So I've got some confusion about what the developers are going for regarding certain weapon ranges. So I'm going to talk about how I'd like to see them changed and I'd like people to let me know if these are good ideas, or if there are good reasons for why things are this way that I'm not understanding.
*Plasma Lauchers
What small and medium launchers are good for seems pretty clear to me: they're specialized anti-armor weapons. But both their maximum ranges being equal to lasers of the same size, and the large launcher's 45 minimum range don't make sense to me. The former makes small and medium lasers kind of unnecessary. The latter just seems to synergize poorly with how either line or artillery combat computers work on battleships with x slots. I'd prefer that plasma launchers be more specialized as short range "brawler" weapons; have their minimum ranges removed and maximums reduced. I'd probably give them the same ranges as autocannons: 0-30 small, 0-35 medium, 0-40 large. Maybe very slightly lower the cooldown times to compensate the loss of range, only if necessary.
*Cloud Lightning
Cloud Lightning is just kind of bad, but if they upped it's maximum range to 100 or at least 80 I feel like it could at least kind of complement an arc emitter battleship.
*Mass Drivers
Large mass drivers are purely inferior to kinetic launchers. I'd remove the minimum range to try to give them *something*. If this requires their maximum range be reduced down to 90 or even 80 for balance I'm OK with that, but I'm skeptical that it would.
*Missiles/Nano-Missiles/Swarmer Missiles
I feel that all of these should have a minimum range: 35 for missiles and nano-missiles, and 45 for swarmers. These are the longest range weapons you can put in their slot sizes by far, and that should come at a cost to close range viability.
*X slot and T slot weapons
I don't understand why the various X and T slot "spinal mount" weapons have such widely different minimum ranges. You've got the mega/giga cannons and ancient saturator with 45, the arc emitters with 10(?), and the particle/tachyon lances, perdition beam, and ruination glare with 0. Why the favoritism for the energy weapons and against the kinetic weapons? IMO, all these weapons should have the same minimum range, either 45 or 0.
Thoughts?
*Plasma Lauchers
What small and medium launchers are good for seems pretty clear to me: they're specialized anti-armor weapons. But both their maximum ranges being equal to lasers of the same size, and the large launcher's 45 minimum range don't make sense to me. The former makes small and medium lasers kind of unnecessary. The latter just seems to synergize poorly with how either line or artillery combat computers work on battleships with x slots. I'd prefer that plasma launchers be more specialized as short range "brawler" weapons; have their minimum ranges removed and maximums reduced. I'd probably give them the same ranges as autocannons: 0-30 small, 0-35 medium, 0-40 large. Maybe very slightly lower the cooldown times to compensate the loss of range, only if necessary.
*Cloud Lightning
Cloud Lightning is just kind of bad, but if they upped it's maximum range to 100 or at least 80 I feel like it could at least kind of complement an arc emitter battleship.
*Mass Drivers
Large mass drivers are purely inferior to kinetic launchers. I'd remove the minimum range to try to give them *something*. If this requires their maximum range be reduced down to 90 or even 80 for balance I'm OK with that, but I'm skeptical that it would.
*Missiles/Nano-Missiles/Swarmer Missiles
I feel that all of these should have a minimum range: 35 for missiles and nano-missiles, and 45 for swarmers. These are the longest range weapons you can put in their slot sizes by far, and that should come at a cost to close range viability.
*X slot and T slot weapons
I don't understand why the various X and T slot "spinal mount" weapons have such widely different minimum ranges. You've got the mega/giga cannons and ancient saturator with 45, the arc emitters with 10(?), and the particle/tachyon lances, perdition beam, and ruination glare with 0. Why the favoritism for the energy weapons and against the kinetic weapons? IMO, all these weapons should have the same minimum range, either 45 or 0.
Thoughts?
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