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Here is the info
If you remember, dear reader, the last bit of my inane ramblings was regarding the desirability of turning the lightsaber back to kinetic damage in order to give assault armor a place in the armor repertoire of the playerbase and encourage the use of kinetic-layering in armor. However, as we established, it would still not be enough to encourage the use of energy-based ranged weaponry.
While the lightsaber may be the cause of the dominance of energy-layered armor, the lightsaber is not the cause of the pre-eminence of kinetic-based ranged weaponry. Though it would seem that an increase in the level of energy armor would naturally lead to an increase in kinetic weapons, there is a much more significant factor in play with regard to ranged weapons. That factor is the Personal Shield Generator.
The PSG reduces incoming energy damage by ~20% before it is applied to the armor. That means out of 100 possible damage against normal 6000/6000/6000 battle armor, 20 is removed by the PSG, and then 38.4 by the armor for 41.6 damage to the player. If the armor were instead 8000/4000/6000, about 46 damage would hit the player. By applying its protection first, the PSG greatly outclasses an additional 2000 armor rating in a player’s armor suit.
When we look at the list of absorptions by armor rating:
1000 = 10.5%
2000 = 20.0%
3000 = 28.5%
4000 = 36.0%
5000 = 42.5%
6000 = 48.0%
7000 = 52.5%
We can see that nowhere on this list does a 2000 point increase in rating create a 20% difference in absorption, except from 0 to 2000. This means that, a suit of armor with 5000 energy resists and a PSG is more resistant to energy than a suit of armor with 7000 energy resists. It also means, that a suit of 7kin/5nrg/6000 assault with a PSG is still better protected against energy (ranged) damage than it is against kinetic damage!
How then, can we fix this issue? It is clear that just as the lightsaber encouraged energy-based armor, the PSG encourages kinetic-based ranged weaponry… and frankly I’m sick of seeing everyone running around with a Nym’s pop-gun.
There are two ways SOE could make energy ranged more viable. The first way is to change the way PSGs prevent damage. By simply making PSGs add to the total resists of an armor suit, their total effect upon damage is greatly lessened and so the usage of energy-based weaponry would become far more popular.
But, there is a downside to this option, several in fact. First, it would reduce the power of PSGs and we all know nerfs are bad. It would also not do much for encouraging armor diversity or weapon diversity because players would choose to still wear PSGs, and the end result would be in favor of kinetic (battle and recon) or a toss-up (assault).
Instead, the better option would be to allow PSGs to come in the same variants that armor does. Recon PSGs (like they are now, 0/2000/0), Battle PSGs (1000/1000/0), and Assault PSGs (2000/0/0). By adding variation to the PSGs available, there is no longer a singular damage type that bypasses the PSG, which would lead to more weapon diversity in damage type, and more diversity when it comes to armor choice. It would also expand the armorsmith’s market as players look to assemble suits of armor for multiple situations.
Multiple PSG types would also add a ‘cost’ to wearing a PSG. Currently forgoing a PSG means giving up a belt, which is a very minor loss. The profession belt’s benefits are relatively inconsequential and easily made up for through buffs and foods, so wearing a PSG becomes a knee-jerk choice for nearly everyone. A PSG is essentially a ‘free’ 20% energy damage reduction. If that 20% reduction was taken in place of a 20% kinetic reduction, or a 10% reduction to both, players would have to take more care in choosing both their armor and weaponry, because kinetic would no longer be guaranteed to do the most damage.
Applying both these techniques (lightsabers to kinetic, multiple PSGs) would go a long way to balancing the power of kinetic weapons, and maybe, one day… make them game like Star Wars again.
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