This record lists the concrete changes to weapon balance in 1.7 Alpha 1. These are based on the suggestions in Weapon balance suggestions, and The Great Big Balance Alteration Thread.

Thanks to everyone who contributed to these suggestions.

Changes

Level 1

  • DM600 disposable missile rack: powerUse="1" [Previously 10].

Level 2

  • Burak missile launcher: powerUse="2" [Previously 10].
  • Burak200 missile: damage="... WMD:7" value="6" hitPoints="10" [Previously WMD:1, cost 4, and 5 hit points]. WMD is orthogonal to level, so even low-level weapons should have it.
  • Chimeric laser cannon: powerUse="30" [Previously 40].
  • Heavy recoilless cannon: damage="... WMD:4" missileSpeed="40" [Previously no WMD and speed 30.] Increase speed to match recoilless cannon. Add WMD to balance out lower levels.
  • KM100 Longbow missile: mass="15" missileSpeed="60" [Previously mass 20 and speed 45] NAMI missiles are very slightly underpowered. Compared to Kartal missiles, these are faster, lighter, and have less WMD.
  • Mining laser: damage="laser:1d4+1" [Previously 1d4.] Increase damage to compensate for short range.
  • Valjor 50: lifetime="40" [Previously 30.] Increase range to 80 ls. Damage is actually reasonable for its level (based on benchmark curves).

Level 3

  • 400 hexagene MAG: ~~damage="... WMD:6" [Previously WMD:5].
  • AK15 Partisan cannon: ~~damage="kinetic:2d8+2; momentum:1; WMD:4" [Previously 2d8+1 and WMD:1]. Increased WMD to balance lower levels.
  • Burak300 missile: damage="blast:6d6; momentum:3; WMD:7" value="18" mass="20" hitPoints="10" [Previously 8d6, WMD:1, cost 10, mass 25, and 5 hit points.] We trade off damage to get WMD.
  • CLAW cannon: fireRate="24" missileSpeed="40" interaction="50" [Previously fire rate 35, missiles speed 50, interaction 100].
  • Heavy CLAW cannon: damage="... WMD:5" [Previously WMD:1].
  • KM110 Starburst missile: mass="15" missileSpeed="60" [Previously mass 20 and speed 45]
  • KM120 Brute missile: value="20" damage="blast:9d6; momentum:4; WMD:7" [Previously value 12, 10d6 damage, and WMD:6] This was slightly overpowered, so we drop damage and add maximum WMD.
  • KM500 Stiletto missile: mass="15" [Previously mass 20].
  • Laser cannon array: fireRate="10" [Previously 12] Also, change spread to +/- 3°. [Previously, +/- 5°.]
  • Moskva light turret: damage="... WMD:2" powerUse="50" [Previously WMD:3 and power use 30]. With new WMD algorithm, WMD:2 is better than old WMD:3
  • NAMI missile launcher: powerUse="5" [Previously 10].
  • Omnidirectional laser cannon: level="2" fireRate="10" [Previously level 3 and fire rate 16.] Power use should stay 3 MW (which is higher than a level 2 weapon, but lower than a level 3).
  • Dual recoilless cannon: level="2" powerUse="30" [Previously level 3 and power use 50.] Cost stays at 1,500. We leave power use relatively high to balance against heavy recoilless, which does less damage.
  • SmartCannon: powerUse="5" [Previously 10].
  • Urak mass driver: damage="kinetic:1d6+1 ..." [Previously 1d6].

