Mining Lances have never been an effective option for combat; even before engineering, they were inferior to C1 beam lasers, due to their lower damage, worse DPE, and worse falloff. After engineering, they were dramatically worse, as a beam laser could now have 58% more damage, 63% less power usage, while retaining 50% more range and falloff. It is actively a bad decision to attempt to use them for combat, as their low DPE means that even in the best case scenario, you're still losing distributor energy that could be better used by another wepaon.
The only REAL use for them until recently was as a long-range mining laser, allowing players to 'scrape' passing rocks from a greater distance, saving time and limpets. However, once you closed to standard distances, it was still better to swap to standard C2 mining lasers.
However, even that use has now been replaced by the new engineered C1 mining lasers. These mining lasers not only have 25% more range than mining lances, they also are even more efficient than C2 mining lasers, meaning you can continue to fire them when at close range!
In essence, even the tiny niche that once existed for Mining Lances no longer exists.
Doesn't that mean now would be a good time to buff them?
There are a few options available. The easiest would be to just reduce their distributor draw. They mine about 25% faster than C1 mining lasers, so if you set their distributor draw at 0.9375/sec, that would make them equal to the modified variants, and a decent mining option, with lower range traded for increased combat capability.
Another alternative, and one I'm personally fond of, is to give them Focused. Increase their default range, falloff range, and armor piercing significantly. After all, they are meant to mine rocks, so it would make sense that they can also 'mine' through heavy armor; IE, increased Armor Piercing. This would give them a niche, if a small one, especially against larger ships, especially against their hulls. Ideally, it should still reduce the distributor drain, as well, so it can still be a viable mining option, but with this buff, it could just be reduced to the same Chunks per Energy as C2 mining lasers - which is to say, 1.25MW/sec.
The third option would be to just make them engineerable. This is arguably the best option, and probably wouldn't be overpowered; a mining lance with Efficient applied would still take 33% more power than the new engineered mining laser, while only mining 25% faster. It would also be reasonably viable at combat, though still not as good as an actual beam laser. It would, however, be more efficient than a C2 mining laser, which is something, at least.
One way or another, the current mining lance is useless, and it would be an easy change to make to put the game in a bit better of a state, especially if it were modified as part of a community goal!
The only REAL use for them until recently was as a long-range mining laser, allowing players to 'scrape' passing rocks from a greater distance, saving time and limpets. However, once you closed to standard distances, it was still better to swap to standard C2 mining lasers.
However, even that use has now been replaced by the new engineered C1 mining lasers. These mining lasers not only have 25% more range than mining lances, they also are even more efficient than C2 mining lasers, meaning you can continue to fire them when at close range!
In essence, even the tiny niche that once existed for Mining Lances no longer exists.
Doesn't that mean now would be a good time to buff them?
There are a few options available. The easiest would be to just reduce their distributor draw. They mine about 25% faster than C1 mining lasers, so if you set their distributor draw at 0.9375/sec, that would make them equal to the modified variants, and a decent mining option, with lower range traded for increased combat capability.
Another alternative, and one I'm personally fond of, is to give them Focused. Increase their default range, falloff range, and armor piercing significantly. After all, they are meant to mine rocks, so it would make sense that they can also 'mine' through heavy armor; IE, increased Armor Piercing. This would give them a niche, if a small one, especially against larger ships, especially against their hulls. Ideally, it should still reduce the distributor drain, as well, so it can still be a viable mining option, but with this buff, it could just be reduced to the same Chunks per Energy as C2 mining lasers - which is to say, 1.25MW/sec.
The third option would be to just make them engineerable. This is arguably the best option, and probably wouldn't be overpowered; a mining lance with Efficient applied would still take 33% more power than the new engineered mining laser, while only mining 25% faster. It would also be reasonably viable at combat, though still not as good as an actual beam laser. It would, however, be more efficient than a C2 mining laser, which is something, at least.
One way or another, the current mining lance is useless, and it would be an easy change to make to put the game in a bit better of a state, especially if it were modified as part of a community goal!
