Thanks to this season’s Crucible Ritual weapon, the Komodo Linear Fusion Rifle, PvP has turned into an absolute Arbalest-fest (since earning the Komodo requires LFR kills in PvP, and Arbalest is the only LFR in the game that doesn’t run on heavy ammo).

Aside from Sleeper Simulant, I think I could count on 1 hand the number of times I’ve used an LFR in Destiny 2. So I started working on this quest with some trepidation. But after running Arbalest for a few games, I started to really enjoy it. 2 solid nights of Crucible later, I had the quest done and started messing around with Komodo. It probably wouldn’t be my first choice to take into most PvP or PvE activities, but I really like it in Gambit. It’s a great weapon to invade with, its strong at countering enemy invaders, and it can pump out half-decent Boss DPS if you need it to.

I cut together a short little montage using some highlights of my LFR gameplay. Nothing crazy, but a few fun clips for anyone who’s interested:

The problem I have with LFRs is what do they do that a sniper rifle doesn't do better? (With the exception of the Arbalest in PvE.) Not to say that they aren't fun as I've had a lot of fun killing people with the Arbalest.

The problem I have with LFRs is what do they do that a sniper rifle doesn't do better? (With the exception of the Arbalest in PvE.) Not to say that they aren't fun as I've had a lot of fun killing people with the Arbalest.

Previously their distinguishing characteristic was low zoom and ease-of-use due to high bullet magnetism, but that got eliminated in the nerf after Queenbreaker dominated Gambit all those months.

I'm not sure if auto-aiming is a good trait around which to base a class of weapon, so now it seems like they are thinking about leaning toward high burst damage?

The problem I have with LFRs is what do they do that a sniper rifle doesn't do better? (With the exception of the Arbalest in PvE.) Not to say that they aren't fun as I've had a lot of fun killing people with the Arbalest.

That was my exact take on them as well. But after spending some more time with them, I’ve found there is a subtle but meaningful difference. Linear Fusion Rifles have substantially less zoom than any Sniper Rifle, which makes them easier to use in less-than-extremely-long-range situations. So for players like me who like to run-and-gun, or generally play more aggressively, a Linear Fusion Rifle might be easier to use. Of course, this only really applies to Arbalest, since it’s the only LFR that uses special ammo, making it a more direct alternative to sniper rifles. Most LFRs take power ammo, which makes them even more niche. They do get 5 shots from a single heavy brick, so their ammo economy is quite good.

All that said, I still think that someone who truly masters sniping in PvP will be more dangerous in any situation than someone using an LFR. But I’d also argue that at the absolute top-end of play, Sniper Rifles are utterly dominant. A master-level sniper can beat any other weapon at any range.

Is when they don't have ammo.