Level 4

  • 600 hexagene MAG: damage="blast:8d6; WMD:6" [Previously 9d6 and WMD:5].
  • Burak400 missile: damage="blast:9d6; momentum:4; WMD:7" value="36" hitPoints="10" [Previously 11d6, WMD:1, 20 credits, and 5 hit points.] We trade off a few damage HPs to get better WMD.
  • KM550 Broadsword missile: mass="20" damage="blast:9d6; momentum:4; WMD:7" [Previously mass 40, 10d6 damage, and WMD:6]
  • Flenser cannon: ~~damage="... WMD:3" [Previously WMD:2]
  • MAG launcher: powerUse="10" [Previously 20].
  • RK15 Partisan turret: damage="kinetic:2d8+2; momentum:1; WMD:4" powerUse="100" [Previously 2d8+1, WMD:1, and power use 60].
  • Slam cannon: damage="blast:2d6+2; momentum:2; WMD:5;" lifetime="60" hitPoints="10" [Previously 3d6 WMD:1, lifetime 80, and 3 HP]. Slam cannons are distinguished by WMD and high projectile HP. See also: https://ministry.kronosaur.com/record.hexm?id=29058
  • Urak advanced mass driver: damage="1d6+1; momentum:1; WMD:4" fireRate="14" [Previously 1d4+4, WMD:3, and fire rate 12].
  • Valjor 200: damage="laser:8d6" lifetime="40" [Previously 6d6 and lifetime 30.] Increase damage to match benchmark curves. Increase range to 80 ls.
  • XM300 Reaper missile: value="30" mass="15" missileSpeed="60" [Previously cost 50, mass 30, and speed 45]

Level 5

  • 800F Hexagene MAG: damage="kinetic:4d6; WMD:1" fragmentCount="50-60" [Previously blast:2d8].
  • Akan 30 cannon: damage="... WMD:5" powerUse="20" [Previously WMD:2 and power use 40].
  • Burak500 missile: damage="blast:12d6; momentum:4; WMD:7" value="60" hitPoints="10" [Previously 14d6 and WMD:5; 35 credits and 5 hit points.] We trade off a few damage HPs to get better WMD.
  • Heavy slam cannon: damage="blast:4d6; momentum:2; WMD:5;" missileSpeed="50" lifetime="60" hitPoints="25" powerUse="240" [Previously 5d6 WMD:1, speed 60, lifetime 67, hit points 5, power use 200].
  • Lancer cannon: fireRate="18" [Previously 16].
  • Mark I howitzer: damage="... WMD:4" powerUse="240" [Previously WMD:3 and power use 200].
  • Omnidirectional particle cannon: fireRate="12" [Previously 16].
  • Omnidirectional x-ray laser: fireRate="16" powerUse="200" [Previously 20 fire rate and 250 power use]
  • Sabel 90: damage="... shield:4" Added shield-busting effect.
  • Shuriken: Leave alone for now. The move to stochastic damage adj should give us more accurate damage values.
  • Urak howitzer: damage="blast:1d6; momentum:1; WMD:4" fragmentCount="30-36" [Previously 1d4+4 and WMD:3].
  • White Strelka: damage="... WMD:5" value="6" [Previously WMD:3 and cost 5]. Strelkas should be half the standard missile price.
  • X-ray laser cannon: powerUse="200" [Previously 300].

Level 6

  • Akan 600 turret: damage="... WMD:5" powerUse="30" [Previously WMD:2, and power use 60]. Ammo weapons should have WMD.
  • Burak600 missile: damage="24d6 ..." value="96" hitPoints="10" [Previously 20d6, 80 credits, and 5 hit points].
  • Dragonfly missile system: damage="blast:5d6; momentum:2; WMD:6" powerUse="30" [Previously 4d6, WMD:5, and power use 60].
  • Dwarg behemoth cannon: damage="thermo:2d12+4; momentum:2; WMD:5" lifetime="60" hitPoints="25" powerUse="300" [Previously 3d12, lifetime 80, hp 15, and power use 250]. This is more like a thermo version of the slam cannon.
  • Green Strelka: damage="blast:5d6; momentum:2; WMD:5" value="9" [Previously 4d6+1, WMD:3 and cost 7].
  • JB2 shield buster MAG: damage="blast:12d12 ..." [Previously 11d10].
  • Mark III howitzer: powerUse="360" [Previously 300].
  • Nandao bolt cannon: lifetime="80" powerUse="40" [Previously lifetime 100 and power use 60.]
  • Omnidirectional muon cannon: level="5" powerUse="200" [Previously level 6 and power use 300].
  • Plasma torch: damage="plasma:30 ..." [Previously 20].
  • Slicer cannon: damage="particle:2d8+3" [Previously 1d8+1] I had a bug in my calculations—this is more appropriate for a special quest weapon.
  • TeV 9 blaster: damage="particle:5d8" [Previously 4d8]. See also: https://ministry.kronosaur.com/record.hexm?id=30655
  • Thorin 10 repeater: fireRate="18" [Previously 16].
  • ZG24 cluster MAG: damage="blast:4d6; WMD:5" fragmentCount="28-38" [Previously 3d6 WMD:3]

