I disagree completely. The nerf was not "artificial," it was necessary. First of all, how can you have trouble managing the gun? If you position right, and stay relatively far away so that the traverse is bigger, then it should cover any part of the field that is an active combat zone. Second of all, the "micro tax" is miniscule at best. A couple of clicks per minute is nothing compared to what USF has to deal with. It opens up a lot of options for the opposing player to deal with the ISG while, if you can even ink out 1-2 more APM than what you're currently doing, it should have little to no effect on its performance. It's a nerf which doesn't kill the weapon.
This change might not have been my #1 go-to, but it'll do and I'm willing to get behind it over Relic doing nothing at all. Peoples main complaints are that it's "not like a mortar." But who would want it to be? They are not mortars. They are light artillery. They suppress. They wipe a hell of a lot better. They should not be mortars.
Very well put. The micro is no more artificial than having to face an MG the proper direction, except easier considering the range on these pieces is long enough they shouldn't need frequent refacing unless you're aiming for highly mobile targets, which is not what artillery is meant for anyway.
I think removing suppression could have been a fine fix too, but a weapon with so much range should not be completely effective without some player input required. Players decent enough to face it correctly will still be rewarded with accurate shots that suppress (a reduced amount) and do good damage (a slightly reduced amount for LEIG, not reduced at all for Howie).
The barrage reload change was reverted and they are still fairly cheap, the LEIG especially. The nerfs don't seem too harsh and I think this change will mostly be an issue for people expecting the unit to sit in one place and be effective the whole match without touching it.
Relic Entertainment
cblanco ★ 
보드카 중대 
VonManteuffel 
Heartless Jäger 
