It's both. YouTube/twitch culture now means many people no longer play a game and make up their own mind. How do I beat this challenge, what weapon is the best etc. They seek the answers without realising the answer doesn't exist - the best is whatever works best for you. Some people might see that Thorn is the "best weapon" and use it and have a terrible time with it, and never use it again. A lot though I would wager pick up the gun, and go in believing that they will do better, and so do well and then rely on the weapon exclusively. - and that is the estimated 70% we see using the gun. You can tell them apart because those that rely on the weapon have no idea what to do when you outplay them - you close in and they panic because they have had little reason to need to worry about CQB. Take their Thorn away and those people on top of the scoreboard will drop to the bottom where they should be - and will be forced to actually learn real strategy again. Do I think Thorn is unstoppable? No, I don't. I kill people who use it with great satisfaction with my old Super Pox VLO. Do I think it's OP? Not entirely. I did, but now I think it's just a few tweaks away from being fine. Do I think it's a fair weapon? Not really. It hits hard, it has too much range for what it is and for the kind of impact it has per shot, and the DoT is infuriating. If someone kills me with Thorn in two shots while under fire before I kill them, I'm ok with it. A skillful kill is totally fine. It's the little wimps that use it, band together and shoot you and hide - throwing a grenade to flush them out is a poor solution when a few body shots and the DoT will finish you when multiple targets are using it in this way. Used this way it's a cowards weapon and it's poor sportsmanship.