I think this is a larger issue. Freighter players and Wolfen players aren't seeing the same game balance. Let's ignore the sapphire for now. It seems to be second best for everyone right now and doesn't excel at anything.
If freighter players are playing as digdug describes they probably fear small, fast enemies more because they can't run from them at all. Wolfen players can run from allmost everything if they need to and can match speed with anything except hornets, and AI ships both miss a lot and become extremely predictable targets in stern chases between ships with the same max speed. Wolfen players fear things that can kill or disable them before they can flee. Things like massed Kobol gunships (especially omni), groups of Ares capital ships, running into two Ranx DNs at the same time, and accidentally hitting a ferrian station at short range.
That probably changes with the pteracnium megadrive, but that's not realy viable until you get a hyperion. At that point the freighter can run just as well as the wolfen and doesn't need to really fear anything with its ability to mount all but the heaviest armor.
Weapons like the Katana and Fusionfire that are overpowered for the wolfen may be necessary for the freighter. The former can hold the range open and demolish most opponents with little fear. The latter needs that range because it needs to thin out attackers at a distance because it can't run away when things get dicey. More enemies with turreted weapons with a 120 ls range would help. If, for example, Earth slavers had their Nandao cannons turreted they could return fire at long range. This would help them immensely against a wolfen because right now they can't aim at long enough distances to threaten a wolfen at all. It would still help against freighters as well, but it would help less because freighters have more difficulty holding the range open, and need more distance to dodge effectively, and lose more distance in the act of dodging. Doing the same for Diemoses and possibly Phoboses would help the Ares stand up better to Wolfens using parthian tactics. Drakes, Tripolis, and Dwarg Masters allready have this property which is one of the things that makes Marauders and Dwarg such a headache for the Wolfen. Dwarg Masters, because they outrange everything else until the Iocrym, are a more serious danger to the freighter than the Wolfen, but the Marauders seem like they should be nicely balanced against both ships.
Mid/late game balance
First--I love the game. Thanks!
I've only finished the game once (played probably 60-90 hours over several attempts, going very slow, killing everything in my path and finishing with more $ and rin than I could reasonably spend), so my experience is perhaps different from others posting here.
Answering your questions:
#1 -- My strategy did have to completely change after St.K's, although that was not a bad thing. I do agree with Wolfy, though, the Barbary kicked me several times because of the possibility of swarms. Post-St.K's became very dangerous because of nebulas--a surprise attack/swarm on Pre-StKs shields would (and did) overwhelm me several times.
Honestly, I don't see the Sung as a problem--I just avoided them until I could find/buy a weapon that would let me deal with them from a safe distance. Really, the Sung Fortress was a fun "Oh crap, how do I deal with this?" exercise.
#2 -- It's all about the ion reflecting crystals. I was near-invincible once I had it, regardless of which shield, although I did find the ion-reflect paired with the 100MW Mammoth most helpful for my style of play.
Short of the Phobos (and even then), the Ares (and Luminous) were less scary than the Sung when I encountered them the first few times. I did not, however, have particle reflecting available when I encountered them, though, so perhaps I'm an oddity.
#3 -- Gaian are far too easy by the time they are encountered. Their weapons are just not threatening enough to worry me with my Mammoth 100MW.
The Penitent Order are pathetically weak, IMHO--I'd attack them while waiting for shields to recharge. Didn’t realize they were supposed to be opposing The Sisters until I started trolling the forums. Seems like a missing plot line, in which case being weak might be intentional?
I also agree that the Heliotrope are too weak. They looked scary until I actually attacked. Their fuel is worth too much to be so easy, even in early game. The destroyer needs to be stronger so that I'm actually scared instead of just annoyed when an EMP blinds me.
