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i dunno, i dont use boltshot much if at all, it requires extremely close range to one hit kill, and a charge up time that is animated. taking half its ammo in hte process. I could see maybe it taking full ammo so it requires a reload, and less shots possible. but i dont think it having the ability to one shot at near point blank range is exactly a bad thing, especially with its wind up allowing you to take evasive actions. just my opinion tho. i havent played with it enough to develop any concrete feelings.

so either bring DMR in line with other weapons or buff BR to contend with DMR leaving all other starting weapons in the dust? Honestly I think one thing needs to be done more then anything, long range weapons should have STRAIGHT UP longer kill times to compensate for the fact that a automatic style weapon CANNOT shoot long range at all. Right now its no comparison so long as you have good aim you go DMR and it can win in close range vs AR's still with near identical killing times. So long as it is this way, automatic weapons will NEVER be up to snuff vs precision weapons. Relying on the DMR user to "screw up" is not good enough. The reason i dont suggest autos have faster kill times is because it would make them encroach too much on power weapons. simply put, up DMR kill time by one bullet, do this for BR/other precision guns possibly as well. You do this and suddenly, DMR and light rifle dominate long range, BR and light rifle can contend for medium with there burst fire. and automatics will lead the pack in CQC suddenly a precision weapon user is punished for letting a automatic weapons user get close (they are not atm) while automatic weapon users still get punished for getting targeted at long range. the BR/unscoped light rifle will have somewhat of a medium ground with there burst fire working favors in medium range, a possible alternative for a precision weapon user for smaller styole maps rather then just go go DMR

I think it highly depends on what your trying to do on a large map, DMR definitly, if your skilled enough, even in smaller maps otherwise assault rifle on a small map id say bolt shot or plasma (if using DMR) or pistol if using AR, maps with vehicles definitly plasma pistol the rest im assuming your maximizing your ability to fight or gun fight. frag grenades, larger radius, bounces, faster explosion dexterity, allowing you to reload/switch weapons faster then the other guy shielding, refills shield faster then the other guy regen, again, refils shield faster then other guy combination leads to being able to be offensive minded more then the other guy, keeping you in the fight, and letting you keep that pressure going tho i admit i like thruster pack enough i tend to use it over regen, i dont argue the simple effectiveness of it tho

the community is far too divided to make one cohesive game, probably would end up with 3, and still some people would be pissed for the sake of being pissed.

name a weakness of the DMR and ill explain to you in detail why its not enough/isnt a real weakness

there are other factors rather then just games popularity you know. but either way prequals usually dont do taht well in my experience. hwoever, again, balance is not indicative of sales. and your logic on what facts prove what seem a bit long reaching im not getting the connection you are. and another point, about gun balance. you keep using hte terms noob and skill, neither of these things really should factor into weapon balance, as assuming equal skill there is no difference. if you make one weapon better then another on the basis that it requries more skill, that weapon will just dominate anyways unless it required so much skill that VERY few people could use it effectively which then would make it unfun for most. balance while incorporating those ideals is not balance, its gamer biased thinking so they can keep on being OP. your last line is just rediculous. having a clear and OP weapon keeps the game alive? no it just keeps it interesting for the people that want to abuse it.

a risk you take for getting in that vehicle, i enjoy it personally.

mmmm 6 shots then melee kills, gonna remember that one

AR has the best range with short bursts of all the automatics, allowing it to contend in medium range fights. AR imo

tis nto enough, the flinching can be compensated once your used to it. there is next to NO bloom on the DMR as well as no spread. The DMR is equally effective at close, medium, and long range. and is the defacto weapon of halo 4 until they adjust it.

i think the side to side is fine, in close range it can let me dance around my enemy really screwing with them. i do think if you use it while sprinting the forward thrust should be farther tho.

so your right, may the best DMR win cuz using anything else just puts you at a disadvantage so play strategically = use the DMR? i can understand in a large open map you just have no chance with a auomatic weapon, but a automatic weapon CANT hit at long range no matter what, so it should have straight up faster kill times in close range, so the DMR player gets punished for the automatic player getting too close, just as the automatic player is punished for being too far away.

uhm, none of hte precision weaponsa are bad at short range unless you just suck at aiming. the only thing that "counters" them is head games or when the precision player panics at close range. neither of which is a limiting factor of the gun itself. DMR doesnt really have a weakness. yes i understand you dont want your all round great gun to have a weakness. sadly thats not balance tho. atm you can hold the trigger down and assuming your aim is worth a damn hit with every bullet, even at long range.

as far as vs goeas i think its a bit wonky AR is great Youd think the storm rifle would be amazing for taking out a shield then meleeing but for some reason it doesnt seem to work very well suppressor is a faster, less accurate, less DPH version of AR and again seems less effective at medium range then the AR BR has range limitation tho not a big one, and recoil to contend with light rifle is a interesting mix and is a bit of a odball atm i feel DMR is like the best of all worlds. This is the one thing i dont get from a balance standpoint automatic weapons simply cannot hit at long range, yet precision weapons have the same kill times from long to short range, and are competitive with the assault weapons in terms of kill time. imo for balance automatic weapons need to straight up kill faster in close quarters, not just rely on the DMR missing once. thus leaving the precision weapon user at a real disadvantage at close range just as automatic weapon users are at a real disadvantage at long range.

