The SG-12 is strong, easy to use, and satisfying. But not flawless. Range is restricted, the damage is good but not absurd. It is in a good spot, not a weapon that replaces everything.
A negative example is the Maelstrom. It was “shoot in one direction and everything dies,” even at 20+ meters. It did more damage than most people could do with ARs at that range. It was oppressive.
Balance should be built around a fun baseline
- Bring bad guns up
- Bring oppressive outliers down
- Release DLC weapons that stay viable after you finish your camos
People should not assume "balance" means their favorite gun will be ruined. Treyarch needs to builds trust by having a wide variaty of fun guns, then people are accepting to reasonable nerfs.
Some of the usual counterpoints don’t really hold up anymore:
- "The mystery box needs bad guns” That made sense when maps had a fixed weapon pool and bad guns made rare pulls special. Now DLC guns join a growing pool, and we have weapon rarities. An early game gold gun should not be tossed because the gun is trash.
- "Just done use it, play solo" ; "It's a PvE game" Weapons with the highest potential should require some effort**.** In coop, even an average player can turn a match one sided very quickly with an opressive gun.
This is exactly what the SG-12 is. A fun weapon, but not one that makes everything pointless.
Examples:
- Bolt-action sniper rifles should perform on par with the Shadow SK. Snipers can be close to being OP since they require a specific playstyle and some skill.
- Assault rifles should be brought to a fun baseline, excelling in mid to long range over SMGs and shotguns.
- SMGs should almost compete with shotgun bodyshot damage up close, but you can stretch their effectiveness with headshots into mid range.