#4 -- Ferian farming. Did it a lot. But I also farmed Urak Destroyers, Ranx (Kiloton cannons!), and especially Dwarg. Some ideas to counter farming:
Ferians - I get that swatting a Ferian is like swatting a bee. The hive doesn't care. But one of the ways bees know when to attack en mass is when a chemical which is released on death reaches a certain threshold around other bees. Do the same here--when X% (<25?) of Ferians die within a time period, Ferians attack anything that comes close within another time period, rather than just attack once and quit. That won’t stop farming, but will make it much more dangerous and time-consuming.
Plus--make it a behavior that other races want to eliminate the dangerous, rampaging hives (and looting the hive). So a player enraging a hive makes it much more likely that they'll lose the hive loot. Perhaps even lower the player's prestige in the system for enraging them.
Dwarg - I think the Dwarg start strong/interesting, but rapidly decline. By the time I ran into the large Dwarg bases with Behemoths, they weren't scary or challenging. I’d farm just to see if I could recruit Behemoths. And perhaps that’s the way it should be. javascript:emoticon('
')
Others - After a player farms the ships around a base a few times, evacuate the base, leaving no substantive loot. It's rational behavior (“A yacht armed like a battleship? Retreat!”) and forces the player to weigh the value of capturing the base's loot vs. farming ships.
#5 -- I found the Dvalin Ion9 cannon (especially enhanced to 150%) became my favorite weapon. It destroys shells, missiles, and ships (with some exceptions) easily. The star cannon and fusionfire are also great weapons up to Point Juno. Lamplighter feels unbalancing—but I suspect that’ll balance out as you progress the game (See below). As has been said elsewhere, ion-based weapons become the go-to weapon of choice with the late-game races. The IM90 is also quite powerful, but I feel the high cost helps balance that.
Most important to this discussion, IMHO, is what kind of experience you expect the player to have when combating “lesser” and “greater” enemies at this point in the game. Since Heretic is not the true end game, perhaps the current difficulty curve is still appropriate. Most small Ares ships are nuisances and only a surprise dreadnaught is what I really need to fear. Once I realized I was near the end of the game (in its current state), I admit I started to feel like I was missing out—it suddenly wasn’t challenging enough. And with the Lamplighter, the Iocrym was a bit anticlimactic. But if, after Heretic, the game changes again—ion weapons become passé and ion reflect is suddenly useless—then I’m not as worried that the game is unbalanced (yet). I don’t envy your position in designing this game, because balancing cannot be easy when the game is less than 50% complete.
I've only finished the game once (played probably 60-90 hours over several attempts, going very slow, killing everything in my path and finishing with more $ and rin than I could reasonably spend), so my experience is perhaps different from others posting here.
Answering your questions:
#1 -- My strategy did have to completely change after St.K's, although that was not a bad thing. I do agree with Wolfy, though, the Barbary kicked me several times because of the possibility of swarms. Post-St.K's became very dangerous because of nebulas--a surprise attack/swarm on Pre-StKs shields would (and did) overwhelm me several times.
Honestly, I don't see the Sung as a problem--I just avoided them until I could find/buy a weapon that would let me deal with them from a safe distance. Really, the Sung Fortress was a fun "Oh crap, how do I deal with this?" exercise.
#2 -- It's all about the ion reflecting crystals. I was near-invincible once I had it, regardless of which shield, although I did find the ion-reflect paired with the 100MW Mammoth most helpful for my style of play.
Short of the Phobos (and even then), the Ares (and Luminous) were less scary than the Sung when I encountered them the first few times. I did not, however, have particle reflecting available when I encountered them, though, so perhaps I'm an oddity.
#3 -- Gaian are far too easy by the time they are encountered. Their weapons are just not threatening enough to worry me with my Mammoth 100MW.
The Penitent Order are pathetically weak, IMHO--I'd attack them while waiting for shields to recharge. Didn’t realize they were supposed to be opposing The Sisters until I started trolling the forums. Seems like a missing plot line, in which case being weak might be intentional?
I also agree that the Heliotrope are too weak. They looked scary until I actually attacked. Their fuel is worth too much to be so easy, even in early game. The destroyer needs to be stronger so that I'm actually scared instead of just annoyed when an EMP blinds me.