Level 7

  • 3K siege MAG: damage="blast:14d24; WMD:7" [Previously 24d6]
  • dual mark III howitzers: powerUse="720" [Previously 600].
  • dual TeV 9: damage="5d8" [Previously 4d8].
  • Hanzo blaster: damage="particle:3d8+3" [Previously 3d8]
  • Katana star cannon: fireRate="14" lifetime="40" [Previously fire rate 12 and lifetime 60] Decrease range and fire rate to balance it out.
  • Kiloton cannon: damage="thermo:1d12+2" fragmentCount="50-70" powerUse="50" [Previously 1d8+2 and power use 100].
  • Mark V howitzer: damage="... WMD:4" fireRate="40" powerUse="600" [Previously WMD:5, fire rate 36, and power use 400].
  • NM900 external missile pod: powerUse="50" [Previously 5].
  • Omnidirectional TeV 9: damage="5d8" [Previously 4d8].
  • Orkan 255 missile: damage="blast:16d6 ..." [Previously 14d6].
  • Red Strelka: value="15" mass="12" [Previously cost 24 and mass 20]. Cheaper/lighter version.
  • Repeating mark V howitzer: fireRate="40" powerUse="600" [Previously fire rate 36 and power use 400].
  • Sabel 220: damage="ion:8d6; shield:6" [Previously 9d6]. Added shield-busting effect and lowered damage as a trade-off.
  • Thera cannon: powerUse="50" [Previously 200].
  • Thermo cannon: hitPoints="20" ammoCost="60" [Previously 10 hp and 95 ammo cost].
  • Tritium cannon: damage="thermo:5d12; momentum:2; WMD:3" [Previously 6d12 and WMD:4] The old damage of 6d12 was a little too high for this weapon. At 5d12 it is still better than many other level 7 weapons, so it should probably cost a little more.
  • Luminous thermo missile: damage="... WMD:7" [Previously WMD:0]
  • XM900 Lucifer missile: damage="thermo:7d24 ..." mass="20" [Previously 6d24 and mass 40].

Level 8

  • 98R high-flux MAG: damage="thermo:14d24; WMD:7" [Previously 8d24]
  • Ares micronuke cannon: powerUse="100" [Previously 200]
  • Fusionfire howitzer: damage="thermo:11d12; momentum:3; WMD:4" powerUse="1200" [Previously 12d12+9, WMD:5, and power use 1000]. Was slightly overpowered, particularly with new WMD algorithm.
  • Gotha-10 missile: damage="thermo:10d20 ..." [Previously 8d20].
  • Hecates cannon: damage="thermo:11d12; momentum:3; WMD:7" fireRate="50" powerUse="1200" [Previously 12d12+12, fire rate 40, and power use 900] This was overpowered before.
  • Ion blaster: Removed WMD, since all weapons now have some WMD.
  • Omnidirectional thermo cannon: hitPoints="20" ammoCost="60" [Previously 10 hp and 95 ammo cost].
  • Omnidirectional tritium cannon: damage="thermo:5d12; momentum:2; WMD:3" powerUse="1000" [Previously 4d12 and 500 power use] Matches tritium cannon, but we consume more power to balance it out.
  • Rasiermesser launcher: powerUse="100" [Previously 50].
  • Thorin 300 multicannon: fireRate="20" powerUse="1200" [Previously fire rate 16 and power use 1000].
  • TM7 multitarget cannon: damage="... WMD:6" [Previously WMD:4].

