This was pretty much explained in Halo 1 dev when they talked about getting the shotgun in last minute. You really only need to add a weapon if it fills a niche that otherwise wasn't already there. By the time you have to resort to spreadsheet tactics to keep your myriad of weapons balanced, you've saturated your gameplay mechanics or have become reliant on gimmicks. That is, to say, when you balance one gun by the stats of another you've lost the game.
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