#4 -- Ferian farming. Did it a lot. But I also farmed Urak Destroyers, Ranx (Kiloton cannons!), and especially Dwarg. Some ideas to counter farming:
Ferians - I get that swatting a Ferian is like swatting a bee. The hive doesn't care. But one of the ways bees know when to attack en mass is when a chemical which is released on death reaches a certain threshold around other bees. Do the same here--when X% (<25?) of Ferians die within a time period, Ferians attack anything that comes close within another time period, rather than just attack once and quit. That won’t stop farming, but will make it much more dangerous and time-consuming.
Plus--make it a behavior that other races want to eliminate the dangerous, rampaging hives (and looting the hive). So a player enraging a hive makes it much more likely that they'll lose the hive loot. Perhaps even lower the player's prestige in the system for enraging them.
Dwarg - I think the Dwarg start strong/interesting, but rapidly decline. By the time I ran into the large Dwarg bases with Behemoths, they weren't scary or challenging. I’d farm just to see if I could recruit Behemoths. And perhaps that’s the way it should be. javascript:emoticon('
')Others - After a player farms the ships around a base a few times, evacuate the base, leaving no substantive loot. It's rational behavior (“A yacht armed like a battleship? Retreat!”) and forces the player to weigh the value of capturing the base's loot vs. farming ships.
#5 -- I found the Dvalin Ion9 cannon (especially enhanced to 150%) became my favorite weapon. It destroys shells, missiles, and ships (with some exceptions) easily. The star cannon and fusionfire are also great weapons up to Point Juno. Lamplighter feels unbalancing—but I suspect that’ll balance out as you progress the game (See below). As has been said elsewhere, ion-based weapons become the go-to weapon of choice with the late-game races. The IM90 is also quite powerful, but I feel the high cost helps balance that.
Most important to this discussion, IMHO, is what kind of experience you expect the player to have when combating “lesser” and “greater” enemies at this point in the game. Since Heretic is not the true end game, perhaps the current difficulty curve is still appropriate. Most small Ares ships are nuisances and only a surprise dreadnaught is what I really need to fear. Once I realized I was near the end of the game (in its current state), I admit I started to feel like I was missing out—it suddenly wasn’t challenging enough. And with the Lamplighter, the Iocrym was a bit anticlimactic. But if, after Heretic, the game changes again—ion weapons become passé and ion reflect is suddenly useless—then I’m not as worried that the game is unbalanced (yet). I don’t envy your position in designing this game, because balancing cannot be easy when the game is less than 50% complete.
Boring
I used to get creamed by them, but so long as you have a NAMI and some KM500s or XM900s, slave camps aren't a problem. Forts can be, however...but XM900s or an Akan 30/600 will take care of them. As will any howitzer.george moromisato wrote: 1. Systems after St. Kat's get deadly too quickly. Maybe we need to tone down some of the initial Sung bases.
But really, as others have said, the Dwarg are terrifying.....so maybe a decent blast-resistant shield might help, but toning down the Masters would probably be better....
EDIT: And also the barbary. As has been said, the are seriously annoying. Going from having nothing to worry about other than the odd Drake or Viking I...maybe a Corsair II....to having multiple barbary and Viking II class ships attacking you every some often....it's a REALLY big leap. Maybe cut down the number of Barbarys, and dampen their urge to run away when they lose their shields.....
Tied between the Nephren P25 and the Mk.5......I'm not a fan of the S100. The invincible is a new favorite of mine.....I think the EMP time after it goes down should be upped to something that matters....george moromisato wrote:
2. Some shield combinations are too powerful. What are your favorite *overpowered* shield combos?
The Ion reflector is great, but I'm not that keen on it. I generally go to the Kaidun ASAP.....I once actually used my Lognzhu Spheres on one, rather than on an IM90.....+150% Kaiduns are so good....but take FOREVER to recharge. But I suppose the 2000 shield points is a good consolation.
