Luna’s Howl has been straight-up murdered (Destiny)

by CruelLEGACEY , Toronto, Thursday, June 06, 2019, 08:37 (1786 days ago) @ ChrisTheeCrappy

I haven't played with it yet, but I was watching a video where a guy broke it down. And it actually has a lower common kill time. Yes the 3 headshot tap is slower, but like .17 seconds, but the average is lower actually. The bullet magnetism is still VERY strong too, actually strong at some ranges.

Again this is based on 1 guys video analysis not me playing it. But to be honest, I hated going against it, cause the ONLY counter was using it against them. That's never a fun meta in my opinion. I like the changes on paper, but to each their own.

Yeah, I think I watched the same video. He does a great job of covering all the minor changes. Interestingly, the gun has slightly less effective range than it used to, but more magnetism.

The point that he never quite comes to (probably because it is less black and white than the stats he was measuring) is that having a slower rate of fire on a hand cannon with so little range means that you now lose against shotgun and SMG rushers in many situations where the old Luna's had a chance of winning. The "faster common kill time stat", while accurate, is a bit misleading. If I'm using Luna's Howl "properly" (that is, I'm aiming well and hitting my headshots), I'm getting a 3-shot kill. Anything more than that means I screwed up or got outplayed. And a 3-shot kill is now slower than it used to be. As you point out, it isn't a huge difference in time, but when I'm dealing with a shotgun ape, that time is critical.

The only other thing I'd push back on is your comment that "the ONLY counter was using it against them". I'd modify that statement a bit. I think if you have 2 equally skilled teams facing off, 1 team all using Luna's Howl, and the other team without Luna's, and they're forced to fight in mid-range engagements, the team with Lunas will probably win. But some of the best crucible matches I've had in D2 were games where I went in with Le Monarque against a squad of Lunas and Not Forgottens, and I kept my distance and picked them off before they could get close. Again, it's one of those things where going up against it means adjusting your playstyle. But that's true of lots of weapons. Going against snipers is the same, or Jotuns, or shotgun rushers. Luna's Howl was similar, in my experience.