Make LBX weapons do 1.5 (+/- 0.1) damage per pellet. It will make them more like a shotgun and do more damage at close range, make them at least so-so at longer ranges. This will make them more competitive with their AC/UAC counterparts.
Long version:
First, going to toss up this older post I found. I agree with most of the OP discussion in the opening:
http://mwomercs.com/...-the-long-game/
Main idea though is, since we've made LBX function somewhat like a shotgun, we need to tweak the damage per pellet to make it a worthwhile weapon compared to it's AC and UAC counterparts. In particular, for Clan LBX/UAC, the LBX is simply not worth the extra space and the weight compared to the output of the UAC, which because it fires in a burst, still allows for some "spray-n-pray".
By increasing the damage to 1.5 per pellet, you now have made a compelling argument for the LBX10 and AC10 on the IS side. The AC10 will still do nice, concentrated punch at all ranges in its range spectrum, with the plus side that, at longer ranges, it's more effective and almost a ballistic PPC (they have similar ranges). For the LBX10, the weapon would trump its brother at close range, doing up to 15 damage, with the potential to concentrate that damage in brawling/CQB (which is what the shotgun is used for in military/SWAT applications). At short to medium range, it still is a weapon to be reckoned with, while losing much of its effectiveness at long range. Another plus.... since hit registration still tends to be an issue, is that even IF you have a lack of hit registration with all of the pellets, at least the ones that do "count", count!
On the Clan side of the house, the functional benefits remain the same, however, this makes it at least competitive with the UAC class of weapons. An LBX10 and UAC10 on the Clan side, for example.... there's almost no argument for the LBX as it is currently. I can still double-tap that UAC10 and do up to 20 points of damage (assuming all rounds hit... not always the case). If the LBX10 did 1.5 points per pellet.... NOW you have a much tougher choice on your hands, and the damage potential for both weapons is about equal.
This would give a much maligned weapon a much needed boost in performance. Additionally, the coding for this should not be an onerous task for the dev team. I'd recommend doing this with a patch, making it widely known (post it up on the intro slideshows), and then, before the next patch, make a poll here with a well-advertised request for feedback (again, post it in the slideshows at entrance to homescreen).
(Credit due to the Google+ MWO fanbase, whose discussion prompted me to post this.)
Edit: Fixed grammar and a typo.
Edited by Draecos, 02 April 2016 - 05:31 PM.