Level 9

  • Advanced tritium cannon: damage="thermo:5d12; momentum:2; WMD:3;" [Previously 4d12+4] Matches tritium cannon. Also increased rate at which it cools down, to make it more viable.
  • Black Strelka: fragmentCount="36-48" value="60" mass="15" [Previously 18-24 fragments; value 90 and mass 30].
  • Dual Fusionfire howitzer: damage="thermo:11d12; momentum:3; WMD:4" fireRate="44" powerUse="3000" [Previously 12d12 WMD:5, fire rate 40, and power use 2000].
  • Dvalin Ion9 cannon: damage="ion:60 ..." fireRate="22" powerUse="2000" [Previously ion:50, fire rate 16, and power use 1500].
  • Ferian plasma cannon: damage="plasma:60 ..." [Previously plasma:50].
  • Gaian demolition cannon: damage="thermo:24d20; WMD:7" missileSpeed="50" power="200" [Previously 12d12, speed 100, power use 3000] I don't want to make this too strong, or else the player will die. We also need a set of missions to acquire the means for charging this (but that won't come until later).
  • Heavy ion blaster: damage="ion:24d6" power="1500" [Previously 20d8 and power use 2000] Removed WMD, since all weapons have some WMD.
  • Mark VII howitzer: damage="... WMD:4" fireRate="44" powerUse="2400" [Previously WMD:7, fire rate 40, and power use 2000].
  • NAMI heavy launcher: Increase availability of missiles and re-evaluate. See: https://ministry.kronosaur.com/record.hexm?id=30473
  • Omni ion blaster: damage="ion:11d6" fireRate="24" power="2000" [Previously 4d6, fireRate 16, power 1200] This now matches the ion blaster, though it is slightly overpowered, so it might need to cost more.
  • Qianlong archcannon: damage="antimatter:8d12; WMD:7" [Previously 4d12]. Also, longzhu has 256 charges (instead of 128) and QAC can have up to 9999 charges (instead of 256).

Level 10

  • IM90 multitarget blaster: damage="ion:6d6" [Previously 4d6]. 8d6 is actually the standard damage for these stats. Also, we should tighten spread to +/- 3°.
  • Lamplighter: damage="antimatter:10d12; WMD:5" [Previously 6d12]
  • Lamplighter prototype: damage="antimatter:6d12; WMD:5" [Previously 4d12]
  • Positron lancer: missileSpeed="100" lifetime="60" power="3000" [Previously speed 90, lifetime 34, power use 3500] Damage seems reasonable for its level, but other attributes need to be buffed. Note: I suspect range was originally decreased to stop Ringer stations from killing others. Might need to increase the exclusion radius.]
  • Luminous plasma missile: damage="... WMD:7" [Previously WMD:0]

Level 13

  • Quantumsphere disintegrator: powerUse="1000" [Previously 8000]

Version History

2016-02-09

  • Boosted Katana back to 80 ls range, due to popular demand.

2016-02-06

Originally balanced was tuned to expect 1/8th of fragments to hit. I've changed this to 1/5th (based on feedback) which means we need to nerf most fragmentation weapons.

  • Nerfed KM110
  • Nerfed 800F MAG
  • Nerfed ZG24 MAG
  • Nerfed Black Strelka
  • Nerfed Urak howitzer
  • Buffed kiloton cannon
  • Hecates cannon back up to 120 ls range; added WMD:7 and lowered fire rate to differentiate from Fusionfire.
  • Lowered omnidirectional muon cannon to level 5; dropped power use.

2016-02-05

  • Nerfed heavy ion blaster slightly.
  • Nerfed dual Fusionfire howitzer (slightly).
  • Nerfed mark VII howitzer (slightly).
  • Nerfed Ion9 slightly.
  • Buffed Ferian plasma cannon.
  • Removed WMD:1 from IM90 since all weapons now have some WMD.

2016-02-04

I fixed a bug in the balance computations which undercounted damage lower than standard. I've undone some of the nerfing from yesterday.

