Now they know you're not as good as those guys.

Working as intended.

That accounts for why some weapons that use it seem to have lower impact/damage.

This is true as well. It's been somewhat exciting switching my ballistics and perks around to rediscover what's hot and what's not.

Thanks Bungie, your matchmaking system is totally not flawed at all.

As for Hawkmoon, that took a real painful hit. It no longer does 94 damage per headshot (seems to be 86-90), and does 117 max on a stack shot, so it's no longer the consistently two-shot weapon that it once was.

This is the hand cannon range nerf, not a Hawkmoon change. It still does 94 at midrange.

And yes, Monte Carlo is a beast now. Especially if you are a sunsinger or defender.

Not sure how I feel about that in Rift, where the score can fluctuate very quickly. Still, if one team's scored two or three times in a short time frame, odds are they're not going to lose...

Also, tested out Monte Carlo and Hawkmoon post-patch:

Monte Carlo is a PvE monster now:

Lost a lot of stability, though, so oddly not as viable in PVP as the overall buff would make it seem.

As for Hawkmoon, that took a real painful hit. It no longer does 94 damage per headshot (seems to be 86-90), and does 117 max on a stack shot, so it's no longer the consistently two-shot weapon that it once was.

Yeah, don't ask how the second guy remained completely unharmed by the Hawkmoon...
I think that nerfed shotguns are pretty neat, although I still run them.