Here are the facts... some of these weapon nerfs might make anyone a little grumpy, but others will even out the mood. No doubt Bungie is noticing trends that in both PvP and PvE. They're trying to even out all the weapons. See Thorn, Gjallahorn and Ice Breaker.
These changes are to add a balance to the game. Hopefully the changes don't make it so it doesn't matter what weapon you pick it will do the same thing. Emphasis on perks is becoming more and more evident and a must have when entering both PvP and PvE. The following was weapon changes were taken from the Bungie Blog.
BASE WEAPON CHANGES
AUTO RIFLES
Changes:
Increase base damage
Start damage falloff closer to the player to emphasize its role as a close to medium range weapon.
Small reduction in base stability. Landing shots at optimal range is unaffected, but repeated precision hits require more weapon control to land consistently.
Boost damage by 10% against AI combatants.
PULSE RIFLES
Changes:
Reduce base damage of the medium RoF by about 2.5%
PVP: Bursts-to-kill (all precision hits) is 2 or 3, depending on victim’s Armor stat
Small reduction in base stability. A burst should still land all shots at optimal range, but three precision hits will require more weapon control to land consistently
Increase magazine size on for all base inventory stats
SCOUT RIFLES
Changes:
Increase base damage for medium to high Rate of Fire Scout Rifles
PVP: Does not affect TTK in PVP on a Guardian with full health
Increase magazine size for all base inventory stats
Reduce Final Accuracy when firing from hip
Fast firing outside of ADS will be less accurate
Boost damage by 5% against AI combatants
HAND CANNONS
Changes:
Start damage falloff closer to the player to limit long range lethality
Small reduction in ADS accuracy, targeted at making long range snap-shooting less reliable
Reduce final accuracy when firing from hip
Fast firing from hip is less reliable
Reduce magazine size for all base inventory stats
Reduce base Optics (zoom) for all Hand Cannons
ADS now grants more width in favor of depth
SHOTGUNS
Changes:
Shotgun perks that enhance lethality at range should be less effective when combined with a high initial Range stat:
Reduce Shot Package Accuracy buff by 30%
Rangefinder adds a 5% base Range increase on ADS (was 20%)
Reduce Precision Damage multiplier on Shotguns by 10%
Reduce damage against AI combatants by 10%
FUSION RIFLES
Changes:
Slow charging, high Impact Fusion Rifles have decreased Range values
Makes it more difficult to max out Range for these weapons
Projectile Speed for Fusion Rifles is slightly reduced
Emphasizes the need to lead a targets outside medium range
Improve Accuracy for short range Fusion Rifles
Reduce Accuracy for long range Fusion Rifles
SNIPER RIFLES
Changes:
Final Round on Sniper Rifles buffs precision damage only, not base damage
This change only affects this perk when combined with Sniper Rifles
ROCKET LAUNCHERS
Changes:
Slight increase in base Blast Radius.
Grenades and Horseshoes proximity detonation reduced.
EXOTIC WEAPON TUNING
Unlike the last weapon balance update, we’re taking this opportunity to address a few of our Exotic Weapons in tandem with the changes to the base weapon behavior. Fair warning: Some of these changes are intended to make you feel better while killing with the weapon, and some are intended to make you feel better while being killed by the weapon.
Hard Light
Changes:
Increase base Stability to 80 (was 65)
Increase bounce count for Hard Light projectiles
Hard Light projectiles are not affected by Damage Falloff
Necrochasm
Changes:
Increase base Stability to 60 (was 40)
Increase magazine size
Cursebringer perk will always trigger on a precision kill
Cursebringer explosion has increased radius and deals more damage
The Last Word
Changes:
Reduce Range stat to 10 (was 20), reduce Stability to 20 (was 30).
Reduce effective range while in ADS.
Increase accuracy and precision damage aim assist scale when firing from the hip. “Get three coffins ready.”
Fixed bugs with Hipfire damage bonus applying incorrectly
Thorn
Changes:
Reduce base damage of Thorn’s Mark of the Devourer DoT (Damage over Time) to roughly 1/3 of what it was in PVP and PVE
Allow DoT to stack up to 5x across multiple landed projectiles
This is a net buff for Thorn’s DoT, but reduces the lethality of the weapon in PVP
Hawkmoon
Changes:
Add a stack limit to Luck in the Chamber and Holding Aces so that only 2 of the bonus perks will ever stack on one round. This should prevent Hawkmoon from 1-hit killing full health players in PVP
Add 2 rounds to Hawkmoon’s magazine when Holding Aces is unlocked
Luck in the Chamber damage bonus reduced by 3%
Ice Breaker
Changes:
Increase recharge time for Ice Breaker rounds to 1 every 8 seconds. Was 1 round every 5 seconds
No Land Beyond
Changes:
Increase weapon handling speed for faster time to aim, ready, and stow
Adjust sights to fix overlap/parallax issue while aimed
Increase time decay of The Master to 8 seconds
Add an additional 20% Precision Damage bonus while The Master is active
Black Hammer
Changes:
Increase ammo inventory to 18 rounds
White Nail perk now pulls ammo from your inventory
Lord of Wolves
Changes:
Tripled recovery boost bonus for allies granted by Lord of Wolves
Gjallarhorn
Changes:
Reduce damage of Wolfpack Rounds