Over the past 3 days there have been threads about rifle: balancing/reducing accuracy/RoF/MAKE IT WORSE PL0X.
And the feedback to those topics were a mixed bag, mainly consisting of people disagreing with the OP, some posts agreed with the OP but they were crushed by the overwhelming agreement of the forum.
There were one or two damage topics which didn't exactly involved the rifle; but the goal of the topic(s) would have introduced a few tedious problems.
At least one of the topics must have been created by someone who had started playing when 0.58 came out, meaning they had never played AoS with the cone. For those who don't know what the cone is I'll explain: The cone was an update to the rifle (before 0.54, e.g <0.52, the rifle was pinpoint accurate meaning headshots were assured) which made headshots RANDOM. No skill was involed in headshotting during that version, the only person who'd give you a headshot was Lady Luck.
Back on topic.
One suggestion I suggested in the topics (aswell as other people) was that we focus on the OTHER weapons, not the rifle.

So, balancing time.
Shotgun.
-Faster firing
-Instant kill at close range
-More damage at medium range
-Slight damage at Long range.
-Spread range increased? (multiple targets get hit)

SMG.
-More damage
-More accurate
-Less spread
-Better range
-Faster firing
The SMG seriously needs a buff.

One last thing:
A way to overcome the "ZOMG!!11 I can't get close without dying!!" problem would be teamwork. A sniper(s) takes out the enemy so the dude with the SMG and the guy with the shotgun can get close enough.
Thank you for reading
~Frosty.

P.S AoS does NOT have to be too realistic, sure we have realistic gun mods (don't count MLP mod), but last time I checked huge fortresses aren't created in under 30 mins.

the SMG is already fine, I think the shotgun is actually fine, also, but maybe adding another pellet or two could make it a little better. i was thinking about how i was saying that adding a sniper rifle would balance it, but it might also not, and be kind of dumb, so i was thinking that a handgun would probably also balance it a little bit. maybe cutting the semi's clip in half, but that wouldn't really do anything in the end, anyway.

I agree with the buffs, and those are quite much actually what I said in other thread :D I'd add: Shotgun hit stuns the guy it hit for one second (not friendlies)

The smg seems perfectly fine to me as it is, I can still get rifleman at 120 blocks or so, just have to realise the burst goes left to right and left to right again. Shoot in bursts and it isn't an issue at all. Shotgun could have one more pellet, but a wider spread over distance. When you shoot at half a head that like 6 blocks away, 9/10 the guy will kill you before you get your second shot out. Then again, shotgun isnt meant for that, so who cares?

tl'dr everything is fine, but smg would be awesome with 32 round clip and more reserve ammo.

Actually I'm the man who plays since .58 update, and I find the gameplay/balbance rather good. (Though I don't use shotgun, just dont't like it).

The cone was an update to the rifle (before 0.54, e.g <0.52, the rifle was pinpoint accurate meaning headshots were assured) which made headshots RANDOM. No skill was involed in headshotting during that version, the only person who'd give you a headshot was Lady Luck.
Sounds really... weird? Well, I'm kinda lucky to start playing since .58, cause otherwise I wouldn't play this game oO

I like wierd paragraphs.
DEAL WITH IT.

Anyway, the cone was a pain in the ass, im glad Ben removed it.

@Monsteri
That could be a pretty good idea; shellshock.

For the shotty, I just want an extra pellet or 2, and a tigher spread in CQC, I have missed people 10 blocks away.

For the smg, I think it can't ever really be balanced with the rifle unless it gets 1 hit kill headshots, which would probably throw the balance off. Anywho, I suggest we remove tracers and silence the gun, to make it into a 'stealth' weapon. This way, if you are getting shot, you won't necessarily know from where. Could make it useful, not just fun.

@bobbunny I have found that, with the shotty, if I miss, its usually not because of spread, but because of inaccuracy. It seems that If I don't give some cool-down time before shots, the shotty is WILDLY inaccurate. Like, 5 degrees off (rough estimate). If this isn't the case, I think that should be what the shotty is like: realistic bullet spread (a lot tighter than you'd think) but inaccurate when fired too fast.

Edit: Real sorry about the double post. I don't know how to delet it <.>

^Idk about your silencer idea...

Another thing, a new weapon may be the solution to this whole ordeal.

frosy why'd u make,yet another, thread on on the guns? U were just posting on one

I made this ages ago.

it was only 6 hours ago! O well, i guess im the retard for posting on here

I personally like the shotgun a lot, but I think it could use a few more individual pellets for the same overall damage. (Different choke settings would be nice at some stage, but that can keep.) The SMG's muzzle climb could stand to be cut down a little, but it's manageable if you stick to bursts of three to five rounds rather than rattling off half a magazine in one go.

There isn't really much that needs doing for the rifle, as my one problem with it isn't really related to the weapon itself. Headshots are too easy at medium range, in my opinion, on account of the default player sprite's head being the same width and half the height of his torso.

+1 Cool Points Frosty

I think the big heads are a nice quirk that makes this game stand out from many others. You know that awesome feeling you get when you score a headshot in a shooting game. I get that feeling a lot playing AoS.

Anyways, I think the rifle needs a de-buff. The damage is fine, but it needs slower rate of fire or something. The SMG needs a SLIGHT recoil reduction, and a SLIGHT damage boost and it'll be PERFECT. The shotgun needs to be easier to blast people in one hit in close quarters. I find myself preferring the SMG in close quarters much more often.

Unless you see fire a shotgun first hand at a close range target you wil never understand how shit the shotgun is in game. Anything 1-5 blocks away is a instant kill cause you in real life would look like swiss cheese putting it lightly. So if you want to do anything make the shotgun more deadly at close range then i will be happy cause that to me besides he super rifle is all I find wrong with the game.

The rifle still needs to be balanced though. Even if you buff the other 2 guns, that doesn't change the fact the rifle is always going to be better because it has excellent performance at all ranges.

I agree that the cone firing isn't a good idea. If its firing rate were reduced people at close range would actually stand a chance.

need a deployable lmg

I like these buff ideas, though I think the SMG rate of fire is fine as is. If you increased it you'd probably have to increase the clip size as well, or it'd chew through it way too fast.

I found that with the shotty update, things felt a lot more balanced. I saw a lot more people with a range of different guns out, and the combination of ranges gives rise to a lot of teamwork opportunities. And I do not find that the rifle is overpowered, it can definitely be beaten by a surprising enemy around a corner at close range.

Same Joe

Hmmm?

Shotty makes it seems more balenced.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WinHMCjyMZI

How did I not see that coming?

OBEY MY MUFFINS!

@OP:

SMG buffs definitely sound good. The RoF is debatable though.

As for the shotgun, I'd wish that the pellet spread would increase the farther the pellets travel but that means that buckshot would become projectile instead of hit-scan. A narrower cone perhaps?

Shotgun.
-Faster firing = agreed
-Instant kill at close range = yes
-More damage at medium range = yes
-Slight damage at Long range. = yes
-Spread range increased? (multiple targets get hit) = would be nice

SMG.
-More damage = its fine how it is
-More accurate = its fine :T
-Less spread = would be nice
-Better range = eh....
-Faster firing = no

The smg doesn't really need a buff to be honest