.....Luminous are pretty pathetic later in the game. The neat trick the bases have with the drones shields only goes so far.....and against the VERY ion-resistant shields in the lategame.....an ion blaster that very rarely hits isn't much of a weapon.george moromisato wrote: 3. Some enemies (like Xenophobes) need to be beefed up. What others?
And in the early game, the centauri REALLY need a buff. The first few times I played, I got creamed because of being used to the Radiers.....and then coming up against Heavy raiders.
...and can the Dragon Slaver get a buff to the QAC? I have yet to EVER take more than ~3 shells from one of those, as I can almost always kill it before it comes into range.....this might make it OPed as a player weapon, but in its current state, it's pretty useless as a quest weapon anyway.....although that's the rechrging mostly....
I've never done Ferian farming (it's BORING..I'd rather blow the colony, sell the stuff, thn go shot some Dwargs...they are at least a nice callenge)george moromisato wrote:
4. Ferian farming is definitely a problem...what are your favorite exploits in the mid/late game?
.....so maybe giving the colony a weapon that fires when there are no miners around (Plasma cannon would be a nice...uh....surprise, but probably OPed in the extreme)....and just capping the number of miners each colony spawns.
I have farmed Ranx Dreadnought (which can be REALLY hard, so isn't too Oped at present, although limiting the number that turn upmight be good)....and Urak Destroyers (which are REALLY easy....upping the range of the advanced mass driver mighthelp a little, but the problem is stil there...they die too quickly.)
My favourite weapons are:george moromisato wrote:
5. What is your favorite weapon for mid/late game? Is it overpowered?
The Lancer Cannon + Fast (Not Oped, as when it becomes obsolete, it's very easy to find out by dying....and against Dwarg and Xenophobe motherships, it's useless.)
The IM90 (OPed, but the somewhat annoying multi-targeting does sometimes make it hard to use)
Omni Thermo Cannon. (Would be OPed, as it's easy to get it to +150....but the ammo is rare enough to counter this. it's stil the weapon i have enjoyed the MOST in 0.99c. This might also have ben because I had it on the Hornet Playership I got off Xelerus....but I think on a freighter or Wolfen it would also excell.)
Katana (OPed. As others have explained better than I could ever do)
Mischievous local moderator. She/Her pronouns.
I've just noticed something about a specific weapon that should probably be adressed.
The Ares Plasma Cannon is incredibly lame. Compare to the Ares Archcannon and Hecates Howitzer, the other ammoless big guns in the Ares arsenal.
APC: Range 78, 58.5 dps (plasma WMD7), 10 tons, 500mw
AAC: Range 96, 67.5 dps (positron), 1.5 tons, 200mw
HC: Range 120, 72 dps (thermo WMD5), 6 tons, 100mw
The APC and AAC are directly comparable because the base resistances for plasma and positron are identical. Armor resistance availability to the two types is about the same. The only advantage plasma has over positron is that the Nephren X1 resists positron more strongly than the Taikon-10 and Taikon-200, and the availability of reflect crystals. This might be enough to make the APC viable except that it's a level 10 weapon and the AAC is only level 9.
Accounting for the different base resistances the Hecates Cannon does slightly higher dps against level 8 armor and only about 10% less damage against level 9 armor or 12% less against level 7 armor. Only against level 10 armor does the level 8 Hecates Cannon suffer significantly in comparison, doing 20% less damage.
For use by the player the situation is even worse. The APC cannot be repaired, making it extremely difficult to acquire, has a painfully slow rate of fire, and cannot be enhanced with Longzhu spheres. This is in addition to the heavy power consumption and mass. Thermo enhancers are rarer than longzhu spheres, but plasma enhancers do not exist at all. For use against bases range is more important than WMD once the WMD rating is high enough the damage beyond the one point everything does to bases doesn't vanish in the roundoff error.
