Question About Weapon Balance After Latest Patch

I just update my game and I feel some weapons behave little different now. Especially the shotgun and railgun feel changed in speed and damage, and sometimes I am not sure which one is better in close battle or long range. I know developers try to balance, but it is hard to see small changes in stats when you are playing. I do small tests and try preliminary estimating of damage per second and hit probability on each map, but still feel confusion because in real battle it not always match the numbers. Maybe there is some tool or simple method to check weapon balance visually? Also want to know if anyone see big difference after this patch in competitive play? I am new to serious matches and want idea how to adjust my loadout. Thanks for share thoughts!

We didn't change either of the railguns in a very long time, but the shotgun spread was adjusted fairly recently (effective range increased, same maximum damage, see https://xonotic.org/balancevotes/31/).

We try to get people to test and vote on significant balance changes, more info at https://xonotic.org/balance_council/ and results are at https://xonotic.org/balancevotes/ where you can see the cvars changed and/or commit links, and click the ID number for people's thoughts and reasons.

Generally the best weapon is the one you can hit with the easiest in the specific situation, because missing does little or no damage This will vary somewhat for different play styles (both the shooter and their target) and depending on the objectives of the gametype.