Weapon balance is in the best state it’s ever been for sure, but I think there's still a lot of work left to do (especially the weapon mods)
- I'll start with short barrels, there's currently no reason to use them. Take the sawed-off double-barrel shotgun, for example. I’d love to run that thing, but what’s the benefit (looking cool isn't enough lol)? Lower AP usage? That actually makes me deal less damage because of Number Cruncher
Shorter barrels should increase the damage, by a ton. Is it realistic? Not in the slightest, but it would give people a reason to, at least, consider using them. Do you want more damage? You gotta deal with the shit range. That'd be a fair trade-off
- Semi-auto versions of weapons like the combat rifle or the handmade rifle should also deal (way) more damage than their full-auto counterparts. They already tried to address this in the past (full-auto receivers reduce the crit damage for example), but it still isn't enough
When I played Starfield when it launched I was surprised by how well they handled this in that game: semi-auto receivers dealt almost twice the damage, as they should. Maybe doubling the damage is a bit too much, but something like a 50% increase shouldn’t be too unreasonable to expect, right?
- Maybe this isn't exactly an issue and it's more of a me problem, but every time I try to run a rifle build I end up going stealth. 100% of the time. Maybe there actually is an issue lol. When pretty much everyone using those weapons ends up running a stealth build, maybe there is actually a problem
There’s simply no reason not to take advantage of sneak damage when it’s so easy to get. As I said, maybe there's no issue here at all, but I genuinely feel forced to use stealth when running these weapons, and it shouldn't? Idk
I honestly don't know what the "fix" for this would be either. Maybe a perk that converts part of the sneak damage multiplier into regular damage, and maybe limit it to small guns only (so big guns don't get a free damage perk)?