So what's the Ares Plasma Cannon for? It's absolutely inferior in every important respect to another weapon the Ares already use except against a single experimental shield type, and for bombardment against bases is inferior to another weapon the Ares already use.
The question then becomes how to fix it. First of, as a level 10 weapon it should be doing a lot more damage. The Iocrym Repeller is a level 10 plasma weapon that does 156 dps, albeit at a much lower range. EI's plasma cannon does 117 dps, also with much lower range. The Kytryn blaster does 78dps at only slightly less range and is level 9. Improving the firerate to 60 gives it the same firepower as the Kytryn blaster. Improving it to 40 (the same as a fusionfire/hecates howitzer) gives it 117 dps. Since low firerate weapons are far easier for both the AI and the player to use, a firerate of 40 is more reasonable for a level 10 weapon unless something else is improved. Another option is to improve the firerate only to 60 and give is something else, either howitzer level range or the tracking ability of a Xyphon cannon or possibly both.
The Ares Plasma Cannon is incredibly lame. Compare to the Ares Archcannon and Hecates Howitzer, the other ammoless big guns in the Ares arsenal.
APC: Range 78, 58.5 dps (plasma WMD7), 10 tons, 500mw
AAC: Range 96, 67.5 dps (positron), 1.5 tons, 200mw
HC: Range 120, 72 dps (thermo WMD5), 6 tons, 100mw
The APC and AAC are directly comparable because the base resistances for plasma and positron are identical. Armor resistance availability to the two types is about the same. The only advantage plasma has over positron is that the Nephren X1 resists positron more strongly than the Taikon-10 and Taikon-200, and the availability of reflect crystals. This might be enough to make the APC viable except that it's a level 10 weapon and the AAC is only level 9.
Accounting for the different base resistances the Hecates Cannon does slightly higher dps against level 8 armor and only about 10% less damage against level 9 armor or 12% less against level 7 armor. Only against level 10 armor does the level 8 Hecates Cannon suffer significantly in comparison, doing 20% less damage.
For use by the player the situation is even worse. The APC cannot be repaired, making it extremely difficult to acquire, has a painfully slow rate of fire, and cannot be enhanced with Longzhu spheres. This is in addition to the heavy power consumption and mass. Thermo enhancers are rarer than longzhu spheres, but plasma enhancers do not exist at all. For use against bases range is more important than WMD once the WMD rating is high enough the damage beyond the one point everything does to bases doesn't vanish in the roundoff error.
So what's the Ares Plasma Cannon for? It's absolutely inferior in every important respect to another weapon the Ares already use except against a single experimental shield type, and for bombardment against bases is inferior to another weapon the Ares already use.
The question then becomes how to fix it. First of, as a level 10 weapon it should be doing a lot more damage. The Iocrym Repeller is a level 10 plasma weapon that does 156 dps, albeit at a much lower range. EI's plasma cannon does 117 dps, also with much lower range. The Kytryn blaster does 78dps at only slightly less range and is level 9. Improving the firerate to 60 gives it the same firepower as the Kytryn blaster. Improving it to 40 (the same as a fusionfire/hecates howitzer) gives it 117 dps. Since low firerate weapons are far easier for both the AI and the player to use, a firerate of 40 is more reasonable for a level 10 weapon unless something else is improved. Another option is to improve the firerate only to 60 and give is something else, either howitzer level range or the tracking ability of a Xyphon cannon or possibly both.
interjecting my small bit for the last post regarding the plasma cannon. i sometimes forget it even has that secondary weapon because of the ridiculous amount of ion bombardment the phobos dishes out.. i'm sure the ion issue has already been discussed too. that's all i had to input. 
This is a good point......I have been killed easily several times by Phobos' with their uber-mega-extreme-lightning-storm-of-blueish-DEATH.....but NEVER by the plasma cannon. When I first saw that thing fire, I was expecting armageddon.....it never came. In contrast, the ion turrets DO give armegeddon......all too easily (but then, it IS a capital ship, and so should be hard to kill)Psycholis wrote:interjecting my small bit for the last post regarding the plasma cannon. i sometimes forget it even has that secondary weapon because of the ridiculous amount of ion bombardment the phobos dishes out.. i'm sure the ion issue has already been discussed too. that's all i had to input.
