Headshot and Engineering

[Lazerus Artificial]

I just unlocked the Headshot-Mod and was a bit surprised when i checked my Weapons.

Lasers dont have a Headshot modifier at all with a 1.0x Multiplicator. Why? They deal lower damage to Health already, why dont they have a Modifier? Headshot is Headshot, isnt it?
Kinetics have 2.0 which is fine
Plasma has 3.0 which is again...why? I have yet to find an Enemy that survives a Bodyshot from an Executioner, and even the Tormentor deals more than enough Damage.

Personally i think the distribution should be unified.
Headshots should always have a 2.0x modifier, no matter if it is Laser, Kinetic or Plasma. As i said, Plasma deals more than enough damage, and no modifier at all on Laser feels unrewarding.

The Mod itself affects the Base-Stat by 50%, so Laser increases to 1.5x, Kinetic to 3.0x and Plasma to 4.5x. So for Laser it is just "better than nothing", while on Plasma it is a "wasted slot".
With a unified Base of 2.0 it would be rewarding for all Weapons and the mod would give that extra punch on top of it.

 

[Northpin]

Personally i think the distribution should be unified.
Headshots should always have a 2.0x modifier, no matter if it is Laser, Kinetic or Plasma. As i said, Plasma deals more than enough damage, and no modifier at all on Laser feels unrewarding.

Lasers are hitscans. So there is your justification for lack of extra headshot damage.

G5 Aphelion is really potent. If you put headshot on it, it gets 1.5x damage. Which makes it even more potent.
Not sure if lasers need more love, but i'm a bit conflicted about that when i think about Manticores and how powerful they are, although they are toned down a lot by low projectile speed.

However, an Aphelion has high rate of fire and, being a hitscan, there is no evasion possible against it. It also chews through shields like nothing else.
A 2x innate headshot damage bonus, further enhanced by headshot mod, would make it too powerful imo.

 

[Lazerus Artificial]

Lasers are hitscans. So there is your justification for lack of extra headshot damage.

G5 Aphelion is really potent. If you put headshot on it, it gets 1.5x damage. Which makes it even more potent.
Not sure if lasers need more love, but i'm a bit conflicted about that when i think about Manticores and how powerful they are, although they are toned down a lot by low projectile speed.

However, an Aphelion has high rate of fire and, being a hitscan, there is no evasion possible against it. It also chews through shields like nothing else.
A 2x innate headshot damage bonus, further enhanced by headshot mod, would make it too powerful imo.

Lasers are Hitscan, sure, but then again they deal less damage to Health.
G5 Aphelion would indeed be insanely strong...but its G5 afterall, so whats wrong with that? Bring a G5 Dominator against it. Same with any other G5 Weapon. A Tormentor kills with two Bodyshots, no Executioner needed. In fact, the Executioner has no need to even be at G5 because it is Shieldgated.

Engineered Ship Weapons are a huge difference too. You should see what my G3 Railguns do to a Cobra...thats pretty much what any G5 Weapon should do against G1 unshielded Enemies.

My main concern is pretty much that so many mods feel "useless" on so many Weapons...

 

[Northpin]

Well, i guess the main point is:
An Executioner cannot kill you at 120m if you are on the move and you are aware that you are being shot at.
A more powerful Aphelion will not have that weakness.
And even the current G5 Aphelion (with headshot mod) is waaay more useful against an alerted target than an Executioner.

Same, a Tormentor is quite strong in close quarters... but the emphasis is on close quarters, it puts the Tormentor wielder in harms way (same for the Intimidator)
That's not the case for a long range hitscan weapon

 

[Lazerus Artificial]

Well, i guess the main point is:
An Executioner cannot kill you at 120m if you are on the move and you are aware that you are being shot at.
A more powerful Aphelion will not have that weakness.
And even the current G5 Aphelion (with headshot mod) is waaay more useful against an alerted target than an Executioner.

Same, a Tormentor is quite strong in close quarters... but the emphasis is on close quarters, it puts the Tormentor wielder in harms way (same for the Intimidator)
That's not the case for a long range hitscan weapon

Thats another issue that should be addressed. Executioner in its current form is just pure Garbage. Cant be used as a Marksman Rifle, is outclassed by a Scoped Shotgun in terms of Damage and Shieldgating, and outclassed by a Pistol in terms of Magazine Size.
Overall Weapons need another Balance Pass.

 

[Northpin]

Thats another issue that should be addressed. Executioner in its current form is just pure Garbage. Cant be used as a Marksman Rifle, is outclassed by a Scoped Shotgun in terms of Damage and Shieldgating, and outclassed by a Pistol in terms of Magazine Size.
Overall Weapons need another Balance Pass.

On the contrary, i see the Executioner (with audio masking) as the perfect long range killer vs unshielded and unsuspecting targets
It's low speed it's the perfect downside against making it an universal and unavoidable 2-shotter.

All in all it feels to me quite balanced. It doent mean it's perfect, but it's good enough

 

[Lazerus Artificial]

On the contrary, i see the Executioner (with audio masking) as the perfect long range killer vs unshielded and unsuspecting targets
It's low speed it's the perfect downside against making it an universal and unavoidable 2-shotter.

All in all it feels to me quite balanced. It doent mean it's perfect, but it's good enough

a bit more speed would be nice though, even if i have to sacrifice a slot for "greater range".
but even then there is no need to aim for the head.