Last 100 Alerts on Emerald: 57 VS, 28 NC, 15 TR

You say that the game needs to be balanced around purely the highest skilled players in non-representative situations that 95% of the players will never experience (and the veterans dont either) for the reason of "they do it in some games".
The other games you mention have matchmaking systems to balance out both skill level and player numbers, which requires a different balancing from a game where players of any skill and any amount of players can be present.

I say that you need to balance based on all skill levels, because its not a matchmaking game. Matchmaking games are easier to balance as the players are selected for their performance when they are put against/with each other so you can expect a similar knowledge and skill base.

And again: why would high-skill players use the Betel MORE EFFECTIVELY in live servers than when they use the Orion? Its not convenience as that doesnt make them more effective, its the fact that you are fighting a much larger amount of players of varying skillsets and weapons. With the knowledge of the differences between the weapons and their peeformance we can create a viable hypothesis: The ability to interrupt thr reload of your gun leaves you less vulnerable in the large combat situations live has to offer, boosting the weapons performance more than thr Orion's attachments.
But no matter what hypothesis you use, the fact remains that in non-matchmaking combat between large groups of people (and not 6v6 "fights") the Betel is a superior weapon.

Someone once linked a video in a threat the went a bit like this one currently does, concerning balancing and player skill. I liked it, so i saved the link. Have at it:

Also, another game I occasionally enjoy despite its shortcomings is Eternal Crusade. People there were also asking for rebalances based on the top players. In the times when patches still did happen, a few times changes went that direction. The game has now about 100 players on weekend prime time.
Note: The pro player balancing was one of, but not the main reason for the tiny population. But ifI I had not said this right here, most of you unfamiliar with the game would have thought so, right? This automatic assumption proves that balancing after pro players only is a really bad idea. I rest my case.

it's the purple camo. seriously. i can't see it in over half the areas where fighting takes place, meanwhile i'm painted red and don't blend in to anything, even at night. vs has been the easiest play of all three factions for me. seems like every vs gun i unlock is just buttery smooth and super easy to use compared to almost any tr or nc gun i've used.