Nerf OP Items ... Check!
Buff UP Items ... ... ... (Check?)

When we originally designed the Flaylock, we wanted it to feel like a skillshot weapon. It should have been powerful, but tricky to use properly. However, we underestimated its potential with both the direct and splash damage. In the hands of a skilled player, it quickly proves itself to be superior to other sidearms and begins to rival other primary weapons. This is going to change and here's how.

Right now, we feel players are relying too heavily on the splash damage of the weapon to get kills. To that end, we're making two changes to encourage precision and reward player skill. First, we're reducing the base splash damage from 195 to 140. We're also reducing the blast radius on the Advanced (from 1.5m to 1.25m) and Prototype (from 2.0m to 1.5m) tiers.



Of course, a direct shot from the Flaylock is still devastating in its current state, so we'll be reducing direct damage from 218 to 165. This is a rather large change, but it brings it in line with other sidearms and should help keep the Flaylock from being a replacement for a primary weapon.

We've heard your concerns and we were a little shocked at the horse-head in our beds, but as per usual we are definitely doing something about it. As CCP Wolfman iterates in this new dev blog. You might be interested to read more about the changes we are making to the Flaylock Pistol, Contact Grenades and teaser into the remedy for the "murder taxis" Please leave your feedback down below!

At the same time, we're modifying the Flaylock Ammo skill to give 1 missile per level instead of a 5% bonus per level. This makes the skill equally useful for all tiers and gives you an increased opportunity to score a direct hit with the larger ammo pool.

Finally, we're changing the fitting skill to make the bonus more useful. As the Flaylock currently uses very little power grid, the fitting skill's bonus to PG wasn't very helpful. As of Uprising 1.3, the skill will now give a CPU bonus instead.

Did the flux grenade also out-score contact grenades in kills?

But seiously, I'm happy to see these changes being being made soon. I do have one question though: In 1.4, will contact grenades no longer be referred to as "contact grenades", and rather "sticky grenades"? I mean if they don't detonate on impact, they're actually closer to regular grenades. And will this sticky change only apply to fuses? Or will it apply to Thukkers as well? I'd hope the Thukkers would still detonate on impact, given that they are proto and have a small radius.

Wow... I feel the change in Direct Damage is just too much.
It fires rockets for gods sake it's meant to be powerful.

The blast radius needed to be changed, but that and the Direct Damage, you've near crippled this weapon.


You can expect cries for a Respec. now.
I feel it should be the blast radius that is changed. the current direct damage is fine, if you even get a direct hit.

This can't be a valid complaint. Considering it takes, what, a week or more to get the SP for proto, and then its not like they would have statistics for the past to compare much to.

First, you'd have the early adopters with the SP saved getting a lot of kills, then the people who actually earn the SP. Then the followers for the next couple of weeks. Then you get the bandwagon by the end of the month. So you see the graph, and there really wasn't a 'phenomenon effect until July' so IMO this was a fairly quick response and turn around.

Because the kills are too easy. Everyone would use them and they'd be nerfed right away. It's ok the way it is.

I foresee tears from warravens, seriously the core flaylock is the only thing we use in PC and o.h have been ripping our proto elites apart.

The SMG has the same number of skills; its to reduce the scatter of the weapon to increase its effective range by tightening the bullet spread. HMGs due this naturally, and most other weapons have no spread to speak of.


For the most part most of the skills are good, or at least the intent is in the right place.

The Flaylock PG reduction was there because every other weapon has similar skill (except for the Plasma Cannon), now it matches the Plasma Cannons fitting skill and reduces the CPU instead.

The charge time is not a 'stupid' skill (you probably also think that reload skills are stupid, too) that reduction in charge time can make the difference between getting a kill or an assist, or living and dying. Sure, it doesn't work on the assault variants but that is intended.

Thanks for the comments guys. ItGÇÖs going to be very interesting to see how these changes effect the Flaylock performance. Need that graph to drop a bit but not too much :-)

Just to manage your expectations weGÇÖre not 100% sure sticky nades will make it in to 1.4. Some of our other work has taken longer than expected so that task is currently in the danger zone.

Cheers

CCP Wolfman

Flaylock's splash damage is still too good, it should be dropped to 60~80 and the radius of advanced/prototype level is should be 1 m fixed.

I like what I read. Operator splash back damage is a must! Forge gun too!