusion Rifle, but they better resemble each other from an actual combat judgement standpoint the most when you use them at the same ranges.

Now, having more flexible ranges and/or more overlap in your Kinetic and Energy weapons will make them feel more similar, but going Scout/SMG is very similar, tactically, to Scout Shotgun, and to the same with Auto Rifle with a High Impact Scout to AR/Sniper.

You’re bang-on in terms of the analogies between scout rifles and sniper rifles, or SMGs and shotguns. There are major differences though. Snipers and Shotguns have much much higher DPS potential, mitigated by limited ammo. They also have far more specific use cases. I can use a Scout Rifle at close range and get away with it, just like I can use an SMG at medium range and scrape by. But a shotgun goes from 1-hit-kill to utterly useless in just a few steps. Sniper Rifles are extremely punishing against missed shots, due to small clips and limited ammo. So using a sniper involved getting as far away from enemy fire as possible, taking careful aim, pacing your shots, etc. But all the kinetic and Energy Weapons will work with the same basic play style. Like I said before, you’ll want to be a bit closer to your enemies if you’re using an SMG than you would using a Scout Rifle, but the difference isn’t THAT great. You’ll likely end up taking cover in most of the same places, using the same sightlines, killing adds in the same amount of time, roughly speaking. There are absolutely subtle differences between effectively using an Auto Rifle vs a Sidearm, or between using a kinetic weapon vs an energy weapon. But nothing that completely changes your approach to an encounter the way going from a D1 primary to a D1 Special would. And I miss that variety.