  • Rebalanced Dwarg Behemoth cannon to be closer to a slam cannon (more HP, shorter range, etc.).
  • Increased damage of plasma torch.
  • Increased fire rate of omni particle cannon (was slightly underpowered).
  • Increased damage of Dragonfly missile system.
  • Increased mark III howitzer's power use (to balance out).
  • Increased damage of TeV 9s.
  • Decrease range of Nandao bolt by a little bit.
  • Dual mark III howitzer increased to level 7; power use increased.
  • Increased fire rate of omnidirectional laser.
  • Decreased damage of slam cannons.
  • Decreased lancer cannon fire rate.
  • Decreased x-ray laser power use.
  • Decreased fire rate of mark V howitzer (to be consistent with other howitzers).
  • Decreased fire rate of Katana star cannon.
  • Decreased cost of thermo cannon shells; increased hit points.
  • Decreased damage of Fusionfire howitzer.
  • Reverted ion blaster back to previous, but removed WMD (since all weapons now have some WMD).
  • Decreased fire rate of Thorin repeater.
  • Decreased fire rate of Thorin 300.
  • Decreased damage and range of Hecates cannon.

2016-02-03

In working on price scales I noticed various other balance issues. These are described below:

  • Increased damage of AK15 and RK15. Increased power use of RK15 to compensate.
  • Decreased range of slam cannon to compensate for WMD.
  • Heavy slam cannon set to match relevant slam cannon specs.
  • Decreased fire rate of advanced Urak mass driver.

2016-02-02

With the new changes to WMD, we've rebalanced some weapons. See: https://ministry.kronosaur.com/record.hexm?id=29058

  • Increased fire rate of CLAW cannon to bring it up to balance.
  • Increased WMD of heavy CLAW cannon.
  • Increased WMD of heavy recoilless cannon.
  • Increased WMD of Partisan cannons.
  • Increased WMD of Flenser cannon.
  • Increased WMD of mark I howitzer in exchange for more power use.
  • Increased WMD of Akan 30 and Akan 600.
  • Increased WMD of Dragonfly missile system.
  • Increased WMD of TM7.
  • Increased WMD of 400 MAG and 600 MAG.
  • Decreased WMD of Moskva light turret (but with new WMD algo, it's still better than old version).
  • Decreased WMD of Morning Star cannon (still better than old version).
  • Decreased WMD of mark V howitzers (still better than old version).
  • Decreased WMD of tritium cannons (still better than old version).
  • Decreased WMD of mark VII howitzer to WMD:4 (to match other howitzers).
  • Rebalanced Fusionfire howitzers: lowered damage and WMD (but better than old version due to new WMD algorithm).

2016-01-31

  • Increased rate at which advanced tritium cannon cools down. With previous specs it was a little underpowered.
  • Rebalanced all Burak missiles; in general they were all slightly overpowered.
  • Rebalanced all NAMI missiles; in general made them slightly faster and lighter.
  • Rebalanced all MAGs; some were underpowered, others overpowered.
  • Weakened Hecates cannon slightly.
  • Increase power use of Moskva light turret.
  • Increase power use of omnidirectional tritium cannon.
  • Decrease range of Katana star cannon.
  • Increase power use of mark V howitzer.
  • Increase power use of fusionfire howitzer.
  • Buff omnidirectional x-ray laser: increase fire rate and decrease power use.
  • Bump up Slicer cannon to 2d8+3 to compensate for particle damage resistance at level 6.
  • Bump up Ion9 to 60 damage.
  • Bump up Qianlong to 8d12 to account for the fact that it is a quest weapon.
  • Bump up Lamplighter to 10d12 to account for the fact that it is a quest weapon.
  • Increase laser cannon array fire rate.
  • Buffed Urak mass driver, advanced mass driver, and howitzer.

2016-01-30

  • Buffed Strelka series, mostly by adding WMD:5. Also, price per missile set to 1/2 of standard missile price.

