I like all these changes, both the reasoning and the fact that the ARR needs a little buff anyway.

Rattati,

You seem to be of a mind to reduce the rail rifle's effectiveness in CQC. Currently I stand against this change. It is not that I think the RR should be good in CQC. However, the CQC RR option, the ARR, is vastly inferior to other rifle options. I will list out some problems I find with it:



1. Ammo capacity is the same for the RR and ARR, meaning far less damage per magazine (2171.4 for proto RR and 1680 for ARR)

2. Range is nearly identical for RR and ARR. RR is 73m, ARR is 71m. Optimal was tested by aiming at an installation with an efficiency reading of 9%, and backing up until efficiency dropped to 8%. The breaking point between these was considered the optimal range for my tests. the ARR also has no zoom nor a scope, meaning taking advantage of this range is far more difficult.

3. DPS is almost exactly the same. 397 for RR, 400 for ARR.



This means that there is almost no situation where the ARR outshines the RR. The faster ROF means that you eat ammo faster, and with the same magazine size as the RR, that means the RR is better in CQC. This is because since the ARR shoots faster, you lose more shots if your not on target than with the RR. The harder hitting slower firing RR gives more time to readjust before too many rounds have missed.

I propose the changes thus. All damage numbers assume proto level.



1. Increase ammo capacity from 42 to 58.

2. Increase damage from 40 to 42. This brings DPS to 420. By comparison, ACR has 436.6 DPS and PR has DPS of 453.2. This is as it should be, the ARR should have lowest DPS of the Assault variants.

- The damage per mag with both of these will be 2436.

3. Decrease range to 55-60m. Whichever makes it the longest ranged Assault variant while still substantially lower than the base RR optimal.

4. Keep charge time the same as it is currently. ie: Increase charge time for the base RR, and keep the ARR where it is now.



With these changes, the ARR now has a niche, and Caldari have a CQC variant that doesn't outperform the other lower range rifles. With this change, I would fully support The changes to the RR you proposed in your thread here.

Constructive criticism is appreciated. I also made a spreadsheet in google docs since Rattati seems to like them, but I am unsure of how to save it to post here. :(

EDIT: Link to spreadsheet. Much thanks to Rattati for telling me how.

That maybe so but the DPS difference is negligible where as the range difference is substantial.

Like people keep saying, stats might suggest one thing but we have to balance this with field testing and live game scenarios.

Yeah...i didn't get that either.

The weapon / suit bonus should generally not be something you already have and SP sink for and the CalCommando and Assault have way to much overlap with the reload bonuses.

25% at proto is what i want

To Rattati, are you in favor of bringing these changes live, and if so would it be possible to deploy in the balance hotfix? If not then I request the base RR changes be put on hold until they can be deployed together.