HCE had horrible weapon balance, the pistol alone testiment to that. and unplayable is a laughable statement considering it was perfectly playable, you just didnt enjoy/were not good at it. they shouldnt have a "super weapon", least not for hte starting loadout. everyone always claims something was destroyed when there toy gets nerfed.

incorrect, other guns have weaknesses that cannot be overcome by the players skill. example. any automatic weapon cannot engage in long range combat, no matter how skilled you are the bullets are not gonna go that far. however the DMR is effective at all ranges equally, close, medium, and far. its pinpoint accurate and a decent rate of fire along with competitive kill time. is it the best gun? no, there are guns that outshine it in different playstyles, the problem is the DMR can do EVERY playstyle competitively, making it the best most well rounded and thus slightly OP gun in the game. it needs a flaw, i understand you dont want your "perfect" gun touched, but it needs to be. yes there are people like this, but citing it as the reason behind the issue is a copout and is incorrect at best. Ive been taken out with full shields when sprinting from one cover to another, it wasnt far...i wasnt getting shot at before i left cover. its just not all the maps are designed well enough for CQC to be viable, and with the DMR being EQUALLY effective at all ranges, it becomes the defacto weapon of halo 4 with no real competitor. DMR is a marksman rifle I.E. a mini sniper with higher RoF and lower DMG then halos actual sniper. you dont want it touched cuz its OP resulting in not exactly you having an edge, but you not having a disadvantage...which is equally bad for gameplay. played em, they are fun, but more gibfests then anything, games that reward reaction time and not strategy i havent noticed bloom on any weapons really, i know automatic weapons after about 1.5 seconds become rather innacurate beyond close range, but the DMR i know has no bloom effect atm, its pinpoint accurate. and it should NOT be pin point no matter what, full RoF should be penalized with a gun with that kind of power and recoil. realistically speaking the idea that its STRICTLY the player not the game is asinine to the nth degree.

the problem with the DMR is none of its weaknesses are unable to be overcome by skill. if your using a AR, you cant engage long range for example, no amount of skill is gonna get those bullets across the map the DMR tho is effective at long range, medium range, and short range with no loss to performance. this is an issue and makes it the good enough at everything to be chosen over everything gun.

and i really dont care what you think, obviously, nor bout the sales. also juke strafing while popping head shots=/= run and gun. you want run and gun you need closer range weaponry. and again i never played CoD so i wasnt even aware CoD had shields apparently. your not making sense, you say you want run and gun arena shooter, yet most maps are not arena styled, and most of the gameplay devolves into mid to long range head shot popping which isnt run and gun at all. not too mention the audacity of saying any kind of nerf tot he DMR would be stepping back is laughable, you mine as well only have the DMR and no other weapons with that kind of thinking, which the tone of your post seems to indicate youd be ok with. the DMR is not a perfect weapon and has its issues that need addressing. get over it. again the tone of your post says your a happy go sniper who got his dream starting gun and doesnt want it touched. also fast paced shooter=military shooters where people die from a random bullet

i find long range fighting boring, so i wouldnt dislike loadouts but the ability to select something like the DMR+the level design on many levels=long range frag fest.

GOOD, this isnt freaking CoD or some other crappy military shooter where a stray bullet takes you out. The weapons shouldnt kill you so fast, allows more strategy.

what i see is a sniper player that got handed his glory gun at the beginning and doesnt want it touched. ive played every single halo game sept the RTS Ive never played CoD (watched my brother play it tho) the DMR is SLIGHTLY OP as it kills just as fast as the AR in close range while maintaining a high fire rate and low kill time at long range. it needs a weakness that isnt tied to being able to be overcome with skill just as no matter how skilled you are you cant long range with the AR. juke strafing while popping for headshots isnt everyones idea of fun.

thats not a entirely valid bit of helpful criticism as ive been taken out with full shields while sprinting from one cover to another. because of that i think the assault weapons should have a slightly faster kill time in close range then the precision weapons, very slightly. tho i have no hate for BR or DMR users so i dont know why your turning this into some kind of psuedo class warfare only the class is replaced with gun preferences. its far easier to keep range then to close it also. as good as the AR may be now, DMR still trumps it when assuming equal skill as you said same kill time. thats why ive suggested the slight (very slight) bloom on it causing you to have to pace your shots at range so you cant just spam it. but hte bloom would be small enough that you could still hold down the trigger in CQC and have all the hits land. as it is right now this game favors range over CQC by a large degree due to weapon performance like the DMR and majority of map design. I /sigh every time i end up in a open/large scale level because i know i have to switch to a weapon i dont like using. i cant affect map design all that much, whats done is done, but i can affect the performance of something like weapons. DMR is a precision "marksmen rifle" it shouldnt kill as fast as a assault rifle up close considering AR users have no answer for when they are at range. assault weapons deadlier in close, precision deadlier at range, medium sorta fluctuates according to the specific weapon being used. first, DMR isnt "balanced" tho isnt far out of line either. second, the fact that you ignore a entire weapon type (automatics) makes me wanna slap you, but i wont, cuz i assume you were just forgetful

i hate swat...always seemed to be for people who wanted to play military shooters

ya these things need some tuning perhaps some balancing here as well, however ive found dexterity to be a life saver in gun fights 1v1. and how much damage does explosive perk add? i heard it was very little. the DMR if anything is only slightly OP, the BR many people claim to use at better effectiveness then the DMR so im unsure if thats just you not being used to how it works. The AR isnt OP tho, your just not used to it being a competitive option now. Your used to it sucking. how it usually goes assuming skill, close range assault weapons are supposed to be more deadly then the precision weapons, but the trade off is you have no long range capability with teh weapon. if i remember right reach had a worse system for that. in reach i was always the guy using the sprint armor loadout anyways. i dunno if its ruined, give it some time, some updates, could become the best yet, definitly has the potential imo

if we start having maps where enemies spawn next to eachother instead of far away maybe id agree. and DMR in the hands of a skilled player is perfectly competitive vs AR's in close range. which is a problem.