Ivan Avogadro
Subdreddit
Test Alliance Please Ignore
805
   |
Posted - 2014.02.25 19:29:00 -
[1] - Quote
STATS
PRO Vanilla Shotgun:
DMG - 39.6/pellet
RoF - 85.7
Accuracy - 34.2
Clip - 8
Max Ammo - 32
Reload - 0.6 s
PRO Breach Shotgun Variant
DMG - 47.5/pellet
RoF - 60
Accuracy - 44.5
Clip - 2
Max Ammo - 14
Reload - 1.3 s
ARGUMENT
The Breach variant shotgun is a decent idea and a good take on giving the gun a new role, but the execution leaves too much to be desired. The gun packs extra stopping power over the vanilla or specialist versions, but the downsides are currently too great.
Shotguns work by having damage per pellet, with (I believe) 12 pellets per shot. If all 12 hit the target, you do full damage. The PRO Breach shotgun delivers an extra 7.9 damage per pellet, for a maximum boost of 94.8 extra damage in one shot. ThatGÇÖs a huge bonus, nearly 100 extra EHP per pull of the trigger.
The problem, however, is that this bonus is offset by too many downsides. For starters, the rate of fire is 30% slower. The increase firing speed means in the time it takes the Breach to fire twice, the vanilla shotgun has fired three times, and caught up on damage delivered.
The strength of the Breach is exclusively found in the first shot. By the time you fire the second, the vanilla shotgun has caught up. This in itself wouldnGÇÖt be so much of a problem, except for the fact that the Breach only has 2 shots in its clip. Assuming you miss one shot or partially miss and you havenGÇÖt put the target down in 2, you need to reload. Reloading a shotgun mid fight is brutal, because every shot is reloaded individually, instead of an entire clip. For the Breach it is even worse, because the reload time is more than doubled.
The vanilla shotgunner in the same situation (of having left his victim alive after 1) can keep plugging away, up to 8 shots, and deliver significantly more damage after the immediate engagement. The vanilla shotgunner is also in a better reactive position, assuming a new enemy appears. (They also pay less ISK for an easier to use weapon).
Even if the extra damage did its job, and you achieve 1 shot 1 kill, the clip size of the Breach dictates you reload after every kill. Again, the long reload time leaves you flatfooted to surprises.
The alpha damage on the Breach is perfectly fine, and doesnGÇÖt need a boost. In fact, boosting the damage still doesnGÇÖt help because the vanilla shotgun will ultimately catch up by virtue of being so much faster. What the Breach could stand, is a bump in clip size.
Moving from Clip Size 2 to Clip Size 4 would increase the versatility of the gun and leave it much less susceptible to imperfect situations. A breach shotgunner would be much more able to deal with a series of enemy engagements without being left off guard. And the damage output over time would still not outpace the much faster vanilla shotgun.
Keep the long reload time and the low ammo. Reward the Breach user for calm, well aimed shots, without relegating them to outskirt one on one only engagements. |
Ivan Avogadro
Subdreddit
Test Alliance Please Ignore
808
|
Posted - 2014.02.26 20:22:00 -
[2] - Quote
Kilo Shells wrote:You only need 2;) id change the reload speed if anything
I disagree actually. If you decrease the reload time, you actually make the gun more likely to be used the same way as vanilla: unload, reload, unload, reload, last man standing wins.
Having the excruciatingly long reload time forces the player to make sure every shot is accounted for before the engagement. It changes the way you use the shotgun to being even more methodical and precise, in exchange for a larger damage payload.
The reason I advocate higher clip size is because you dedicate a light weapon slot to something thatGÇÖs probably going to be your main weapon, but 2 shots almost guarantees you are incapable of dealing with 2 people at once. It relegates the Breach shotgun to being used for outskirt engagements only, like sniper hunting, where extra stopping power isnGÇÖt even necessarily needed.
Also, hit detection is still a little laggy, which affects all guns. But the Breach shotgun, if you don't connect once because of spotty connectivity, you've lost surprise AND half your clip. |