2016-01-28

  • Ammo weapons and launchers should consume 1/10th as much power as standard weapons (since they already consume ammo). Previously, the standard was around 1/5th. The following weapons had their power use decreased: DM600, Burak missile launcher, NAMI launcher, SmartCannon, MAG launcher, Akan 30, Thera cannon, Akan 600, Dragonfly missile system, Nandao bolt cannon, kiloton cannon, Ares micronuke, Gaian demolition cannon, Quantumsphere disintegrator.
  • Rasiermesser launcher and NM900 missile pod had power use increased to conform to standard.
  • Dual recoilless: Decreased power use to 3 MW.
  • Chimeric laser: Decreased power use to 3 MW.

2016-01-27

  • Categorize list by level.

2016-01-23

  • Initial creation.
the_shrike 23 Jan 2016:

This is really going to shake things up. It'll be very interesting to see the impact.

I agree with pretty much everything, although I'm not sure about the Heavy Ion Blaster (and to a lesser extent the standard ion blaster).......I've never had any issues with reactor power at that level (especially since the SN2500 tends to get skipped because of its low efficiency). So I'm not sure there really is a low-powered niche right now....although I'd certainly love to see one developed. The important thing will be whether the reduction in damage spread from the altered diceroll lets it adequately fight the ICS. It might make a very good endgame auton gun, however.....if there's anything that can use it. Both ion blasters will also still have their appalling anti-compartment performance, although that's been discussed enough elsewhere that I'm confident that the WMD will be reviewed eventually.

The new GDC looks nice, although that dice spread is a bit high...max damage of 480 and minimum of 24 gives it the same problem that just got fixed on the APA. Might be worth seriously cutting that spread. EDIT: And the reactor power is still a bit high for a non-rechargable gun.....but I guess it's fine if the recharge method is simpler (and less rare) than the QAC.

The mention of reviewing particle resistance is a welcome surprise as well.

All in all, I'd say this is a good set of changes based on what we got right out of all our nitpicking. :)

atarlost 23 Jan 2016:

The laser array needs to either drop to level 2 or firerate 10. It currently does slightly less DPS than the level 2 dual laser cannon in addition to issues with the configuration.

the_shrike 24 Jan 2016:

Level 3 is probably a better place for it, so that ROF increase is likely the better of those two options.

xephyr 25 Jan 2016:

Also commenting here in case my post in the thread got swallowed in the, uh, excitement

The Archura bolts in Eternity Port should have some degree of WMD to make them competitive as a launcher.

nms 26 Jan 2016:

Ooh, the omni ion blaster is becoming an actual ion blaster, rather than a light ion blaster. That is an impressive skirmish weapon.

It might be worth adding back the omni light ion (light ion turret?) at the appropriate level of 8, though.

johnbwatson 28 Jan 2016:

I'll point out the rather obsolete Teratons' kytyrn blaster and launcher, as fixing them could also be the solution to the Teraton defenses issue you pointed out a while back.

Also, I'd recommend giving the Lamplighter a greater boost, such that it is roughly as powerful as the equally hard to get APA, and definitely has an equal or greater DPS than the EI Plasma Cannon, which is presently a much better weapon despite being more common and predating the Lamplighter.

megas 28 Jan 2016:

Level 10 plasma weapons are very damaging, much more than positron lancer. Positron lancer only has 135 DPS (and no WMD), while plasma weapons exceed 200. EI plasma cannon, if it still fires bolts instead of clouds, could have damage reduced somewhat...

...Or maybe not, if I run the numbers as per weapon guidelines, level 10 DPS is 172.5 (46hp * 3.75). I assume this is for basic positron and plasma weapons.

That means, current plasma cannon is roughly proportional to the 1.7 tritium cannon. Maybe positron lancer could get a powerUse decrease, if not damage increase?

Lamplighter with 195 DPS and superior damage type seems good, especially if powerUse stays at 200MW.

johnbwatson 30 Jan 2016:

Positron Lancer isn't really a powerful weapon in terms of DPS. It's a great station defense weapon because of pseudo - WMD and range, but for player gunships there are better guns. Could use a damage increase, I agree.