Mischievous local moderator. She/Her pronouns.
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BloodEagle
- Anarchist
- Posts: 21
- Joined: Wed Aug 06, 2008 7:27 pm
You can dodge most (ca. 80%-90%) of the phobos's ion shots by flying in a circle. It's actually a little on the easy side, for a dreadnaught.
"Ignorance is the greatest weapon of tyranny, and old wounds open all too easily."
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bluesaberist
- Commonwealth Pilot
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:13 am
- Location: Pennsylvania
My favorite combination of weapons, armor and shield is this:
Fusionfire Howitzer, either with +fast or +150%
Advanced Tritium Cannon , with fast and a few extras ROMs in-case it overheats.
Katana. +150% if I can find it.
Plasma Shield with Ion reflect until a system before Pt. Juno, then Positron reflect.
Diamond Plate all around with Regen. Nothing better IM(not-so-humble)O.
I may be switching my favorite shield to the Jontun Deflector, with it's varying power range.
Making other staitions in the system mad when you farm farians is a good idea, though I think they should be thankful once the whole nest is destroyed.
I think some more Ion weapons should have pass-through, similar to the Katana. Especially the higher level guns such as the Heavy Ion Cannon. I don't know if the Katana is over-powered, but it does seem to be the best gun for certain jobs.
I really annoying thing is the device damage of the Ion Disruptor. One game I had to buy three new 500MG reactors because of it. Then once you have it, it does nothing for you. If it can kill your reactor and disable everything on board when fired at you, By Golly, I WANT TO DO THE SAME THING TO THEM! I was really mad that night. It might make it overpowered, but it's only fair.
I don't know if anyone will agree with me on this, but I don't think the NAMI Launcher should be able to shoot Lucifers. I think it's the most powerful missile in the game, and it definitely isn't on par with the other compatible missiles. The Rasiermesser launcher should be more powerful, and there should be a Military version of the NAMI launcher, with some higher level missiles that fit the late game.
I think the Sung are fine the way they are. I usually have to by-pass the first few station, then they become easier until they disappear.
Fusionfire Howitzer, either with +fast or +150%
Advanced Tritium Cannon , with fast and a few extras ROMs in-case it overheats.
Katana. +150% if I can find it.
Plasma Shield with Ion reflect until a system before Pt. Juno, then Positron reflect.
Diamond Plate all around with Regen. Nothing better IM(not-so-humble)O.
I may be switching my favorite shield to the Jontun Deflector, with it's varying power range.
Making other staitions in the system mad when you farm farians is a good idea, though I think they should be thankful once the whole nest is destroyed.
I think some more Ion weapons should have pass-through, similar to the Katana. Especially the higher level guns such as the Heavy Ion Cannon. I don't know if the Katana is over-powered, but it does seem to be the best gun for certain jobs.
I really annoying thing is the device damage of the Ion Disruptor. One game I had to buy three new 500MG reactors because of it. Then once you have it, it does nothing for you. If it can kill your reactor and disable everything on board when fired at you, By Golly, I WANT TO DO THE SAME THING TO THEM! I was really mad that night. It might make it overpowered, but it's only fair.
I don't know if anyone will agree with me on this, but I don't think the NAMI Launcher should be able to shoot Lucifers. I think it's the most powerful missile in the game, and it definitely isn't on par with the other compatible missiles. The Rasiermesser launcher should be more powerful, and there should be a Military version of the NAMI launcher, with some higher level missiles that fit the late game.
I think the Sung are fine the way they are. I usually have to by-pass the first few station, then they become easier until they disappear.
If you drop a bar of soap on the ground, is it dirty?
