Would it have been better to just remove crits for AR's? (Destiny)

by iconicbanana, C2-H5-OH + NAD, Portland, OR, Tuesday, March 17, 2015, 16:50 (3775 days ago) @ iconicbanana

So ARs require less skill to use, and had greater benefits for skilled players since they could land headshots and get the first shot in more often. If you are not getting head shots, then TTK is the same for AR and HCs, and longer for SCs.

Based on the data, if you can't get headshots, don't use anything but ARs. The game plays just as you want barring that, and I don't think you want to say that people who take the added risk of the HC and SCs should suffer without any benefit.

This is very true, and one of the points that doesn't get made as often. But whether you can or can't land headshots now, AR's aren't really competitive. Suros is actually one of the worst AR's in the game now. 1.1.1 really nerfed AR's, I think too far. They definitely don't outshoot everything now if neither player can hit headshots; the real question is whether they can outshoot anything.

Balancing the lethality of an AR in a skilled users hands with the penchant for less skilled players to use AR's seems to be the biggest issue with this weapon class, likely from the start. Would a better move have been to keep the original base damage, and just not have AR's do bonus headshot damage at all?