Power Play - Weapon balancing - Good job

[Ben Ryder]

Power Play - The weapons have not ruined overall game balance

EDIT - to title. Power Play - The weapons have not ruined overall game balance

I think FD did a good job on the special weapons in power play.

It keeps the balance. They give some rewards to new players and small ship owners and rather than handing out large weapons that would make the divide between small ships and big ships even bigger - new players and part timers are not getting left further behind.

I'm looking forward to getting the enforcer cannon tomorrow. It would have been nice if it was a cannon and not a multi cannon but hey it's no big deal. I'm going to fit a couple on a cobra and have some fun.

EDIT - Just to save people ranting.

It's okay, but you've missed my point. My point is not about the grind (not even a little bit.. not even a tiny tiny bit), my point is simply about not dishing out large weapons and unbalancing the game. That's all I feel very sorry for those that didnt get the gun they want and hope they learn from this recent storm in a tea cup. It could easily have been much worse.

 

[Ari Ben Zayn]

I don't know how much fun a new player (didn't Mr. Braben say he'd rather not see inexperienced players in PowerPlay?) might have after grinding 750 merits for four weeks in his newbie ship, only to be rewarded with, for example, a useless retribution laser.

 

[Cadoc]

I couldn't possibly disagree more. There are a couple of useful modules out there, while several are trash. The Enforcer Cannon is almost a great, fun addition to the game. However, by making it Small only you ensure that most of the people who actually have played long enough and ranked up enough to unlock it, have no need for it. Make it medium and suddenly almost everyone has a use for it. As it is, it's useless to the majority of Antal pledgers.

 

[Johnny Kelso]

I don't know how much fun a new player (didn't Mr. Braben say he'd rather not see inexperienced players in PowerPlay?) might have after grinding 750 merits for four weeks in his newbie ship, only to be rewarded with, for example, a useless retribution laser.

Agreed - the retribution laser is pretty useless...apart from looking pretty.

 

[Midian27]

This is a joke thread right? The pp weapon balance is terrible. Most are straight downgrades while a handful may actually see some use...

 

[Ben Ryder]

It's okay, but you've missed my point. My point is not about the grind (not even a little bit.. not even a tiny tiny bit), my point is simply about not dishing out large weapons and unbalancing the game. That's all I feel very sorry for those that didnt get the gun they want and hope they learn from this recent storm in a tea cup.

 

[FuzzySpider]

This is a joke thread right? The pp weapon balance is terrible. Most are straight downgrades while a handful may actually see some use...

I wondered too if this was a joke. I am searching for the sarcasm.

One faction has a weak mining laser/beam laser combo and another has the most powerful shields in the game. It's about as balanced as a drunken one legged rhino in an earthquake that is just about to sneeze.

 

[Ben Ryder]

I mean all the weapons (not the shield) It's not a weapon. Come on chaps. Stop with the knee jerk reactions.

 

[Psycho Romeo]

I agree to a large degree for some of the weapons at least, but my issue is this: By the time a newer player in a smaller ship can get the power modules, they are going to be well past the time where they will actually be relevant. Like yourself, the power modules will remain a 'for fun' kind of thing. Certain exceptions of course, most notable being the prismatic shield.

 

[Ari Ben Zayn]

What's making the fixed c1 retribution laser balanced compared to the mining lance? They're equally useless? And now compare them to the Imperial Hammer, which actually is as useful as any other railgun (that means, if you are able to use it, it's very powerful). You could be the best shot in the world and the first two weapons are still useless.
I mean, come on. The Retribution Laser doesn't even do anything if your target still has shields and after you've stripped them might give your enemy warm feet at best. Don't get me started on the mining lance that's, afair, worse than either a normal mining laser and a normal small laser. It's the worst of both worlds, yeah! ;-)

 

[Johnny Kelso]

What's making the fixed c1 retribution laser balanced compared to the mining lance? They're equally useless? And now compare them to the Imperial Hammer, which actually is as useful as any other railgun (that means, if you are able to use it, it's very powerful). You could be the best shot in the world and the first two weapons are still useless.
I mean, come on. The Retribution Laser doesn't even do anything if your target still has shields and after you've stripped them might give your enemy warm feet at best. Don't get me started on the mining lance that's, afair, worse than either a normal mining laser and a normal small laser. It's the worst of both worlds, yeah! ;-)

Thats a good point actually. If everybody had known what these "bonus" items were like 4 weeks ago, how many would have bothered with PP?

 

[Ian Skippy]

I think FD did a good job on the special weapons in power play.

It keeps the balance. They give some rewards to new players and small ship owners and rather than handing out large weapons that would make the divide between small ships and big ships even bigger - new players and part timers are not getting left further behind.

I'm looking forward to getting the enforcer cannon tomorrow. It would have been nice if it was a cannon and not a multi cannon but hey it's no big deal. I'm going to fit a couple on a cobra and have some fun.