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
There is a military version of the NAMI later in the game. Aquilas carry it as does the Antarctica.bluesaberist wrote:I don't know if anyone will agree with me on this, but I don't think the NAMI Launcher should be able to shoot Lucifers. I think it's the most powerful missile in the game, and it definitely isn't on par with the other compatible missiles. The Rasiermesser launcher should be more powerful, and there should be a Military version of the NAMI launcher, with some higher level missiles that fit the late game.
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bluesaberist
- Commonwealth Pilot
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:13 am
- Location: Pennsylvania
There is a NAMI heavy Launcher, but the missiles are expensive, and, as it says in the description, it is really designed for attacking Cap ships and stations. The S3 makes up for that a bit, but it is dangerous to use it near friendly's, and it isn't effective against single ships that aren't worth an M2 or M5. What is really needed is an upgraded military NAMI launcher that has more powerful missiles, such as the Lucifer, than the Rasiermesser launcher, but fires slower.
Another argument is that the NAMI launcher is the only device that you can use through the whole game effectively. Everything else needs to be upgraded to survive, that should too.
Another argument is that the NAMI launcher is the only device that you can use through the whole game effectively. Everything else needs to be upgraded to survive, that should too.
If you drop a bar of soap on the ground, is it dirty?
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
Why? It's just a thing to let you fire missiles. You don't use the same missiles through the whole game. Why should you have to change the launcher to something that works exactly the same, but costs more. It's like a bad calling plan. xm900s aren't common enough to use all game anyways. Unlike Gothas and Strelkas and MAGs nobody sells them reliably and unlike Gothas and micronukes nobody drops them reliably.
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bluesaberist
- Commonwealth Pilot
- Posts: 97
- Joined: Wed Jan 16, 2008 2:13 am
- Location: Pennsylvania
I used Lucifers through the whole game from as soon as I can get them until a system or two before Heritic the last couple times I've played. (I only drop them because they do nothing against the Iocrym.) I usually find enough to last me until I get a Teraton fabricator, which I use to make a couple hundred, selling off what I don't need. IMO, they are the best missile for use against the Ares.
I just think that there should be a different launcher for a new series of military missiles that are more powerful than the standard KM100/500 and XM300. The Lucifer seems too powerful (and heavy, at twice the weight of the 100 and 300, and almost twice the weight of the 500.) for it to be able to be fired from a civilian launcher.
To any admin, if this should go in another thread, I will edit it out and put it there.
Another idea: There should be a dual version of some of the missile launchers that is military, not-for-sale, possibly illegal, and very rare (Like, one in every two or three games.) It might even be a good gift from Dvalin.
I also think that the Heavy NAMI missiles (M2,S3, and M5) should have their non-fragmented damage raised. As-is, they are quite weak when they don't fragment, but when they do, they are very powerful. As an example, the M5 does only 1d12 of non-fragmented damage, while doing 15d24 each fragment. I think it should be bumped up to at least 6d12, if not much more. I have found with these missiles (and kiloton shells too) that it is safer to let them hit you than for them to fragment near you.
I just think that there should be a different launcher for a new series of military missiles that are more powerful than the standard KM100/500 and XM300. The Lucifer seems too powerful (and heavy, at twice the weight of the 100 and 300, and almost twice the weight of the 500.) for it to be able to be fired from a civilian launcher.
To any admin, if this should go in another thread, I will edit it out and put it there.
Another idea: There should be a dual version of some of the missile launchers that is military, not-for-sale, possibly illegal, and very rare (Like, one in every two or three games.) It might even be a good gift from Dvalin.
I also think that the Heavy NAMI missiles (M2,S3, and M5) should have their non-fragmented damage raised. As-is, they are quite weak when they don't fragment, but when they do, they are very powerful. As an example, the M5 does only 1d12 of non-fragmented damage, while doing 15d24 each fragment. I think it should be bumped up to at least 6d12, if not much more. I have found with these missiles (and kiloton shells too) that it is safer to let them hit you than for them to fragment near you.
If you drop a bar of soap on the ground, is it dirty?
