Why does it take a full magazine to kill basic enemies?

Until they patch it, it's going to continue to be an issue. Most games I play have 3 people using snipers while my little Turian Soldier is running around with SMGs. Though even he'd be better off with a sniper, I'm sure.

Because that's not how you play the game. You need a team of four with a good service record, a pre-planned strategy, kits and setups that play to each other's strengths and weaknesses, good communication, and a professional can-do attitude. Plan, co-ordinate, adapt.

I don't know what you're thinking that you can just hop online for half an hour, slap any old gun on a random character and join some randoms and shoot some baddies /s

BTW - yes, it is a bit of annoying. I for one wouldn't mind if the enemies were similar to players in all stats - HP, shields/barriers,weapon and power damage, cooldowns, available combos etc. It would work IMHO (just recall the ME3's Citadel DLC). Normal Vanguards with Charge/Nova, heavies like CAT6 ones, infiltrators, snipers with Widow/Black Widow/Isharay, but in smaller numbers - that would be cool
But in this game - the devs have chosen the easiest way: most of enemies are rather lame in their damage, abilities, special attacks etc. but - as beefy as hell, and become even beefier on higher difficulties.

you have to use the best weapon the devs managed to design in MP, i name the Jetpack.
It doesn't kill anything but gives the impression of efficiency.

You need magazine upgrade to make most AR's somewhat viable or use them with turbocharge. The cyclone is killing super fast with turbocharge and magazine upgrade. It is absolutely underwhelming without it. The Tokin is good, but don't even try without magazine upgrade otherwise you will be reloading all the time. With Mag upgrade its good with any kit, no need for turbocharge ofc with turbocharge it rocks. But you need to know how to lead the projectiles. Revenant is ok without Mag upgrade,because its huge clip size, but it is again only good with turbocharge. Then we have the Soned, which is a beast. But you need to know how to use it. It has a long ramp up time high rof and is very inaccurate. You don't need mag upgrade (its not even working with it) and with turbocharge its a beast. But you need to use it strictly in close or close / mediumish range. For small enemies like raiders, chosens etc. you need to be in shotgun range (or turbocharge but still not too far). If its turbocharged you can go head to head with the anointed to have a chain gun fight and you will win, plus its taking down nullifiers, observers, berserkers quite fast aswell and still dont need to reload, you can take down 3 or even 4 enemies with one clip. I consider this gun more versus big targets ( destroyers, nullifiers, observers, berserkers, hydras, fiends, anointeds, destineds), than small ones.

Honest answer: because the game would be much too easy if guns actually inflicted a reasonable amount of damage. In ME3 players and enemies could mutually kill each other within seconds, both were dangerous. In MEA, both players and enemies are weaklings by comparison.

Personally I blame the reduced number of waves/game and jetpacks. Clearly the devs didn't know how to make the game challenging again without turning our adversaries into damage-sponges.

Oh boy. I even put the "/s" at the end and some people still don't get it.

You put it at the end of a sentence that ends in s without a period.
. is next to / on keyboard
I looks like you just fat fingered at the end which made me think it was genuine.

what you say sounds great - but please tell us,
why did OP not need your "advice" before when he was playing with sniper rifles ?


And besides, if my time with games like The Division has shown anything, it is that you should never underestimate the surprisingly big number of players who either are not able or don't want to play with a perfectly organized team, all with headsets and whatnot.
And then there is a big number of players who do have a network of friends but still spend a lot of time PUGing because they are not online or for whatever reasons.

Now you'll probably say:  then OP should go to bronze/silver
(after having successfully played with snipers before!!).  
But I actually think that what you are saying about the well organized team with strategy, etc. should be reserved for a higher difficulty than gold - considering the item-store / credits ratio we are having to deal with.

So that you can be Spike Speigel awesomeness after securing a kill

Try human Sentinel or soldier. Raptor is best AR. Revenant also rocking. Disciple great shotgun. Also love equalizer and charger. 

Lots of great weapon mods in the uncommon tiers from 20 k packs....