EDIT - Just to save people ranting.

It's okay, but you've missed my point. My point is not about the grind (not even a little bit.. not even a tiny tiny bit), my point is simply about not dishing out large weapons and unbalancing the game. That's all I feel very sorry for those that didnt get the gun they want and hope they learn from this recent storm in a tea cup. It could easily have been much worse.

Hey, can you do something for me when you get it? Can you check if it does relatively more damage to larger ships compared with a normal multicannon? The galnet article implicitly suggested that this weapon would be good foor attacking larger ships, and I'm wondering if it may have reduced penalties when used against larger ships. If that were true that'd be awesome and pretty much in line with the lore: a small faction pushing above its weight due to technology.

 

[Cadoc]

It's okay, but you've missed my point. My point is not about the grind (not even a little bit.. not even a tiny tiny bit), my point is simply about not dishing out large weapons and unbalancing the game. That's all I feel very sorry for those that didnt get the gun they want and hope they learn from this recent storm in a tea cup.

There are other, better ways of balancing unique weapons. Let's take the Enforcer Cannon. They could keep it as it is, which is fixed, higher damage and slower firing. That way you get higher overall dps if you hit (same as Imperial Hammer), but the penalty for missing is harsher than with a normal multicannon. Depending on the exact values that is balanced - you get something, you lose something. Making a weapon absolutely useless to the vast majority of players is not balance - it's adding insult (useless weapon) to injury (useless Power perks and bonuses). Hell, I wouldn't even mind if the Enforcer Cannon was fairly weak, as long as it was fun, different and I could actually fit it on my Python.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Im not talking about balancing the weapons vs each other or how long it took to get them of which one is better. There are plenty of threads about that. I am simply saying their overall impact on game balance is good. The game has not become unbalanced because of them and that is a good thing.

 

[CATPAIN KIRK]

Thats a good point actually. If everybody had known what these "bonus" items were like 4 weeks ago, how many would have bothered with PP?

Well - having worked excessively for Torval in any CG associated with her, I originally decided to wait before pledging.

I then joined in the first weekend because PP modules were taken off the reward list, so I naively took that as an indication that FD have come to their senses and realized what a terrible idea power specific weapons would be in the first place.

They reintroduced them soon after, at which point I had made a fair share of merits, so I decided to stick around because I like my faction and I again (naively) thought they can't possibly make the modules complete rubbish.

I didn't expect much - just a fixed beam laser with maybe a different colour, available in small, medium and large (hoping for huge in my wilder dreams).
Same damage and fitting stats as a beam laser with the added ability to shoot rocks. Nothing offering me any advantage (I never considered mining in the first place) - so in my case, a pure flavour module - that's not too much to hope for is it?

I got a small beam laser without a crosshair, the fitting requirements of a medium mining laser and when I first tested it on an Eagle, the Eagle was almost boiled just from firing them.

I honestly can't think of any situation someone would use it in - maybe mining in a sidewinder, but then, anyone pledged for four weeks would probably not go mining in a Sidey. That thing is so bad, I consider it trolling.

Compare that to prismatic shields, the imperial hammer drunk missiles or Patreus' plasma - probably all with their downsides, but they have their uses.

I know that Ben meant they did well not to overpower the modules (I mostly agree - except for the shields maybe), but some of them are plainly insulting. Balance? You must be kidding.

 

[Ben Ryder]

Ah I see what;s happened here. People hvae just read the title of the thread and jumped in. My mistake, sorry chaps.

Hello Moderators. Can you change the thread title please? Can you change it to Power Play - The weapons have not ruined overall game balance.

 

[geoffrey.hdt]

I'm fine with the idea to give new small weapons for those who must or like to fly small ships (I do).

However:

- Most of them should I come as fixed, gimballed and turret.

- Most of them should have come as class 1 and class 3 as well.

- I am sad to see that out of these 10 new toys, 2 are completely useless and 2 are not going to be used. (More details: https://forums.frontier.co.uk/showthread.php?t=164596)

 

[LeetNoob]

Ah I see what;s happened here. People hvae just read the title of the thread and jumped in. My mistake, sorry chaps.

Hello Moderators. Can you change the thread title please? Can you change it to Power Play - The weapons have not ruined overall game balance.

LOL. Looks like you're getting more heat than the PP mining laser.

i understand what you mean. I haven't pledged yet and I hate the idea of power specific outfitting. It's dumb and doesn't belong in ED lore.

i might pledge just for the shields as it's the only one I like the look of and my Python could probably take the power cost. The whole thing just doesn't seem well implemented to me.

 

[Midian27]

So in summary: its good that these new modules are worthless, that way they don't effect balance... That's one of the dumbest things I've ever heard.

 

[yul7896]

The pulse disruptor sucks. As this is the only weapon I've personally used, it is the only objective point of data I can provide. Seems to me though, there are a few weapons that far outmatch it, but I really don't know.