Hand Cannons

[Trash Elo 101]

So I've played some hours now, I'm curious what the big fuss over hand cannons is. I know that everyone says they are good. The problem I have is that, even if you get all headshots (which i'd say is not very plausible) the kill time seems to be absurdly lower than when using other weapons. At a distance I don't see how a handcannon possibly outclasses any sniper rifle. At mid range, SMG and auto rifle have a much faster kill time if you even get a few headshots in the burst. Also the clips sizes and reload times are atrocious. Is there something I am missing? I know they look cool and i'd love to use them but I always become the weak link on the team when I main a hand cannon over literally any other choice.

[Wolfram]

They use primary ammo, sniper rifles use special ammo, so that is a good thing.
Second, there are few that actually have quite decent fire rates, and well, they hit hard.
I myself hardly ever use them in pvp and really dislike them there, but generally they can be really good.
Also, the magazine sizes are often quite OK, considering the fire power. Like, 13 rounds, or possibly even 15 with a heavy hitter is quite good.

[Reaper King]

Honestly I know that feeling. I can never get them to work but in crucible they can be very powerful if you hit shots as its a three tap. The big appeal with them is that they do alot of damage at long ranges but have more amo then sniper rifles. How ever I've found that a pulse rifle can do just as much damage in crucible. At least Bygones can.

[Armos]

Handcannons cover most of your screen preventing you from seeing your target if you scope when firing. That's a big pass to me.

[Tom]

Never forget the power of cover, you decide when and how you want to peek out of cover. And as HCs are single shot=high damage you can pre-aim to where you think an enemy is then step out of cover take a shot and step back into cover. Also even a single in range (~30M) HC headshot can weaken an enemy enough for a teammate to have an easy clean up.

[rob_every05]

Main reason why people use them is they are FAR easier to use with mouse and keyboard, if you use controller like me it is tricky to be consistent with your headshots.

And in the higher echelons, most top players use HC and snipes of shotguns, very little else.

I loge shredding them with my pulse rifle and would love even more to shred them with a sidearm if I was good enough to use one!