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
If a person is legally blind, and can suddenly see, is he breaking the law?
If a friend says he's going outside to get some air, what was he breathing before?
-Brad Stein
As others have said, things getting more dangerous is a good thing. The sung are not a problem, its the dwarg that are tough.george moromisato wrote: 1. Systems after St. Kat's get deadly too quickly. Maybe we need to tone down some of the initial Sung bases.
Personally though, I don't have problems with the barbary. Annoying, yes. But they keep you aren't on your toes, and that IMO, is good. The only bad thing is that you can defeat the same barbary 10 times over and if you can't keep up to it, it'll be back for more. If the barbary does come back for the third time, it should bring friends.
As the others have said: Class V, though all it needs is a power consumption increase IMO. Possibly the Tailkon 200 as well, but I don't think that's a problem, unless you put a crystal on it...2. Some shield combinations are too powerful. What are your favorite *overpowered* shield combos?
Which brings me to Ion and particle crystals. Particle crystals early-mid-game means the only thing you have to worry about are dwarg (and barbary if you aren't careful, another good reason to keep them around). Late game, an Ion crystal means that all you have to worry about is AAC wielding enemies. The others aren't common enough (such as kobols) or fast enough to matter. With an Ion crystal and a level VIII or IX shield, the Phobos becomes little more than a joke.
Luminous. These are neither fast nor accurate. They can be left alone, or wiped out via sniping, and their own weapons are ineffective against the Tailkon even without ion-reflect. Being completely uniform and very common also makes them an annoyance to pass over.3. Some enemies (like Xenophobes) need to be beefed up. What others?
Teratons and ringers really should be able to search you out and kill you for destroying a station of theirs. After all, they are supposed to be technologically superior to everyone else.
If crystals aren't going to be greatly nerfed the Phobos should be at least as dangerous as the daimios, which can actually make a dent in ion-reflective shielding if you have a few of them. Being unmaneuverable means that the only weapons it will ever be able to hit you with are its omni weapons. IIRC this is just a few lighting cannons. A few archcannons could do it good, or at least an ares missile launcher.
Killling the CSC Antartica should be as hard as saving it, perhaps make it more agressive, harder to bombard from afar, and/or give it tracking missiles? Right now you can destroy it with a single omni-tev.
I tend to blow up BM stations. This gets you VII and VIII equipment for free, and all the rins you need can be easily got by selling these to the Teratons. Furthermore, the drugs they tend to leave behind is great for the CSC missions. Corporate stations I tend to leave alone (although they can be quite lucrative).4. Ferian farming is definitely a problem...what are your favorite exploits in the mid/late game?
For Ferrians, IMO, a good start would be giving their bases some means of defense other than its final explosion.
What about, instead of making ferrians run away when shot, make them attack. When they get close enough, have them suicide bomb you, like bees (and perhaps anger nearby ferrians as well). If this final attack had a wmd rating, it would prevent you from getting multiple free corpses out of this as well.
Another trick against the ferrians is to walk into an angry swarm of them and just move slowly. The ferrians are so scared of hitting each other than they can't hurt you. If ferrian FF were removed it would also make things much, much more dangerous.
A final exploit is this:
If you aren't powerful enough to defeat an enemy in a system, someone else is. If you need to get rid of a phobos dreadnought with sub-par equipment, just hide behind a tailkon or ringer station. Let them deal with the problem. It would be nice if enemies stayed clear of these nearly invincible player-friendly installations.
FFH+Lamplighter and IM90. I don't see a problem with the IM90.5. What is your favorite weapon for mid/late game? Is it overpowered?
I agree with the opinion that QAC should be more powerful than Lamplighter. As to lamplighter being overpowered? Well compared to the IM90...
The IM90 could go up a tech level, but don't see any problems with it other than it should be much, much harder to get.
That said, I've only just started playing again after a long break, so there may be factual inaccuracies here.
EDIT: Added BM and tailkon/ringer exploit.