Thanks everyone for your input over the last few weeks on this issue. At the heart of every FPS there is the Rifle and it just needs to be fair and balanced.

The current situation is that we have some underperforming weapons and a complex range progression. See here: DPS versus Range - Current

I began looking at balancing that system, and that effort got me around here: DPS versus Range - Tuned

Here are, therefore, our proposals, while our method will be primarily buffing through tweaking fire delays, ROF and damage. We will not be touching the actual maximum effective range of the weapons, as they are heavily influenced by New Eden lore/rules.

1) Eliminate range progression of all rifles. It's unnecessarily complex and very hard to balance dps over range with overlapping bubbles. Therefore, all Standard and Advanced weapon will have the effective range of the matching Prototype weapon.

This is how that scenario looks like, and we can all agree that it is easier on the eyes and brain: Range vs DPS - No Range Progression - Current

2) Then we need to properlybuff some of the weaker variants in general, Breach AR, Burst AR and Tac AR

3) And finally make sure that there is a trade off of range versus dps, I am looking at you Rail Rifle.

And this is a birds eye view of how that might look after this balancing pass:
Range versus DPS - No Range Progression - Tuned

Go wild, keep it civil and constructive.

Should not be penalized; Dust 514 and eve is about freedom of fitting instead of shoehorning; true suit bonuses causes a bit of shoehorning but that's the deal when you start to specialize.

Higher tier weapons are supposed to give you an edge.
More range is not an edge. It flat-out changes the fight from "I have a slightly better gun" to "Hahaha he can't even hit back!".
I do agree that the advantage should be meaningful, but not via range.
It makes more sense to increase mag size or reduce the drawback or something.


No, a race's equipment should be fitting to that race's playstyle, not increasing the effectiveness artifically.
A Gallente should want a Gallente weapon because his suit is best used in close combat. A Minmatar should prefer a Minmatar weapon because it fits his hit and run-oriented suit.
And any player should be able to consciously use another faction's equipment for specific roles. That's why we even have a fitting system.

Bonuses should be in-character, not metagaming. An Assault shouldn't give a bonus to a faction's weapon, but rather give a bonus that makes all weapons a bit more like the faction's weapon - Meaning that the faction's weapon profits the most, because it's already the strongest in the areas that are getting even stronger. A close-combat bonus on a Rail Rifle is worth less than a close combat bonus on a Plasma Rifle, because the load-up of the Rail Rifle will always be detrimental in that situation.

Edit:
And yes, this means that the Logi equipment is quite silly right now. According to this logic, the Amarr should have the repair tool, due to being brick tankers.
Ideally, you would be capable of filling your ranks with a single faction, due to appropriate synergy.

Might I suggest increasing the AR's clip size to 64 bullets?
The increased fire rate means it will eat bullets faster, resulting in more frequent reloads on the rifle with the 2nd slowest reload time.
And considering it's a CQC rifle, that's not something that you want.

Might I suggest increasing the AR's clip size to 64 bullets?
The increased fire rate means it will eat bullets faster, resulting in more frequent reloads on the rifle with the 2nd slowest reload time.
And considering it's a CQC rifle, that's not something that you want.

From a lore point Concord has final authority to immortal controlled armaments which basically states that there shall not be a exclusivity monopoly of tech made available to capsuleers. Period. Caldari in all of their bureaucracy and money lost massively on the last time they challenged this law trying to pass off the electronic attack frigate being dissimilar from other frigates in a case to match to how the scorpion is dissimilar as a battleship. Concord investigated and ruled the notion out declaring the EAS as a new class of ship and forced La Dai to share the tech with designated corporations in other empires.

Also no race is above using other races weapons' RP or not. Minmatar weapons are highly favored due to their low powered shipboard applications and emp proofing usually. Its quite common to find a weapons locker of such weapons in every special forces group in the galaxy.

It did lose 8 meters of range for that 50RPM ROF boost.

Also, all the rifles have a better hip fire.
CR, SCR and RR all have a more accurate hip fire.

Uhhh..
Then don't get within 40 meters?
Long range weapons exist for a reason.

Cut them down from there then come in to kill the left overs.

Is wrong ...

Yet you are the one who wishes to enforce that scenario . Where a Caldari is stuck with his rail rifle ......rather than picking up an MD to deal with that armor camp down the hall. You wan't him to waste a ton of SP skilling into another race suit just to use a weapon suited to the task of the problem he faces.

You are fundamentally lacking in certain considerations here.

RaiL Technology is not a Caldari invention. It's actually something that was developed by the Gallente and then adopted by the Caldari to suit their purposes, both militaries utilise and modify their vessels for use of these turrets. Missiles are not unique to any one race, and ballistic weapons like auto cannons and by extension Combat Rifles are used by every standard military, and more often than not pirate factions the universe over.

In EVE vessels work more, depending on how you consider it, like this.

What I do understand is each suit has it's own strengths and weaknesses and our rifles where designed to balance them, I never said "racial lock" I said efficiency. Caldari need the range buffer to survive, but if a Gallente has my rifle?

So my pointing to play style, as the cause of imbalance not a symptom, is justified.

Any fit = 100% Efficiency with required skills

Fits making use of Ship bonuses = 110%

I can put Autocannons on a Tormentor, the ship still works to 100% of it capacity. But when I stack Pulse Lasers on it it gets bonuses and works to 100+X % of its normal capacity.

Penalising a player for not using a racial style is not the best method here, instead giving logically sound technological bonuses for using complimentary technology would benefit the development of specific playstyles.

The bridge maps, when your on top of buildings, when people are crossing from one relatively save zone/objective to another, when not in one of the main compounds, when fighting in long narrow areas, and the list goes on.

You are fundamentally lacking in certain considerations here.

RaiL Technology is not a Caldari invention. It's actually something that was developed by the Gallente and then adopted by the Caldari to suit their purposes, both militaries utilise and modify their vessels for use of these turrets. Missiles are not unique to any one race, and ballistic weapons like auto cannons and by extension Combat Rifles are used by every standard military, and more often than not pirate factions the universe over.

In EVE vessels work more, depending on how you consider it, like this.

Any fit = 100% Efficiency with required skills

Fits making use of Ship bonuses = 110%

I can put Autocannons on a Tormentor, the ship still works to 100% of it capacity. But when I stack Pulse Lasers on it it gets bonuses and works to 100+X % of its normal capacity.

Penalising a player for not using a racial style is not the best method here, instead giving logically sound technological bonuses for using complimentary technology would benefit the development of specific playstyles.