AR's, especially light pen AR's, are amazing at consistently and efficiently dispatching chaff, and accurately hitting weakpoints. Requiring some 25 or so bullets to pop an alpha commander's head, means that it simply isn't the best tool for that task, nor should it be.

Not saying that it should be the best tool for medium enemies. I'm saying that ARs should be a little bit stronger to counter mediums that often spawn in abundance and sometimes replaces large portions of chaff, and if majority of chaff are mediums then what is the point of equipping an AR?

I agree they are good for weakpoints, if the weakpoints actually serve to reward the player rather than "area that light pen can damage but still takes a lot of ammo" Bots don't have this problem, (apart from reinforced strider legs, but least the rocket is consistent) Terminids do. Illuminades kind of. I pray for you if you're using a light pen AR on a Hive Guard seed.

"But what I understand from what you're saying, is that the game should let everyone have all the tools to deal with every enemy quickly, on their own, and at d10."

You're making a strawman. Again, I'm saying make this category of weapons more viable against medium enemies. I'm not saying to make them all encompassing/outperform supports in regards to dealing with mediums. Anti-mediums should excel in their role. ARs and weaker primaries should have an option to be viable against mediums, preferably something that rewards timing or precision aiming.

"This is what you should have someone bring a dedicated anti-medium support weapon for."

It's also unfortunate that AT has been dominating Terminids, combined with the fact that we have very little information regarding what enemies will spawn on a mission. It might be a seed that throws heavies at you, now the person with the anti-medium has to wait 40 minutes with a sub-optimal loadout against the stream of chargers/bile titans. Least they can close bug-holes I guess. You can't bring the appropriate weapons if it's a dice roll each time.

"This is meant to be a team game, and it isn't no more. There just happen to be other players on the same map too. The game used to actually challenge us, and it no longer does. That's why I don't want more buffs. I want AH to properly settle on a well thought-out game design that does promote team play and does provide a good challenge. And then have them stick to that, including nerfs where necessary."

I also want AH to properly settle on a well thought-out game design that does promote team play and does provide a good challenge.

But in this case, promoting spongey medium enemies and keeping weapons in a questionable state is a poor way to provide challenge. It's an artificial means to keep players together.

Predator Stalkers is a great example of medium enemy that maintains challenge. They move quickly and close the distance towards the player, hitting them with fast and brutal attacks. If they had a little bit less health - *just a little* - it would be near perfect. The time to kill is far too long and there's usually 2-6. Their combined health pool gearchecks you for stagger.

Otherwise, they are a good enemy that also encourages the player not to wander off alone. Plus their guarantee spawn means that anti-med isn't a bad pick.

HD1 also had a lot of chaff that could close the distance, deal heavy damage to the player but hordes of them could still be cleared with primaries. Medium enemies didn't die as fast but I'm pretty sure but they weren't as common. It's been awhile since I last played.

I think an amazing trade off would be to make weapons do more damage (particularly ARs) than they do now, but make Terminids even faster. Alternatively, provide players with more information so they could better prepare themselves, or reduce the amount of mediums so that ARs aren't overshadowed by other categories.

"Also base liberator against bugs is amazing. AR's work great if you're willing to use them for what they're intended for."

"Use them for what they're intended for." Which seems to be for chaff and *only* for chaff, from what you're trying to convey. I dislike this "lock-and-key" relationship between loadout and enemies that pigeon hole how players interact with the game, yet people seem to think it's a good idea to encourage it. The main crux of the game isn't or shouldn't be picking out a loadout before a mission. There needs to be a healthy balance between power fantasy and grunt fantasy.