EIPC DPS is much lower than a super - enhanced thermo weapon that can be obtained for a much lower price.

Lamplighter at present stats is somewhat mediocre. Poweruse is irrelevant for it, as any player that has one has already got a good enough reactor to support anything and free refueling. If it were a weapon from some late game heavy gunship that could be looted after a fight, it'd be fair enough, but for what it is it really needs a buff. The fact that it's worse than the Plasma Cannon, which a player has a good chance of looting from the Europa halfway through its storyarc, hits it fairly hard, but look at the DPS of the APA, a weapon of the same level and moderately lower difficulty of acquisition, which also has vastly higher WMD and range.

megas 31 Jan 2016:

Ares Plasma Archcannon takes two weapon slots to install - it should be superior to other level 10 weapons that require only one weapon slot. A better comparison would be Lamplighter vs. EI plasma cannon. With the proposed balance changes, Lamplighter will have superior DPS to plasma cannon against Iocrym or any other enemy with plasma resistance.

If Lamplighter can be imported into part 2, it will stay useful longer than level 10 plasma weapons.

the_shrike 1 Feb 2016:

"Bump up Ion9 to 60 damage." <--Note relevant ticket: https://ministry.kronosaur.com/record.hexm?id=18123

The ion9 probably shouldn't get too much of a boost as a quest weapon (although it should still be a good weapon for its level) because it has some traits that make it rather good at hunting capital ships (high chance to damage devices when it hits compartments due to the particle spray).

johnbwatson 1 Feb 2016:

"Ares Plasma Archcannon takes two weapon slots to install - it should be superior to other level 10 weapons that require only one weapon slot. A better comparison would be Lamplighter vs. EI plasma cannon. With the proposed balance changes, Lamplighter will have superior DPS to plasma cannon against Iocrym or any other enemy with plasma resistance."

EIPC has a good chance of being acquired for free halfway through the Lamplighter's arc. In addition, given the mission required for Fleet Captain, anyone with a LL has proven himself at least capable of acquiring an APA. The two slots are a factor for things like the freighter, but given the fact that the APA gets +~50% from a howitzer loader and the LL can't be similarly boosted, I'm tempted to call it a wash, especially considering that the only ship that really suffers from that penalty is the freighter, and its strategy of enhancing its weapons with its devices slots does the LL no good, so they're both suboptimal for that ship.

That said, 10d12 is a significant upgrade from the previous version, I'm tempted to wait until it's been tested before drawing any conclusions here.

megas 1 Feb 2016:

10d12 will make Lamplighter very powerful, with more DPS than plasma cannon, perhaps fitting as the most powerful weapon.

As for APA, adding speed loader costs yet another slot, for three slots (two weapon, one non) dedicated to it. That is a large opportunity cost to most ships, given slot limits. If a ship dedicates that much support, it should be stronger than peers with less support.

johnbwatson 4 Feb 2016:

While I'm still not sold on the LL's usefulness against capital ships, the change already made is great enough that I don't want to jump to conclusions. I'll probably be testing both of those weapons *extensively*(:D) once 1.7 is released, so I'll have a lot more to go on then.

johnbwatson 6 Feb 2016:

I like the recent alterations a lot. I am a bit wary of making the KSC too weak, though, given how late it shows up and how powerful its competitors are.

solargalaxy 7 Feb 2016:

I think the Katana needs its range. Two reasons are:
1) It was one of the few late-game energy weapons that could match the range of matter weapons. I'm not actually even sure if anyone uses it late-game anymore ever since Internal HP came out, but it would be nice to have more options.

2) For lore reasons. Right now the Britannia, Aquila, and Terra will actually have less range (60 vs 80) than Centurions with TeV9s. Range is probably the most important thing for the fleet since the Ares have much more powerful weapons and armor. So, at minimum I think it needs to be 80ls so that it can be used against Ares Capital ships which have the Ares lightning turret (80ls).

solargalaxy 10 Feb 2016:

The NM900 missile pod needs to be updated with the XM900 lucifer's new stats.